MarketingExperiments Blog: Research-driven optimization, testing, and marketing ideas

In our July 21^st Web clinic, Live Optimization: What we’ve learned from 200+ experiments each year distilled into three basic principles – plus live-optimization examples, Flint McGlaughlin and the MarketingExperiments team will spend a full 45 minutes optimizing audience submissions to help you identify changes you can make today, based on our research, to improve conversion.

Send us your pages for a chance at free optimization advice during that Web clinic, or right here on the blog. Thanks to Regions Bank for submitting this landing page for optimization…

I don’t know about you, but I have opened very few checking accounts in my lifetime. I probably co-signed for an account when I was twelve or thirteen. Then when I was eighteen, I thought it imperative to have my own account (sorry mom, I don’t need you for that kind of stuff anymore). And since then, I’ve switched bank accounts only one other time.

So that adds up to three in my entire lifetime. I would guess many people share a similar situation. I mean, who wants to go through the hassle of transferring money, updating online billing, and waiting around in a cramped and cold office behind a rather large desk while an account manager slowly pecks at their keyboard.

With that said, my anecdotal evidence indicates that opening a new bank account is a big decision. I mean, most people will buy more automobiles than open bank accounts in their lifetime. So when I am at the precipice of making that decision, I am going to need a little bit more information than five short bullet points and a weird graphic that I think spells the word “save.” (click image for larger version)

Don’t get me wrong, short and succinct landing pages can be very effective…for selling a free Facebook account. But for banking, I just need to understand a little bit better what I am getting myself into.

So, how can we improve this page? We will get to that in a second, but first I need to communicate one caveat. Every idea, suggestion, or recommendation that anyone provides (including myself), or that you read online, absolutely and positively needs to be tested. You will never know what really works unless you measure and compare different strategies.

And I would not recommend anyone make any dramatic business decisions without the confidence that data provides. Changes to your web page must be measureable or you are just flying blind out there and most likely leaking dollar, dollar bills y’all.

Exeunt Adam from stage right carrying his soapbox

Headline – Is it providing value?

When a visitor arrives to a page, you must immediately begin a conversation with them. The best place to initiate this conversation is with the headline. It should be the largest font on the page, near the top left of the page directly in the natural eye-path, and the first primary page element a visitor sees. Regions Bank gets this part right. Their headline is big, bright and immediately visible.

However, its meaning does not provide much, if any, value. Saving time and money for the future are sort of standard for banks right? The first impression Regions Bank makes to their visitors is that we offer the same value every other bank does. They are pitching their visitors a commodity. It’s like Exxon saying “Our Gasoline will Run Your Car!!!” Really? Wow, next time I need gas I’m going to hold out until I see an Exxon station.

Adam rolls his eyes sarcastically

The headline needs to tell me why I should get this bank account instead of any of the other ones out there. The Internet allows me to comparison shop within seconds. With the touch of a button, I can quickly see that BB&T is willing to give me $100 just to sign up. Hmm, I can save time with Regions or get a c-note from BB&T for basically the exact same offering. I wonder which I will choose.

Body copy – Are you differentiating?

After the headline, the area that communicates the most value is the body copy. This is your opportunity to differentiate. It’s your chance to tell me about the company, establish credibility, and clearly explain why I should entrust my hard-earned dollars with you.

What do I get instead? Five little, teeny-weeny bullet points that only make me say to myself, “That’s it?”

First of all, the name of the account is a little bit confusing. I’m not sure if “Green” is a reference to Regions Bank’s branded color or if this account is good for the environment. This is not made clear. If I dig a little deeper by going to the main website, I see that it’s a reference to both more money and the environment, neither of which is clear on the landing page.

Bullet points – Are your bullet points just empty shells or do they hit the target?

Below the account name, Regions Bank fires off several rounds of bullets before they’ve even taken aim at the customer. You can’t just list a few bullet points and expect that to sell somebody. You must lead them into the bullet points with a headline that piques their interest and an introductory paragraph that engages them with your offer. This is called “Sequence of Thought.”

Even if you effectively control your visitor’s thought sequence, holding their hand as you guide them through the page, you won’t have much luck firing empty shells. Look at these bullet points and let me know one that just makes you want to run kicking and screaming into a Regions Bank to open an account.

Adam stands there waiting for the audience to respond

You’re right, there is not one. A free personal savings review? I’ll take the $100 cash. Free online banking and online statements? Doesn’t everyone have that?

I’m not trying to bash this page too much, but rather just trying to get my point across that there is just not enough meaningful information to make me execute on such a big decision as opening a new bank account. The truth is that Regions Bank does have some great benefits that are specific to this account. Unfortunately they are not on the page. Looking at the main site, I would recommend using some of the following features in place of or in addition to the current bullet points:

• “Platinum Visa Check Card with rewards including gift cards, fine-quality merchandise, and travel”
• “Access to over 2,300 ATMs (this can be really important as visitors consider the $2.50 charge they will have to pay for each withdraw with a bank having fewer ATMs)”
• “Overdraft protection”
• “First order of checks printed on eco-friendly recycled paper”

Let’s assume this page effectively sells the visitor on the value of the LifeGreen account. Should this be the only value on the page? I’m not sure, but it’s definitely something I would recommend testing.

This test concept would broaden the focus of the page which is usually not a good practice for landing pages. However, I know that if I were to look for a new bank, I would not only consider the primary checking but also the home and auto loans, credit cards, and investment services. Many consumers are going to want to go to one place for all of these services, so it may be wise to provide just a little bit of information about them.

Supporting images – Are they adding value?

Last but not least, this page could definitely benefit from a better supporting image. You don’t only communicate value in copy, but also in logos, colors, tone, and images. Once you’ve tested your way into effective copy, I would recommend an image test. You need to find an image that not only supports your main content, but also has inherent meaning. Visitors should be able to look at an image and immediately perceive value. For example, Capital One has a graphic on their landing page that clearly explains the earnings you will get in a year by choosing to bank with them.

I hope this feedback gives you new test ideas on trying to communicate value. If you try any of them, be sure to let us know the results.

Related Resources

Live Optimization: What we’ve learned from 200+ experiments each year distilled into three basic principles – plus live-optimization examples

Clarity Trumps Persuasion: How changing the first seven seconds of user experience drove a 201% gain

The Five Best Ways to Optimize Email Response (Part 2): How to craft effective email messages that drive customers to action

Landing Page Optimization, Research Topics

“What else can I test?” This is one of the most comment questions we get asked at MarketingExperiments. Perhaps only after… “What should I test first?” and “How do I test?”.

Before I help you determine what to test next, you must honestly determine if you really have exhausted your own test ideas. Testing is both a meticulous and iterative process, so there are no short cuts. There are no silver bullets. If “Page Z” is the most effective web page possible (most effective at the moment, since the universe is most certainly not static), then you need to test A, B, C, D…and so on in order to get to Z. By going directly from A to Z you will miss small subtleties and large revelations that would have influenced your design of page Z.

In order to exhaust your test ideas, there are two important stages to consider in a testing process:

• Radical redesigns
• Fine tuning

A shrewd procedure to adopt as you begin testing is to “Go radical, then fine tune.” This can apply to landing pages, home pages, shopping cart processes, etc. It’s an effective way to gain decisive knowledge in a short period of time.

Radical Redesigns

An intelligent test design includes a hypothesis that one page will respond very differently from another. By testing radically different strategies, your test will elicit much clearer and decisive results.

So what radical redesigns should you test? I suggest that you develop treatment pages that are a categorical shift from your current page. An example of a radical redesign may be:

• Divergent messaging (“set up free access” instead of “register”)
• Free trial instead of pay up front
• New layout
• New color scheme
• One-step checkout instead of a three-step process

In other words, once you get your testing budget approved, I implore you not to start with a button color test. Sure, a green button may be better than your current grey button, but you have to ask when designing the test, how much better is it? Test elements that you are confident will have a noticeable difference. Even if it’s negative, at least you will learn your grand new idea is actually not grand and you shouldn’t bring it up in front of the board at the next quarterly meeting.

Radical redesigns should save you time as well. In terms of time efficiency, the worst thing you can do when testing is design a test where only minimal difference in behavior is possible.

Fine Tuning

After you’ve ruled out the radical designs that don’t work and you feel you’ve arrived at your best strategy, then it’s time for some fine tuning. This includes:

• Tweaking the headline
• Small copy changes
• Button color/copy
• Order of your bullets/New bullets
• Images

However, you must consider one caveat when testing small elements on your web pages – it can be extremely time consuming. Finding the perfectly worded headline, then determining what color the button should be, then identifying if your primary image should be a man, woman, group… tested individually, fine tuning these elements could comprise hundreds of tests.

Multivariate tests are a way to test multiple small changes simultaneously, thus speeding up your optimization schedule to increase profits as quickly as possible.

Nowadays multivariate tests are easier and easier to conduct. So I’d encourage you to use them to your benefit as you begin the fine-tuning process. Choose a set of variables (headline, image, button), then choose their corresponding values (button: green, blue, red), and launch the test to determine the best combination.

What Else Can I Test?

Now that I’ve given you the background necessary to determine where you fit in the testing-optimization cycle, let’s revisit that juicy “What else can I test?” question.

Today, I will discuss a few strategies to consider for both e-commerce sites and lead generation pages. I will make a few caveats though.

First, these should not be the extent of your testing. These are just a few quick examples to get your brain percolating with test ideas that may deviate just a tad from the norm.

Second, some of these ideas might be quite radical, so I would proceed with caution if you decide to execute something similar.

Third, not every idea works for every site, company, industry, etc. You have to test to see what works for you. And you have to continually test because the Internet, the economy, and customer preference are all constantly evolving.

E-commerce – shopping cart

So often I go to an online clothing or electronics store and see, very prominently displayed, that I have no products in my cart. Well, I sort of know that because I just got here and have not added anything. Really, what’s the point of telling people “you have 0 items in your shopping cart”? It seems quite pointless when you think about it.

What if you used that space more effectively?

You could code that area of the page to communicate value or promotions whenever nothing has been added to the cart. Adagio Teas is a great example of this. They communicate in this space that you get free shipping with orders over a certain amount and that if you order within the next XX amount of time that your products will arrive on XX day. Two great pieces of information that are much more valuable than knowing I have zero products in my cart.

E-commerce – dynamic navigation menu

The things you can do with a top or side navigational menu these days are incredible. Bye-bye to the days where you just clicked on a category or chose a sub-category from a simple dropdown menu. This space can be used in place of category pages. It can be used to promote new products or items on sale. You can use it to guide visitors to the most popular areas or even to sections that are most profitable to you.

When visitors hover over the tabs on the Clinique site, they see a user-friendly menu that lists areas to dig deeper into the site. This type of menu allows your site to direct people to areas beyond simple sub-categories. In Clinique’s case, you can navigate to trends, tools, gifts, etc. Below these options, there is also plenty of room to promote free shipping, new products, or even an offer for a skin consultation.

Lead generation – technology

So often you arrive on a lead gen page that has the same old boring form. Name, email, phone, address…on and on. Well, I say spice it up a bit! There are many simple development techniques that can make your forms more user-friendly and also more visually appealing.

Here is an example of applying jQuery Expose to a form field. The form initially looks pretty run-of-the-mill:

And then when you click on one of the fields:

You may not be able to notice, but the entire page becomes lighter and highlights the singular objective you want the visitor to accomplish. This focuses the visitor’s attention on the form and hopefully away from any links, images, and most importantly that “red x” at the top right of the page.

Lead generation – Focusing attention to the middle of the page

One popular way of focusing attention to the middle of the page these days is the modal popup, or entrance popup. If you’re reading this blog post, you’ve probably seen it when you enter MarketingExperiments.com

Although it’s a popup and sometimes annoying, the reason why this strategy works for many people is that you eliminate all the distractions caused by copy, links, ads, images, and other shared real estate a homepage usually has, and forces visitors to look at one thing. Hopefully it’s something that is impactful to the business.

Question: What if we executed this “idea” completely differently? What if we made a complete paradigm shift? The following is a PPC landing page in which we tested the “idea” of the entrance popup (page anonymized):

[click image to enlarge]

The page looks like an entrance popup. It eliminates distraction like an entrance popup. It focuses the user’s attention on one objective like the entrance popup. But, it’s NOT a popup.

The text, images, and background colors have all been dimmed to place primary focus on the central objective. I know this is an extreme example, but if used judiciously, this strategy can be very effective.

Our test treatment received a 19.6% relative increase over the control. And what did the control look like? It was almost the same design but without the pseudo “entrance popup” strategy.

I hope you received some value from these test ideas. Stay tuned to the blog for more ideas from the ongoing “What else can I test” series to hear new ideas from many different researchers in the MarketingExperiments lab.

Related Resources

What else can I test … to improve my lead generation rate?

What else can I test … to reduce shopping cart abandonment rate?

What else can I test… to increase email clickthrough rate?

Ecommerce, Research Topics

Editor’s Note: Research Manager Adam Lapp is reviewing the battle between common Internet marketing practices to help you determine which optimization strategies are most effective and give you ideas for new tests. On Monday, we published Part 1 in this series. On Wednesday, Part 2. Well get ready fight fans, hold on tight to your Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Google Chrome browser, because here comes Part 3…

Heat Map vs. Data Analysis

Breakdown:

When Heat Map enters the ring, he’s very intimidating, and looks great on the surface. He always shows up in a flashy, beautiful silk robe and has crazy music playing when he enters. Heat Map was a wizard at getting attention and he values the things that give him attention the most. He points to the camera flashes and banners and professes his love with a big red kiss.

All of Heat Map’s theatrics are fine. It’s part of the show. However, he gets himself into trouble by making outlandish conclusions about his opponents, like being able to know exactly what punch his opponent would land just by looking at the color of his clothes. Many times when Heat Map thinks someone will punch him in the rib cage, they instead throw a cross to his temple.

For his fight against Data Analysis, he trained mercilessly in the gym – lifting weights, doing crunches, and hitting punching bags. When it came time to fight, he strolled into the ring confident that his opponent’s strength was the left hook. Why? Well because he saw a red and yellow tattoo of a python on his left bicep.

Too bad he didn’t actually watch footage of Data Analysis’s previous fights. If he had, Heat Map would have known that most of his punches come from the right. What a shame to see him knocked out in a matter of seconds.

Sometimes Heat Map is right about his opponent though. Sometimes the key to victory is written on one’s sleeve. But it’s very, very dangerous to rely on just “sometimes.”

Data Analysis on the other hand is subdued and quiet. A stark contrast to Heat Map. But under that calm exterior is a supreme confidence because, unlike Heat Map, he has been studying his opponent’s film for hours. He’s learned that Heat Map throws himself a little off balance every time he attempts a left hook. He knows that Heat Map doesn’t bob and weave, but instead focuses his attention on one thing…in this case it’s the tattoo of the python.

Analytics & Testing

Editor’s Note: Research Manager Adam Lapp is reviewing the battle between common Internet marketing practices to help you determine which optimization strategies are most effective and give you ideas for new tests. On Monday, we published Part 1 in this series. Here is Part 2…

Flash Banner vs. Headline

The Breakdown: That was interesting, wasn’t it? Flash Banner entered the ring pumped up and ready to go and then, all of a sudden, his corner guy came flying into the ring bringing the bout to an abrupt halt. A very disappointed showing for all of the fans. Colors and images got tangled with each other, the message slipped to the canvas, and the product offering went flying between the ropes. And just like that, the fight was over and the fans never got a chance to understand what was going on.

Even though it looked good in concept, if the visitors don’t have a chance to understand who you are, what your best move is, and why you’re a better fighter, then what’s the point? Flash Banner didn’t even get a chance to show his patented left hook. He didn’t get a chance to show the audience all of the hard work he put into training. On to the next fight before bets could even be taken.

But there was a clever marketing pitch, some rhyming, a slogan. Flash Banner should have had a better showing. What happened? His objective eluded him. There should have been a click, a purchase, something. But can such a big decision really be made in a flash?

The results say no.

Does the Flash Banner on Adobe.com really convince me to buy Creative Suite 5? Does it even compel me to click forward? Well it was above “The Fold,” and we all know how that fight turned out.

Standing there in the middle of the ring and clearly the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world is Headline. As the flow was interrupted by Flash Banner, the headline spoke clearly to the audience telling them in just three to five short seconds why he was their best choice. He told them he has won 14 fights in a row, that he has trained non-stop for six months, and that he could match any fighter in the world’s offer.

Immediately the crowd stood and cheered for Headline to be given the next fight. The visitors decided that what Headline said that evening was worth the effort to continue on and not exit the arena.

Headline is the first text a visitor will see, so it has much potential for a large impact. The post-modern consumer sees through the Don Kings of the world. They are inundated with email, TV commercials, and even in-your-face displays at the grocery store. They have limited time and are deeply skeptical of salespeople whom they can’t even speak to.

The Bottom Line: With this in mind, it’s much more important to be specific and transparent about your fighter’s talents and unique abilities than “flashy.” Flash can be very useful when used appropriately, but it can only get you so far. Clearly communicating what you have to offer and why you are the best choice for your market is much more enduring strategy for increasing revenue.

ADAM LAPP’S UNOFFICIAL SCORECARD:

Flash Banner – 55

Headline – 89

Lead Quantity vs. Lead Quality

The Breakdown: Standing toe to toe staring each other in the eyes, it’s easy to see that the fierce battle of Lead Quantity vs. Lead Quality shows no signs of letting up. In the time since their last bout, Lead Quantity has racked up 12 favorable decisions. But many of those were all far lesser opponents. He defeated a fighter with no budget for a trainer. He knocked out a fighter who was a fill-in for someone who became ill. The odds makers couldn’t attract any bets with fights like these.

In the mean time, Lead Quality has only fought two fights. But each was a pay-per-view spectacular. He defeated the fifth and seventh most qualified fighters in the world. Lead Quality trained mercilessly for each fight. He didn’t just fight anybody, his opponents were required to take Olympic-style drug tests. They had to be a certified member of at least two boxing organizations.

Sure there was a lot of friction in the process, but he didn’t waste the time of the viewing audience with meaningless fight cards. Lead Quality benefited from the strategic application of friction in his pre-fight requirements, but is Olympic-style drug testing too harsh? Undoubtedly so. He actually would have been able to schedule a bout with the number three fighter in the world if he relaxed his qualifications.

Now arriving here on two different paths, Lead Quantity faces down Lead Quality yet again. These fighters don’t seem to get along. But why? Both fighters could benefit so much from each other.

Decreasing, or “dialing down” friction, results in increased Lead Quantity.

Increasing, or “dialing up” friction, creates increases Lead Quality.

A perfect fighter would be a one-two combination of both lead generation strategies. He would test his way into the fight scene to determine the appropriate balance between increasing volume while also increasing Lead Quantity. Increasing both requires a fighter with versatility in his striking repertoire.

At last the bell rings. The fighters trade punches. Jab, cross, hook, upper cut. After six rounds, the score cards are equal at three rounds a piece. Lead Quantity appears to be pulling out in front in the seventh as he unleashes a flood of punches, however few are connecting.

As we near round ten, both Lead Quantity and his team are tiring. So much effort with little result. However it appears he does have a five to four advantage over Lead Quality. But wait! Lead Quality has just connected a big one that equals the efforts of Lead Quantity. All of his patience has paid off.

The Bottom Line: Marketing wants a flood of leads. Stacks and piles of business cards and new contacts. This is their core metric. It can be an impressive sight. But it falls on the sales team to call Fred, the plumber, to see if he wants to buy new parts for his commercial lawnmower, a dead-end that could have been eliminated by adding one simple field to the form.

Oversimplified? Sure. But this is how the battle over Lead Quantity vs. Lead Quality plays out in many organizations.

So how do you determine how many fields, which information request, or how many steps will strike that balance between Lead Quantity and Lead Quality. Well, this answer is simple. It’s testing.

For example, if you have a one-page lead generation form, try running a test that delays the phone number or address request until the second page. Your lead generation will undoubtedly go up on the first page, that’s not rocket science. But what’s the impact on the quality of complete leads you receive (both steps completed)? You may find that you receive far less complete leads, but the leads you do get are extremely qualified.

You will also be able to score leads based on quality, assigning visitors who completed two steps as “A” leads and visitors who only completed the initial step as “B” leads. Then your sales team can only move on to “B” leads after they have exhausted time and effort with the “A” leads.

ADAM LAPP’S UNOFFICIAL SCORECARD:

Lead Quantity – 65

Lead Quality – 65

It’s a draw.

Related Resources

Tricks vs. Testing: The Battle for Internet Supremacy

Lead Generation Optimization: Finding the right amount of friction

Optimizing Your Headlines: How changing a few words can help (or hurt) conversion

Five Dials To Tune In Your Lead Generation Process

Flash in a Pan: Do loops of creative on home pages deliver ROI or higher bounce rates?

Internet Marketing Strategy

Nowadays the Internet is a battle royal. MySpace vs. FaceBook. We all know how that matchup turned out.

Google vs. Yahoo. This one’s scheduled for 12 rounds, but I think it will be a knock out.

And Google Buzz trained for years for a title match but failed a drug test. So for now, Twitter still holds the Light Heavyweight Belt, but eventually everyone meets their match. Anyone remember Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson?

This spectacular entertainment is appreciated by so-called “gurus” of epic proportions. The fight for Internet marketing supremacy is a quality collection of bouts that will satisfy many an Internet guru, but how will it impact the masses in attendance?

Will they follow the hot trends blindly? Will tricks for quick bucks convince them to throw in their monthly budget for an unproven, highly touted secret weapon?

So whether it’s above-the-fold landing pages or live chats, you need to see the results before you invest your wad. There are reasons galore to believe “best practices” or “paradigm-shifting Internet sensation” hype and hope these latest and greatest tactics to generate revenue make a dent into your bottom line, but if you don’t personally see the fight through you are merely gambling. Do you really want to do that?  Before you start paying the piper, make sure you do your own research first so you have a high confidence level to make bets on the entire fight card.

The Undercards

Above “The Fold” Page vs. Sequence of Thought

The Breakdown: The Fold is not new to the fight scene. He originates from a previous generation of fighters who have mostly retired or passed on. The Fold comes from the newspaper ring, where everyone fought for the space on the top half of the page. For people who didn’t read an entire newspaper word for word, the top half of the newspaper page is where you would look for the most important and popular stories. Much of the content below the fold was missed.

The Fold has a new following on the internet. Everywhere I go people are talking about The Fold. He’s the place on the page where a typical visitor’s screen ends. Anything below him takes extra effort to get to either by manually scrolling or using your mouse wheel. Although it only takes a quick twitch of the index finger, many people will not exert this effort.

So what are we supposed to do? Cram every possible image, word, or call-to-action above The Fold? The answer is no, and our tests time and time again prove it.

With over a decade in the game, and 100+ professional fights under his belt, Sequence of Thought enters the ring to take down the champion. At first glance, The Fold appears ready. He’s neatly arranged and he dons a beautiful new robe. The Fold feels this is good matchup for his style. He is typically at his best when he can use his brawn to draw in conversions without much thought. He wants you to press his buttons right away without even doing the pre-fight research.

But consumers are getting smarter, more keen. His tactics have got him this far, but The Fold has met his match.

The reason why Sequence of Thought can defeat The Fold isn’t because of his appearance. The fight for conversions is not won on the page, but in the mind of the user. It’s won before anyone even steps in the ring. It’s won by understanding your visitors’ motivations and anticipating what they will do, what punches they will throw before they arrive on your website.

What’s their thought process? What information are they looking for? Do they need longer copy because the product requires a big decision? Or do you need to utilize the top half of the page to introduce yourself because you’re unproven in the ring?

Not only is it vital to understand the motivations of the user before you build your page, but it’s essential to test your way into an effective page design. Use metrics and data to fully optimize your site. Launch a test for a few weeks then analyze your visitors’ actions in order to identify patterns and find the areas of your site where improvements will produce the biggest ROI gains.

For some product offerings, a short page is effective. But The Fold is not a one-size-fits-all type of fighter. Our research has proven that often a visitor will scroll if you lead them down the page, either through compelling content or product descriptions. If you tap into their motivations and provide them with what they are looking for, page length is of no consequence.

ADAM LAPP’S UNOFFICIAL SCORECARD:

The Fold – 76

Sequence of Thought – 102

Pretty Page vs. Ugly Page

The Breakdown: All of the promoters these days are looking for lean and chiseled with a marketable face. Their goal is to attract attention, put up a visually stimulating facade in order draw viewers to the fight and maximize pay-per-view orders. Pretty Page has lots of colors and images on it. (Do customer service reps really look like the stock photos? Wow!)

There’s lots of flash (along with some Flash). White text on black background. I see at least three twitter icons. Gradients galore. And then there’s that video that I had go out of my way to click pause just so I could focus on reading the actual content of the page.

The Pretty Page looks good. As it should be since you probably paid a small fortune to have it designed and developed.

But does a Pretty Page increase your conversion rate?

Meanwhile in the cellars of the arena, Ugly Page is whaling away at a punching bag. Unlike his opponent, Ugly Page is a grizzled veteran with an acute knowledge of how to win a fight. This comes from years and years of experience. He knows that conversion doesn’t depend on looks, having the biggest biceps, or wearing the most colorful shorts. He knows that conversion depends solely on your strategy. And strategies are not built from the latest trends or by implementing quick hits that you learned at a one-day marketing conference. They are built from testing. From figuring out definitively what works and what does not work.

But the point is not that Ugly Page is a better fighter than Pretty Page. In fact, Pretty Page may eventually become a much better fighter than Ugly Page. The important thing to understand is that strategy is more important than design. You could have the best-looking page in the world, but if it hasn’t been tested, if it hasn’t been optimized based on what you learned from data and results, then it’s nothing more than a pretty page.

The fighter that will prevail is one that tests the layout, tone, copy, and positioning before testing images and color schemes. Ugly Page learns how to communicate his value as a fighter before he adorns himself with a fancy robe. He reduces friction and anxiety before his publicist gives him a makeover.

The bottom line is that the ideal testing sequence is to test key strategies first, figure out which works the best, then add an aesthetic layer.

ADAM LAPP’S UNOFFICIAL SCORECARD:

Pretty Page – 88

Ugly Page – 96

Let’s get ready to rumble

Throughout the week, I’ll be shedding light on more Internet marketing fights right here on the blog. We have Flash Banner vs. Headline, Quantity vs. Quality, Heat Map vs. Data Analysis, Bounce Rate vs. Conversion, and finally…the main card…Tricks vs. Testing.

Related Resources

The Magical Metrics Tour: Demystifying the secrets behind analytical “tricks” to help you drive ROI

A/B Split Testing – How to use A/B Split Testing to Increase Conversion Rates, Challenge Assumptions and Solve Problems

Multivariable Testing – How testing multiple changes simultaneously can save you time, speed up your optimization schedule, and increase your profits

Analytics & Testing

Editor’s Note: Troy O’Bryan and his team at Response Capture drove a 258% conversion rate increase for their client through two rounds of testing and optimizing a landing page. Yet when I interviewed Troy to write his team’s success story, he made clear that they weren’t content with their achievement. They’re constantly considering optimization ideas for a new test.

So I crept into the lab, distracted Dr. Optimize (a.k.a. Adam Lapp) from his current experimentation, and convinced him to apply his complex genius to this page. Here’s what he had to say…

It’s great to hear a fellow marketer realize the power of testing. Congratulations Troy! Without testing, how will you ever know if your landing page or website is performing the best that it could?

Never stop testing

Let’s all take a lesson from Amazon.com. No matter how much money or market share Amazon creates, they have never stopped testing. They are constantly proving and disproving new ideas and concepts. I have no doubt they have eliminated thousands of page designs that did not work. But that’s indicative of a true testing culture.

If we compare the laboratories of our online marketing colleagues to that of scientists finding cures to common ailments, there are many similarities. How many concoctions do you think doctors will rule out before they find the cure to baldness? I’m sure that number will dwarf the number of landing pages the average marketer will rule out before they find the one that works the best.

That’s the number one optimization recommendation I can give to anyone…keep on testing. And I’m glad to see the team at Response Capture working (and succeeding) by following that creed.

What to test next

Of course, it’s one thing to know the importance of continuous testing. Sometimes, the biggest challenge is deciding what to test next. Let’s take a look at the successful landing page:

My advice is two-fold:

1. Test several more radical redesigns

Then when you think you have a design that can’t be beat by other new treatments…

2. Begin fine tuning (multivariate tests work really well for this)

Radical Test Ideas

The current page does a lot of things right, but there is still room for improvement. The first thing I would test would be the tone.

Currently the look and feel of the page can only be described as “slick.” You look at and say “Wow!” It’s dark and sleek. The bright blue pops out at you. And the overall feels is that this page has been designed by a professional design firm with a very high proficiency with Photoshop.

As great as it is, is this the best tone to go with? At MarketingExperiments, we’ve spoken about the concept that “Ugly converts.” That concept really doesn’t necessarily mean that ugly pages perform better than pretty pages. Rather, we want to remind you that strategy is more important than design.

So what different tones can Response Capture test? Here are a few ideas:

TEST IDEA #1: Simple, plain layout

This page does not have a complex objective – just enter your email to receive a free whitepaper. Assuming most visitors are very qualified (i.e. they know what a PDN is and are your ideal customer), you don’t really have to do much selling.

We see a common mistake across many industries where a landing page is composed of elements that just over-complicate the objective.

For example, if you only want to know if a newspaper is delivered in your area, then your landing page only needs a headline, ZIP Code field, and button. Bulky copy, testimonials, demos, videos, images, and other fancy page elements are just not necessary.

The Washington Post is an excellent example of a simple ZIP Code entry:

Compare this to the New York Post:

I just want to find out if you deliver to my area. I don’t need to know about the top columnist or the Page Six gossip section.

This applies for companies that provide free quotes for insurance or a similar service. A visitor just wants to enter a few pieces of information and see a number. Putting layers of clutter in their way just creates friction.

To summarize, I would test a page that has the following:

• A non-descript background
• Simple headline: “Download your free report on PDN Simulation”
• Sub-headline: “Tell us where to send the report”
• Email field
• Button

Just make it as simple as possible.

TEST IDEA #2: Report style

So if someone clicks through, we know we have their interest. They are ready to read about PDN Simulation (must be a page turner!). Then give them what they want right away.

Upon landing, visitors could see a page that looks like a report. Here’s one I found quickly from Google Research:

They clicked through with the expectation of seeing a report, and that’s what you have given them with this treatment. Get them engaged right away. Provide an abstract or first couple of paragraphs, then place a call to action to “download the full report.”

Just make sure that you clearly communicate that the whitepaper is free because this treatment strategy communicates much more value than the others. The report style has more of a high-brow, university type of tone – which isn’t always free. It may work or it may not, but the idea is to test.

Those two test ideas should give you a good start, but if you can think of more, test them and let us know how they work out.

Fine Tuning Ideas

Once you’ve found a primary strategy that works, then it’s time to fine tune. Nothing is off limits here. Let’s assume that the current design has stood the test of time…it has defeated several other radical redesigns you have thrown at it. What do you test?

1. Headline

• Test variations that quantify what’s in the report
• Create urgency (i.e. “available for a limited time” or “you have to know this now”)
• Think of several benefits from reading the report, then test each one in the headline
• Pull out several one-liners from the report that announce an exciting finding
• Test a few provocative questions

2. Rotate bullets and add new bullets

3. Choose three or four different images to test

• Other images of the report
• Photographs of people that may connect with the target audience
• Charts and graphs
• Other items related to PDN (I have to admit, I’m not your target customer so I’m not quite sure what they would be)

4. Button copy – it’s pretty good now, but you could definitely stumble upon something better

5. Color scheme

• Test several different background/font combinations
• Will a light background with dark font work better?

6. Placement of gift card incentive

• In the headline
• As one of the main bullets
• Before the button
• To the right of the button

Now we put this challenge in front of you, the MarketingExperiments community. Use the comments field to post your suggestions for this landing page, agree/disagree with this assessment by Dr. Optimize, and let the page owner know what you would do differently.

Landing Page Optimization, Practical Application, Research Topics