Quick tip about increasing conversions

chenkev · 04-19-2011, 01:11 AM

Hi guys, I'm brand new to these forums, and to the SEO game, but I think I have something worthwhile to share. I apologize if this is common knowledge already, but I have yet to read it anywhere.

So what I did was just delete all the unnecessary links in the sidebar of my WordPress blog, like the Archives and Categories panels. I did this 10 days ago and the result is an increase in CTR from 6% to 13%. That said, my site is still small so these numbers may be affected by variance, or this could be ineffective for some sites/niches. Anyway I thought it was worth sharing.

I'm a psych/profiling guy and I think part of the reason this works is because the audience we are targeting (people who like to click ads), are primarily "internet unsavvy" users (just my assumption, I don't know about you but I can't remember the last time I clicked an ad). These users don't use tabs, and are mostly just browsing in a linear pattern - one site to the next, with some "backs" thrown in; basically they are just looking for a way to leave the page. So by removing any unneeded links and visual clutter, there's a higher chance they'll click an ad.

Note: I don't know how much removing these links affects your ranking in terms of SEO, but so far I haven't seen any downside.

I hope this helps someone

Tad 100 · 04-19-2011, 01:26 AM

Good point, but don't recommend to do this for everyone right away, it is worth to do A/B split testing first.

04-19-2011, 01:11 AM	#1
chenkev SEO Ninja War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Australia Posts: 127 Thanks: 31 Thanked 23 Times in 16 Posts Contact Info	Quick tip about increasing conversions Hi guys, I'm brand new to these forums, and to the SEO game, but I think I have something worthwhile to share. I apologize if this is common knowledge already, but I have yet to read it anywhere. So what I did was just delete all the unnecessary links in the sidebar of my WordPress blog, like the Archives and Categories panels. I did this 10 days ago and the result is an increase in CTR from 6% to 13%. That said, my site is still small so these numbers may be affected by variance, or this could be ineffective for some sites/niches. Anyway I thought it was worth sharing. I'm a psych/profiling guy and I think part of the reason this works is because the audience we are targeting (people who like to click ads), are primarily "internet unsavvy" users (just my assumption, I don't know about you but I can't remember the last time I clicked an ad). These users don't use tabs, and are mostly just browsing in a linear pattern - one site to the next, with some "backs" thrown in; basically they are just looking for a way to leave the page. So by removing any unneeded links and visual clutter, there's a higher chance they'll click an ad. Note: I don't know how much removing these links affects your ranking in terms of SEO, but so far I haven't seen any downside. I hope this helps someone

04-19-2011, 01:26 AM	#2
Tad 100 eBay & Alibaba War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Lithuania Posts: 181 Thanks: 17 Thanked 21 Times in 15 Posts	Re: Quick tip about increasing conversions Good point, but don't recommend to do this for everyone right away, it is worth to do A/B split testing first.