Posts Tagged ‘Conversion optimization’

« Older Entries

The Inverted Pyramid Writing Style

Posted by Kate on August 31st, 2010

When writing content on the web, a good rule of thumb is to use the inverted pyramid technique, also known as Bottom Line Up Front.  This entails putting your most important point as the title and first paragraph of text in your article, and the supporting details towards the end.  Be sure to capture the attention of your users’ right at the beginning of your page, so that way they don’t need to scroll down to get the main points of your article. On the web, people tend to jump from page to page on websites, so you want to catch their attention right away.

Benefits for Readers

If a user likes what they see in your article from the beginning, they are more likely to bookmark it and read the rest of the article later. Or, if they are using a mobile phone, they can see the main point of the article and email it to themselves to read later on. (more…)

The Importance of Long Tail Keywords For SEO

Posted by Kate on June 18th, 2010

Long tail keyword terms are several keywords grouped together as a search string into the search engines. Typically they are 4 keywords or more. The more long tail keywords that you have ranking, the higher chances you have to gain converting organic search traffic. From keyword research you can find many long tail keyword variations.  Whether you are optimizing an existing website or building a new one, you should choose keywords to focus on that are consistent with the content of your web pages as well as your website theme. An example of the evolvement of a keyword phrase is listed below:
(more…)

Name Your Links Properly- The Influence Of Anchor Text On SEO

Posted by Kate on April 29th, 2010

anchor_text_illustrationLink Building is a big part of SEO, which you already know. So how do you get the most from your link building efforts without getting lost in the wild wild west, er web?  Well, focus on anchor text. Anchor text is the clickable text attached to a hyperlink.

Not only is anchor text important to search engines, but it’s also helpful to your website visitors. It helps them know the topic of what they are about to see. You want to make sure to choose effective anchor text for the incoming and outgoing links to your website.  This will greatly increase the value of the link and boost your search engine rankings.

To get started, during your link building acquisition, seek out links where you can determine the anchor text that another website uses for your website link.  This is an important part of the search engine ranking algorithms.  Aim for websites that not only have a link to your website, but also the words around the link that include the keywords you want to rank for. For example, in the descriptions of directory listings, blogs, and press releases you should be able to include the text you want to hyperlink.

To illustrate, instead of saying, “Click Here” as your anchor text, use the keywords that you are targeting. If the search engine bots see that the text around the link includes the keywords related to the website that the web link is pointing to, that will help you gain authority and increase the value of that link.

As an example, if we want to direct web visitors to a web page about internet marketing, we could write Internet Marketing and hyperlink that to an external website about internet marketing, or even a page on our website about it. You should also add variety to your anchor strategy to increase the value of the links. Don’t just have the same anchor text over and over.  Let’s look at some examples of this below:

Notice how some of these have 3-4 words in them. This incorporates the long tail keywords that help us show up for many keyword terms and they typically have a high search volume.  Every day, about 25% of searches are keyword terms that never been searched before, so having variety in your anchor text is a very important way to get new visitors!   Notice that those links aren’t all going to the same page, this is termed “link diversity”.  The same would be true for inbound links, it would be better to have less links  from different sources, then many links from the same source. Keep in mind the anchor text should be different for those inbound links.  This falls in line with Google’s methodology- keep everything natural and relevant for your users!  Now, start getting creative with your anchor text- you’ll be happy that you did!

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.  JetSelect 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

Don’t Get Caught Off Guard

Posted by Brent on April 13th, 2009

Don’t get caught off guard by poor marketing efforts.  Companies in all kinds of industries are now realizing the importance of a cost effective and creative online marketing approach.  It is also important to note that an integrated approach based on conversions is the most powerful.  A poorly designed and executed marketing plan will catch you off guard.  Without a properly managed Internet marketing strategy, once you realize your efforts have not been optimal, it will be too late. 

art_polar_bear

Jumping in head first without a plan will result in a disappointing result!  (FYI…this woman from the Berlin zoo was rescued and is recovering).  It is recommended to hire a well rounded and experienced Internet marketing agency.  A good firm will review your business goals and help you formulate a plan that will ensure reaching and exceeding these goals.  This is much different than simply hiring and SEO firm and running a poorly managed PPC campaign to your home page.  Sending traffic to a site is useless until that traffic turns into conversion, sales, and positively affects the bottom line. 

What is a fully integrated online marketing approach?

Sounds more expensive right?  Sometimes it can be but we are really referring to ensuring that an existing or potential marketing plan has components that all compliment one another and that there is a consistent message.  This includes offline marketing channels too.  The entire plan should send the same message and have the same calls to action.  A combination of efforts such as conversion optimization, organic search engine optimization (improving volume and quality of traffic through the natural search engine placements), PPC advertising (with optimized landing pages), email marketing, and social media would be an example of an integrated approach.  This could also include offline efforts such as print and radio.  As long as the message is clear and landing pages are used properly to receive incoming traffic all efforts should compliment one another.  Monthly analysis of each component ensure seeing what areas are working and which ones need improvement.

All of this does not have to cost an arm and a leg.  A good Internet marketing company will help you pick and choose which elements are the most appropriate and that will produce the best ROI.

Related Blogs

Conversion Optimization Basics

Posted by Brent on April 10th, 2009

Conversion optimization was born out of the need of lead generation and e-commerce internet marketers to improve their website’s results. As competition grew on the web during the early 2000’s, Internet marketers had to become more measurable with their marketing tactics. They began experimenting with website design and content variations to determine the layouts, copy text, offers and images will improve their conversion rate. – Wikipedia

Conversion optimization is more important than ever as companies move more of their marketing budgets online seeking more cost effective ways to achieve their goals.  The approach has two angles.  The first starts with researching the industry and target markets of the company in need of improved conversions.  Once the data has been collected, a more targeted marketing message can be planned.  Secondly, comprehensive testing such as A/B testing is done to monitor results and make adjustments to continually improve the conversion rates. 

Conversion optimization is about achieving business goals and gaining the best possible ROI from the marketing efforts.  Here is a chart that outlines the basics:

conversion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The foundation behind conversion optimization is website design.  Once you have the marketing message put together and before you start running the campaign and testing results, you have to design the site and landing pages accordingly to achieve your goals.  Like anything esle there are some best pratices to follow when putting together a landing page.  The basics include the following:

  • Keep it simple and focus on the message
  • Message must be associated with ad campaign
  • Keyword association
  • Clear and obvious calls to action
  • Simple content (bullet points)
  • Trust factors
  • Short registration forms
  • Must be well designed and compelling

The bottom line is that a good Internet marketing company will first help you define your business goals, then help you assemble the message, and then put together the campaign, launch it and test results constantly.  Continually updating your landing pages will improve results dramatically which will lead to a well spent marketing budget!

Related Blogs

« Older Entries