Can't Outrank Them? Out Click Them!

There is a great new thread at WebmasterWorld on the topic of SEO strategies.

Specifically, one SEO has always outranked his main competitor for his main keywords. But one day his main competitor made a small change to his title tags that didn't necessarily improve their rankings but did improve their click-through rate (CTR).

So while he still maintained his number one ranking, the competitor who had the number two ranking was able to take away clicks from the number on ranking by having a more enticing title tag.

He explained what his competitor did to drive a higher CTR and take away clicks from his own better ranking pages in Google.

The change: He/She added the word 'every' in front of all of their titles. The result is 'every widget for sale'. Although this hasn't shaken up our rankings, or even the order in which we rank, it has impacted my CTR a little.

Smart move and every SEO needs to think beyond how well they rank and look also at if the title tag will entice a click to the landing page. And if the landing page will entice a user to complete a desired action. And if the desired action will be profitable and result in returned business.

So if you can't outrank your competitor, out click them!

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.