90 DAY SEM FITNESS PLAN:CONVERSION SMX West 2010

Kayden KellyCEO & Managing Director

Improving conversion is easy if you let the right people do it!

Let your USERS design your site

Marketing

Management AgencyXWho?

Let’s assessYOUR CONVERSIONFITNESS

Are you at the

front?

Is your site a lean & mean…user focused, goal oriented, conversion machine?

Or are you pulling up the

Rear?

In fact many sites

BLOWING IT

Buy Now!

Today there are plenty of Conversion Best Practices

This is BASIC – Much more to it!

Yes, many sites still not following best practices, such as

obvious buttons

Top 50 Testing Tips to improve your Conversion1. Put the best info and calls to action Above the

FOLD (avoid false bottoms that make users think there isn’t any more content)

2. Repeat your Call to Action throughout a long page

3. Add a Form to the page to generate leads or even order your product

4. Make Calls to Action contextual and specific to content of page versus generalized calls to action

5. Call to Action Button Design (shape, style, size, color, whitespace, grouping, etc)

6. Customer Centric copy with benefits not just features (We We Calculator)

7. Remove Clutter (Dense well organized and separated content is not clutter)

8. 1 versus 2 versus 3 column layout9. Move content around on page 10. From Right-side to Left-side11. Change paragraph/content order (Make sure you

use the funnel style of writing for the web with most important point at top to fine points at the bottom (i.e. details)

12. Test Variations of Navigation and on some landing pages it might even be best to remove some or all navigation

13. Add categories/sub-categories to your home page - order and weight by popularity/importance

14. Emphasize Important Content (Bold, Larger/Colored Font, etc)

15. Large Headlines with clear user benefits1. ‘Top 5 Reasons to stop ____’2. ‘Why you need ___’3. ‘3 Things you may not know that could

kill you’ 16. Make your content scannable 17. Add Sense of Urgency messaging like ‘Sale Ends

Today’ or ‘Only 5 Left’16. Different Fonts (Sizes, Colors/Contrast, Styles)17. Tagline/USP in header that provides distinct

positioning/differentiation18. Increase body copy (just enough) to overcome all

common objections

19. Answer who, what, when, where, why and how20. Summarize/bulletize benefits at bottom of page21. Add Testimonials (with photo, name, company,

logo, title)22. Add Media Logos (if featured in news) or other

logos of things that will add credibility23. Larger/Wider Search Box25. Remove Instructions since it should be easy to

use and not require any explanation (of course you may need to improve your page first)

26. Test Images 1. Show your product/service in use to

demonstrate benefits and so user can better imagine what it would be like to own it and how would improve their life

2. Show happy customers (with product if applicable or after using product, etc)

3. Tell a story with product images4. More than one image (especially

different views from side, back, top, bottom)

5. Larger versus smaller versus no images (no images has surprised many as the best result in some cases)

6. Add Ability to Zoom7. Add Captions under your image8. Add Call-outs to draw attention to parts

of a photo/image and add info to point out most important aspects

27. Offer other ways to order by phone and fax (in cart)

28. Removal or de-emphasis of coupon/promo field in cart/checkout

29. Ajax/DHTML to hide optional form elements unless needed

30. Remove unnecessary fields or change order of fields

31. Visually Group and separate related fields32. # of checkout steps (1 vs 2 vs 3 vs 4) 33. Repeat main offer and benefits in cart

33. Upsell on add to cart action or in cart34. Add Guarantees, Return Policies, Privacy

Protection (if ask for personal email/info)35. Credit Card and other payment logos when

asking for payment info36. Add Reassurance Logos like Verisign, BBB

online, McAfee Secure, Trust, and etc.37. Increase/Decrease Prices (your pricing can cause

concern by being lower than someone expects especially compared to your competitors)

38. Odd Pricing ending in 9’s and 7’s39. Different Offers

1. Free Shipping2. Save 20%3. Buy 1, Get 1 Free4. Buy now, pay later5. Pay in installments6. Free trial7. Longer/shorter commitment

40. More/less Product Copy41. Tabbed content versus long page of content 42. Add reviews43. In Stock Messaging (above or below add to cart)44. Rich media like Video and Flash Animation45. Click to Call, Live Chat, and other widgets46. Ability to sort, filter, rank, and search product

category and sub-categories47. Proximity of content elements

1. Add vertical/horizontal space2. Move closer or farther away from certain

content on the page to see if proximity helps or hurts

48. Phone Numbers - where they are placed, how obvious, and know that different phone numbers may actually impact conversion

49. Faster loading pages (Optimized Images, etc) as load time can be a big impact

50. What is clickable - users expect almost everything to be clickable (www.CrazyEgg.com)

Landing Page/Conversion Best Practices are Critical…(link to testing tips at end of presentation)

…BUT today’s focus is to EXPAND your ANALYSIS techniques

BUT BROKEN

Many sites now using obvious

buttons

WORKOUT #1FIX WHAT’S BROKENSite Errors, Flash Version Issue, Broken Links, Poor Performance

Identify Glaring Site Problems

Users are getting

404 Errors

Flash Version 9 has major issues…

75-93% Bounce Rate

Use Analytics to Discover Compatibility Issues

Use XENU to Identify Broken Links

Lots ofBroken LinksStill find toomany clients that are sending traffic via paid and organic search to broken links

Use YSLOW to find Performance Issues

Before: 6mb

After: 289k

WORKOUT #2MEASUREMENT

WhatPeople Do

Where Users Click

Form Analytics

Record & Watch Users

How do you find out what people are doing?

• Key Steps in your Funnel

• External & Internal Search

• Top Entry & Exit• Bounce Rate• Segmentation

Are people taking the desired actions?

One Goal is not enough

Lead Generation Goals

Funnel Activity Goals

Engagement Goals

Where are people abandoning in the process?

Weakest Link in Checkout Funnel

What are your users looking for?

Complete Arkangel Shakespeare

Searches 119Sales 0

Setup “Site Search” Tracking in Google Analytics

Are they finding it and buying?

Losing 2 of 3

users on Popular Pages

There is a FIRE!!!!

“Segmentation is the key to finding insights. You segment, or you die!” - Avinash Kaushik, Google

Segment for Actionable Insight

Non-Segmented, Averaged User Data is Worthless

Identify Potential Segments

(Advanced) Customer Segments

Pageviews >9( OR ) Catalog Request =1( OR )Newsletter Subscribe =1

Transaction =1( OR ) Login =1

Site Visits >2Transactions >1

Site Visits >5Transaction >2Twitter Follow =1( OR )Newsletter Subscribe =1

Transaction >0Shares >2Comments >2( OR )Reviews >2

(Advanced) Customer Segments

By PersonaInvestor, Press, Customer, Etc

Based on:• Link Clicked• Form Selection• Page Viewed• and/or Keyword

By Stage of Buying CycleResearch, Interest, Evaluation, Decide, Buy

Based on:• Keyword• Goal/Action Taken• Landing Page• Etc.

WhyPeople Do What They Do

4Q Surveys (Another Free Tool)

Usability Tests Can Be Cheap & Eye Opening!

Watch & Listen to Identify Obstacles

• Where, How, Why

Top 10 Web Usability Principles

1. Motivate (by Segment) Design your site to meet specific user needs and goals. Use motivators to draw different user "personae" into specific parts of your site.

2. User task flow Who are your users? What are their tasks and online environment? For a site to be usable, page flow must match workflow.

3. Architecture – it's 80% of usability Build an efficient navigational structure. Remember – if they can't find it in 3 clicks, they're gone.

4. (Affordance) Make obvious how to interact with page Make controls understandable. Avoid confusion between emblems, banners, and buttons.

5. Replicate Why reinvent the wheel? Use best practices (80%) and fine-tune to your specific site the last (20%). Use ergonomically designed templates for the most common 8-12 pages.

© 1996 - 2009 Human Factors International Inc.

6. Usability test along the way Test early in design using low-fidelity prototypes. Don't wait until the end when it's too late. Know the technology limitations Identify and optimize for target browsers and user hardware. Test HTML, JavaScript, etc. for compatibility.

7. Know the technology limitations (iPhone Popularity Skyrocketing!)Identify and optimize for target browsers and user hardware. Test HTML, JavaScript, etc for compatibility. Most websites have huge problems here!

8. Know user tolerances (Fast! Big Factor in Enterprise SEO)Users are impatient. Design for a 2-10 second maximum download. Reuse header graphics so they can load from cache. Avoid excessive scrolling.

9. Multimedia – be discriminating Good animation attracts attention to specific information, then stops. Too much movement or static visual noise distracts, slowing reading and comprehension.

10. Use analytics Monitor traffic through your site. Which pages pique user interest? Which pages make users leave? Adjust your site accordingly.

© 1996 - 2009 Human Factors International Inc.

Top 10 Web Usability Principles

WORKOUT #3FOCUS ON USER

USER GROUP A

ConversionRate 1%

RIGHT AUDIENCE INCREASES CONVERSION

USER GROUP B

ConversionRate 3%

USER GROUP B &

Optimized Site

ConversionRate 6%

Customer Focused Content

Identify and clearly speak to how you understand the customer’s challenge, needs or questions.

Action

Customer’s Challenge

Solution

Results/Proven Success

Demonstrate past successes and establish expectations. Provide examples of clear results for similar size companies in their industry (especially respected industry leaders)

How you can solve the customer’s challenge and fulfill their needs

Now, that you have engaged the user, persuade the user to take a compelling action that is aligned with where they are at in the buying cycle

Stop Weeing We We Calculator

You/Your

We/Our

I AM AN ORANGE

I AM AN APPLE

CONTEMPORARY

Be Who You AreAPPLE ORANGE

How Does the User Think of You

Google Search TermsAt the end of the usability test session participants were asked to tell us what words they’d put into Google or other search engine to find K-LOVE if they had forgotten the station name. Their responses included the following words and strings of words:

•Local Christian Music Stations•Christian Radio Station Sacramento•Christian, Sacramento, Christian Stations•Christian Radio, Local Christian Music•Christian Radio, Positive Encouraging•Christian Music Station•Christian Music Station, Positive Encouraging•Sacramento Christian Radio

Tallies:

Christian 10Station(s) 5 Radio 4Music 3

Local 2Sacramento 2Positive 2Encouraging 2

Understand and Map content and actions to user’s Buying Cycle

Interaction

Create Interest – Learning Ctr, Whitepaper

Edu-Sell Communications - Case Studies

Purchase & Validate – Proof of Concept, References, Promos

1

3-X

X+

Consider Solutions - Webinars & Demo2Search for Solutions

Evaluate Solutions

Recognize Need

Justify Solution

Purchase

Evaluate Decision

Buying Cycle

Credit: Lauren McDonald, SilverPop

What people think they want to find

How people describe this to search engine (machine like)

How people refine when filtering search results

What brands need to communicate in search results

How branded content needs to relate to search language & intent

People are more pre-disposed to respond to sites that use language reflecting their original language of intent, rather than the more mechanical, colder search language.

Create relevant content that aligns with buying cycle

Original Intent (What is always important to them)= best mattress for back problems

• RESEARCH: Initial Search = mattress for bad backs• RESEARCH: Refine Search = best foam mattress for back

problems• INTEREST: Tempurpedic mattress • INTEREST: Posturepedic mattress• EVALUATION: Tempurpedic posturepedic mattress comparison• DECIDE: Tempurpedic deluxebed king prices• BUY: Tempurpedic mattress stores in sacramento

Screenshot showing how search matches site (per stage of buying cycle)

WARNING: Not what user expects… this content is more for building credibility and is one step ahead

Make sure you align your content to what the user expects

Again, not what user asked for…the user wanted to get back to residency appointments

WORKOUT #4S.M.A.R.T. GOALS

SpecificMeasurableAttainableRealisticTimely

Plan, Execute & Measure Successfully

Business Goal

WORKOUT #5TESTING

Start Testing with GWO (It’s FREE!)

minimum2-4 Weeks

~100 conversions per combination

TrafficWebsiteyou have this right?

Test Plan

What are we testing?

What is a conversion?– Action want to test

Hypothesis?– State Question– Predicted Outcome

Top 5 Website Optimizer Beginner Tips

Best Practices are starting point, they are not rules, you must Test!

1.Keep it Simple & Bold (major changes, fewer variations - A/B)

2.Conversion within 1-click

3.Test Pages with Most Potential Impact1. Top of Funnel2. Higher Traffic3. Key Process Step

•It’s just an Experiment right?(Carry out tests just to see what happens)

•Be Patient(Don’t Get Frustrated and Don’t Rush to conclusions)

What you can Expect from Testing

• Decrease Cost Per Acquisition• Decrease Bounce Rates• Increase Time on Site• Eliminate Guesswork - Use Facts

• Increase User Satisfaction“How easy it was to navigate; it was not so easy last time I tried it about 3 months ago! Thanks for the improvement!”

“Very nice website, easy to use, which is nice!”

Simple Changes Provide Huge Impact

BeforeAfter

Conversion Rate 3% 19%

Increased Conversion 591%

Key Funnel Step & Top

Landing Page

17 Destination Pages on site

Continuous Improvement is the key!

Monthly Revenues up

70%+

over record sales

Now, your site is on the way to becoming a lean & mean… user focused, goal oriented, conversion machine!

Twitter@blastam

Top 50 Tips for What to Testhttp://bit.ly/top50sessj

Emailkayden@blastam.com

Thank you...Please go make some simple changes and make some big profits!