If informational search is the “how” of SEO strategy, transactional intent is the “why” of SEO strategy. Transactional user intent is simply the impetus to act on the search results you obtain. Transactional searches seek to provide a solution that helps you achieve a goal. The goal most businesses target, of course, is a sale. But that goal could be any number of actions that take place online, all representing a conversion of some sort. People could wish to sign up for an email newsletter or open a social media account or send a message to their senator. Transactional searches seek to find the apparatus to do these things NOW, and that makes all the work to bring transactional traffic to your website worth the effort.
Content that targets transactional searches has to be very specific if the intent is to separate it from informational search content – content that simply educates and informs. Whether your idea of a conversion is a phone call to discuss your services or to transact business online now, these strategies offer some opportunities to bring action-oriented visitors to your website:
- Installing Buy Now Buttons: One of the biggest transactional searches involves shopping. Searches to buy products or services should absolutely generate different content than searches for information about those products or services. If your content is to outrank the former, you’ve got to have indicators that show Google algorithms that your page is where the action can actually take place. “Buy Now” buttons do just that, so long as alt tags for the image or icon you use include both “Buy” and the product or service name. It’s got to be the easiest way to show Google that you’re ready to serve the action-oriented searches out there and waiting to get the job done.
- Optimizing Pricing and Descriptions for Products and Services: How do you optimize a pricing or product option on your website? Try structured data. Rich snippets that tag products, pricing and purchase options for Google algorithms will allow those elements of your product content to show up in actual search index results. This will also support your product’s listing in the Shopping tab of Google’s Search Results page when searching for that kind of product. Adding rich snippets is a great tool for targeting transactional intent, so don’t forget the strategy when you want to start selling online.
- Adding Call to Actions: For businesses that don’t offer online transactions, transactional searches are still important to your conversion strategies. Homeowners, looking to find local contractors to rebuild a deck, for instance, might simply search for a local deck builder. However, homeowners who are ready to hire a contractor may be searching for deck build pricing? Optimizing a call to action that offers insight into pricing will help target those searches and get potential clients the information they need immediately. Call to actions like signup forms or contact forms or even mobile optimized phone links are all great tools for optimizing content for transactional search. Whatever your content, if it’s actionable, call-to-actions positioned clearly on the page help give your visitors the opportunity to take the action they seek and prevent frustrating searches to take the next step. Best of all, when Google crawls your page and sees those transactional cues, it positions your content first for searches that match it.
- Optimizing Your Product Images: Utilizing photo optimizing protocols to attract traffic searching for your products is a great way to have your products show up in the image search results that often are included in general search results pages. Like structured data, alt tags show that the images are not just window dressing for your written content, that they reflect an actual product that is available for purchase. Don’t neglect this important aspect of image optimization online when you want to attract transactional visitors.
If you would like to work with Proctor Digital strategists to help develop a powerful SEO strategy to build targeted website traffic for your site and grow your brand, call us at 773.664.5819. We’d love to help!