Behavioral triggered traffic refers to the strategy of driving website visits based on the behavior of users. It relies on recognizing patterns and actions—such as abandon-cart instances, repeated site visits without purchase, or specific browsing activities—to engage the user and bring them back to the website. While the notion of sending reminders or targeted offers can be enticing for improving conversion rates, leveraging behavioral triggered traffic for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) purposes is not always appropriate. In this blog, we will delve into when not to use behavioral triggered traffic for SEO.
First, it’s essential to understand the primary objective of SEO: to enhance organic traffic through higher search engine rankings. Organic traffic is fundamentally different from traffic generated through behavioral triggers, which is often short-lived and aimed at quick conversions rather than long-term engagement and search engine visibility.
**1. Short-Term Gains vs. Long-Term Strategy:**
Behavioral triggers are designed for quick wins, often targeting users who are already familiar with the brand or website. These short-term bursts of traffic may not contribute to the long-lasting improvements that SEO strategies are meant to achieve. Organic SEO is about building authority, trust, and relevance over time, which can’t be accomplished through quick, behaviorally triggered visits.
**2. Artificial Traffic Patterns:**
Search engines like Google value natural, organic traffic patterns. When a site consistently experiences spikes in traffic due to behavioral triggers, it can appear unnatural to search engines. These patterns may lead to penalties or demotion in search rankings as these visits don’t indicate genuine interest or engagement over time.
**3. Skewed Engagement Metrics:**
SEO metrics such as bounce rate, average session duration, and pages per session offer insights into genuine user engagement. Traffic generated through behavioral triggers can artificially inflate these numbers, making it difficult to gauge the effectiveness of organic SEO efforts. This skewing of metrics hinders the ability to make informed decisions based on true organic performance.
**4. Quality Backlinks and Authority:**
SEO thrives on high-quality backlinks and building domain authority. Behavioral triggered traffic doesn’t contribute to this aspect. For instance, someone returning to an abandoned cart won’t be creating a backlink or improving the website’s authority. Focusing too heavily on behavioral traffic can detract from efforts to earn valuable backlinks, which are critical for long-term SEO success.
**5. Content Relevance and Freshness:**
SEO is greatly influenced by the relevance and freshness of content. Behavioral triggers often target specific actions and events, potentially diverting focus from regularly updating website content and optimizing for new and relevant keywords. Over-reliance on triggered actions can result in neglecting crucial content updates, thereby harming SEO efforts.
**Conclusion:**
While behavioral triggered traffic can offer tangible benefits in terms of immediate conversions and user re-engagement, it is not a substitute for robust, well-planned SEO strategies. Relying too heavily on such tactics can lead to negative impacts on search rankings, skewed engagement metrics, and missed opportunities for building domain authority and earning quality backlinks. For sustainable online success, it’s imperative to balance short-term traffic strategies with long-term SEO goals.
