Synopsis :
Digital marketing has been the front-runner in the marketing world since last many years. Companies that did not adapt and embraced this change have become obsolete today. In digital marketing space, there are various digital channels each of which has different sets of rules. Marketers need to follow these guidelines to increase click-through rate and thereby revenue of the company.
But then what is Click-through Rate (CTR)?
As per the Wiki definition: “Click-through rate (CTR) is the ratio of users who click on a specific link to the number of total users who view a page, email, or advertisement. It is commonly used to measure the success of an online advertising campaign for a particular website as well as the effectiveness of email campaigns.” In short, CTR is one of the most important metric that marketers need to keep track of. They need to implement tactics to improve CTRs of their advertising and email campaigns to get the most ROI. So, how can you boost your CTRs? Here are the 10 commandments for promoting your business on digital channels to boost click-through rates:
Thou shalt appease search engines :
Today people open Google, Bing or Yahoo to get information about any product or service. Businesses receive majority of the website traffic from these search engines. People generally click on links of first 1or 2 pages of SERPs. So, if your business website does not rank in first few pages of SERPs, you are going to have nominal site traffic through organic search. This makes it vital for any business to ensure that their website figure on top of the SERPs.
Enter Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Implement SEO strategies and tactics to ensure your website ranks high on SERPs thereby allowing your target audience to find your website organically. Ranking high on SERPs will result in more clicks!
Thou shalt integrate social plugin buttons:
Today, it is ubiquitous for any business to incorporate social media plugins on their website, blogs and marketing emails to boost traffic.This lets visitors and/or readers follow the business updates on social channels. As social media is open, if someone starts following your business page or likes a particular post, everyone else in that person’s network gets to know about this action. Studies prove that people are more influenced by a friend’s or acquaintance’s opinion as compared to any marketing ad. Including social sharing options will increase your follower base and even boost website traffic.
Thou shalt send personalized emails/messages:
Automated emails/messages are a big no-no! Rather, businesses must provide personalized experiences through email or social channels to their potential customers. The main reason a business must not opt for automated messages is subscribers and followers find it impersonal. On the other hand, an email with a personal touch will allow you to send only relevant information that interests that particular reader or follower. Sending a well-personalized and highly targeted email will receive more clicks and is more likely to get converted. Monitor and analyze what interests your subscribers and followers and then send personalized offers to them via email or message.
Thou shalt create urgency:
This is the best way to entice potential customers to take immediate action! Using words like ‘Hurry! Last Chance’, ‘Now or Never’ or ‘Offer for Today Only’ in promotional emails, messages or Google ads invokes a scarcity mentality in people. This tactic of expressing a stronger sense of urgency and giving people a deadline will skyrocket your CTRs and drive conversions. The urgency psychology can be used as per your business’s requirement to increase website visitors, app usage, app downloads, newsletter subscribers or social followers. Ensure you create a natural sense of urgency as today’s consumers are smart to understand these marketing tricks and if not done in right way can lead them to unfollow or unsubscribe you.
Thou shalt create valuable content :
According to stats, 55% of visitors spend less than 15 seconds on a website. Over the years, marketers have seen rapid decline in click through and open rates of promotional emails. Today people in a fraction of second decide whether to go through the message or report it as spam. This makes it vital for businesses to ensure that the content of marketing emails, website and social posts is of high-quality. To improve your CTRs, craft focused, precise and compelling content that attracts attention from target market and entices reader to take an action.
Thou shalt give out freebies:
Neilsen research stats that 52% of people follow a brand on social channels for special offers or promotions. This does not come as a surprise as people in general love discounts and freebies. A business must offer prizes that market their products, service or business to gain authentic fans. Provide an excellent discount offer on your product or services when someone starts following you on social channels or subscribes to your newsletter. This tactic will give them a reason to click through and there are high chances of this follower or subscriber getting converted in future.
Thou shalt use effective CTAs:
A compelling CTA button is the most vital element of any ad, email or post on social channels. It is basically used to persuade users to take some action like buy a product/service, subscribe to newsletter, watch a video or download an eBook. CTAs are the medium through which website visitors, social followers or newsletter subscribers turn into leads and eventually into customers. Ensure your CTAs encourage users to act. To have an effective CTA in your Google Ads, promotional emails, Facebook Ad or on website, ensure the design, text and placement of Call-to-action buttons is such that readers are influenced to click on it.
Thou shalt use long-tail keywords:
Mainly visitors will end up on your site via sources like search engines or Google ads. You must thus add keywords to your website content and ads. However, there is high competition for general keywords in any industry. Marketers for this reason must use ‘long-tail keywords’ which has less competition. Studies show ads with such keywords have better chances of showing up higher on search engines which in turn improve click-through rates of the ad. Moreover, the prospective customer that comes with targeted keyword is more likely to convert then with normal keyword variation.
Thou shalt create mobile-friendly emails:
In past couple of years, smartphone usage has skyrocketed. Businesses, therefore, have mobile-friendly websites and even apps so that people can access information about their brand on their smartphones. Research shows that 55% of email is now opened on a mobile device than on desktop. This proves that your emails must be mobile-ready. If you are not optimizing your marketing emails, you are losing onto a large number of your target audience who are using mobiles to check their inbox. This will adversely affect your click-through rate. Ensure you optimize your email for mobiles before you click on that ‘Send’ button!
Thou shalt analyze and monitor:
It is vital for the business of any size to evaluate their marketing performance. Tracking statistics like impressions, visits, clicks and unsubscribe rate gives you invaluable insight into what works and what doesn’t and the changes you should bring in to grab more eyeballs and clicks thereby. Today, it is not sufficient to just monitor your brand, but you must also keep track of what your competitors are up to. Analyzing your competitor’s success or failures you will know which tactic or strategy works and which doesn’t. This will also let you know how you’re performing against others in the industry.
Conclusion :
Digital marketing is the only way to stay ahead in the curve and to reach your potential customers. In-order to effectively use digital marketing for boosting your click-through rate, strictly follow the above-mentioned guidelines.Which tactics have you used for successfully improving click-through rate of your email or advertising campaigns? Which one tactic worked for your business? Share with us in the comment section below.
