Have you ever focused on something that initially looked good, but ultimately didn't benefit your business? This is a story about an SEO test that initially appeared successful, but ultimately proved to be a costly mistake. I learned a great deal from this experience, and it has transformed how I approach SEO today, inspiring a new direction in my strategy.

The Backstory: Numbing Cream and a Freelance Gig

I used to work as a freelancer for a company called numbing.com. They sell tattoo numbing cream, which people use to reduce pain before and during tattoos. At the time, I was part of a freelance team focused on boosting their website traffic through SEO.

The Goal: Increase Organic Search Traffic

Our primary goal was straightforward: to increase website traffic through search engines, such as Google. We focused on writing blog content. Back then, blog content was an effective way to increase traffic. Within a year, we managed to increase their organic search traffic from almost nothing to about 28,000 visitors per month.

The Problem: Traffic Didn't Equal Money

Even though traffic was going up, something wasn't right. The company wasn't making more money. They were using a tool called Hyros to track the amount of money they earned from their ads. However, they were unable to get Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to display the revenue from organic search accurately. GA4 is a powerful tool for tracking user interactions with your website, and it's crucial for understanding the revenue impact of your SEO efforts.

The big problem? The amount of money they made from organic search stayed the same, even as traffic skyrocketed.

The Realization: Blog Traffic Doesn't Pay Bills

That's when I realized something important: simply increasing traffic isn't enough. If that traffic doesn't turn into paying customers, it doesn't matter. This led me to decide that I would focus only on SEO strategies that directly generate revenue.

Why Focus on Revenue?

If you only focus on traffic, clients will eventually realize they're not making more money. They might stop paying you after a few months. To build long-term relationships with clients, you must demonstrate how your work generates value for them.

Diving Deeper: What Kind of Traffic Were We Getting?

To understand what went wrong, let's look at the type of content that was driving traffic. The most popular pages were blog posts like:

• Is Aquaphor suitable for tattoos?

• How to make tattoos hurt less

• Hand tattoos

• How long does tattoo numbing cream last?

These are all top-of-funnel blog posts. This means they attract people who are just starting to research tattoos. They're not necessarily ready to make a purchase yet.

The Product Pages

In contrast, the product pages weren't getting as much traffic. These are the pages where people can buy the numbing cream. For example, only about 500 of the 3,500 monthly visitors in the United States were landing on product pages. And some of that might have been from people searching for the brand name.

The key takeaway is that most traffic was directed to blog posts, rather than product pages.

The Solution: Focus on the Bottom of the Funnel

Now, if I were to approach the SEO strategy, I would still use blog content. Still, I've come to realize the crucial importance of giving more focus to product and collection pages. This shift in focus has enlightened me about effective SEO strategies.

Product and Collection Pages

• Product Pages: These pages show individual products for sale.

• Collection Pages: These pages group similar products together.

By focusing on these pages, you can attract people who are closer to making a purchase.

Lessons Learned: Tie SEO to Revenue

This experience taught me that organic search traffic alone is not a reliable measure of SEO performance. It's crucial to tie your SEO efforts to revenue, as ultimately, the success of your SEO strategy should be measured by the increase in sales and profits, not just the increase in website traffic.

The Problem with Low Prices

If you're an e-commerce brand, it's crucial to be cautious about investing in SEO services that cost very little (e.g., $500-$2,000 per month). You might end up losing money in the long run because these services often prioritize traffic over revenue. This caution can help you avoid potential pitfalls in your SEO strategy.

Why This Matters

After reflecting on the drop in traffic and the lack of revenue growth, I changed my entire approach to SEO. I began focusing on collection page rankings because it was the most effective way to generate clients' revenue. By focusing on revenue, I can build long-term relationships with clients.

The Main Points

• Blog traffic alone is not a reliable measure of success.

• Focus on SEO strategies that lead to revenue, not just traffic.

• Product and collection pages are the best way to attract paying customers.

If you're an SEO agency or freelancer, ensure that you tie your work directly to revenue. Otherwise, you might get fired sooner than you expect. If you're a brand doing SEO in-house or outsourcing it, don't assume your SEO campaign is going well just because your blog traffic is growing. There's a good chance it's not.

Take Action: Look at your website's traffic sources. Are you getting enough traffic to your product pages? If not, it might be time to rethink your SEO strategy. Contact NewSeas to work with us.