One of the biggest mistakes a website owner can make is assume a slow sales month means their SEO isn’t working. Keep in mind that SEO is a long term process, so jumping to conclusions based on one month of data isn’t wise—you’re missing the bigger picture! If you pull the plug to soon you might be undermining a really successful SEO campaign, which could actually hurt your sales even more in the long run! Before you assume your dipping sales are the fault of your SEO campaign, here are three other things you need to consider:
1. Seasonality
Just about every industry to subject to seasonality. An obvious example would be a company that sells lawn care equipment (things like lawnmowers and weed whackers); chances are their sales dip way down in the winter months but shoot back up come spring and stay strong throughout the summer. Their sales are down in the winter because there is no demand and their site isn’t getting as many visitors are usual since no one is searching for their products. Even if they have done everything right with their SEO, the seasonality of their business directly impacts what kind of and how much traffic their site gets, which in turn impacts their sales.
If there are no searches or sales due to seasonality, your SEO can help your site stay strong through the slow times, so that when things do pick up again your site is well positioned to succeed. Use the downtime to revisit your onsite SEO, get ahead in your content writing or build a stronger social media presence.
2. Pricing
Of course you want to make as much of a profit as possible from your products and services, but you have to make sure you are being competitive in the market. If your prices are too high compared to your nearest competitors, no matter how much qualified traffic your SEO campaign brings to your site, chances are they won’t convert. Buyers, especially in the B2B market, usually don’t buy from the first site they find after doing a quick search. They are going to research their options, compare competitors, read reviews and much more. Unless your company can offer added unique benefits that justify the price, don’t expect good SEO to overcome pricing issues and help drive sales.
3. Messaging Strategy/Content
One of the easiest mistakes to make with your content marketing is to not write the right content for the right audience. This will directly impact your sales figure. Think about it like this—who exactly is that lawn care equipment company’s target audience? The easiest answer is people with lawns. But that’s only the first level of consumer insight that company would need in order to produce the right kind of content. Are they trying to sell to people that live in the Midwest or Southwestern US? A front lawn in Iowa is going to require a completely different kind of care than a lawn in Arizona. How big of a lawn does their idea customer have? Is their equipment designed for someone that needs to mow acres of landscape or just a small backyard? Who is going to be actually purchasing their equipment and who is going to be doing the actual research (influencer vs. buyer?) All these questions and more determine who their target audience is, which impacts the kind of content they need to be creating.
The content on your website is, in the end, what is going to convince someone to buy from your company. You need to make sure your content speaks to your audience and lets them know what’s in it for them if they decide to purchase from your company. Keep your ego out of it and focus on making their lives better!
Every business is totally different, but these are three of the more common elements that might impact your monthly sales quota. Before you start blaming your SEO, make sure everything else in your business is in order!