The jargon and industry terminology that you use are not necessarily the terms that your target customers will type into the search engines. Unless you understand what your ideal shoppers are actually searching for when they want to find your website as a result, you cannot possibly optimize your website for them.
Listen to your customers. Research what terminology your competitors use. Look for the frequency of search terms with keyword tracking tools. It is always tempting to use industry-specific language, to pepper your website with your coined terms. But unless the language you use is what your potential customers use, you will lose traffic and sales.
An allergist came up with a process for treating environmental allergies that not only reduced symptoms, but slowly cured the patient. He gave it a proprietary name and built a practice around the procedure. Word spread and his patient base grew, with some traveling for hours for his services. However, despite his local popularity, his website never garnered the attention he’d hoped and expected.
What did he do wrong? He used his own term for the treatment he’d invented. Instead of focusing on key phrases and popular search terms that people looking for allergy cures and comprehensive treatments might use, he focused only on raising awareness of his procedure my using its name. Subsequently, his online channel failed to reach potential patients since they did not know this proprietary name for the treatment.
With guidance from SEO experts, the allergist adjusted his website content to speak to his potential patients’ needs. The website supported the terms that those prospects might actually use when searching, and focused on those that were used most frequently, to maximize traffic. His name for the treatment was still included, but with the priority shifted from touting his coined phrase to pulling in patients based on their desires, he watched his website traffic and new patient inquiries jump.
The lesson is that website content is not about what you want people to read. It’s about what they are actually looking for. Remember your audience, do the research, and populate your website with the copy that attracts. When visitors find the content that actually speaks to their needs, your quality of traffic will increase, as will your conversion rates.