AI is changing, well, everything and that includes click-through rates (CTRs). A click-through rate is what it sounds like: the percentage of people who click on your search result after seeing it. Because AI is summarizing answers for people, CTRs are nosediving BUT only for short, easy-to-answer questions. If your topic seems more in-depth, people are likely to click on it.
This matters because your website is how people connect with you whether that’s to schedule a free consultation or purchase a gizmo. However, the upshot of all this AI summarizing is the quality of your visits improves – if people are clicking on your website, it’s because they’ve surmised you have something of value to offer them. And the good news for you is there are proven ways to improve your CTR. As a Charlotte web designer, Web Symphonies has you covered.
Keep it Tight
Your title tag is the headline in search results and titles between 40 and 60 characters (six to nine words) have the highest organic CTR. Sometimes you have too much to say though! You can’t keep it tight! I know! I feel your pain. Keep in mind what you say matters just as much as how many words you use. For instance, there’s a difference between “Grow Your Business” and “How to Grow Your Business by 10% Using Proven Methods.” Which link would you click?
Specificity matters and so does curiosity. In the second approach, the reader wants to know what are the proven methods? Can they use them too? Also, if you’re unsure what title to use, some tools let you run A/B tests. The data will tell you, “Use A not B.” Remember though, you’re still writing for humans so the titles must make sense and appeal to actual people.
Maximize Your Meta Descriptions
Not to be confused with the tech giant, meta descriptions are the 155-160-character snippets on your posts and pages. As a Charlotte web designer, we’ve seen people don’t make ample use of this valuable element. The meta description gives people a preview of your web content. Make it count! Don’t just use the first paragraph of your blog or page – highlight your customers’ and clients’ pain points.
For instance:
- Hook: Frustrated by low web traffic?
- Benefit: Discover how 100+ businesses increased traffic by 30%.
- CTA: Contact us for a free consultation
That meta description acknowledges a challenge, provides social proof, and has a clear value proposition. Wouldn’t you click on that?!?
Check Your URLs
Web Symphonies has been in business for a long time so we’ve witnessed the evolution of the internet. Back in the day (and sometimes currently) URLs are filled with gobbledygook like blog/p=125?id=5-6-24. You might think people don’t notice URLs but they do, especially when they appear in search results. You want your URL to be clean and sensical so people click on it. Blog/CTR-case-study is much more trustworthy (and SEO friendly) than blog/p=125?id=5-6-24.
As a Charlotte SEO marketing expert, we have some tips for creating SEO-friendly URLs:
- Remove random numbers (the year is fine)
- Use hyphens and not underscores
- Keep them short (fewer than 80 characters)
- Include a couple of keywords
It can be hard to keep up with all the changes happening on the internet but the best thing you can do to improve your CTR is write with emotion. There are jokes about how computers are talking to computers, and yes, that happens but remember that real, human people are reading your content. You need to write for them.
What does your target audience need? What are they curious about? What would help them? When you have the answers to those questions, you can structure your content to support them. And that, ultimately, is what improves your click-through rate.
If this sounds complicated and labor-intensive, you don’t have to manage your website alone. Get in touch with us via email or call (704) 336-9113.
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