When it comes to generating leads for business websites, the discussion invariably turns to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). There is nothing wrong with that – as long as the discussion does not stop there. It can’t stop there.
The objective of your website should not simply be exposure. It should be a “power tool” that drives interested homeowners to your business where you can convert them into customers. Accomplishing this requires additional effort. The industry terminology for that effort is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).
What Is a Bad Click?
Any click on your website that does not have a realistic potential for lead generation could be considered a bad click. Strictly web-speaking, a bad click occurs when a visitor lands on a website, but leaves the site without taking any other action, such as visiting another page or filling out a form.
Is a Bad Click a Fraudulent Click?
Not necessarily, but it can be. There are nefarious individuals who intentionally mess with business websites’ minds by clicking on PPC ads. Some visitors to home improvement websites are competitors. They are not likely to fill out a form or become a customer. They just want to see what your business is up to.
There is a lot of activity going on behind the scenes on the internet. There are automated monitoring systems – some innocent; some not so much – that click to your site.
Occasionally, a researcher might visit your website. She may have no reason to go beyond your home page. She certainly has no reason to click on any of your offers or provide her consumer identification.
Every Little Click Counts
There’s the rub. Every little click counts, but in terms of the objective of lead generation, not every little click should be counted. To turn an old phrase, the best advice is,
Never count your click-ins before they hatch!
Far too many business people get excited about the number of clicks they get on their website per month. That’s partly due to far too many website “experts” telling business owners that the number of clicks is a sign of success. It’s sort of like getting a fast start out of the gate, but finishing out of the money. It’s a fact, but it has no value. Don’t get excited by the click count when your do your analytics.
Finding the Bad Clicks in the Haystack
In the analytics, all clicks look the same. It is only by digging deeper that you can spot the bad ones. Finding them is after the fact, but once the analytics reveal them, there are ways to reduce their numbers.
It typically takes combining several metrics to weed out the bad clicks. The numbers that are the most indicative of bad clicks are a high Bounce Rate, a low number of Pages Viewed, a short Average Session Duration, and a low number of Form Submissions, all compared to the total number of clicks.
Once the analysis is done, it can be used in a variety of ways to help your business filter or block repetitious and useless clicks. Sometimes, it can be simply a matter of making improvements to your website.
The key is to keep analyzing and keep refining your efforts so that the percentage of bad clicks declines and your website becomes a lead-generation machine.
Learn how Keyword Connects works. Call us or fill out the form on our website (see how we did that?). We are confident that we can help improve your lead generation efforts.
