Do you use a search engine optimization (SEO) agency to help get your website ranking higher in Google search results? If so, you’re not alone.
But what many business owners may not realize is that these digital marketing firms offer more than optimized web content. They can also help businesses capture and manage leads through their website.
This article looks at how an online marketing firm maximizes SEO to manage every stage of lead management, from generation to nurturing.
What is a Lead?
A lead has expressed interest in your product or service by filling out a form or subscribing to a newsletter. On the other hand, an Internet visitor is simply someone who has visited your website.
While all leads are Internet visitors, not all Internet visitors are leads. For example, if someone visits your website and then immediately leaves, they would be considered an Internet visitor but not a lead.
Leads also go through the various sales funnel stages, a model that helps businesses understand how their customers move through the sales process. Its goal is to move leads through these stages until they eventually make a purchase.
Each business has a different sales process, but they all have four stages. Avoiding common mistakes in the sales funnel involves ensuring all stages are covered. These stages are as follows:
- Awareness. This is when the potential customer becomes aware of the product or service. They might see an advertisement, read an article online, or hear about it from a friend.
- Interest. Once buyers are aware of the product or service, they will start to develop an interest in it. They might do some research online, read reviews, or compare prices.
- Consideration. At this point, the lead is seriously considering purchasing the product or service. They might request more information from the company, speak to a salesperson, or request a proposal.
- Purchase. This step is when the prospect buys the product or service.
How SEO Agencies Use Optimization to Capture and Manage Leads
When it comes to lead management, SEO firms use optimization in three ways:
- Generation and capturing
- Nurturing and retention
- Conversion
Let’s get more specific:
1. SEO Agencies Optimize Websites To Attract Targeted Leads
Businesses that want to engage prospects online must reach the right potential customers and convince them to invest in what they have to offer. That is where SEO comes in.
It works with a search engine’s algorithm to generate the best results from a query. More specifically, it helps you rank for certain keywords that match the intent.
Let’s pretend that you have a dental office in Los Angeles. You want to attract new patients to your area. So you would want to optimize your website to rank for keywords such as “dentist in Los Angeles,” “best dentist in LA,” and “dental services near me.”
Optimizing your website and blog content for these keywords makes you more likely to appear as a top result when someone in your area searches for these terms on Google or Bing. And because you’re appearing in front of your target audience, you’re more likely to generate leads.
2. These Firms Tap on SEO To Take Care of Leads
According to Digital Authority Partners, nurturing is one of the vital phases of lead management. It’s developing relationships with potential customers through targeted email campaigns. It helps build trust and familiarity with a brand. This way, the prospect thinks of you when they’re ready to buy.
SEO is a reliable strategy for taking care of your leads. Specific actions trigger the nurturing stage. Such actions include subscribing to a newsletter or downloading a white paper. It signifies that the prospect is interested in learning more about a product or service.
Through optimization, businesses can produce personalized content that potential customers look for. For instance, if you offer web design services, you can create a blog post that provides tips on how to choose the right web design company. You can also include a CTA (call to action) that encourages the reader to sign up for your newsletter.
3. Agencies Perform SEO Strategies That Improve User Experience (UX)
User experience (UX) is vital in lead management because it can help determine how easily and effectively users can interact with the business. But one mistake could mean the difference between gaining lifelong clients and losing the public’s trust.
A good UX reduces the number of steps required to complete a task and improves conversions. Meanwhile, a poor one can lead to higher abandonment rates and lower satisfaction.
SEO agencies can help you improve UX by:
- Optimizing website speed
- Ensuring that the website is mobile-friendly
- Improving navigation
- Reducing the number of popups
- Creating easy-to-scan and understand content
4. SEO Firms Pair SEO with Paid Search for Remarketing
Remarketing is a digital marketing tactic that involves targeting ads to users who have previously shown interest in your products or services. Businesses can stay top of mind with potential customers and increase the likelihood of making a sale by strategically placing ads on websites and social media platforms.
SEO differs from paid search, but both can work together in this strategy. Optimizing your website drives leads. If you cannot convert them, you can bring them back or keep them interested by using remarketing.
Let’s say that someone searched for “dentists in Los Angeles” and came across your website. But they left without taking any further action. You can remarket to target that person with an ad for your services the next time they’re on Facebook or Instagram.
5. SEO Teams Combine Various Strategies to Persuade and Convert Leads
Digital marketing agencies leverage different strategies to engage and convert prospects into paying customers:
- Get smart with content marketing. SEO agencies implement new content creation and promotion tactics to attract more leads and raise revenues. These include topic clusters, content republishing, and cornerstone and pillar pages.
- Use keywords strategically based on user intent and the sales funnel. SEO agencies combine keyword types, such as short-tail, long-tail, and LSI keywords – a special type of keyword related to other keywords – to persuade users at each stage of the buyer’s journey.
- Conduct competitor analysis. SEO firms study your competitors to see their strategies and how you can improve upon them.
- Maximize moment marketing. Moment marketing involves creating and capitalizing on spontaneous opportunities to connect with customers. Digital marketing experts capitalize on this with local SEO, helping businesses rank for location-based keywords.
Final Words
Generating and nurturing leads is vital to the success of your business. And collaborating with an SEO agency is one of the best ways to go about it.
SEO agencies have the tools, knowledge, and experience to put your website on the map and keep it there. They can also help you create targeted content, improve UX, pair SEO with paid search, and carry out other strategies to persuade and convert prospects.
