Yes. But you’ve probably heard the opposite.
Before we get into how funnels can now be optimized for search engines, let’s go back a few years to understand where the current misconception came from.
Funnel Platforms Are Built for Funnels
Sales funnels and SEO are ultimately after the same result: more conversions. But they go about it completely differently.
Funnels Find Customers, Customers Find SEO
If sales funnels are door-to-door shoe salespeople, SEO is the shoe store. Sales funnels seek out potential customers, but with SEO, the customer finds you. For example, your sales funnel may rely on paid ads that interrupt them, grab their attention, be flashy, and get them to convert as fast as possible. You don’t want customers lingering. You want to push them straight to the “buy” button.
Funnels Are High on Calls-to-Action
Funnels are built to get the customer to act…and to act quickly. They convince the customer that they need a product or service NOW. Strong calls to action leave little question in the customer’s mind about what they need to do next. If there’s any confusion, you risk losing a sale.
SEO is different. Strong calls to action can actually chase customers away. They want to buy, they just don’t want to be sold to; they want to be educated.
They type their question into a search engine, and your content shows up. If it’s loaded with sales vomit, they’ll sense an ulterior motive and leave your site. But if your content is educational and informative and answers their question, there’s a good chance they’ll stick around and turn into a loyal customer.
Let’s say your company sells vegetable seeds. You publish a blog about growing zucchini. At the same time, there’s someone out there trying to plant a summer garden for the first time. They search Google for tips and land on your thorough, well-written, informative blog. You relate to them. You prove that you know what it’s like to be a first-time gardener. And you provide all the answers they need for growing big, bountiful zucchini plants.
Just like that, you’ve won the consumer’s trust. You have become their go-to source for zucchini growing mastery, because you answered all of their questions in a time of need. And because they now view you as an authority in the gardening industry, they decide to buy seeds from you.
Funnels Are Low on Value-Added Content
Less is more when it comes to sales funnels. The last thing you want is a landing page or ad so loaded with content that the customer doesn’t know what to do. Sure, you might have a long-form funnel here and there, even then they’re not usually value-added. Sales funnel copy should be easily scanned and contain only the information that drives the customer toward conversion.
SEO is different. Google may actually find your site less favorable if visitors “bounce” off of it too quickly. When a customer engages with your content and browses multiple pages on the site, it tells Google that your content is valuable. That it’s solving their problem.
And, after all, you can only rank for what Google can read.
Funnel Builders Had SEO Limitations
Just like you can’t blame a fish for not flying, you can’t blame old funnel builders for being built to make funnels, not built for SEO.
Old funnel platforms simply didn’t have some needed features to support SEO because they were features that weren’t needed to build funnels.
- The ability to blog
- Caching for page speed
- Sitemaps to help search engines find content
And without these critical SEO features, there was no power to capture organic traffic.
There’s good news for people wanting to build sales funnels and do SEO on one platform, because this has all changed. Most funnel platforms now include all of the above bells, whistles, and features to better support SEO.
Funnels SEO
While the primary goal of a funnel platform is still to support funnels, entrepreneurs have gotten wise to the fact that conversions are highest when funnels are paired with effective SEO. As a result, SEO for ClickFunnels and other funnel platforms can now be accomplished.
I’ve helped many companies take this hybrid approach to funnels and SEO. If you want to see an example, check out Russell Brunson’s SecretsOfSuccess.com. It uses ClickFunnels 2.0, has all the deep content that Google loves, still keeps high CTA across all pages, and has dozens of page 1 rankings on Google.
If you’d like to learn more about how to optimize ClickFunnels specifically, check out FunnelsSEO.com in the near future. I’ll be launching training on search engine optimization for ClickFunnels.
