How to Hire a Conversion Optimization Services Provider… Part 2
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 the level of expertise of the Conversion Optimization company you select.
However, what you really need to know is what guarantee does the Conversion Optimization company you select offer to demonstrate how seriously they believe they can help you improve your conversion rate, and how much “skin in the game” are they willing to put.
To know this, there are two things you can do:
1. Check their track record. If their track record is that of success, demonstrated by screen captures of online testing tools showing statistically valid results as well as customer references and testimonials, that is a good indication they will deliver positive conversion rate lift for you as well.
2. Ask them for a guarantee. Companies like WiderFunnel actually offer a Conversion Rate Lift Guarantee. Our says “You will see a conversion rate lift or we keep trying”.
In other words, our clients will see a statistically significant improvement in their conversion rate before the retainer agreement expires or we extend the retainer services at no cost.
In a nutshell, this is what you must keep in mind:
To mitigate your risk and accomplish the best conversion rate lift possible, your best bet is to work with reputable companies that use on-demand tools to run statistically valid experiments where therefore the screens of past experiments are available for you to verify their claims and offer a guarantee in writing.
In my next post, I’ll discuss the question “What testing software do you use?” Make sure you get it by joining the email list below (you can always unsubscribe later).
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July 18th, 2008 at 9:03 am
[...] providers so you make the best possible decision of who to hire. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Q3: “What testing software does the services provider [...]
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:39 am
[...] providers so you make the best possible decision of who to hire. You can read Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here. Q4: “Do you follow a specific methodology to [...]
July 28th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
[...] providers so you make the best possible decision of who to hire. You can read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here and Part 4 here. Q5: “Do you work with any of my marketing services [...]
August 5th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
[...] providers so you make the best possible decision of who to hire. You can read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here and Part 5 [...]
August 18th, 2008 at 1:03 am
The thing is that in some cases, the conversion ratio doesn’t mean too much. Let’s say you have 5 campaigns running for example and 1 of them is doing very bad and is taking the conversion ratio of all 5 campaigns down. By deleting that bad campaign your conversion ratio will go up but it will not bring you any more $$ in your pocket.
So be carefull when companies promis you a higher CR.
Dave
August 18th, 2008 at 10:58 am
That’s true, Dave. Eliminating bad traffic sources can definitely improve your conversion rate, but that would be a smoke-and-mirrors way of providing a lift, and that’s *not* what Conversion Optimization does.
That’s why you should make sure your Conversion Optimization services provider uses:
1. A sound methodology so you know what their numbers are showing.
(see http://www.widerfunnel.com/uncategorized/how-to-hire-a-conversion-optimization-services-provider%E2%80%A6-part-4)
2. A third party tool to validate the conversion optimization improvement with the *same* traffic mix.
(see http://www.widerfunnel.com/uncategorized/how-to-hire-a-conversion-optimization-services-provider%E2%80%A6-part-3)
Does that answer your question?
The conversion rate can be a dangerous metric if it’s not used properly. I have a blog posting about this in development and hope to expand on your question soon.
Chris
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Ultimately, the only way to measure it and see actual results is chekking your bankaccount
Dave