Everyone in the Online Marketing world seems to be talking about ‘Optimization’ lately, but you may not always know what they’re talking about. Search Engine Optimization (i.e. improving your search engine ranking) is a very different practice than Conversion Rate Optimization (i.e. improving your website conversion rate), which is also different from Web Performance Optimization (i.e. improving your page load times).

If you’d like a good introduction to the role each type of Website Optimization plays, I recommend the new book by Andrew B. King, Website Optimization (O’Reilly, US $39.99). He gives a good overview of the principles behind all three types of Optimization.

“Website optimization is about persuasion.” says King, “Well optimized sites persuade people to email, call, and ultimately to buy. Optimized sites are fast, engage users, and are easy to find and navigate. Using proven methods of design, copywriting, and visibility, website optimization transforms prospects into customers.”

Where this book really shines is in the Web Performance Optimization section, which comprises the last half of the book. This is clearly where King has the most in-depth knowledge. There are tips for speeding up your CSS, videos, Flash, Javascript, Ajax and more. And that’s before we get to the ‘Advanced Web Performance Optimization’ chapter. We are in the midst of a website redesign and I’ll be sure to pass this on to our developers to make sure we’re optimizing our load times.

There are some caveats to be aware of, however.

The case study methods do not follow our own recommended practices for minimizing external influence factors so the conversion rate increases are not statistically sound.

One case study, for example, compared two page designs one after the other during the Christmas shopping season and found (not surprisingly) that the page tested later in the season had a dramatically improved conversion rate. This sequential testing method is full of flaws. We have done extensive testing of the Urgency factor on landing pages and believe, in this case, that Urgency would account for a greater portion of the conversion rate improvement than the content changes being tested. In other words, as shoppers get closer to the Christmas deadline, they’ll overcome poor design and content because they’re highly motivated! At WiderFunnel we recommend concurrent split testing, either A/B/n or MVT as the reliable method.

Having said that, the Conversion Optimization tips in the book are good starting points, even if the implementation and testing methods aren’t.

It’s a wide-ranging book covering a range of topics that any one person couldn’t hope to be an expert in, which makes it a perfect introduction for optimizing your management of multiple expertise suppliers.

For more information on the book and to buy a copy, see their companion site for the Website Optimization book.

What do you think?
Have you read this book? Any other comments you would add?

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 8:45 am and is filed under website optimization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.