“I just heard from another Digital Marketing Guru that CRO is more important than SEO. What do you guys and gals think about it?”
We’ve been asked this question lately and want to clarify it to everyone.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) should go hand in hand, as each is equally important.
Keep on reading to find out what our specialists are saying about this.
How do SEO and CRO work together?
A well-executed SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) campaign can bring a substantial increase in organic web traffic, visibility, and brand recognition.
On the other hand, CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) refers to the process of analysing website performance metrics to turn visitors into conversions by optimising UX (User Experience) and reducing cart abandonment.
Simply put, SEO and CRO belong to different levels of the marketing funnel, and each of them is essential to creating and delivering the success of your digital marketing strategy.
Does SEO bring customers?
(SEO Specialist point of view)
In the SEO world, everyone looks to get to the top SERP (Search Engine Results Page) rankings. No need to ask why. The higher you rank, the more conversions you can make.
The latest data* (October 2023) shows that ranking #1 typically results in a CTR (click-through rate) of 39.8%. The #2 rank will give 18.7%, which is fewer than half of the number of clicks for the first position, and the #3 rank is typically 10.2%, which is only a quarter of the clicks that the first position could get.
How tough this is!
And here comes the AI Overview to make the fight even more serious. Research shows that CTR for Paid traffic decreased by 12% and the organic traffic CTR declined by 70% when an AIO was present in the SERP**. However, when the page was included as an organic AIO source, the CTR increased by just over 1%.
Remember that Google can only crawl the written word. Using the correct words to attract the target audience to your website is crucial. Even the best CRO cannot bring in leads if you aren’t attracting the right audience.
On the other hand, having good SEO and not caring about CRO is a total waste of potential.
So, the answer is short. Yes, SEO can and will organically bring customers to your business, but the final numbers will depend on the CRO.
Digital Marketing Funnel with SEO and CRO (Source: Relton Digital Marketing’s content)
Is CRO more important than SEO?
(Google Ads Expert point of view)
When Paid Ads’ potential CTR (click-through rate) is discussed, things can get extremely tough. Sponsored Ads position #1st to #4, based on the latest data*, can achieve an average CTR between 2.1% and 1.2%.
Even with such little CTR for Google Ads, some clients enjoy an insane 25% Conversion Rate from visitor to inquiry.
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Why?
Most clients’ paid advertising budgets differ’s however, Relton Digital Marketing make sure that the visitor sees exactly what he/she is looking for when clicking the ad.
When the ad is 100% relevant to the page content, and the page is optimised for the best UX (User Experience), they can turn 1 in 4 visitors into customers.
This is extremely powerful evidence of the positive CRO impact of CRO on overall digital marketing success. It also shows a strong interrelation between SEO and CRO.
Why is CRO important for SEO?
(CRO Expert point of view)
Let’s see it this way. The CRO guy performs the split tests and makes changes to your pages. This will often impact your on-page and technical SEO, but also the CTA*** (Call To Action) and visual aspects such as size, colour, and placement of individual elements.
Now, let’s say, he finds the sweet spot of these elements that are most relevant to the search engine user.
But wait…
These changes aren’t just going to increase your conversions. It’ll increase your Engagement Rate and on-page time because the search engine user is now more interested in your page.
Do you want to find out 5 website CRO strategies to get 33% more sales? Check out their presentation from the White Label World Expo 2024.
Seems like the CRO is taking all the glory…
But let’s be honest: CRO cannot go without SEO if we are looking to succeed in digital marketing. Both SEO and CRO require us to care more about the user and not about feeding the bots.
SEO vs CRO – where the main focus is (Source: Relton Digital Marketing’s own content)
Stop the battle between SEO and CRO
If your website doesn’t have enough traffic, then you need to start from the basics by creating killer content. Conversions won’t happen by simply testing your call-to-action, button colours, placements, sizes, or fonts.
Combining your data from SEO and CRO efforts will help you create and deliver your digital marketing success.
Will you be combining your data now?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
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