When someone types in a product or service you offer in to a search engine, you want to appear the #1 position-or at the very least the first page. In a way, having high search engine placement is like a receiving a free but qualified endorsement. If Google or Yahoo! ranks your webpage high, people tend to assume it’s because it’s what they’re really looking for. That’s why companies spend thousands of dollars optimizing their websites, creating back links, and writing SEO friendly copy in hopes of capturing and retaining a high search engine ranking.

The problem is that sometimes companies become too focused on their SEO efforts and not their online conversion efforts.

The result? Decreased conversion rates.

When optimizing your site for search engines meta tags and backlinks that help improve your SEO rankings and website description. Because they’re invisible to your visitor (unless they search for them), they don’t affect website conversion rates. However, SEO wrong copy can dramatically decrease conversion rates if not done right.

Marketing and copywriters often make the mistake of writing content for search engines instead of people. When writing copy for your website it’s important to remember that search engines don’t read websites. People do. You can write all the great SEO copy in the world, but in the end if the copy isn’t selling your product or service, your high search engine ranking is worthless.

The solution is to write great copy that sells. Yes, it needs contains the key SEO phrases but it must also be very conversion centric. If visitors can’t understand your company, what it offers, and see a call to action in about 15 seconds, they’ll leave. And odds are they won’t be back.

When focusing on SEO and SEM strategies, don’t let your efforts get in the way of converting visitors in to sales and leads. Without customers, your business won’t last long-not matter how high it’s ranked in Google.

We’ve long become accustomed to people loudly talking on the cell phones, firing off emails during a meeting, or twittering minute details of their lives, but sometimes it seems that behavior that was once considered rude is not only becoming acceptable but in many cases supersedes more personal communication.

In The Wall Street Journal Rachel Mardsen writes:

Too many people seem to be grasping for ways to connect with others while rarely actually connecting in a way that has true value or significance. What so many people end up with is something that looks like a connection from the outside as they text each other a million times a day, or sign notes with “much love.” Sadly, that’s the new standard of personal value in this technological era.

Last year there was a big push for business to use social media like Facebook and Twitter to communicate with prospects and existing customers. And, if done right, these sites can be great tools to connect with those interested in your product or service. But often when businesses use social media sites, they often mistake this form of communication for the personal touch that it often takes to get someone to enter the sales pipeline or become a customer.

To increase conversions this year, resolve to be more personal in your marketing efforts. Whether it’s picking up the phone, taking someone to lunch, or sending a personalized (not mass mailed) email, be sure your marketing and sales efforts includes efforts that let your prospects and customers know that their more than a Twitter follower or Facebook fans.

That added personal touch can go a long way to filling your sales pipeline and getting many more loyal customers.