7 SEO tests to help improve traffic, engagement, and conversions

Most marketers know the abbreviation ABC – “always be closing.” 

In SEO, there’s an even more important one – ABT, or “always be testing.” 

The more you test your theories about what works for your users, the more you’ll learn new strategies to optimize and improve your site. 

And testing is always valuable, even if your tests aren’t always winners (and they definitely won’t all end up the way you predict).

One of the most interesting tests I’ve ever run was actually a failure.

Our testing team developed some new CTA button copy, backed by user testing and keyword research, that we hypothesized would improve conversion rate. 

After testing our new button copy, our results showed that:

• The original version, the control, was actually the winner, and by a huge margin.
• The test pages’ conversion rate underperformed the control by about 40%.

That failed test taught us that keeping our default CTA text was the best option, so we rolled back the tests to our original copy. 

But to put it another way, we could have lost 40% of our revenue if we hadn’t stopped to test it first. 

We learned that button copy can be one of the biggest factors impacting conversion rate, compared to past tests around CTA color, design, and headers.

It was a good lesson in the value of testing hypotheses, measuring results, and sharing learnings.

Lay the groundwork: How to test SEO the right way

Before you start testing, set up a testing process that will make it easy to measure and define success or failure.

• Establish your hypothesis: What are you expecting to happen with each test and why?
• Define key metrics: Which stats do you think will be impacted the most? Can you accurately measure all of those numbers?
• Choose appropriate content: Which pages are good candidates based on those metrics?
• Set the time frame: How much time do you need to run the test to reach a high degree of confidence or statistical significance?
• Plan ahead: If the test works, what will you do next? What happens if you need to roll back your test? 

For example, if your theory is that too-similar pages are cannibalizing keyword rankings and that merging them will improve rank, start by collecting baseline data on the keywords, rank, and traffic for both pages. 

After merging content and setting up your 301 redirect from one page to the other, you might monitor the page for a few weeks to see if the page’s traffic and rank have improved above your baseline.

1. Learn from pages that are already performing well

If you’re struggling to come up with new test theories, start with what you know already works. 

Find your pages that are already driving traffic, engagement, and conversions, then create theories about why they’re working.

Use Google Analytics, Search Console, and other SEO tools to find your top-performing pages. 

You can also look for specific pages that are outperforming similar ones based on intent, topic, or relevance. 

Compare the pages side by side to identify what’s working about your star performer. 

Now, take those elements and turn them into tests to improve similar pages.

Consider the most important SEO factors like:

• Page layout.
• Content structure.
• Headers.
• Readability.
• UX.
• Keyword optimization.
• Visuals.
• Links.
• CTAs.

For example, you might find one of your key landing pages has a higher conversion rate than ones with a similar intent. 

You might decide to test the specific CTA language and placement from that page on similar ones.

2. Get ideas from competitive analysis

Look at what your competitors are doing well and where they’re dropping the ball. 

This will help you find easy opportunities to beat your competitors’ strategies. 

Start by auditing competitors’ top pages by traffic and rank, then comparing them with your similar pages. 

Consider elements like:

• Content depth.
• User experience.
• Expertise.
• Schema.
• Internal linking.
• Page speed.
• Mobile experience.
• Information quality.
• Keyword optimization.
• Multimedia and visuals.

Rank your test ideas based on the biggest impact opportunities. 

For example, if your competitors are all optimizing for video, how much estimated traffic are they getting from video SERPs? 

Does that mean users expect that info in video format? 

Even if you decide to test into videos, that doesn’t mean you need to copy your competitors’ video format exactly. 

Consider ways you could make your video stand out with its format, schema, content, style, etc.

Even more importantly, think about whether there are things none of your competitors are doing well or at all. 

• Could you build a better calculator? 
• Or test a unique CTA that lets users customize their options? 
• Or speak to a niche set of users your competitors aren’t targeting at all?

3. Add interactive features to encourage and track engagement

Embedding interactive elements on your site can improve time on site, engagement rate, and bounce rate, which can also indirectly impact rank. 

Some examples of interactive features could include:

• Survey.
• Quiz.
• Calculator.
• Poll.
• Map.
• Dropdown.
• Video.
• Infographics.
• Animations.
• Sliders.

Add tracking to anything you add or build so you can measure how often users interact with or click each element. 

Even a basic heatmap tool should be able to provide some rough stats on interaction rates. 

Then, use this data to continue to test optimal variations of each element.

Depending on how your website is built, you may already have features like this that you can test on your site in new ways. 

If not, consider how you can test features before investing time in fully building them out, like with user testing or A/B testing. 

For example, a very simple way to test whether you should invest time in creating a video on a page could be to add a clickable image of a fake video screenshot with a play button. 

You can measure how many users click it to estimate the potential interest in actually creating a video.

Optimize visual elements for search by including descriptive alt text, structured data, and fast-loading formats.

Also, make sure nothing you add hurts page speed or Core Web Vitals.

---

5. Run regular CTA tests across the site

Your CTAs (calls to action) are what get users to take the next step in their search journey. 

Spend time on CRO (conversion rate optimization) by continuously testing and building different types of CTAs on your site. 

Think about all the actions your users might want to take on each page and encourage them to move forward with their decision by staying on your site.

• Who: Customize copy for the specific users coming to each page as much as you can. 
• What: Use the right type or format of CTA for the right intent and impact. An obtrusive CTA that looks too much like an ad could cause users to leave your site, while a CTA that’s buried or not easy to understand could have the same effect.
• Where: Consider all the places a user might expect CTAs, such as headers, footers, sidebars, in content, etc. Also consider how you’re drawing users’ focus to each element.
• When: Encourage users to take action only after the user has gotten the main answer to their question. Consider placement of secondary CTAs as users get into the details or might think of other questions.
• Why: The copy in and around the CTA should show users how taking this action will get them to what they need.

6. Focus your testing on your top content

If you’re just starting out with SEO testing, it’s a good idea to prioritize your time wisely. 

Focus your first tests on the high-impact content: 

• Top traffic/engagement pages.
• Top of page content. 

The more views or clicks, the quicker the results. 

Just don’t test on any high-risk pages until you’re confident in your results first (meaning don’t run brand new tests on your top revenue-driving pages).

Look at page heatmaps and you’ll probably find most of your users don’t get very far down most pages. The cutoff point is often much higher than you’d expect: maybe the 1st or 2nd main sections of the page, or ⅓ of the way through the page. 

That’s why testing the above-the-fold experience will have the biggest impact on metrics like conversion rate, bounce, and time on page. 

You can use heatmap data to find which features or sections users spend more time viewing or engaging with, then optimize based on your findings. 

You might also find users are jumping down to specific sections of the page to find what they want, which can give you insights about what content to lead with.

Use this to your advantage, too.

If you want to add a new feature to the site and see how it performs, add it to the top of the most relevant page that gets the most traffic. 

That will give you more click data to work with to measure the success of the new feature.

This applies to on-page testing only. 

For example, if you want to test adding star rating schema to improve SERP CTR, you can add the schema but show the stars on the page in whatever format or location you like. 

If you want to add an FAQ to a page to try to rank in a PAA, you can put the FAQ content anywhere on the page, and it can still get pulled into SERP features.

7. Optimize content for user intent

One of the simplest SEO tests involves optimizing your content for intent. 

Aligning your page’s content hierarchy with user intent means users get the right info at the right stage in their journey.

• Order: Users like getting answers to their questions as quickly and efficiently as possible.
• Structure: Users prefer a well-ordered page that makes it clear what the page is about.
• Headers: Users want to scan headlines and bold content to hunt for the info they need.
• Format: Users tend to prefer lists and graphics that are easy to understand over long prose.
• Language: Users need to understand the words and concepts you’re describing without much prior knowledge.
• Authoritative: Users want a solution to their problems that makes them feel confident about their decision.

For example, if users are searching for “best RPGs on Switch,” they’re probably expecting to see a page with a list or table comparison of games, plus more details on why each game is the best. 

But for someone landing on a page about “best RPGs on Switch for 12-year-olds,” they might be shopping for a gift. 

Including info or filtering with the maturity rating and price of each game may be more important to feature than details about the game’s plot or art style.

A good exercise to get started

• Pick a page with a poor bounce rate. 
• Write down the target keyword and headline, then draft what you think would be a good outline for the page. 
• Look at the actual headline order and copy, and see how well they match your outline. 
• You can also try giving the page’s current section outline to someone on your team who has never read it before and asking them to rank each section in the order they’d expect for that topic.

Get started with your own ABT method

Start with a clear testing process, then run smart, focused experiments on high-impact content. 

Roll out what works, roll back what doesn’t, and document everything. 

Share wins, failures, and surprises with your team because every test is a chance to get smarter. 

ABT isn’t just a tactic – it’s how great SEO teams stay ahead.

View the full article