Using CRO and SEO to optimize engagement

Search engine optimization (SEO) and conversion rate optimization (CRO) work together. Neither tactic can really yield results without the other’s support.

By combining SEO and CRO under the category of “engagement optimization” we’re able to take a more unified view of the work we do. When we talk about engagement optimization, we’re able to put the focus where it really belongs: on your buyer and the buyer’s journey.

Three phases of engagement for organic content

When a piece of content is doing what it should, a buyer will follow this process for engaging with it:

1. Discovery. Through search or social sharing, the buyer clicks on the link to your page.
2. Education. They read the content, learn something useful, and get more familiar with your product along the way.
3. Action. They move to another page on your website – ideally, a page that will bring them farther along the marketing funnel.

The process applies to any piece of content on your marketing site. Optimizing any piece of content for engagement requires a mix of SEO and CRO tactics.

Example #1: a typical piece of SEO content

You’ve published a top-funnel blog providing introductory information entitled, “What’s the difference between Kubernetes and Docker?”

Here’s how a new prospect might engage with it:

1. Discovery. They type a phrase into Google: “docker vs kubernetes”. They see your listing in the top 3 results. They’ve never heard of your brand but the blog post looks promising so they click.
2. Education. They read (or scan) the page and find the answers they were looking for with relative ease. The information seems reliable, the point of view seems authoritative.
3. Action. In one of the paragraphs, there’s a link to another blog post on your site: “Docker Swarm architecture: pros and cons.” The visitor is interested. They click.

And then they’re on to the next piece of content, which is (possibly) moving them down the sales funnel, or at least increasing the depth of engagement with your brand

Example #2: a product page on your marketing site

Product pages are not primarily concerned with SEO, so the structure and tone of the content is inherently different from the blog post example given above.

Let’s say that you’re selling a Kubernetes cluster management tool. Your marketing site is the same one that published the Kubernetes vs Docker post above.

When engaging with your product-focused marketing page, a prospect will still go through the same three phases of engagement – though the details are slightly different:

1. Discovery. The visitor may have landed here after clicking on a link in the nav bar. They may have clicked on a link in a bottom-funnel blog post titled “11 Best Kubernetes Cluster Management Tools”. They may have found you through Google after searching a similar query. (Ideally, this page is optimized for all of these discovery paths.)
2. Education. They’re learning about your product in detail: features, use cases, customer testimonials, etc.
3. Action. They click on a call-to-action that leads to the product Pricing page. Or a case study page. Or a product demo page.

Even at this late stage in the marketing funnel, there are a variety of actions that a visitor might take. Forward motion is the goal – forward toward the ultimate goal of product usage, taking the route that suits them best.

Use this data to optimize engagement at every phase

We use a variety of data to understand how visitors are interacting with a page and what their motivations might be.

At any phase, a variety of these metrics can be combined to make sense of the page’s current performance and how it can be improved.

• Organic traffic (source: GA4)
  • Is the page generating significant traffic?
    • Is the traffic trending upward?
    • Is it comparable to the top-performing pages on your site?
• Search performance data (source: Google Search Console)
  • Do the top queries match the intent of the page?
    • Do they align with your target audience?
  • Are you ranking better for non-strategic queries?
    • Does this non-strategic traffic account for the majority of your clicks?
• Engagement rate and time on page (source: GA4)
  • Is the engagement rate higher than 50%?
  • Are visitors spending enough time on the page to actually engage with the content?
• Cursor movement and scrolling (source: heatmaps like Clarity, HotJar, FullStory)
  • Which sections of the page are generating the most attention?
    • Are those sections worth expanding?
    • Are those sections outfitted with links?
  • Are a majority of visitors scrolling to the most important content on the page?
    • Are they even making it past the “top fold”?
• Click data (source: heatmaps as noted above)
  • Which CTAs generate the most (and least) clicks?
    • Are those CTAs leading visitors to the next logical step in the buyer journey?
    • Where on the page are they located?
  • Which nav bar links are generating the most clicks?
    • Do those links generate more clicks than the content itself?
    • How might that click data reflect the visitor’s interest?

Most of these data sources are free – or have free options. Clarity, for example, is a free heatmap tool.

How to assess and optimize for each phase of engagement

Let’s look at the data and tactics involved for optimizing engagement in each of those phases.

1. Discovery

Though visitors might discover your page through organic search, a link in their social feed, or by clicking from another page on your site, this is the phase of engagement where SEO practices are most useful.

Metrics to consult

• Organic traffic (GA4). Is there significant traffic volume?
• Top search queries (GSC). Is the traffic targeted?

Revision tactics

• Revise metadata for one strategic keyword or search query
• Revise the scope of page content to meet search-intent
• Revise the quality and depth of content to surpass your top-ranking competitors
• Distribute the revised page in targeted communities

If your page is struggling, in terms of discovery, it’s worth taking the time to optimize for this phase before focusing on the other phases of engagement. You won’t get much ROI on optimizing for conversion links until you’ve got some significant traffic to convert.

But if the discovery metrics are strong, it’s time to focus on the education phase…

2. Education

Once people land on your page, the goal is to win their attention, pique their interest, and gain their trust. In other words: we want them to actually read the content and hunger for more.

Metrics to consult

• Time on page (GA4). Are visitors spending adequate time on the page?
• Engagement rate / bounce rate (GA4). What percentage of visitors are lingering and/or clicking on the page?
• Click + hover data (heatmap). Is any content generating more engagement?
• Scroll data (heatmap). Are a significant percentage of visitors actually scrolling through the page? Are a significant percentage bailing before they pass the introduction?

Revision tactics

• Revise the post to emphasize sections that generate the most heat.
• Add relevant links to any section that is generating attention.
• Revise content to meet visitors’ search-intent and convey your authority on the topic.

Once you’ve revised and refined the engagement components, it’s time to look at the final phase of engagement…

3. Action

Clicks are the name of the game at this point. We want visitors to click on a link that will bring them closer to (eventually) using your product – even if it just means clicking from a top-funnel post to a mid-funnel post.

Metrics to consult

• Page path data (GA4). Are visitors clicking to other pages on the site?
• Click data (heatmap). Do the most-clicked links lead visitors to content that brings them farther along the path to a product download?
• Hover + click data (heatmap). Which CTAs are generating heat? Which ones are not?

Revision tactics

• Optimize the content throughout the page for relevant links, with special attention given to high-attention areas
• Replace low-conversion CTAs with revised CTAs that reflect content of the page and the search intent of the visitor.

There are many types of action that are useful here. Product downloads are not the sole indicator of success. The goal is to lead visitors on the next logical step of their journey.

Which pages should you start optimizing today?

When it comes to updating any content in your library, we generally recommend starting with the ones that offer the most ROI.

Typically, this means starting with the pages that are already generating the most action: higher traffic volume and more on-page time.

You can assess that by pulling GA4 data reports – but that method is laborious and sometimes painful. In the ércule app, you can find those pages by simply clicking on the “Stars” view, like so:

Star pages are already optimized well for the first two phases of engagement. So you can start optimizing for the action phase: reviewing link placement and CTAs with the heatmap data of your choice.

How many Stars are there in your library? See for yourself: sign up for a free trial.

After you’ve optimized all of your Star pages, you can move on to pages that are doing well in terms of discovery but are struggling in the education phase of engagement. The ércule app has a view for those, too. We call them Sloths – they get attention but don’t move much.

These are just a few of the views in the ércule app. If you want to focus on pages that are high-quality but somehow failing in organic search, try the Wallflowers view.

In addition to providing that data, and sorting it for you, the ércule app recommends courses of action for updating content based on its performance. What does your content library need? Sign up for a free trial and see for yourself.