I read an excellent post today over at the WPMU blog outlining four tips to boosting traffic on your website. Every single tip is outstanding, but what struck me like a lightning bolt was Tip #4 – Pay Attention and Optimize Your Content for Human Consumption.
OK, it didn’t strike me so much on my first read.
The first time through, I thought the tip would be more blah, blah, blah on how the search engines are getting better at thinking like humans and how we all need to stop keyword stuffing our content.
As I pondered further, I realized that I was reading the perfect mini-roadmap for discovering web relevance and client connection.
This is a direct quote:
If you’re posting content and getting involved in conversations on blogs and forums every day [tips 1-3], you’ll start to get a feel for what people really want to read. You’ll notice that certain topics and comments get more attention than others. You’ll even start to notice a common theme in people’s responses. This is how you’ll increase your conversion rate, by giving people exactly what they want when they read your content and your sales offers.
Read their comments and look at the links they respond best to and ask yourself…
What your customer’s afraid of? [sic]
Who are they mad at?
What do they want more of…or less of?
What topics, phrases and buzz words do they respond best to?
Once you get an idea of what your customers want, start using this knowledge when you write your daily posts and when you get involved in conversations on blogs and on forums. The more you do this, the more you’ll find that businesses grow through relationships with customers.
So, there you have it! If you want relevance, you’re cruising for pain.
Huh?
If you’re like me, you’ve spent many years on a personal development journey away from pain, and this approach sounds … well, painful.
As much as I prefer unicorns and rainbows these days, I can’t escape the fact that my calling in life is to solve other people’s problems. If I’m not willing to dig for pain, how plugged in can I expect my proffered solutions to be?
So, to boost your own web relevance and your search engine traffic in one fell swoop, play a little more “fly on the wall” and bring home the pain. Get those pithy solutions spelled out on your website and watch the clients and the search engine love rev up.
For the rest of the article’s outstanding tips, head over to WordPress SEO Made Easy: 4 Tips To Double Your Traffic In The Next 30 Days.
Don’t be put off by the spammy title. Every one of his tips is spot on.
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