How Web Push Notification Impacts SEO

2013 was a groundbreaking year for digital marketing. It was the year when Google launched the push notification service. Since it allows users to get marketing messages even if they are not accessing a company’s website, there’s been a major controversy as to its impact on SEO. (Image source: Wigzo)

Here’s the good news: push notifications can positively impact SEO.

What are push notifications?

Web push notifications (WPNs) are marketing messages that automatically pop out on a user’s browser, and can be accessed on either a desktop or mobile device. Of course, push notifications don’t come out from anywhere. The website has to be permitted by the user the first time he visits it. 

How does the push notifications relate to SEO?

Currently, Google ranks websites based on contents and responsiveness. But the influx of mobile applications has made the process more complex. Since more and more people are using their smartphones to shop or find local businesses, a lot of companies have focused all their efforts on mobile marketing and totally forgot about improving their websites.

The introduction of push notifications by Google Chrome signified the importance of websites amidst the popularity of mobile applications. With web push notifications, brands can send messages, updates, and contents that their customers will be interested to know – such as special offers, promos, product launches, news, articles, etc.

WPNs work whether the user is accessing the internet on their desktop computer or mobile device.

Integrating web push notifications in your marketing can do great wonders in your SEO.

In what ways?

WPNs help convert visitors into subscribers.

Maybe a user came across your website by accident and enjoyed your contents. With a push notification service, you can turn that one-time visitor into an avid subscriber. Whether they forgot about your website or got too busy that they don’t get to check out your website again, web push notifications let you promote contents even if users are not on your website.

WPNs are similar to marketing emails in the sense that they allow brands to obtain subscribers. However, with WPNs, there’s no need to get their email addresses and other contact information.

WPNs can increase your website traffic.

When implemented properly, push notifications can greatly drive more traffic into your website. Bloggers report a 10%-15% increase in traffic with WPNs. Since these notifications are delivered straight to the user’s device, the clickthrough rate is far higher than email (2X to 10X). WPNs are considered the largest contributor to online traffic. Of course, certain strategies have to be done to maximize the impact of push notifications on your website ranking. These include:

·        Making the message short, direct, and interesting.

·        Segmenting your subscribers based on their locations and the time they are active.

·        Sending personalized notifications.

·        Not sending too many notifications to avoid looking like spam.

·        Sending notifications about varying contents to keep users engaged.

·        Creating urgency in the notification to highlight a call to action.

Push notifications can boost engagement among customers.

If you want to convert visitors into customers, there’s one thing you need to focus on: user engagement.

When it comes to engaging users and previous customers, there are two online strategies commonly used by marketers: gather email subscribers and retarget users on various search and social platforms.

Web push notifications are a new approach to driving customer engagement. Having a higher efficiency than email and far cheaper than retargeting, it makes sense to incorporate notification service in your overall marketing strategy.

There are many ways to use WPNs in engaging customers. Among which are the use of breaking news alerts or notifications when you publish a new article. You can also use it to offer free contents to your subscribers, such as eBooks, guides, and relevant information that they will find useful.

How to Implement Push Notification in Your SEO Strategy

Push messaging certainly has a lot of benefits to your SEO strategy. But how do you optimize this tool to boost your ranking?

Convey a clear message.

Your subscribers have busy schedules. They don’t have time for vague messages. Push notifications should be concise and clear enough for them to understand your message and take action. Different browsers have different character limits, usually ranging from 40-120. You want your message to be brief, clear, yet catchy.

Use social proof.

Give your subscribers a concrete reason to check out your message. For example, if your post has thousands of shares already, tell your subscribers about it so they will be encouraged to check out the post. Just be true to your claim and make sure that you only give them honest information.

Time your notifications.

Aside from aligning your messages to your subscribers’ time zones, you should also learn about the best times to send particular types of messages and how frequent to send them to drive engagement. Most companies that use WPN schedule their messages in days and times that their target audience is likely to see them, using an all-in-one marketing platform.

Web push notifications have become a major component of SEO. When done right, they can help increase your website ranking and customer acquisition.