In the first edition of PRO Marketing DAY, organized by AulaCM, which took place on April 1, 2017, we had the opportunity to enjoy several conferences dedicated to SEO. In one of these, Bruno Vazquez-Dodero, shared with those present a list of techniques to optimize the CTR and improve the positioning of a website.
Bruno, not only taught us new ways to improve interaction with our publications, he also exemplified each of them with real cases that helped to get an idea of how to put them into practice.
Below is the video of Bruno’s conference on Pro Marketing Day and a summary of the most interesting points of the paper.
Web Positioning What is the CTR and how is it calculated?
The CTR (Click Through Rate) is the percentage of clicks that a certain publication obtains associate email list. In terms of SEO it would be the number of clicks that one of your results takes in Google and to calculate it, it is enough to divide the number of clicks among the number of impressions and multiply it by 100.
Within Digital Marketing we can analyze many metrics but, perhaps, we can highlight 3 metrics that are decisive, among which CTR takes on considerable importance:
Number of impressions: The number of times the publications and results are viewed.
CTR: How many times do you click on them?
Conversions: What gives money. How many people come to a website and meet some of the objectives we have set.
The CTR, in addition, is directly related to many aspects of Digital Marketing. It influences SEO, affects social networks, online advertising, email campaigns and even Youtube.
6 20The CTR and the SEO
Google knows for sure the percentage of clis that receives a result and we also, with Search Console. And in this aspect, the most profitable and fastest for a good SEO is to optimize the titles of our results. The titles are the most important part in the CTR.
Although when we hear about SEO we think that we should focus on improving our positions, this will not be necessary if I get them to click on my results since I will get many more visits. Bruno throws a question on the air: “What is the use of being in first positions if I do not receive any visits?”
SEO is not going first in Google. The SEO is to go first in Google and that people click and reach you.
What does the CTR depend on in SEO?
In terms of positioning, the CTR will not depend on a single factor if it does not take into account a series of main elements that, combined, will contribute to achieving better positions and obtaining a greater number of clicks. These are, among others:
The URL
Title
The date
The meta description
And many times, rich formats or rich snippets, responsible for providing added value and visually highlight the result above the rest.
Taking all these factors into account, Bruno reveals 10 techniques to optimize the CTR and increase the percentage of clicks in our publications.
13 3010 techniques to optimize the CTR
To obtain a higher percentage of clicks, here are some techniques that we can apply:
- Apply rich formats
This type of format, also known as rich snippets, add value and highlight search results and can help considerably to achieve a greater number of clicks.
The most common are: stars, miniature videos, events that show dates, recipes that show ingredients, calories or preparation time …
Rich snippets add value and highlight your result helping to improve the CTR
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- Exit in the highlighted results
Also called position “0”, this location is privileged since it is located just above the 10 normal Google results. Within them we find several types among which, the most important are the direct answers and the extracts or summaries.
The direct answers are related to questions that people search in Google and it tries to give them an answer as accurate as possible. The extracts or summaries, on the other hand, are fragments of text that Google extracts from your content and highlights it in this position 0.
If, for example, we search Google “what is CTR”, we see in the image how Google takes this content and highlights it. This, although a priori it seems, is not so positive. In these first lines of content Google is already revealing the doubt or giving the answer so the person who reads it will not click to know more.
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To deal with this problem we must optimize our content as we see in this other example.
For the search “Who does not follow me on Instagram”, we see that the outstanding result of Aula CM, is optimized because it forces us to click to be able to find out everything.So, how can I optimize my content to appear in direct answers?
Doing titles with questions.
Apply words such as: how, when, where …
Use the Answerthepublic tool to find combinations of keywords that users use.
And, to come out in the highlighted results?
Use headers H2, H3, H4 …
Make listings in the first paragraph of your content
Use tables
But, beware, to get out in this position 0 it is essential to be in 1st page and if you are in the top 3 positions, it will be even easier.
- Place links to a section within the same content
Applying this action is very easy thanks to the html code that we usually use to insert a link but replacing the part of “http” with “#name”:
In this, name would correspond to the name of the section to which we want to direct the link.
But, if we do not want to do it manually, we can also use the plugin: Table Content Plus, which takes all the subtitles of the content and creates a table automatically index mode.
- Remove dates
To analyze this point, Bruno sends an open question to the attendees. Why would not we click on content with a previous date? The answer is easy: The user likes the updated content so we should bet on it.
To keep our content to the latest, we can:
Manually access and modify the php of the content manager or the web
In WordPress, modify the file loop.php
Or, if we do not want to modify code, insert the following code in the WordPress functions.php file that will be responsible for canceling all the functions in charge of putting dates to the entries so that Google shows them without them.
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- Modify dates
Although removing dates is a good solution, it could be confusing for certain readers. Therefore, Bruno proposes an alternative: modify the dates so that it appears only when the entry has been updated and not when it was created.
To get this date format, just replace the code WordPress uses to apply dates, “the_time ()” and “the_date ()”, to “the_modified_time ()” and “the_modified_date ()”.
But, so that the order of the posts is coherent and natural, Classroom CM in turn chooses to duplicate the file “loop.php” (the file in charge of entering the dates) and create another one called “loop-datemodified.php” that will be inserted in the pages of specific entries.
In this way, the blog page that shows the categories, searches, etc. will show the “loop.php” so that the entries are ordered in a consistent manner but when the user accesses a particular post, the date of update of the entry will be shown and this will be the one Google takes.
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- Use Emojis or ASCII Characters in titles and meta descriptions
Using emoticons and ASCII characters in descriptions is a very good way to make them more visual and draw more attention.
The ASCII characters, in fact, we can even use them in the titles making them stand out much above the rest.
We can apply this today and in a few days we will check that it works. In the example, we see how Ernesto G Bustamante and Luis Villanueva do it.
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- Study and optimize titles (with Search Console)
Studying whether a title is working or not is essential if we want to optimize the CTR. A good start is asking us questions like: What is the impact of my titles? Are they working and generating clicks? And, from there, see if I can modify it.
The titles are the first thing that people see and what they read and for this reason it is very important to know what people expect to find with their searches. The perfect tool we have for this is Google Search Console and it allows me to know what searches my titles have worked for.
It is essential to study and optimize SEO titles constantly to improve the CTR.
Analyzing one of the posts of AulaCM, “30 programs and online tools to edit photos and images”, we have drawn the following conclusions:
No one looks for the word tool so it may be better. People, instead, look for “programs.”
The word “retouch” has a lot of searches so maybe we should include it.
The improved option that we obtain is: “30 programs to edit photos and retouch images”.
At this point, we have to apply the appropriate changes and try. If we continue carrying out this process of study and optimization, with the changes that we are applying, it is most likely that in about 6 months we will find the perfect title.
- Titles that provide value vs. transactional titles
In order to differentiate between these two types of titles, we must always ask ourselves: What do users want to find with these searches? And try, at all times,Only with the perception of the title, one that contributes value will get many more clicks than one that seeks to sell something.
But, it is important to bear in mind that it is not only about knowing what people expect to find in their searches, but also generating interest and curiosity that they did not have a priori to encourage them to click.
- Take care of the copy of your titles
You can not underestimate the part of copywriting! It is essential for your titles to be more clickable. Some ideas to create more striking titles are:
Launch controversial questions with question marks?
Use 2 phrases and one of them between!
Add year
Use words type hook: Danger, care, eye!
Talk about mistakes or what you are not doing
Include the word “Free”
Use the clickbait with words like “This”, “that” or “like that”, without defining what we mean but trying that the final result does not disappoint.
If you use clickbaiters titles, make sure your content does not disappoint the user
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- Do not forget your competition
Have you ever wondered who you are competing against? What other options do users have when choosing which result to stay with?
You have to notice if you compete against commercial results, value results, direct answers, extracts or if in the search some universal search is generated.
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In this case, Google shows the results in a different way and adds additional information to the 10 normal results, for example, a photo carousel, news, flights, Google Shopping results …
In any case, it is very important to know what is taking away your visibility to analyze it, improve your content and surpass your competition.
12 33How to optimize the CTR in other platforms
In social networks
To achieve a higher percentage of clicks on social networks, it is important to take into account the statistics offered by each platform.
In the reports they offer, such as those on Facebook, for example, we can discover the impact that our publications have generated and deduce what is relevant to our community. Once the best contents are detected, we have to consider giving them a greater scope through an investment in advertising or replicating them.
In Adwords
To improve the CTR in our ads in Google Adwords, it is important to use extensions (place, phone, schedule …) so that our ad stands out from the others.
It is also highly recommended that, when the user generates a search for which I am paying, my ad was well thought out and super optimized for just that keyword and that it appeared in the title, description, URL …
For this we can create several ad groups per keyword, a somewhat tedious but effective task. Do not settle for a single ad and a single copy.
Make several ads for each keyword, measure the results, compare and correct.
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On Facebook Ads
To get more interaction in your Facebook advertising campaigns, use flashy images, original creative formats like the cinemagraph, and create many ad versions to try and see which works best.
In addition, although the same publication allows us to add a button, we can also add CTAs in the image in the form of a button that, although they are not real buttons, generate the intention to click as if they were.
The CTAs in the images in Facebook Ads generate the intention to click
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In email campaigns
In order to get our email marketing campaigns to achieve a higher percentage of openings, Bruno recommends playing with a series of actions and implementing them in the subjects of the message:
Generate curiosity: “This way I can increase my CTR by 60%.”
Demonstrate urgency: “Last chance. In 2 hours the term ends. “
Present a benefit: “Template to obtain 40% more CTR.”
Exemplify with a real case: “Entrepreneur generates € 1500 in his first month.”
Finally, in addition to taking care of the copy of the subject, it is also important to optimize it and make it more visual using emoticons. But, what not everyone knows, is that we can also use it in the field of the sender, giving it a more personal touch and highlighting it visually.
Oh! And do not forget the first line of the email, another opportunity to get the attention of the reader and encourage them to open your email.
Generates curiosity, intrigue and urgency with the copy of the email subject to encourage its opening
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In Youtube
To improve the CTR in this platform you must work very well the information and the description of the video but, above all, the title and the video thumbnail.
A cllckbaiter title will make you stand out from the crowd and it is important that you also include it in the thumbnail along with a striking image and striking colors.
