8 Predictions for SEO in 2010

[directmarketingadvice]

Interesting article at:

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/8-predictions-for-seo-in-2010

In particular, "#7 - 2010 is the Year of Conversion Rate Optimization".

Somehow, I doubt it. Split-testing's been around for decades yet it's an uphill struggle to get clients interested. They'd rather try to get more water into that leaky bucket, rather than focusing on fixing the holes.

Steve

[Kev Jaques]

They'd rather try to get more water into that leaky bucket, rather than focusing on fixing the holes

Yea, and sometimes a collander or sieve ;)

[Scott-CopyandDesign]

Steve do you have any issues trying to convince people that site optimisation is worthwhile?

I have to say that most of my clients have been quite receptive to it lately. From what I've seen, it seems like the more stubborn "I've been in business for 40 years" type folk are the ones who would rather plough lots of money into Adwords for a very poor converting site they made in 1999.

Start-ups and business owners who have bothered to do their research are taking site optimisation on board much better and subsequently benefiting from it a great deal.

[directmarketingadvice]

Steve do you have any issues trying to convince people that site optimisation is worthwhile?

It's easy enough to get clients to make site changes when there's an obvious weakness. I'm talking about split-testing.

And, it's not just me. I asked Drayton Bird and he said something similar.

Steve

[Codefixer]

I thought that was last year. :|

[Colin Parker]

I definitely think that bigger companies are increasingly realising the power of of maximising website conversion and I have been predicting this for the past 2/3 years. There is huge income potential for specialist conversion companies - especially those willing to work on a performance related basis.

Any company/individual who can genuinely demonstrate conversion expertise should - with no disrespect - not even bother to try and persuade smaller minded companies about conversion.

There will be far bigger and fatter fish to fry.

Colin Parker

[Colin Parker]

This report makes interesting reading and has raised an issue that I have long thought makes perfect sense for Google - including PPC spend and CTR in their SERP algo.

I have no doubt the SEO boys will rile against this idea but if you look at it from Google's perspective it makes perfect business sense.

Other than Adsense Google earns nothing from providing enormous volumes of traffic for high ranking SEO sites. If PPC spend and CTR was part of the SERP algo businesses ranked in lower page 1 or 2 positions might well be motivated to 'spend their way to the top'. That would be music to Google's ears as it would not only bring in additional advertisers but drive overall CPC and total PPC spend onwards and upwards.

If I was in Google's position this is exactly what I would do.

Colin Parker

[directmarketingadvice]

Any company/individual who can genuinely demonstrate conversion expertise should - with no disrespect - not even bother to try and persuade smaller minded companies about conversion.

The sorts of companies Drayton works with tend to be fairly big. So, I don't think it's just about size.

I have clients who will split-test (one just got a 37.5% increase in average order size by adding a single sentence to their website - and that's not speculation, that's a split-test result). But others just won't do it.

Steve

PS Here is what Drayton wrote in answer to my question:

This is even though it is always more sensible to try and improve something that's working than strike off in an entirely new direction - and even though you'll make more out of improving your approach to people you've got than people you're just acquiring.

I think people prefer to test new creative and on getting new traffic rather than making more from what they've got because of the human preference for the new. I often used to say at seminars when people asked me about this new thing and that new thing, "Why don't you try and get the basics right first?"

By coincidence I had a colleague in today who was moaning that it's hard to get any client to do enough testing. He has conducted over 100 tests that we're thinking of making into a book. Some of what he's done is really revealing, especially in the use of colour.