How to Stand Out on Google to Get More Clicks
Ranking on page one of Google is one thing, but getting someone to click on your website is a whole different thing.
This post will list my top tips for standing out in the search engine results, so more potential clients click on your website.
When we do this, we are optimizing for a better click-through-rate, which is abbreviated as CTR. CTR is the rate of clicks to views of your website.
Tip #1: Use ad-style copywriting techniques
When you optimize your website for Google, it's essential to optimize your title tags.
Title tags are the 50-60 character snippets of text on the search engine results page. Here's an example.
If you don't update your title tag (the text in purple), Google automatically generates it for you based on your content's headings.
If you're already targeting keywords on that page, it's not a huge deal. But we want to be a little more creative to boost CTR.
Although all of your title tags should have a keyword in them (if you want that page to rank—for example, we don't care if your contact page ranks on Google), we have a little extra room to add copywriting that entices people to click.
Here's an example that I love.
You can see the keyword "anxiety therapist asheville nc" followed by an ad-style copy saying "you can get better." Every person seeking therapy wants to get better—this encourages potential clients to click on the website!
Tip #2: Use symbols
Humans are visual creatures—especially on the web. We can use that to our advantage!
Whenever I'm optimizing title tags, I use symbols like the following.
|
>
→
›
»
I use these as dividers between the keyword and the ad copy. Here's an example.
A symbol like that is way more eyecatching than a dash!
Tip #3: Be specific
Whenever possible, use specific numbers.
For example, if I created this post for SEO purposes, I would make my title tag "4 actionable tips on boosting CTR," as opposed to "tips to boost your CTR."
It's more eye-catching, and people like to know what they can expect from your content!
You can also do this by adding the year. For example, "best online therapy platforms of 2023."
Tip #4: Put a call-to-action in your meta description
A meta description is the snippet of text below the title tag.
Although we want a keyword in our meta description, we can also add a call-to-action, abbreviated as a CTA. Call-to-actions encourage users to take our next desired step, whether that be scheduling a consultation or signing up for our newsletter.
Remember that even if you specify your meta description, Google often generates one itself based on what it thinks the user is searching for.
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