This is the second in a series of postings aimed at helping you as a Marketer evaluate conversion optimization services providers so you make the best possible decision of who to hire:

Q2: What increase in conversion rates should I expect and can you guarantee it?

The conversion rate lift you can expect will vary, of course, depending on how poorly your current landing page (or website) is designed and (more…)

Online A/B and MVT experimentation to achieve conversion rate improvement has been around for a few years, with tools such as Offermatica (now Omniture’s Test & Target), Optimost, and others.

However, since the launch of Google Website Optimizer (GWO) last year as a free tool, we started to see a dramatic increase in awareness –as well as a fast rate of adoption– of online testing as an extremely valuable strategy.

After all, GWO easily allows marketers to run experiments on their web pages and determine which layout, offer, creative and copy combination delivers the highest number of conversions – without having to spend additional dollars driving *more* traffic to the site.

But, as in most cases, technology is only part of the equation for success.

After testing staples like a red button (yes, they often do improve the conversion rate; just try it) and shorter registration forms (the shorter the better), marketers often run out of ideas of what to test next. (more…)

Your prospects online are different than in any other media.
When they’re online they’re looking for action.

Jacob Nielsen says his latest report on web usage shows that web users are increasingly action-oriented and impatient. Think about it. On TV they’re lounging, on radio or outdoor they’re driving, in newspapers they’re getting a start on their day (not looking for products). But online they are looking for something. Whether they know what they’re looking for or not, they’re in search mode. (I can hear the objections around social media users already, but they are looking for entertainment, usually pictures of their friends)

This is why search advertising works online and banner ads don’t, but that’s another topic.

How fast and easy are you making it for users to complete their action?

Here are three starting points for making high performance ‘Action Pages’: (more…)