I’m often asked, by customers with websites, if I can do some optimization to increase the traffic they are getting from search engines because they are not receiving enquiries from the site.

I can always make changes that will increase traffic from search engines. But in many cases, this would be a complete waste of my clients’ time.

Generating enquiries from a website that lead to new business involves two things. Firstly, persuading people to come to it, from search engines. In other words, increasing the number of visitors to it. There are many factors that can be adjusted to achieve this aim. This process is known as Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. SEO can be time consuming and consequently expensive.

But simply getting more visitors to a website is not enough. So, the second thing to be done to increase, what we call, the conversion rate. The conversion rate is the ratio of the number of visitors to the site to the number of those visitors who take action – make an enquiry for example. Increasing the conversion rate involves work to the structure and content of a website. This process is known as Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).

SEO and CRO are separate activities, but you can’t just focus on one without the other. Take the following examples.

If the conversion rate is zero, in other words none of the visitors to the site are being converted to leads, then increasing the number of visitors will not increase the number of leads. Two multiplied be zero is still zero, right? So, any SEO works done will be a complete waste of money.

The same works in the other way round. If the site is getting zero traffic, then increasing the conversion rate with CRO work will be a waste of money.

Bothe processes are as important as each other. Sadly, it’s often the CRO that gets neglected.

Always bear in mind 2 x 0 = 0.