I wouldn’t advocate making a start in CRO in this way myself as I believe that you need to fully understand the method and consequences of the method, as well as visitor behaviour on your own site, before embarking on a testing strategy. However as an exercise I’ve actually found it rather interesting, as well as quite difficult, to focus this to short achievable actions.

I thus present my 1 page CRO quick start guide, designed for those who want to test their site and spend little time or brainpower doing so. Your feedback is very much desired and appreciated:

1 Page CRO Quick Start

OK so you know what CRO is and why you should be doing it. You want to get going with it ASAP but don’t have the time/resources to spend hours analysing data & ‘expert’ CRO theories. The good news is you don’t really have to:

1. Look at your top 10 landing pages within your analytics. From these identify those with high bounce rates - they are probably not performing to their full potential

2. Look at those pages and think what could be changed to encourage visitors to move further towards a conversion. Here’s some ideas:

• Is it obvious to the visitor how they can/should interact with the page? Can you make it even more obvious?
• Is the important info where most people can see it? Check out this Google tool - http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/
• Do you have too many calls to action? (Buy Now, Add to Cart, etc…) Are they grabbing the eye? Try it with only 1 in a more contrasting/vibrant colour.
• Are there lots of other links/navigation. If the landing page is focussed enough to its source you should have a good idea where the visitor wants to go so you can lose the distractions.
• Is the product and benefits clearly obvious in any imagery on the page? Try a different image.
• Have you had an ‘out there’ idea for your landing page in the past which you or someone else has vetoed? Give it a go, innovation can throw all the rules out of the window.

3. Get alternative version made up of the page (for an A/B test), or the alternative code for the page sections that you want to test (Multi-Variate Test) through your developer/designer. You may want to try a few different versions (depending on traffic - check here to see how long your test will potentially last - https://www.google.com/analytics/siteopt/siteopt/help/calculator.html .

4. If you don’t already have one get yourself a Google Website Optimizer (GWO) account - http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer/b/index.html . Create a new test and follow the instructions for implementing it. You will almost certainly need some developer input as you go through this also, but it shouldn’t take much of their time to do what’s necessary.

5. Start the test.

6. GWO will monitor the success of your combinations and you can always view the report to see how each is performing. As a general rule if a combination turns red you should switch it off. GWO will tell you when one combination is statistically a ‘high confidence winner’ and you can then implement it on your site.

It’s not perfect and I’m sure makes some assumptions it shouldn’t, but I think it does in a very basic non-strategic way cover most of the bases. Do you agree? Is there anything that you would add?

Do let us know.

For probably around a third of the course I was attending Piers focussed very specifically on the differences and similarities of writing for online consumption as opposed to offline. This was the area which I took most interest in, and I tried to examine everything that was discussed from a CRO perspective. I may well repeat some ideas from the previous 2 posts here, but I think this is a nice way to bring it all together.

Time

A big feature was one of time, and in relation to that patience. As web viewers we consume online content with a greater deal of impatience than offline. This is partly due to being burdened with the knowledge that there could well be something better online to fulfil your purpose just clicks away. If what we are looking at is not obviously what we’re looking for then unless we have particular reason not to (trust in site/brand, recommendation) we may well navigate away very quickly. We make quick judgements online, and should not be made to work hard to see what we need to see. The structure & wording of our copy needs to reflect this.

Offline vs Online

Offline when for example we read a newspaper, or are in a shop looking at electrical gadgets we can browse these things reasonably flexibly. We can move our eyes around a page, or casually glance at the next funky mp3 player on the rack. Compare:

1. Click on the back button to a product listing page, scroll back down the page, find the next product, click on that, wait for the page to load;

2. Place product box back on rack, scan eyes across rack, pick up other product.

I know I’m straying into usability territory here - which is another topic - but the point I’m making is that with the copy we use on our online shops, news portals or anything else we need to make this process as simple and effective as possible. If you can use language to direct people clearly and quickly this will help them to reach your conversion goal without stress or worry.

Our stress and tiredness levels tend to be higher online due to extra choice, rapidly refreshing computer screens, pixelated letters, slow internet connections and such. Don’t try and be clever with your users. Don’t ask them open questions without obvious answers, don’t make them solve riddles. Make them think maybe if it means you are engaging them, but not too hard and make sure it appeals to their sensibilities. We take things in differently online, and don’t read as much as we might otherwise, but that doesn’t mean the words are unimportant.

Quality prevails

In fact the quality of the words is far more important as you have to say far more with fewer words. We have to make it scannable enough so the eyes aren’t being worked too hard or stress created. We have to consider general web design issues into the equation such as platform capabilities, site structure and the whims of arty web designers. But it’s all reasonably simple to do, here’s a few suggestions that Piers provided us:

• Headings are designed to make clear what a page is about. Keep it short & jargon free. At this stage creativity can be dangerous!
• Big chunks of text will be especially difficult to read in the upper reaches of a page - use sub headings every “fold” to break up content and always keep the visitor in tune on what they are reading about.
• Use of questions or the imperative verb (”Want to know more?”, “Click Here”) is useful to get people to click on links.
• Keep important information at beginning & end of paragraphs, which should be no longer than 3 sentences long.
• Summarise before details - a classic for product pages.

However sure you are of the effectiveness of your current copy you may just be wrong. However I have highlighted some areas that will definitely warrant your consideration when writing for a conversion; be it a click through, a purchase or simply engaging someone for a few minutes. You know the only way you can know for sure….

11 Simple Rules

During the course we examined some of the rules of copywriting which are generally accepted across the industry as good practice. Piers introduced us to 2 sets of rules of copywriting, 4 more obvious ones, and 7 “Unwritten” ones that are maybe a little easier to overlook. A quick summary of these before I highlight one in more detail:

4 Rules of Copywriting

• Get the reader’s attention
• Be clear
• Express the benefits
• Get the reader to act

7 Unwritten Rules of Copywriting

• Know your target audience
• Do your research - provide facts & real opinions
• Answer the brief - ensure you focus what you’re writing on your specified tasks
• Be objective - ensure what you say is inarguable
• Keep it simple - obviously
• Know your medium - in our case of course that is the web
• Be ambitious - don’t accept you 1^st thought, keep developing ideas in your writing

I think all of these have some significant relevance for those of us involved in increasing conversion rates - things like expressing the benefits (rather than features) and knowing your audience are common factors in successful conversion rate optimisation strategies and I think as marketers, offline or online, all of these rules should be matters of habit for us all.

Getting the reader’s attention

One area I believe can easily be overlooked online is the issue of getting the reader’s attention using copy, mostly in headlines. A lot of websites do this with imagery and flashy fonts which is fantastic at catching the eye but work mostly only on a superficial level. If you can combine these with some powerful words then you’re putting yourself into a great position to increase your conversion rate. To see a great real world example of how you can test headline copy which is very applicable online, check this out.

Piers highlighted a number of techniques used in successful headlines, as listed below (with some variable quality examples!):

Ask a direct question - “Are you paying too much money for your car insurance?” (as in this video from 0.14!)
Use the imperative - “Come and check out our showroom“
Use numbers to back up facts - “3 easy ways to save your business money“
Create a challenge - “You won’t be able to resist this prize giveaway“
Be opinionated/controversial - “Cigarettes are good for you!“
Set up a cliffhanger - “The biggest threat to your health is coming…“
Use surprise & the unexpected - “Hasselhoff reaches number 1“
Alliteration & rhyme - “Crack open a Can of Coke“
Make a promise - “We can make you healthy!“
Address people head on - “We know people like you“

(There are a number of good & bad examples on this excellent post from Skelliewag.org)

For me there are some common themes here that can help us to explain why these tend to be so popular. They can all be used to directly involve, include, address or in some other way interact with a customer. As mentioned in my last post, personas are an important aspect in looking at optimising your content and if you can develop headline content that appeals to those people who actually buy your products then it follows that they should convert on a regular basis.

Another issue Piers related to this was that quite often headlines/titles online, with all that free space to use up, can end up being a bit over-long without telling us anything. He suggested that telling a story could be an effective way of promoting a product as it can involve the customer. He introduced the class to 6 word stories, a concept based on the famous, and tragic, example by Ernest Hemingway, and asked the class to write a 6 word story to sum up their product, one they work with or one they just know. Some course-mates initially really struggled with this but were delighted after a little work that they could do this in an effective manner. This may not work in every case, but I think is a very useful exercise in both conciseness and focus when describing and/or headlining your products.

Headlines are a great opportunity for testing and experimentation, especially as it requires no graphic design and precious little development work to set up a test on a headline, and the possibilities for product titles, benefits, and other headline material are huge. No rules are hard and fast, and it may be that the persona that you are looking to serve actually prefers a long wordy headline that perhaps creates an extra element of credibility, for example. They are also everywhere on your site, from the home page & landing pages to the category, product and even basket pages.

Test it.

I had the pleasure last week of attending a 2 day course in Writing for Business run by Piers Alder, an experienced freelance copywriter who does some work as a lecturer for professional writing courses. Piers was a pleasure to learn from - his knowledge was clear and he imparted it well without being patronising. Examples both fun and business-relevant were used and he interacted well with his devoted following. Highly recommended.

Given my work in conversion rate optimisation (CRO) I found much from this course to put into practice and wanted to share some of this over 2 or 3 blog posts. So below find some things to think about regarding the ‘Truth’, simplicity of language and personas:

Truth equals conversions

It sounds obvious, but the stretching, distorting or the losing altogether of truth will not sit well with your customers. Don’t try & dress something up as what it isn’t - keep it straightforward and straight talking. Avoid the passive voice, it serves only to confuse or encourage mistrust and you will appear unwilling to be direct or take responsibility. I’m not sure how much ambiguity there is here in terms of current common practice, but I think it’s worth reviewing all your copy just in case.

Be as simple as you can

Why use long words when a short one will do? Personally I often delight when I think of a juicy, long (often Latin) word to replace my pithy Anglo-Saxon word, but at the end of the day it’s pointless showing off what will often serve to confuse or alienate your visitors. Take the following very extreme examples which might appear on an ecommerce landing page:

“Reductions will cease shortly- consequently endeavour to purchase immediately!”

“Sale ends soon - buy now!”

While the first is exaggerated to the nth degree I think the point is illustrated - don’t make people think! The quicker they can read this information the quicker they can make the decision you are looking for. Unless you’re exclusively serving a market of pedantic, 1950s professors I would aim short and not long in your word length where you can.

This is part of a grander philosophy in writing known as “Kill Your Darlings” about the best little chunks of writing that you have often struggled to fit into the grander plan, the overall document. You’ll be so proud of that sentence or 2, and frustrated with the bland filler that surrounds it. Instead of changing everything else, the thinking is simple: Delete your masterpiece. Yep, that’s right, Backspace all the way, it has to be that simple.

I think this is most pertinent in a business context (and online I’m thinking product descriptions here) as your customer is not there to read you showing off how well you use the English language. They might be mildly impressed and may well raise an eyebrow in admiration, maybe even remark upon it casually to a friend. But they’ll then exit to a site where they can understand what it is they’re buying in plain English (and I’m sure other languages, I imagine this is trans-lingual) and convert away their pounds, pesos or roubles. Your loss, not theirs.

Write to your target

Personas are a much talked about aspect of CRO, as they help you to explore buying behaviours and almost have a tangible person you are working towards serving. In terms of writing it also covers the tone of voice and the level of language you are pitching at. The point made was you should imagine when writing copy about your business, products or services that you are telling someone face to face.

As an example, if you’re selling parts for musical instruments targeting the beginner-intermediate market it might be best to pretend you’re talking to a 13 year old boy or his 35 year old mother rather than trying out your copy on your equally bearded, middle aged and leather jacketed business partner. If you know either boy or his mother, or better both, try it out on them, and their friends.

While you don’t necessarily want to become over colloquial, the notion that you have to write in a different way to how you speak is often a big misnomer that causes companies to over complicate their business copy and not address their target directly.

Of course, it comes back to testing, and as with all these things this isn’t something you should do just once, but always review and improve. More to come soon.

Matt Stephens.

ThePurveyor.com

Since the launch of their new website in November, developed by Live Concepts, they have seen a huge increase in online sales over the Christmas period.

After their bumper Christmas sales The Purveyor are hitting the slowest trade period of the year. To ensure they maximise their sales in this slow period we have been brought in.

We’re focusing on their Checkout process and have implemented a completely new checkout system which we are now A/B Split testing with the original to ascertain the direct impact on conversions.

Due to our advanced Google Analytics knowledge we were able to make quick sense of their analytical information and highlight that their checkout process was a cause for loosing sales.

We have begun developing a new checkout system for them and will be publishing & then testing this new system in the next few days.

If you want to be kept up to date on their progress & also receive free info, tips etc… on Conversion Rate Optimisation then please sign up to our FREE newsletter just to your right

OR

If you would like to chat with one of our Experts call us on 01872 306 421 or CLICK HERE to email us.

With over time charts you can see the cumulative conversion rate of each combination over the life of an experiment. This can give you a better understanding of how your site is performing. The new charts are available for all Website Optimizer experiments, and you’ll find them on the reports page.

This is a great edition to the system giving you a great visual snapshot of your experiment.

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Since the launch of their website, they have been increasing sales online massively over the last year though a number of highly successful online marketing campaigns such as SEO, PPC and online PR

Now they want to make sure they get the best possible ROI from their marketing and have contracted us to raise their site wide Ecommerce Conversion Rate over the next 6 months with the aim to drive up profit margins.

Maxwellscottbags.com selected Clicks2Conversions to increase their conversion rate because of our proven track record in maximising website optimisation and our competitive ‘Paid On Performance’ service model.

Due to our advanced Google Analytics knowledge we were able to make quick sense of their analytical information and put together their Strategy through which we are aiming to increase their core ecommerce conversion rate by over 35%!

We have just begun the testing programme and will be publishing the results over the next few months.

If you want to be kept up to date on their progress & also receive free info, tips etc… on Conversion Rate Optimisation then please sign up to our FREE newsletter just to your right

OR

If you would like to chat with one of our Experts call us on 01872 306 421 or CLICK HERE to email us.

Well don’t fear Google have put together their 1st edition of the ‘The Techie Guide to Google Website Optimizer‘. This guide covers just about everything you need to know about the technical ins and outs of Website Optimizer.

Special thanks has to go Ophir Prusak. Ophir is one of the Top Contributors on the GWO Help Forum, and he contributed greatly to the creation of the Techie Guide.

Some of the cool things you’ll find in the Techie Guide include:

• A detailed explanation of the Website Optimizer experiment scripts
• How to implement segmentation in your experiments
• How to test with dynamic content

You can download the Techie Guide (PDF) for Free by Clicking Here.

If you found this post useful and would also like to receive FREE info, tips etc… on Conversion Rate Optimisation then please sign up to our FREE newsletter just to your right

Since the launch of their website last year, developed by NetInsight eBusiness Consultancy, they have seen their online sales more than double. This success has has pushed the business to put more focus on it’s online sales.

In the highly competitive market of online surf, skate snow retail 3Sums wanted to get an edge over their competitors not buy just simply increasing their online marketing spend, but by increasing sales from their existing traffic. Thus increasing turnover and more importantly maximising their profit margins.

3Sums selected Clicks2Conversions to increase their conversion rate because of our proven track record in maximising website optimisation and out extensive knowledge if the fashion industry.

This has enabled us to make quick sense of their analytical information and put together an extensive testing plan through which we are aiming to increase their core ecommerce conversion rate by over 50%! Just think what that kind of increase that will have on their turnover not to mention their profit margins; remember this is all just using their existing traffic!

We have just begun the testing programme and will be publishing the results over the next few months.

If you want to be kept up to date on their progress & also receive free info, tips etc… on Conversion Rate Optimisation then please sign up to our FREE newsletter just to your right

OR

If you would like to chat with one of our Experts call us on 01872 306 421 or CLICK HERE to email us.

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