(The findings are of note because, even though the sample size was small and no margin of error is reported, respondents included two significant audiences: CMOs and other C-suite professionals who hold roles in advertising, marketing, and other media, and senior-level executives defined as director or above who hold roles in advertising, marketing, or media from the Forbes Advisory Panel, an opt-in panel of senior executive Forbes subscribers surveyed regularly on business trends, ideas, and issues.)

When asked to identify the most important metrics that indicate the success of their digital marketing campaigns, 82% percent of those with budgets over $1 million cite conversion or sales.

Further, respondents to the survey said the most effective tools for generating conversions, such as a sale, are:

• Search engine optimization (48%)

• e-mail marketing (46%)

• Pay-per-click search marketing (32%)

Other metrics tracked include:

• 52% say registration or subscriptions via an advertiser’s Web site

• 49% point to click-throughs

• 34% identify boost in search rank is important

Plus, respondents appreciate the halo effect that a website or publication can have on their brand: 43% said that sponsoring a website, page or digital publication is the most effective digital tool when it comes to affecting brand perceptions

The study also reveals some early warning signs for a few tactics, such as behavioral targeting and Ad Networks:

• 82% of respondents say they are concerned about the effectiveness of behavioral targeting

• 81% say they are concerned about customer backlash in response to the practice

Respondents were by far the least happy with Ad networks, with half saying that the results did not meet expectations, and identify Ad networks as likely see the biggest decline in share of marketing budgets.

Pew Research, a nonprofit “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world, reports today that the percentage of internet users who use search engines on a typical day has been steadily rising from about one-third of all users in 2002, to a new high of just under one-half (49%).

With this increase, the number of those using a search engine on a typical day is pulling ever closer to the 60% of internet users who use email, arguably the internet is the all-time killer app…

In other words, your customers are using Search every day more than they did before and are becoming more sophisticated about their response once they land on your website – and on your competitors’ sites.

It’s high noon to make sure your landing pages are the best in town!

The results aren’t ground-breaking, which probably means they are worth repeating. The basic principles behind successful landing page design don’t change that much. The skill is the ability to sort the myriad principles and apply ONLY the relevant ones scientifically to each unique situation.

You need to be careful about which conclusions you draw from heatmaps, though. They’re great for revealing surprising areas of focus on your site, but the learnings can only be reliably applied to the page being tested.

The heatmap is, of course, highly influenced by the content on the page. You’ll always find hot spots where there’s an image of a person, regardless of where you place it on the page. So, don’t tell me that you’ve found a great place to put the person’s image just because everyone’s looking at it there, okay?

On a related note, WiderFunnel recently ran a Funnel Experiment™ on a webinar pre-registration page and saw a 190% conversion rate increase! I hope to write a brief case study on it when I have a spare hour.