Category: Best Web Page Design Practices

Resources for Internet Marketing and Website Optimization Tips from the Experts

comments Comments (0)
By admin, October 6, 2010

I am always on the lookout for resources for Internet Marketing and Website Optimization. So when I heard good things from colleagues about MarketingSherpa’s Annual B2B Marketing Summit, last year, I decided to attend. For those of you who do not know about this resource- MarketingSherpa’s Annual B2B Marketing “Summit,” is a gathering of some of the best and brightest minds in the marketing industry to share what they have learned through research and case studies.

I learned so much about marketing and website optimization from attending that summit and over the last year, I have been receiving newsletters and information from a number of companies that were present at the summit. I wanted to tell you about some of these resources in an effort to give you access to the latest research on internet marketing and website optimization.

marketingsherpa logo

MarketingSherpa, the host of the summit, has been a great source on the latest in marketing research. They are a research firm specializing in tracking what works in all aspects of marketing (and what does not.) 
They are not an agency, consultancy or other vendor seeking your business. They publish research to give marketers of the world the stats, inspiration, and instructions to improve their results. They offer some informative, free newsletters that you can access at Marketingsherpa newsletters subscription link.

MarketingSherpa is hosting another upcoming summit in Boston , at the Westin Waltham, on October 25-26th which I will be attending. For more details about this summit and to get access to discounted rates click to Learn more.

marketingexperiments logo

MarketingExperiments, another company attending the summit is often described as a “research laboratory dedicated to discovering what really works in internet marketing.”

One of the speakers at the summit last year, Dr. Flint McGlaughlin, the Director of MarketingExperiments, discussed how certain simple design and layout elements on home pages, registration pages and landing pages can make a big difference in click through rates.

Dr. Flint Mcglaughlin

Dr. McGlaughlin described the top four impediments to lead conversion on a web landing page as:

      1.  Lack of clarity about what visitors can do on your page and why they should do it.

      2.   An “undisciplined eye path” on the web page, usually caused by clutter, poor design and bad color choices.

      3.   An insufficient explanation to your web visitors about the benefits of your offer, or “value proposition.”

      4.   Psychological “friction” caused by a subscription form that is too long, often on the first page, collecting

           too much, or unnecessary information, and poorly designed.

 

Dr. McGlaughlin suggests that you take steps to design your web pages with your visitor in mind, and make sure you answer 3 main questions for the visitor to your website:

·   Where am I at?

·   What can I do here? and

·   Why should I do it?

 

You can subscribe to MarketingExperiments research results by going to this page:  MarketingExperiments subscription link

These are just a few resources to get to you started. Stay tuned for more.

Click on pen to Use a Highlighter on this page

categories Best Web Page Design Practices, internet marketing | tags , , , , , , ,

Is Your Web Site Working for You? 8 Tips to a Better Web site

comments Comments (0)
By admin, September 9, 2010
Is your website working for you? Do you know the answer to this question? Have you tested it?
 
Most people build their website and then do nothing with it. They somehow expect that because they built it-customers will come. In most instances, this will not be the case. To launch and effective online campaign you must monitor and test your website to get the maximum benefit from it. Ultimately, your website should be an essential element of your sales force helping to generate prospects and leads.
 
The purpose of this article is to give you some ideas as to how one goes about testing their website by making some changes to web page content or web page design and gauging the effectiveness of these changes.
 
Here are my 8 tips for effective web sites:
 
1. Change the headline. Why? Headlines are very important. If your site visitor doesn’t like the headline, they probably will not read any further. One approach is to express your main message in a headline that is worded in terms of how your product or service is of benefit to the customer, instead of focusing on product features. Use headlines from major publications to get ideas.
 
2. Change the position of products/services on the page. Prime positions get more visibility so your high profit items should go near the top.
 
3. Test different offers to see what works, e.g. a one-month free trial, buy-one-get-one-free, pay in installments, etc.
 
4. Test high, low and odd pricing. Odd pricing is prices which end in the numbers 9 or 7 which tend to sell better. You can also offer standard and premium versions at different price points.
 
5. Try different “calls to action.” The call to action is what you want the visitor to do next. Some examples are: “click here to sign up for our newsletter,” or “Learn More.”
 
6. Add testimonials from satisfied customers or those who hold name recognition in a relevant industry. This could be in the form of a text letter, or video. Don’t forget to have a system in place to collect testimonials.
 
7. Give the customer reasons to act quickly. Put a time limit on an offer.
 
8. Change some design elements. Changing pictures and/or colors, and adding bold text has also been shown to influence visitor behavior.
 
On the many websites that I have worked-I have seen how making just small changes can improve business, web traffic, newsletter subscriptions, and even result in more cross-selling and up-selling. But don’t take my word for it-try implementing these 8 action steps on your web site and see for yourself if you can boost your results on your web pages significantly.
 
 

Click on pen to Use a Highlighter on this page

categories Best Web Page Design Practices | tags , , , , , , ,

Panorama Theme by Themocracy

Highlighter, My Highlights Widget and Sidebar Pen powered by Rooh.it (for WordPress)