Archive for the ‘Conversion optimization’ Category

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Should You Worry About Your Website’s Bounce Rate?

Posted by Brent on March 9th, 2010

First, let’s define what a bounce rate is exactly.  A bounce is essentially when a user come to your site and leaves within 8 seconds.  Therefore, if 100 people come to your site and 50 people leave in under 8 seconds, your site has an 80% bounce rate. 

draft_lens6283072module56492722photo_1252537478funnelWhen designing a conversion optimization strategy for any website, it is important to first define the goals of the website.  And to define the goals of the website, you must determine the true business goals.  The business goals (i.e. revenue and profit for example) will define the website goals, and the website goals will determine the conversion goals that must be set. 

Any business would naturally want to reduce their bounce rate as much as possible right?  The longer a user is on the website the more likely they are to convert right?  This is somewhat true in many case but again it goes back to website goals.  So is a high bounce rate really a problem?  In some cases, not so much.  Here is why:

Scenario 1:  A home page for example might receive a high volume of search traffic due to great organic rankings from broad search terms.  Often broad search traffic from short tail keywords drives “unqualified” traffic or people simply browsing the web.  If they do not see what they are looking for they might leave quickly, but this does not necessarily mean the page is not well optimized for your target audience.  Your conversion rate for the actual users you care about might be higher then you can tell from the overall bounce rate. 

Scenario 2:  In another case, a page might do a fantastic job of communicating your brand messsage or product offering, but might simply be receiving less targeted traffic.  In that case people will quickly understand what you do without having to stay on the page longer or dive deeper into the website.

A high bounce rate can of course be a huge problem.  If your website is essentially getting the right kind of traffic and the page is not meeting your defined conversion goals, this will negatively affect your business goals.  But don’t just use “reducing the bounce rate” as your conversion goals for A/B testing or multivariate testing.  You should still use your revenue goals as the benchmark.

Here are some examples of how using bounce rate reduction as your only goal can hurt revenue:

  • Removing pricing from the page can reduce bounce rate but negatively affect conversions (having unqualified users digging deeper until they find out they can’t afford your product)
  • Having too many special offers, discounts, or FREE services can improve bounce rate but potentially hurt revenue because the people that are converting are buying at a discount or getting free services
  • Adding too much content or too many additonal tabs to the page that will keep the user longer but distract them from the end goal – in this case it can often be a good idea to put the bulk of the additonal content and resource below the fold and focus on the calls to action above the fold

When considering conversion optimization as it relates to PPC landing pages you must consider Google Quality Score guidelines.  To achieve a high Quality Score, many things are factored but landing page quality is high on the priority list.  The days of simple pages from brand new URLs with limited content and only a large call to action are over.  Google wants to see that the page is relevant, that there is good supporting content, keyword association, good domain history, etc. 

Here are some very basic tips to acheive a higher quality score as it relates to your PPC landing pages:

  • Use a URL with good domain history – for example instead of creating a new landing page for a product launch by using the product name, create a new sub page under the main company URL.  If your company website is AwesomeMedicalSupplies.com and you want to launch a PPC campaign for a new product launch (your product is “Spiderman Band Aids”), you should host the page on AwesomeMedicalSupplies.com/Spiderman-band-aids/ instead of a brand new URL unrelated to the main website.
  • Have compelling content – these days PPC landing pages should have a decent amount of content especially if the URL or website is newer.  If your business is a large recognized brand, you probably won’t have to worry about quality score if your pages are set up correctly.  But for newer sites and pages, content is important.  Video content in fact is a great way to engage the users and becoming a very popular form of landing page content.

Here are some general conversion goals that are tied to revenue that can be used in a conversion optimization strategy:

  • Revenue per user
  • Reducing CPA (cost per acquisition)
  • Return on Ad spend
  • Registration conversion rate
  • Click to call conversion rate
  • Software download
  • Whitepaper download
  • and the list goes on and on…

More on Conversion Optimized Landing Pages

Posted by Brent on December 3rd, 2009

We have talked a lot about conversion optimization for websites and landing pages associated with any Internet marketing strategies.  Here is another great page used for paid search campaigns.  Each PPC campaign will have different conversion goals depending on the company’s needs.  The landing page below is designed to increase room bookings for the Tropicana in Las Vegas.  PPC will be used to drive the traffic. 

Trop Lander

Google Quality Score parameters are becoming much more strict.  Notice the amount of content on the page.  Landing pages now must have quality (and relevant) content in order to gain a good quality score and have a productive PPC campaign.  Many landers tied to new URLs with no history require even more content in order to meet Quality Score standards.  It can often now take time to build the score, so keep adding good content to your pages!

Don’t Forget to Use a Landing Page

Posted by Brent on November 23rd, 2009

Many companies using Internet marketing strategies out there drive most of the traffic to their home page or possibly another internal page of their website.  The optimization of any online marketing campaign should focus on both the traffic drivers as well as where the traffic is sent.  This is especially true when using search engine marketing strategies like Pay Per Click advertising in any search engine. 

It is now crucial to use a landing page for PPC advertising in Google because it wll have a direct impact on your Google Quality Score and conversion success.  The idea of consversion optimization is pretty simple but the purpose should be understood in order to execute it correctly for your webpages.  The main idea of course is to always be improving your ROI.  There is no point in spending tons of money in online or offline marketing if you are just planning to drive traffic to your home page (unless of course your home pages acts as a well optimized “landing page”).

Here is an example.  Jet Select Aviation (a premier private jet charter service) has performed various form of marketing (online and offline), including Yahoo PPC.  All the traffic was being channeled to their home page and results had been fairly dismal.  They were recieving about one or two leads a month.  Here is an example of the home page:

jetselect

Once the marketing campaign started, aggressive Googe PPC was added and four landing pages created.  The ad copy for the ads was written according to their direct business goals.  It is important to understand Google Quality Score guidelines in order to properly optimize your PPC campaign for the best possible results.  Here is an example of one of the landing pages created.  Notice the update in design, graphics, clear calls to action, simple booking engine right at the top of the page, and simple information (there is more content below the fold). 

jetselect lander

Landing pages can really be as simple or content heavy as you want (in my opinion).  What matters really is what is above the fold and how the call to action is designed.  Of course, this all depends on your conversion goals and what you plan to obtain from your landing pages.  Those goals should be defined first before designing the page or launching any marketing. 

The initial result of the properly optimized PPC campaigns and well designed landing pages was going from one or two poor quality leads per month to five to eight high quality leads per day.  The results will of course vary depending on your business, industry, and specific goals. 

Either way, you must use landing pages with great content ands clear calls to action in order to get the most bang for your buck from your Internet marketing strategies. 

8 Seconds: Turning Visitors to Customers

Posted by Brent on September 4th, 2009

You just can’t by with an “old school” website anymore.  And yes, your company/brand will be judged on the appearance of your website.  You also can’t get by anymore by just having a site that serves the purpose of being your “online business card”.  Every company, no matter what industry, no matter what size, should have a website with clear goals.  Conversion goals that is.

Conversion optimization takes all aspects of your website into consideration starting with your core business objectives.  These need to be clearly defined and your website should be designed (or redesigned) to support these goals.  You should also have a solid understanding of your analytics so you can set some benchmarks:

  • Where does our traffic come from?
  • What are our bounce rates?
  • How long do people stay and what pages do they go to, leave from?
  • Do visitors convert?

What happens in 8 seconds.  A “bounce” is defined as a user who comes to your site and leaves in under 8 seconds.  Therefore a bounce rate is the ratio of people who leave in under 8 seconds VS those that stay.  Anything under 50% is pretty good.  Conversion goals are different for every website but examples are capturing information like name, address, phone; a sale; a download; a phone call…you get the idea.  So let’s take a look at the various elements that need to be considered when building a website that converts.

THE INITIAL HOOK

You must have a clear call to action, or a few key action points.  E-commerce sites usually have promotions and offer things like FREE shipping.  Everybody likes and deal and wants to be incentivized.  If your goal is to get a user to download your whitepaper, tell them why its valuable and give them some incentive for doing so. 

DESIGN

Once you have defined your goals, the site needs to be designed so that the call to action is prominent and focused on encouraging the user to act.  Using larger fonts, bold colors, simple but compelling design concepts, less content, and plenty of open space usually fall under the best practices category.  It is usually recommended to use separate landing pages with clear calls to action to support online and offline marketing efforts.

Notice the example below has a very clear purpose (sorry the picture is kind of small).  This page is designed to bring people back to the site, capture their information, and offers an incentive to do so.

usmed_landing2 crunched

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SITE FUNCTIONALITY

This is very important because the more user friendly your site is the better your consversion rates will be.  Seems pretty obvious but can take a lot of focus to get it right for any specific site.  Many times bounce rates and lack of conversions are simply due to poor functionalty, poor design, and a “sales cycle” that is just too long.  Streamline the process, only capture the information you need, and keep the steps simple and fast. 

You can use technology and custom tools to enhance the experience and go beyond your competition.  Just remember, it all starts with defining clear goals first and then developing a plan.

Do You Have a Powerful Call to Action?

Posted by Brent on June 26th, 2009

Does your website perform they way it is supposed to?  Do your visitors see the content you want them to and take action?  Web design and conversion optimization is all about maximizing your website’s potential to convert traffic into some kind of attainable and measurable goal.  Whether the goal is to collect emails, registrations, downloads, or purchases all the same rules apply.

Make your message clear

Make it simple

Make it easy

Here are a few suggestions to enure your visitors take action and become customers! 

Use simple but compelling language to communicate your message and its value.  Then compliment that message with a large and noticeable “call to action” so the user understands what the next step is.  The image below shows a good example of this:

skype

 

The use of space, color, and page layout are very important.  Below is a great example of a good blend of color and space.  The more space you have around the call to action “buttons” the better.  Studies show that the more cluttered a page is the more likely the user is to get confused and not understand what you want them to do.

space

Notice how clean the page is and that a couple options are given.  The use of space is done purposefully to provide clarity and simplicity.

Other suggestions to improve conversions on websites and landing pages include:

  • Trust factors – let the user know it is safe to enter their information or download your product
  • Simple bullet pointed content – don’t make the user read to long paragraphs, keep them moving
  • Compelling design and images – the pages of course should look clean and compelling to keep bounce rates low
  • Large buttons – size does matter
  • 3 to 5 step process – using a simple “step” process helps clarify what the user needs to do to complete your “sales cycle”

buy now


From Retail to E-commerce: Focus on Customer Loyalty

Posted by Brent on May 11th, 2009

With so much information out there about Internet marketing and how to improve a company’s online brand exposure, there seems to have been a gradual removal of “customer loyalty” from that discussion.  One of the most important aspects to improving conversions for an e-commerce platform (or any website for that matter) is through enhanced customer experiences and loyalty focused programs.  The happier your curstomers are, the more they will by from you (or refer people to you).  The goal here is to increase the percent of your overall sales in the “repeat customer” category.  It is much easier to grow revenue from current customers that to spend more time and money attracting new ones (although this is very important as well).

Let’s back up for a minute and consider the dramatic shifts we are seeing in retail VS. online.  The current economic conditions have placed strains on traditional retailers and caused substantial increases in online spending.  The online consumer is now becoming more savvy and expects a lot from the service/product provider.  As more and more traditional retailers either move their business online or at least create an online store to sell their products, the focus needs to not only shift to Internet marketing strategies but also customer loyalty strategies.  So much emphasis has been on how to drive traffic to e-commerce sites that we have seen visits go up, but not  conversions. 

Conversion optimization involves getting the right kind of traffic as well as ensuring that a large portion of that traffic leads to a sale.  Some online companies out there are doing this quite well but not simply becauase their Internet marketing strategies are so good…it is because their database of happy customers keeps growing.  Let’s look for example at www.freshdirect.com.  This company has been providing online grocery shopping to the New York City area for over five years.  One of the main reasons their numbers keep growing is not because they are spending so much time and money driving traffic to their website.  It is beacuse each day, senior management meets to review analytics and customer transactions to see where things are working and where things need improvement…and then of course to discuss what is being done to improve the areas where they fall short.  They also conduct about 150 customer surveys each year.  This might seems excessive or even scary to some companies but over time it makes for happy customers.  Your critics can be your best source of constructive feedback!

More about conversion optimization:

The best way to ensure that your traffic is going to convert into business involves several key factors:

  • Understanding your customer base in great detail
  • Ensuring your traffic is targeted and you methods for driving traffic support that goal
  • Continually analyze your online platform through focus groups, A/B split testing, etc.
  • Konw where your conversions points occur and where people leave your site and why – then work to improve these areas
  • Always be improving your sales cycle and customer experience
  • Ask for feedback and make improvements based on realistic suggestions
  • If you are asking for feedback, get involved in these conversations with your customers
  • Test, Improve, then test again – use your analytics…the numbers won’t lie.


Related Blogs

Are You Sticking Out?

Posted by Ceci on May 4th, 2009

It seems so easy to “stick out” in the media today. Online it is 100% different going online to use or buy a service or product. You cannot just walk into a store and feel what you are purchasing. There is no sales person online – your website is your sales person. So you need to convey your business to the website visitors. You need them to feel comfortable and trusting while surfing your website. The first part is getting people to your website through internet marketing. Next keep them on your website – make them use your service.

I visited 3 different Salon websites. Beside the 3 very different design types there are a couple of things I noticed right away. They all said the same thing:  they all tell you they are the best in town with the logo of an award they won, they tell you the services they offer, and what products they use.
Well this is all wonderful information but I got the same information from all three of their websites. So none of them really enticed me to choose their salon and give them a call. You need to make your business “Stand Out” and capture the users attention! What makes your company different than all of the other ones on the market? On all these 3 websites I looked at they said the same thing, what are the differentiators? Why would I pick A over B? Especially in today’s market you need to make sure you are setting your business apart for others. Consumers are doing more and more research before making any decisions. This means you need to tell them about your business and what sets you apart from the rest.

There are a few simple ways to do so:

Statistics:  all companies keep some type of statistics. This is very useful to spread throughout your website. Make sure to do this a little throughout your websites be careful of cramming to much information in.

Stories: If your company has a great story behind the foundation or name tell the consumer. If you do hair for the stars tell them.  If you are Jessica Biel’s hairdresser tell them.

Samples: This is a great piece to have on any website. Add testimonials – before and after pictures – client pictures etc. this is great to let the consumer k now what your style is. It amazes me that there are so many salons that don’t even have before and after pictures on their website. Or pictures of clients they have worked with that came in what a sob story and ended up looking better than ever when they walked out!

With the economy today you need to make your business stand out in a crowd. So use these simple tips and make sure you are adding new information to the website to attract people and have them coming back.


Real Estate 2.0 – The Upside to a Down Market

Posted by Brent on April 29th, 2009

As in all industries, real estate sellers and marketers are seeking more creative and cost effective ways to reach their target audience and make the sale.  The number of people who use the Internet to find their new home grows each year.  According to the Nationa Association of Realtors 2008 Internet Study, 87% of all home buyers now use the Internet in their search process.  But agents and Realtos should not fear this growing statistic…of that 87% who used the Internet, 85% used an real estate agent as opposed to going straight to a builder or home seller.  I don’t forsee the need for real estate agents ever changing significantly, at least not in the near future.

What we do see changing however is the way agents, Realtors, builders, home sellers and new home marketers take these properties to market.  The days of most traditional media outlets are over for now.  Print, radio, and TV are simply not cost effective nor are they measurable.  Builders and sellers out there need to use sales and marketing tactics that are cost effective, targeted, and measurable.  So how are they doing this?  Welcome to the world of Real Estate 2.0.

When we refer to Web 2.0, it essentially means the transformation of the web’s movement from a “read only” platform to a a fully interactive experience where consumers can interact, share information, and buy/sell products and services.  Traditionally, many industries have been reluctant to embrace online media regardless of its proven track record for more measurable ROI…simply because its a new medium.  Over the past two years we have seem a dramtic shift in not only the real estate industry’s understanding of Internet marketing and all its capabilities, but an actual action taken to implement these strategies.

More and more builders and agents are use Internet marketing to replace traditional media.  Everyone is working from a smaller budget and it is essential to track every penny.   The only true way to do this is with well-planned integrated online marketing solutions that are properly managed and backed by extensives testing and analytics.  Here are some of the marketing channels currently being used to more cost effectively to sell new homes:

Search engine optimization:  This is essentially the practice of increasing the quality and volume of traffic to a website through natural search engine rankings.  More agents and builders are realizing the long term importance of investing in SEO strategies to continually improve the quality of lead flow.  SEO is a true investment as it takes time to see tangible results, especially in an industry as competitive as real estate is online.

Paid Search (Pay Per Click Advertising):  PPC is a great tool to drive targeted traffic when organic rankings are not there.  PPC can be a quick way to waste money if it is not planned and managed properly.  The most effective PPC campaigns have a very targeted key word strategy, use effective landing pages to ensure conversions and leads, and are constantly monitored and adjusted.  PPC can also be geo-targetd as well as weekly/daily/hourly targetd to ensure you are hitting the most targeted audience at the highest converting times.

Social Media Marketing:  Here is where it gets interesting.  The real estate industry has slowly moved into the social media space through blogging and other web 2.0 platforms.  Now agents and Realtors as well as builders are actively using social media including blogging, video marketing, Facebook and Twitter strategies, viral contests, etc.  The measurable ROI will still come from the same outcome…website traffic growth, eventual leads, conversions, and sales.

Email marketing:  Email marketing still does often fall under the Internet marketing umbrella and is always an effective way to capture new business and retarget potential customers.  Email marketing has taken over for direct mail as a more powerful, more cost effective, and more GREEN method of reaching out to potential buyers.  Email marketing of course like the other elements being discussed must be executed thoughtfully and compliment the overall marketing message.  Email newsletters must be compelling and have a clear call to action.  Similarly, the landing page that the user is directed to should have the same message and prompt them to act.  In real estate, this usually involves capturing the visitor’s information.

The overall idea of an integrated Internet marketing strategy is to follow these basic steps to ensure true synergy between all offline and online marketing components:

  1. Review and define business goals
  2. Set aside a realistic budget (for Internet marketing to work, you must commit to it)
  3. Choose the most appropriate marketing channels to support your goals (i.e. SEO, PPC, Email, Social, etc.)
  4. Develop a comprehensive plan focused on conversions and meeting business goals
  5. Ensure all offline elements are complimentary to the online elements
  6. Launch campaign
  7. Monitor results
  8. Make continual adjustments to ensure optimal ROI

Related Blogs


Shopping Cart Technology Unveiled

Posted by Ceci on April 28th, 2009

So you are ready to take the next step expanding your business online and embrace your internet marketing efforts. You no longer have to have a physical storefront to do business anymore. Today some of the most profitable businesses are online and only have an online presence. There is such a wide range of shopping cart solutions how do you choose the right one for your online venture?  The most basic and important features of the shopping cart are 3:

-    The Shopping cart allows the user to interact with the store and add items to their bag. This should also calculate taxes and shipping and charge the user while staying on your website.

-    Shipping:  This is the only delivery method for online shopping carts. You need to be able to integrate the cart with your preferred shipping provider this will alleviate many hassles in the future and will streamline your processes from start to finish. This is very important because if your shipping methods are not efficient you will end up needing to charge higher shipping prices in the future.

-    Accepting online payment: No one likes to be limited. You need to be able to offer your clients several ways to paying. So make sure your shopping cart is able to integrate with various payment gateways and accepts several forms of payment. One of the easiest is over the phone and all you have to do is offer them a phone number to call.

shopping-cart
There are 2 main components in a shopping cart the front end which is what the user sees and interacts with and the backend or the administrator’s area. When choosing a shopping cart here are a few tips to keep in mind for uability:

Offer a Guest Checkout: not all people like to sign up for an account when shopping. Especially for first time users to the store, or people that are shopping for gifts.
Security symbols: Make sure that your website is secure and not susceptible to hackers. No one wants to put their credit card number onto a website that they do not think is safe. Make sure to have your SSL certificate correctly installed and it is also a good idea to include the SSL providers logo on checkout pages.
One page checkout process: this facilitates the user through the checkout process.
These are just a few quick tips to making your shopping cart more user friendly and what to look for when choosing which to use!


Optimize Your Website – Split Testing

Posted by Melanie on April 15th, 2009

You’ve created a great website!  So you think, but your website analytics reveal a high bounce rate.  The question at hand is: WHY?  Have you optimized your website effectively for your audience?  When you optimize your website it is wise to approach it with a strategy.  One thing to remember is: it’s all trial and error.  Another question to ask yourself is: Are you giving your visitors what they’re looking for?  This is very difficult to gauge especially if you do not have a full scale in-house marketing team to analyze your target market’s behavior.

So lets talk Split Testing.  Split testing is a process to test the effectiveness and conversion potential for variations of the following:

  • Different elements on a web page (multi-variate) – i.e. forms, call to action buttons, images, headliners, content, color etc.
  • Web pages (A/B) i.e. landing pages
  • Complete websites (A/B) i.e. re-design

Split testing equally randomizes each variation.  It will tell you how many times the variation was visited and how many conversions were met for each variation.  The results will show which of the variations has a better chance for conversions.

Split testing is the easiest way to optimize your website.  It does not require in depth technical know how.  It’s also easy on the budget.  For example, before investing on a complete web page change ensure to test out different pieces of the page for what works and not works.  This will save you time and money of having to redo the work again.  There are additional benefits to split testing:

  • You’ll understand your target market’s website behavior and what you need to convey on your website even more!
  • Eliminates the guest work on what converts better for a Split Testing provides stats and numbers.
  • Lessens episodes of hells kitchen of having too many cooks in the kitchen.
  • Find trouble spots on your website.
  • and importantly maximize your conversion rates!

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