Prioritizing Bottom of Funnel Keywords in SEO: A Must for Brands

In Search Engine Optimization (SEO), understanding the buyer’s journey is key. It unfolds in three distinct stages: the top-of-the-funnel (ToFu), the middle-of-the-funnel (MoFu), and the bottom-of-the-funnel (BoFu).

During the ToFu stage, individuals are in the early stages of researching a particular product or service. As they progress to the MoFu stage, they start narrowing down their options. Finally, at the BoFu stage, these individuals are poised and ready to make a purchase.

This blog post delves into the significance of prioritizing BoFu keywords for brands in their SEO endeavors. We will explore why these keywords deserve attention and delve into practical tips for optimizing them. Additionally, we will shed light on effective techniques for tracking the return on investment (ROI) generated by BoFu keywords. By the end of this post, you will have a comprehensive understanding of why BoFu keywords should be at the forefront of your SEO strategy.

The Importance of Bottom-of-Funnel Keywords in SEO

In SEO, it is crucial for brands to allocate more attention and resources to BoFu keywords. These specific keywords hold a multitude of benefits that can significantly impact the success of a brand’s online presence. Let’s explore some of the key reasons why prioritizing BoFu keywords is of paramount importance:

• Higher Conversion Potential: BoFu keywords attract searchers who possess a strong intent to purchase. These individuals have progressed through the earlier stages of the buyer’s journey and are actively seeking a solution or product to fulfill their needs. By optimizing your website and content for BoFu keywords, you can effectively target these motivated prospects and significantly increase your conversion rates. Investing in BoFu keywords allows you to connect with customers who are ready to take action, resulting in tangible business outcomes.

• Increased Visibility: When users reach the bottom of the sales funnel, they are actively searching for specific products or services to fulfill their needs. By strategically incorporating BoFu keywords into your SEO efforts, you can enhance the visibility of your brand’s important product and service pages. This means that when potential customers are in the final stages of their decision-making process, your optimized pages will rank higher in search engine results. This increased visibility allows you to capture the attention of highly qualified leads who are actively seeking to make a purchase.

• Competitive Advantage: Surprisingly, many brands tend to overlook the significance of BoFu SEO. By recognizing and seizing the opportunity to optimize for BoFu keywords when competitors are neglecting them, you gain a distinct advantage in the market. By aligning your SEO strategy with the buyer’s intent and optimizing for these specific keywords, you position yourself as a leader in your industry. Standing out from competitors in the search results can result in increased brand visibility, credibility, and ultimately, more conversions.

• More Qualified Traffic: BoFu visitors possess a higher level of purchase intent compared to those in the early stages of the buyer’s journey. By targeting BoFu keywords, you can attract a stream of highly qualified traffic to your website. These visitors are actively seeking to make a purchase and are more likely to convert into paying customers. By focusing your SEO efforts on BoFu keywords, you can attract and engage individuals who are ready to take action, thereby boosting your conversion rates and maximizing your return on investment.

Why Bottom-of-Funnel Keywords Convert Better

When it comes to driving conversions, BoFu keywords outshine their counterparts due to a multitude of compelling factors. These keywords possess the unique ability to attract visitors who are teetering on the edge of making a purchase. Let’s delve deeper into the reasons why BoFu keywords have a remarkable conversion rate:

• Clear Purchase Intent: BoFu searchers exhibit a distinct and unmistakable intention to make a purchase. They express their readiness through the utilization of keywords such as “buy,” “get,” and “order.” These explicit signals of intent indicate that the visitors are actively seeking to engage in a transaction. By optimizing your content and SEO strategy to align with BoFu keywords, you position yourself to capture the attention of these motivated individuals who are primed for conversion.

• Product-Focused Queries: BoFu queries tend to revolve around specific products or services. These keywords are more likely to include the name of the desired item or the particular solution the searcher is seeking. By incorporating these product-focused keywords into your SEO strategy, you ensure that your brand and offerings are in the spotlight when potential customers are on the cusp of making a purchase decision. This specificity increases the chances of capturing their interest and nudging them closer to conversion.

• Urgency: BoFu searchers often possess a sense of urgency when it comes to their purchasing needs. They employ direct and transactional queries that convey their immediate requirement for a product or service. These queries may include phrases such as “same-day delivery,” “limited time offer,” or “urgent purchase.” By leveraging BoFu keywords and tailoring your content to address the urgent needs of these searchers, you create a compelling proposition that motivates them to take action promptly.

• Specific Needs: As individuals progress through the buyer’s journey, they gain a clearer understanding of their requirements and preferences. BoFu visitors represent the final stage of this journey, armed with well-researched knowledge and a precise understanding of what they want. Their queries reflect this informed decision-making, as they search for highly specific solutions or products to fulfill their needs. By optimizing for BoFu keywords, you align your content with these precise demands, increasing the likelihood of conversions by presenting tailored solutions to their specific needs.

• Closer to Decision: BoFu visitors have traversed the earlier stages of the buyer’s journey and are now on the brink of finalizing their purchase decision. They have diligently evaluated multiple options, compared alternatives, and narrowed down their choices. By targeting BoFu keywords, you position your brand as a viable contender in their decision-making process. By providing compelling content that addresses their concerns, showcases the unique value of your offerings, and instills confidence in their decision, you can effectively tip the scales in your favor and secure the conversion.

How to Find and Target Bottom-of-Funnel Keywords

The first step to finding and targeting BoFu keywords is to do keyword research. There are a few different ways to do this, but some of the most effective methods include:

• Using Google Keyword Planner: Google Keyword Planner is a free tool that allows you to research keywords and see how often they are searched for, as well as their competition levels.
• Analyzing your website analytics: Your website analytics can give you valuable insights into the keywords that are driving traffic to your website and converting visitors into customers.
• Studying your competitors: By studying your competitors, you can see what keywords they are targeting and how they are optimizing their websites for those keywords.

Once you have a list of BoFu keywords, you need to optimize your website for those keywords. This means including the keywords in your title tags, meta descriptions, and throughout your website content.

You should also make sure that your website is easy to navigate and that your key pages are easy to find. This will help people who are searching for BoFu keywords find your website and convert into customers.

Here are some specific tips for optimizing your website for BoFu keywords:

• Use keywords prominently in your title tags and meta descriptions. These are the two most important elements of your website’s SEO, so make sure to include your BoFu keywords in them.
• Use keywords throughout your website content. Don’t just stuff your keywords into your content, but make sure to use them naturally and in a way that is relevant to your topic.
• Create dedicated landing pages for your core BoFu keywords. These pages should be optimized specifically for those keywords and should be designed to convert visitors into customers.
• Use internal linking to connect your BoFu keywords to other relevant pages on your website. This will help to improve your website’s overall SEO and make it easier for people to find the information they are looking for.
• Build backlinks to your website from high-quality websites. Backlinks are one of the most important factors in SEO, so make sure to build backlinks to your website from other websites that are relevant to your niche.

Optimizing Pages for Bottom of Funnel Keywords

Once you have identified your BoFu keywords, you need to optimize your website pages for those keywords. This means including the keywords in your title tags, meta descriptions, and throughout your website content.

You should also make sure that your website is easy to navigate and that your key pages are easy to find. This will help people who are searching for BoFu keywords find your website and convert into customers.

Here are some specific tips for optimizing pages for BoFu keywords:

• Identify which pages are most relevant for each keyword and focus there. Not all pages on your website will be relevant for all of your BoFu keywords. Take some time to identify which pages are most relevant for each keyword and focus your optimization efforts on those pages.
• Include keywords in headlines, subheadings, image names, and body copy. When you include your BoFu keywords in these key areas of your page, you are helping to signal to Google that your page is relevant for those keywords.
• Use persuasive copy focused on converting vs. just educating. When you are optimizing your pages for BoFu keywords, you need to focus on persuading visitors to take action. This means using clear and concise calls to action (CTAs) and writing copy that addresses the visitor’s pain points and offers a solution.
• Emphasize clear CTAs like “Buy Now” and “Get Quote”. Your CTAs should be clear and concise, and they should stand out from the rest of your page. You should also make sure that your CTAs are relevant to the keyword that you are targeting.
• Create dedicated landing pages for specific BoFu keywords when beneficial. If you have a specific BoFu keyword that you are targeting, it may be beneficial to create a dedicated landing page for that keyword. This will allow you to optimize the page specifically for that keyword and to create a more focused and persuasive experience for visitors.
• Adjust page titles/meta descriptions to align with keywords. Your page title and meta description are two of the most important factors in determining how your page will rank in search results. Make sure that your page title and meta description include your BoFu keywords and that they are clear and concise.
• Reduce friction in forms and clicks needed to convert. The fewer clicks and steps that it takes for a visitor to convert, the more likely they are to do so. Make sure that your forms are easy to fill out and that your CTAs are easy to click on.
• Add social proof like testimonials and ratings. Social proof is a powerful way to persuade visitors to convert. By adding testimonials and ratings to your pages, you can show visitors that other people have had positive experiences with your product or service.
• Ensure fast page speed. Page speed is an important factor in SEO and in conversion rates. Make sure that your pages load quickly by optimizing your images and by using a content delivery network (CDN).
• Test different page versions and offers to maximize conversions. Once you have optimized your pages for BoFu keywords, you need to test different versions of your pages to see what works best. You can test different headlines, CTAs, and offers to see what drives the most conversions.

Tracking ROI of Bottom-of-Funnel SEO

It’s important to track the performance and return on investment (ROI) of your BoFu SEO efforts. This will help you to determine which keywords and pages are driving the most conversions, and to make sure that your SEO strategy is effective.

Here are some best practices for tracking the ROI of BoFu SEO:

• Set up conversion tracking in Google Analytics. This will allow you to track the number of conversions that are generated from organic traffic. You can also use conversion tracking to track the conversion rates for different keywords and pages.
• Use call tracking numbers on your site. This will allow you to track phone calls that are generated from organic traffic. Phone calls are a strong indicator of intent to purchase, so tracking them can help you to measure the ROI of your BoFu SEO efforts.
• Calculate ROI by comparing overall revenue earned from organic conversions to your total SEO costs and investments. You can use a variety of metrics to calculate ROI, such as revenue per organic click or visit.
• Regularly review conversion rates from bottom vs. top-of-funnel organic keywords. You should set a target for bottom-of-funnel keywords to convert at least 2x more than top-of-funnel keywords.
• Leverage keyword segmentation in Google Analytics to analyze the conversion performance for each of your targeted bottom-of-funnel keywords. This will help you to identify which keywords are driving the most conversions and to optimize your SEO strategy accordingly.
• Compare the conversion rates from SEO to other channels like paid search. This will help you to determine the overall impact of SEO on your website’s conversions.
• Use UTMs or Google Analytics campaign tracking to attribute sales and revenue directly back to individual SEO keywords. This will help you to identify which keywords are driving the most revenue.
• Avoid last-click attribution only. Make sure to use multi-channel attribution to fully account for the influence SEO has on conversions.
• Track ROI over time and calculate running totals. This will help you to see how your BoFu SEO efforts are performing over time.
• Share results with stakeholders to showcase SEO impact. This will help you to justify further investment into SEO.

The Takeaway

Prioritizing bottom of funnel SEO leads to more qualified visitors, increased sales, and getting ahead of competitors. Conducting thorough keyword research and optimizing for buyer keywords identified should be top priorities for brands. When executed successfully, focusing on BoFu SEO can greatly impact online revenue and conversions.

In summary, prioritizing bottom-of-funnel SEO is a strategic imperative for brands looking to achieve meaningful results in the digital landscape. By conducting thorough keyword research, optimizing for buyer keywords, and staying ahead of competitors, brands can attract qualified visitors, boost sales, and drive substantial growth. By recognizing the potential of BoFu SEO and investing resources accordingly, brands can unlock a world of opportunities for online success.