3 Simple Ways to Lever SEO: Small Business Tips

SEO is one of those throwaway strategies for small businesses. Crawling, Indexing, algorithms, the list goes on and the terminology can certainly be off-putting. The truth is, much like kicking a ball or learning and instrument, the basics can be picked up pretty quickly.

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In this post I’ll be focusing on a number of relatively simple changes you can implement to improve your SEO efforts.

 

The Search Engine Agenda

You might think that Google runs the show in how us business folk coordinate our digital strategies: well, you’re right, since search engines are, of course the primary method of navigation for most Internet users (Moz, 2015). But don’t repent, there is a whole host of business potential through search engine optimization, that if you’re not making the most of, you can bet your competitors will.

 

What is SEO?

SEO is the practise of improving webpage visibility and is designed to generate more traffic to your website. There are many aspects to the SEO equation. It can be simple as a word rearrange or to the way in which other sites link to you on the web. Ledford, (2009) envelopes all you really need to know in understanding the basics:

 

“Search engine optimization is essentially the science of designing your website to maximize your search engine rankings” (Ledford, 2009)

 

At this stage you’re probably having to ask yourself, is this worth my time and effort? Well, let me retort with a situational response…

 

Why should I use SEO?

If you, right this second went on the a search engine to access a particular piece of content you authored, the chances are you’d have to compose a carefully worded search query, containing a distinctive key phrase in which to access it on the first page of results.

Now, if we ask a complete stranger to find that content under the given instruction and unfamiliarity of the content, the chances of success are likely to diminish.

Algorithms are complicated and to a novice are seemingly impenetrable. Fortunately, because you’re new to this, we won’t bore you with the inner working of how search engines work. But it’s important you know that there are fundamental dos and don’ts in web design that you most definitely should be getting right:

 

Why you I invest in SEO:

  • Optimize your sales ‘rockstar’ – 97% of customer’s look-up local businesses online. (Business2community, 2014)
  • Search engines are ‘go to’ directors – 90% of consumers use search engines (BIA & Kelsey, 2010)
  • Turn passive consumer into active customers – 83% of individuals utilizing local websites follow up their research with offline action (BIA & Kelsey, 2010)
  • Search engines grabbing more market share – 80-90% of customers now check online reviews prior to making a purchase (Forbes, 2014)
  • Enhance your visibility – surfers consult a second search engines 22% of search sessions (Telang & Mukhopadhyay, 2003)

With some of those mind-blowing stats in mind, here’s a rundown of some tips and tricks for you to better your SEO efforts (Note: these tips are entirely free to implement, it just requires time in which to put them into practise)

 

1# Content is King

Have I heard this rather annoying phase before? The likes are, yes you probably have, but for good reason.

Content is the very best way to make your site relevant to the terms people search (Econsultancy, 2014). Featured below, the periodic tables of SEO success factors (Sullivan, 2013) begins with the ‘content’ elements, signalling its search engine value.

The key is to provide content which makes people want to stay on your website for more than a few seconds. Googles placing an increasingly heavy focus on powerful content (Entrepreneur, 2015) which subsequently demands more of businesses to keep offloading ongoing content.

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If there’s anything you should take on-board from this post is that authoritative content is an absolute must. What do I mean by this? Well, in order to improve click-through-rates and website dwell times you must develop highly focused content that’s interesting in the eyes of your target audience. Evergreen content is a good starting point, however you must ensure that you’re constantly feeding your users with new, segment-specific content.

Social tie-ins are also a must. Remember that you want to extend your reach so that your content is visible to everyone. Social media is not only a great pathway into your site, but it improves search rankings as search engines use this to determine authority.

 

2# Target the right opportunities

Keyword research should be a benchmark for any online operation. If you think your website will generate traffic on its own then think again. According to Search Engine Land, (2012) the top spot on Google SERPs represents 36.4% of all clicks – a position we all aspire to be in. If the first search ranking is gold medal of SEO then where do you think you place?

Using Googles KeyWord tool allows you to find your business niche to investigate promising leads that yield higher search rankings. For example if you’re a hairdressers based in Brighton you’ll notice better results if your key words represent “hairdressers in Brighton” than the far broader term “hairdressers”. Googles Keyword Planner is also a fabulous tool to see how competitive key search terms are and may give you ideas of your own.

Google-Keyword-Tool-2

If you have a unique product or business niche, you can use this to hone your ability to appear on the first page. So think carefully how you set your key word terms. Ensure they’re not overly generic and play around with words that fit the criteria.

But be careful, cramming in too many keywords can affect the quality of the page and be detrimental to viewer perceptions. This is also something Google will quickly sniff out and they’ll only see it as spam. Use semantically related words and phrases to avoid repetition (Econsultancy. 2015)

3# Get Blogging

Okay so technically blogging is just another form of content – but an exceptionally effective one on search rankings. Creating compelling and valuable content will make your website far more likely to attract links naturally (Smarta, 2015).

Too often you see quality blogs which are out of touch with the sites main audience. Address your audience directly since they’re the ones who are going to be reading it.

Focus on unique insights, put your stamp on it and don’t republish anything that’s already been written because you’ll only be wasting your time. Also don’t get too caught up on when your next post is going to be – have faith in those in which will stick around to read what you’ve written – the quality is genuinely better than the quantity.

You might not notice results immediately, but over time over time, you’ll have relevant and frequently updated content for search engines to index (Econsultancy, 2015).

Google changes their algorithms all the time. While blogging might be popular right no, it could all change in the future. A great place to keep an eye on things is Google’s Webmaster Central blog, and sites like Moz which are great for SEO trends.

Further Tips

  • Mobile – Short-form and visual content has become a staple of the modern smartphone user with almost 30% of phone time being spent on a social media apps (Nielsen, 2014). This year Google committed to mobile optimization. If mobile is an area your looking to invest in you might want to check out googles mobile friendly tool which tests your URL to see if its mobile-friendly.
  • Social Media – SEO leverages social sharing and can link to SEO specific parameters such as tags and meta descriptions (Search Engine Land, 2012). Both are inbound and organic strategies which takes minimal effort or upkeep (Forbes, 2015). Increasing your followers, providing external links and optimizing your posts and simple yet effective techniques to give yourself a little nudge up the rankings table.
  • Analytics – it might seem obvious but Googles free analytics tool isn’t only for monitoring traffic to your website, it’s also a great planning tool for SEO. It allows the host to determine the traffic source, search engines use and the key phrases used to get there.

 

References

BIA Kelsey, 2010. Nearly All Consumers (97%) Now Use Online Media to Shop Locally, According to BIA/Kelsey and ConStat. [Online]
Available at: http://www.biakelsey.com/Company/Press-Releases/100310-Nearly-All-Consumers-Now-Use-Online-Media-to-Shop-Locally.asp
[Accessed 29 April 2015].

Business 2 Community, 2014. Six Good Reasons Why You Should Invest In Local SEO. [Online]
Available at: http://www.business2community.com/seo/six-good-reasons-invest-local-seo-01032735
[Accessed 29 April 2015].

Charlton, G., 2014. SEO for content marketing: seven success factors. [Online]
Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/65117-seo-for-content-marketing-seven-success-factors/
[Accessed 29 April 2015].

Econsultancy, 2015. 32 simple SEO tips for small businesses. [Online] Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/66078-32-simple-seo-tips-for-small-businesses/
[Accessed April 29 2015].

Entrepreneur, 2015. Why Authoritative Content Is More Important Than SEO. [Online]
Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241258
[Accessed 29 April 2015].

Forbes, 2014. 7 Reasons Why Your Business Should Invest In SEO. [Online]
Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2014/03/26/7-reasons-why-your-business-should-invest-in-seo/
[Accessed 29 April 2015].

Forbes, 2014. Negative SEO: Have Mercenaries Been Hired To Torpedo Your Search Rankings?. [Online]
Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/03/18/negative-seo-have-mercenaries-been-hired-to-torpedo-your-search-rankings/
[Accessed 29 April 2015].

Ledford, J., 2009. SEO search engine optimization bible. s.l.:John Wiley & Sons.

Moz, 2015. The Beginners Guide to SEO. [Online]
Available at: http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo
[Accessed 29 April 2015].

Search Engine Land, 2012. The Ultimate List of Reasons Why You Need Search Engine Optimization. [Online]
Available at: http://searchengineland.com/the-ultimate-list-of-reasons-why-you-need-search-engine-optimization-121215
[Accessed 29 April 2015].

Smarta, 2015. 6 top SEO tips for small businesses on a budget. [Online]
Available at: http://www.smarta.com/advice/web/search-engine-optimisation/6-top-seo-tips-for-small-businesses-on-a-budget/
[Accessed 29 April 2015].

Sullivan, D., 2013. Updated: The Periodic Table Of SEO Success Factors. [Online]
Available at: http://searchengineland.com/now-updated-the-periodic-table-of-seo-success-factors-162513
[Accessed 29 April 2015].

Telang, R. & Mukhopadhyay, T., 2003. The drivers of Web portal use. Electronic Commerce Research and Application (forthcoming)

Nielsen, 2014. HOW SMARTPHONES ARE CHANGING CONSUMERS’ DAILY ROUTINES AROUND THE GLOBE. [Online] Available at: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/how-smartphones-are-changing-consumers-daily-routines-around-the-globe.html [Accessed 18 April 2015].

 

 

Infographics: A Primer on Its Digital Influence

Since post noughties emailing phenomena, infographics has lodged its way into the hearts of marketers as a way of communicating tremendous amounts of otherwise boring information. What appears to be a hallmark of the digital medium, was in fact merely popularised by it as visual-centric networks such as Pinterest and Instagram go crazy for these posteresque looking artefacts.

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In this post I will be looking at examples of infographics and specifically why they should feature within your marketing strategies for the future.

Visual Learningternet live stats, 2015) the pressure has intensified to polarize ones digital offerings in a fiercely competitive environment. In fact according to data from Tony Haile of Chartbeat (2014), the average user spends fewer than 15 seconds on a webpage. What’s more is that rather reading your websites content, they are visualising it to evaluate whether it’s worthy of further engagement.

Sounds like a tough obstacle to overcome right? The truth is that something as simple as a picture can outshine words a hundred fold – this is where infographics plays a central role in a brands marketing strategy.

What are infographics?

Infographics are the cool picture looking artefacts you see hovering around the web. The likes are you’ve probably stumbled across one lurking within your Twitter feed on several occasions. It’s usually a collection of data presented in it’s condensed, visual form – you can’t really fail to notice it.

The following definition by Mark Smiciklas should give you a more comprehensive idea:

“An infographic (short for information graphic) is a type of picture that blends data with design, helping individuals and organisations concisely communicate messages to their audience” (Smicklas, 2012).

Essentially infographics are the crossover point between information and graphic design in order to create a “visual learning experience”

How infographics deliver results

(1) Condenses timely information

Let’s be honest here, none of us (or very few at least) are going to read over the entire tory manifesto this coming election. Who really wants to read a large and somewhat confusing list of our governments spending? Too much to digest right? Well thankfully the guys and gals at The Guardian newspaper have designed a breakdown of our countries ingoing’s and outgoings for 2014 with an intriguing visual:

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Fostering a creative use of colour, content and data, The Guardian have embedded a set of important financials with a visual stimulant aimed to abbreviate and magnify the government’s spending. Thereby dulling down on the key financials, even those of a basic political understanding can draw their own judgements into how much the government’s spending without filtering through pages of financial documents. This makes it a massive time saver for users and allows access to the information that matters most.

(2) Improves consumer comprehension

Infographics have become a staple of healthcare communications. According to a report from aafp, (2011), words often fall short of influencing real changes in health. Showcasing a visual dialogue however, can give a patient a complete concept in seconds (Forbes, 2014). The infographic below, provided by Emmi Solutions (2014) provides a visual cue to orchestrate instructions for taking Wardarin:

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Visual cues can often make a process seem more informative and, in effect reinforces desired behaviours (Turley & Millman, 2000). This instructional visual improves comprehension by being archived and immediately accessible to the patient.

(3) Presents attractive data

How many of us who have been to McDonalds can say we’ve tried a Big Mac with 8 beef patties? Well according to an infographic by medical insurance.org, the ‘Monster Mac’ is one of the fast food chains “secret items” that can be purchased upon request.

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Illustrating an effective use of branded colours and coordinated information, this visual condenses down information which isn’t typically found on a McDonald’s menu. Even if these dishes were put forth by the brand, would they be featured in the same light as this effective infographic? The motionless design technique implemented in this visual not only enhances consumer awareness but it releases attractive trivia for any McDonald’s goer.

(4) Brings information into clear focus

Interested in creating or reinforcing your brands narrative? In celebration if their GALAXY S 4 model, Samsung released an infographic showing the brands historical journey since its inception in 1938. This provided fans of the technology giant a visual insight into the brands long lasting journey. Identifying only the brands key milestones brings into focus the positive aspects of the brand and subsequently keeps the content compelling and engaging.

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Benefits of infographics

You’ve heard that rather annoying phrase that a picture can speak a thousand words right? Well it turns out that by actually incorporating infographics into your content strategy improves SEO value. While written articles might have a higher place in Google’s algorithms, pictures do not. Infographics on the other hand are defined by their capacity to quickly convert to links and shares the benefits of SEO (practicalecommerce, 2012). This in turn, enhances its position within search engines providing it has sufficient link bait potential.

Some quick tips for designing your infographics:

• To fully maximise the benefits of infographics, you must ensure that it’s hosted on your domain in order to get the link credit (econsultancy, 2010).

• For social media, infographics can be a match made in heaven. Integrate your infographics with visual-centric networks such as, Pintrest, Instagram and Vine to extend your initiatives reach.

• Infographics should be fun, informative and even in some cases interactive. Ensuring that it’s easy on the eye is a great way of forwarding your business initiatives. Guarantee your success with smart, interesting ideas that are comprehensible and above all share worthy. Thousands of intelligent designs are posted daily and people won’t repost nor heed discussions if your visual isn’t interesting.

• Lastly it’s important to know your audience. Designing your infographics with them in mind can boost brand credibility (Forbes, 2013). Studies show that credible graphics have a positive impact on consumer response time (Pasternack & Utt, 1990). This leads to a rapid increase in eWOM discussions across different online communities and subsequently the potential to go viral (Baek, et al., 2014; King, et al., 2014)

References
aafp, 2011. Encouraging Patients to Change Unhealthy Behaviors With Motivational Interviewing. [Online]
Available at: http://www.aafp.org/fpm/2011/0500/p21.html
[Accessed 15 April 2015].

Baek, H., Oh, S., Yang, H. & Ahn, J., 2014. Chronological Analysis of the Electronic Word-of-Mouth Effect of Four Social Media Channels on Movie Sales: Comparing Twitter, Yahoo!Movies, Youtube, and Blogs. The 18th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems, pp. 1-12.
Econsultancy, 2010. Using infographics for social media and SEO. [Online]
Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/5638-using-infographics-for-social-media-and-seo/
[Accessed April 15 2015].

Forbes, 2013. Why Infographics Rule. [Online]
Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2013/01/08/what-is-an-infographic-and-ways-to-make-it-go-viral/
[Accessed 15 April 2015].

Forbes, 2014. Seeing Is Believing: Infographics Revolutionizing The Patient Experience. [Online]
Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolefisher/2014/06/03/seeing-is-believing-infographics-revolutionizing-the-patient-experience/
[Accessed 15 April 2015].

Hailie, T., 2014. What You Think You Know About the Web Is Wrong. [Online]
Available at: http://time.com/12933/what-you-think-you-know-about-the-web-is-wrong/
[Accessed 15 April 2015].

Internet live stats, 2015. Total number of Websites. [Online]
Available at: http://www.internetlivestats.com/total-number-of-websites/
[Accessed 4 April 2015].

King, R., Racherla, P. & Bush, V., 2014. What We Know and Don’t Know About Online Word-of-Mouth: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature. Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol 28(Issue 3), pp. 167-183.

Pasternack, S. & Utt, S., 1990. Reader use & Understanding of Newspaper Infographics. Newspaper Research Journal.

PracticalEcommerce, 2012. The SEO Benefit of Infographics. [Online]
Available at: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3836-The-SEO-Benefit-of-Infographics
[Accessed 15 April 2015].

Smicklas, M., 2014. The Power of Infographics: using pictures to communicate and connect with your audience. 1st ed. Vancouver: Pearson Education.

Turley, L. & Millman, R., 2000. Atmospheric effects on shopping behavior: a review of the experimental evidence. Journal of Business Research, Vol 49(Issue 2), pp. 193-211.

Conversion Optimization – A Beginners Guide

If you’re like the thousands of ammeter marketers attempting to breach the digital barriers, you’ve probably looked at a myriad of conversion optimization techniques with the purpose of reeling in your audience. To save you the expense of filtering through the literature, this entry is designed to address the basics of Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and how you can convert even the most passive of visitors into active users.

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In this series of blogs I will continue to focus on a range of digital marketing strategies, drawing on the auto industry as a touchstone for the selected case studies. Today’s topic for concern is Conversion Rate Optimisation and how companies could be using it to better some of their digital offerings.

Background

In 2014 the total number of websites exceeded 1 billion (Internet live stats, 2014), a milestone to which highlights the adoption of the world’s fastest growing media channel. This makes it ever more challenging for infant companies to articulate their offering as they wonder estranged into common CRO pitfalls. The solution is actually rather simple, and it starts with basic planning of key performance indicators (KPI’s) and realising the metrics in which you want to improve on.
However, before we get to that, let’s get started on a quick definition…

What is Conversion Rate Optimization?

“Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the art and science of persuading your site visitors to take actions that benefit you, by making a purchase, offering a donation, or committing to some positive future action”. (King, 2008)

The definition provided by Andrew B. King personifies the basic notion and end-game in which CRO is designed to achieve. However, it’s the persuasive and design techniques in which will deliver an experience fit for its user.

Step #1: Data Gathering – Website, Audience & Goals

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty of CRO, the clever techniques and fundamentals of this concept, it’s important we initially address you and your company. Strategically what would you like to achieve? What are your goals and value propositions? Have you got a specific customer you’re currently having success with?

A basic strategic evaluation should be the bedrock of any proposed new strategy or initiative a company decides to pursue. As Johnson & Scholes (2008) suggests, it is very important to find the key drivers for change rather than overwhelming on all the details of the environment factors, as the key drivers may vary within industries. Before diving headfirst into the digital pool, you need to ask yourself; what are your core competencies and what are you capable of?

Goals

Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPI) – If you haven’t already, benchmark some goals and KPI’s. This could range from sales, marketing, financial, supply chain, social media and SEO goals depending on the nature of your business and its transactions. Here could be some existing examples:

  • Sales projection on a month-by-month or annual basis
  • In-store footfall
  • Help Desk Inquiries
  • Employee Turnover
  • Inventory Turnover
  • Newsletter Subscriptions

Website

What is your online sales process from start to finish? – Map out the exact process from CTA’s, emails and from a search engine – this is what’s known as conversion funnels. Ask yourself what common problems can users face and how you could possibly simplify the process. Step inside the shoes of your customer and take on their journey!

Analyse your traffic – By using basic analytics software such as Google Analytics, identify how much traffic your website or landing page receives, what demographics you typically attract and what technology they are using to access your website (e.g. desktop, mobile or tablet). This should develop a basic insight into who you’re dealing with and what you can do to foster their behaviour.

Audience

Engage with your audience Interact with your customer, query them, and be the very eyes and ears of their concerns and desires. This requires basic conversation, customer surveys and by discovering how you can remedy their objections. To do this you could use the following online survey tools:

• Google Consumer Surveys
• Qualaroo
• Survey Monkey
• Qualtrics
• Usertesting.com

Step #2: List Hypothesis – Propose test(s) & Target Audience

Based on the data you have now gathered, its time you firmly underpin a hypothesis in which you’d like to test, the metrics which will measure its performance and what you’re likely to expect from your value offerings.

Firstly you should know that Conversion Rate Optimisation is not an exact science, nor is there a proven formula for success. Certain designs and techniques yield better results for different online initiatives (Weischedel & Huizingh, 2006). This hinges on a multitude of factors including the position of the brand, its audience and of course the nature of its value offerings.

Propose Test(s)

Honing in on your corporate objectives in step 1, you must now propose some digital KPIs. These will likely be the insights you discovered in the data gathering process which could ultimately improve the overall user experience. You will also be looking at areas in which are a specific interest to you strategically, whether that be the sales or checkout funnel, subscription conversions or even getting users to sign up to a donators list. Here could be a few realistic examples:

• Increase number of ‘unique visitors’ to the ‘offers’ webpage by 11%
• Increase number of ‘returning visitors’ to make repeat purchases by 15%
• Increase newsletter subscriptions by 10%
• Decrease website bounce rate by 26%
• Increase free download CTAs by 70%
• Increase Twitter followers to 1,000
• Increase email subscription list by 50%
• Decrease website exit rate by 20%

Of course, these will be dependant entirely on the nature of your value offering and the things in which you aim to achieve with your tests. It can be hard to determine a realistic estimate although your data gathering should provide an idea of the numbers which you aim to optimise.

Target Audience

At this stage you should already have a vague idea of who your target audience is, however, it’s important that you understand where the consumer is at in the buying cycle (Moz, 2014). Unless you’ve just launched your website, the likes are you’ll be focusing on both new and existing users, depending on your data you have gathered (see stage 1). Whatever your focus, you must remember that both groups of users are not mutually exclusive and for the purpose of the later stages, should be separated in your tests. Failing to do so could result in unreliable data since returning users will already have a working knowledge of how to navigate throughout the site.
Here could be a simple checklist for both types of user:

Returning User:

• Are their credit card details registered?
• Is their exit rate worth improving?
• Are they interacting with the FAQ’s?
• What browsers are they using and what journey do they take to get to the landing page?
• Are there any insights to be taken from geographic/location?
• What is the average age of your user?
• How much on average are they spending?
• Could you improve dwell times?

New User:

• Will they be accessing the website from multiple devices? (i.e. Desktop, Mobile or Tablet)
• Will they be accessing the website from an email, CTA, web browser or otherwise?
• Where will they be in the buying cycle? (awareness, consideration, intent, purchase)
• Will they have had prior knowledge of your brand?
• Will they have high (or low) spending power?
• Will they have already looked for your product elsewhere? (if product is homogenous)

Case Study #1: Toyota – Creating a Visual Experience

The Issue: As with any website providing high-involvement thinking products, it’s important that the website includes all the details and necessary specifications required to make a confident purchase decision. However, often this is not enough as Toyota realised prior to the release of their 2008 Highlander model.

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Despite an extensive Q&A and product related information page, Toyota noticed a vast increase in the number of emails and calls coming in concerning this specific model.

The Change: In response to the sudden interest, Toyota introduced a flash movie presenting a guided tour of the car (King, 2008). This provided users with a virtual experience of what it’s like to step inside one of these vehicles rather than just reading a list of the cars key specs.

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Online retailing is limited in the sense that it offers users with a visual component which is impalpable and thus impacts negatively on user acceptability (Ahn, Ryu & Han, 2007). Toyota however, found a near life-like experience of what it’s like to test their signature off-road vehicle with clever use of visualisation to give users what they want.

The Result: After adding the flash video, ‘test-drive’ conversions for the highly-anticipated Highlander rose by 62%, in addition to email subscriptions which inflated to almost 200%. Toyota’s efforts and focus on content as a means for CRO saw them replicate this process in their 2015 release of the model which remains a central to their online strategies.

Step #3: Experimentation & Testing – Wireframe designs, A/B Testing & Live Tracking

Now that you’ve decided on what it is you are testing, it’s time to put your hypothesis into action. But before moving on, just ask yourself: are the changes synonymous with the hypothesis? Are the changes technically doable? Are the changes in keeping with the brands identity? And are the changes reflective of my target audience?

All good? Right, now it’s time we test your hypotheses with some general wireframe testing.

Wireframe New Design

“Wireframes are the blueprint for all page layouts of the website. The wireframe comprises ugly boring plain boxes but what they represent is critically important”. (E-consultancy, 2013)

As Summarized above, wireframes are used to assist his or her buying journey with an open plan layout of what will be included on the site. Of course, this is all designed with the purpose of optimizing the best possible conversion rates and is imperative in the stage of any new website (or redesign) build. Let’s now take a look at the process of experimentation and testing your new designs.

wireframe-web-design-ST-example2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A/B Testing

On the web you will come across hundreds of “top 10” lists claiming to improve your conversions – whether this be through simple word changes or by switching a green widget to a red one, the possibilities for upping your conversions are seemingly endless.

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While all this may work for some, it’s not exactly guaranteed to work for you. The only way to be certain on your design is to test it, which is why A/B testing is so important in these later stages of the process.

What is A/B Testing?

A/B testing allows you to validate business ideas before fully deploying them (Go Digital Marketing, 2014). It is a simple way to test any of the changes you have made to your page up against your original design. This gives you the best opportunity to clarify what works with your users to help yield the best conversion rates.

So look at your proposed tests in step 3 – what key performance indicators do you want to increase (or decrease)? For example if you wanted to increase checkouts on your website, what design improvements could you make that fit the profile of your target audience? Are they new or returning customers? What design or featured elements of the wireframe are you changing and how is this meeting your hypothesis?

Live Tracking

It’s a requirement that at the very least you connect your site to analytical software such as Googles free Analytics service in order to track where your traffic comes from. A/B testing is the bread and butter of good CRO, and if you want to funnel your traffic accordingly, Optimizely’s visual editor will be a great place to start. Alternately you could use Unbounce or Analytics Content Experiments as your route into testing your ideas.

Let focus on another auto case study, and this time let’s look at Hyundai…

Case Study #2: Hyundai – Multivariate Testing

Ok, so it might not be traditional A/B testing, but it does showcase the efforts to test multiple ideas on a page which Hyundai did tremendously in their re-design of their landing pages for the Netherlands website.

The Issue: The primary goal was a brochure request and/or request for a test drive as requests for new vehicles were lacklustre (VWO, 2011). The second was to improve the click-through from the car page to the first step of the funnel since most of the traffic derived from paid advertising campaigns, with few users coming direct through SEO.

Origineel

The Change: They decided that they wanted the make the website more user friendly by demonstrating visuals that replaced the current list of thumbnails. They also had the hypothesis that if they changed the normal control text to a better ‘SEO friendly’ text, they could permanently reap the SEO benefits (E-consultancy, 2011). Lastly they decided to measure the impact of a CTA button to encourage users to convert, since it was a technique they’d not yet used.

combination8 (1)

The Result: Hyundai were stunned by the outcome. Conversion rates for the test drive and brochure increased by 62%. The clickthrough rate noticed an incredible 208% increase and it’s really no surprise given the combination of these much needed changes to the landing page. As you can see the photos of the car give instant recognition that the user is on the correct webpage and as a result decreased the intention to exit. SEO friendly text only made the page easier to find for new users and the CTA illustrated desired action

Step #4: Review Hypothesis – Statistical Significance, Lessons Learnt & Evaluation

Statistical Significance

For many firms it the hardest challenge is knowing exactly how successful there hypothesis has been. Upturns in the business cycle can happen for a number of reasons making it difficult to underpin whether ideas have impacted. Some of the tools recommended in step 1 and 3 to help to address these problems by helping measure and track some of your changes.

Lessons Learnt

Conversion Rate Optimization is a trial and error process and there’s no shame if you don’t meet your expectations first time round. Take the opportunity to test everything that betters the user’s experience, instigating new customers and enticing returning users to buy, buy and buy again. Web 2.0 is in a constant cycle of evolution and it’s important that your company keeps finding ways of reinvigorating your digital narrative. Don’t however, fret too much over the idea of extensive A/B testing. While its importance can’t be overstated for large companies, for infant companies and SMEs it can sometimes be a timely and somewhat impractical proposition.

Lasting Thoughts

And there you have it, my 4 step method for successful Conversion Rate optimization. Hopefully you can take on-board with you a few lessons to implementing a successful design to your website that see your conversions sparkle instantly.

References

Ahn, T., Ryu, S. & Han, I., 2007. The impact of Web quality and playfulness on user acceptance of online retailing. Information & Management, Vol 44(Issue 3), pp. 263-275.

Dr. Weischedel, B. & Dr. Huizingh, E., 2006. Website Optimization with Web Metrics: A Case Study. Proceedings of the 8th international conference on Electronic commerce: The new e-commerce: innovations for conquering current barriers, obstacles and limitations to conducting successful business on the internet. ACM, pp. 463-470.

E-Consultancy, 2012. Eight user testing case studies that achieved amazing results. [Online]
Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/10922-eight-user-testing-case-studies-that-achieved-amazing-results/
[Accessed 5 April 2015].

E-consultancy, 2013. The power of wireframes and five ways they help digital strategy. [Online]
Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/63824-the-power-of-wireframes-and-five-ways-they-help-digital-strategy/
[Accessed 4 April 2015].

Go Digital, 2014. Why You Should Always Have a Plan B — The Importance of A/B Testing. [Online]
Available at: http://www.godigitalmarketing.com/plan-importance-ab-testing/
[Accessed 5 April 2015].

internet live stats, 2015. Total number of Websites. [Online]
Available at: http://www.internetlivestats.com/total-number-of-websites/
[Accessed 3 March 2015].

Johnson, G., Scholes, K. & Whittington, R., 2008. Exploring Corporate Strategy. 7th ed. London: Prentice Hall Financial Times.

King, A. B., 2008. Website Optimization. 1st ed. California: O’Reilly Media.

The Moz Blog, 2014. A 5-Step Framework for Conversion Rate Optimization. [Online]
Available at: http://moz.com/blog/5-step-framework-for-conversion-rate-optimization
[Accessed 4 April 2015].

VWO, 2011. How Hyundai increased requests for test drive by 62% using multivariate testing. [Online]
Available at: https://vwo.com/blog/multivariate-testing-case-study/
[Accessed 5 April 2015].

How Ford Used Social Media to Court Gen Y

How does one brand themselves in light of an increasingly rigid and hard-to-reach consumer group? Maybe automotive group Ford can teach us a thing or two – the 110 year old automotive Juggernaut has mastered marketing in the digital age and shows us just how effective a good content strategy can be.

082109_FiestaAgent_ParrisHarris_604x372-thumb-604x372

In this entry I will be looking at Social Media strategies and how in particular Ford have uses social content as a means to popularise the brand and tell its story. Furthermore, this will explain just how even your typical everyday platforms can transform your business into a living, breathing and sometimes lovable brand.

#1 The Formidable Gen Y

When the baby boomers were born they came out kicking and screaming, feeling oppressed and without voice in what was a truly unique and changing time in Thatcher’s Britain. The soon-to-be millennial generation however, have been brought up with their places at the tables already set, having already established their positions within society.

This arguably less vivid generation of Youngers are no less unique to their predecessors having been provided with a wider variety of options in life by their parents (Asghar, 2014). This leading to higher expectations in the market at a time of changing households and social independence has facilitated a far more rigid and hard-to-reach consumer group. For businesses this hosts an array of desirable attributes that few have had the chance to cash-in on. This has made Gen Y (AKA the millennials) the holy grail of modern segmentation.

#2 The Passion that Breeds Success

Ford are reputable for their adaptive and at times abrasive marketing strategy. In 2008 they decided to launch a Millennial strategy in which would see them target a segment which has seen many fail in the past. Research carried out by Maritz Research of St. Louis suggests that Ford were ranked first for brand consideration in 2013 (Ford Motors, 2013), up five places prior to their millennial strategy.

So let’s take a look at how they’ve used these platforms to accelerate the positioning of the brand…

#3 Keeping up With The Kids

So how does this happen? The Granddad of automobiles more current, engaging and dynamic as ever, taking the millennials by the throat and quite literally keeping them there!

Ford have achieved a competitive advantage through an inexpensive, bare boned strategy that doesn’t expand far beyond your everyday social platform.  However, it’s the manor and tone to which they’ve managed to resonate with its audience, using these platforms to lever themselves as a popular and attractive brand. Accomplished through a range of below-the-line techniques, Ford have injected a sense of life, humour and authenticity into its digital content that is non-sales like and  genuinely quite funny.

#4 Vine

Vine can be described as a short form video sharing service which has been at the centre of all the attention since its release in 2013. Providing its users with up to 6 second long video clip, the app invites its users to create content that can be shared and viewed by others, working systematically alongside Twitter.

Ford really hit home with this low-budget attempt to generate laughs. As you can see the video (Above) isn’t at all sales like, and really just uses it’s car as a product placement tool. This kind of light humour really breathes life into the brand without really saying anything about the car being depicted. I personally felt the gentle tone to which they promoted to be modest, and didn’t feel the victim of any aggressive sales tactic. While it’s true this strategy is a hard one to measure (at least in terms of ROI), it’s a rather inexpensive way in which to drive conversation around the video if not the brand.

#5 Facebook

it’s typical for even small companies to articulate themselves on Facebook nowadays and it certainly shouldn’t be overlooked as a powerful communications tool. With 1.35 billion users, Facebook is an ocean of opportunity to campaign, engage and sell to the desired audience. It’s the gift that keeps on giving…

ford_potholes

Ford have made a sterling effort to tap into its drivers by touching on sore subjects that are guaranteed to drive comments. In 2014 they worked on an interesting campaign that highlighted some of the worst pot-holes in Britain (Econsultancy, 2014) and encouraged people to post some of the worst pot-holes in their towns.

Of course this was an instant hit and what’s all the more impressive is that Ford reads its users comments and converses with them directly. This is in-keeping with Ford’s desire to engage with its 2.2 million followers and to reach in on their loyalty and advocacy. This is a deliberate attempt to build affection and positive feeling associated with the brand other than taking the conventional and often ineffective direct sales approach.

6# Twitter

Ford-Twitter-Page

As another popular engagement tool, Twitter is a signpost for real-time content and information. For firms to prolong the life and value of their consumers they must grasp their affliction with an honest sense of branding, and Twitter, as much as anything else, is a branding app as well as a social app.

In 2010, to showcase its new Explorer model, Ford took to Twitter offering sneak peeks, interviews and behind the scenes in order to create a buzz on what would be an exciting new launch. Integrating its campaigns across all its digital platforms, Ford on the day of reveal received 100 million social impressions and 400 million browser impressions (Gothelf, 2013).

Ford_Motor_Company__Ford__on_Twitter_01 (1)

Ford understands the value of its customers and the importance of brand ambassadors through the retweeting of their images (Ratcliff, 2014) to which only fosters a deeper sense of loyalty. The reality being that Ford have their fingers firmly on the pulses of their audience and sure know how to build a sense of excitement.

7# What Can Good Social Media Strategy Do For You?

Collaboration and community are important characteristics of Web 2.0 development and are key features of social communication services like social (Jansen, et al., 2009). Firms such as Ford, Apple and Cadburys have made use of Social Media not as a promotional tool but an engagement tool in order to better the perceptions of the brand. While of course for some of you smaller firms engagement may not be exactly highest on the agenda, it’s good CRM that you encourage a two way conversation with what is a potential customer. This almost takes the edge off traditional marketing and sales tactics which can appear tacky and somewhat of an imposition on users.

There are millions of impressions posted on social media everyday with huge collective potential given the right conditions are created. This ties into the notion that one impression can potentially disperse into the online community and create a mass following. This accelerates the rate to which word-of-mouth is articulated online which has higher influence power than traditional marketing (Nielsen, 2012).

However not all online impressions are articulated as positive: a study by Ease, Hammond & Wright, (2007) suggest that for every three positive eWOM articulations there is one negative, which suggests consumers are highly impressionable when they’re expectations are not met.

Recent studies have explored Twitter and even the notion of the Twitter Effect as a result of effective online articulations via social media (Wiertz, et al., 2013). Jansen et al., (2009) published a definitive paper investigating how often brands are discussed on Twitter in which they conclude of 150,000 postings, 19% of microblogs contain mention of a brand (Jansen, et al., 2009). Furthermore, they suggest that 50% of these postings are positive while 33% were negative.

Others have researched beyond this suggesting that social networking sites have created a unique online culture in which fosters eWOM behavior (Chu & Kim, 2011). What’s more is that social media creates a feeling of belongingness and trust encapsulated within a community-like environment. This subsequently allows brands to get in on the discussion and influence the conversation which in theory could knock consumer confidence in these platforms.

8# Five Lessons on How to Use Social Media Effectively

1) Don’t be afraid to let others tell your story
In 2009 Ford gave 100 digitally connected people Ford fiestas as part of their social campaign (Guardian, 2013). The divers (30% of which were under 25) would later document they’re experience with the car on social media with impressions and videos telling a story of their own experience with the car. This experiment resonated with drivers, and in particular young drivers (82% of which were new to Ford).

Taking a back seat role in this strategy has taught Ford to empower its audience thus creating a community-like environment. Once again this has breathed life into the tale of Ford as they sit back and watch their story blossom.

The biggest lesson to be learnt here is that it’s sometimes important to take a step back and to let your consumer do the talking. Vauxhall (a struggling manufacture with a host of affordable cars) can learn a lot from Ford especially when they have gen Y right at their fingertips in a failing attempt to conquer social media

2) Social media is not a short-term proposition
What you must remember is that with a large audience to maintain, social media has to be carefully tended to in order remain interested and engaging. Ford relishes the input and contribution of its fans and has created its Social Hub where consumers to do just that. This almost bestows a backstage pass in which fans can pass along their ideas and consume the ideas of others which of course serves as vital research for Ford.

Firms in this industry can’t remain flat footed where new information is coming to light by the second. Where Ford has seen others fail in social is due to their inconsistencies as car brands and have thus failed to be the eyes and ears of their consumer. Car fanatics are hungry for the latest on their ‘love’ brands and for those wishing to champion social media must create the best, and most relevant content at a high demand.

3) Social media is integrated media
Social media alone will not secure you of any first prizes. For best results – paid, owned and earned media should all integrated in a cohesive strategy that has the same residual goal. Ford achieved this with their Explorer launch which, prior to its released had seen events up and down the country in addition to its teaser strategy featured on Facebook.

Firms can’t underestimate the power of consumer ‘buzz’ prior to an upcoming release as Roschk & GroßE, (2013) indicates that the first few weeks before launch are imperative to sales. That’s why its important social media is integrated systematically across all aspects of a campaign in order to ensure that the audience is constantly in the loop and the conversation is never bought to a halt.

4) Gauge in on peoples personalities
As part of their millennial strategy, Ford decided to perform a perceptual overhaul on its Focus model from “the rental that nobody wants” to the “cool first car”. To appeal to this demographic it took to gen Y hotspots, online ad space and particularly social media platforms allowing them to showcase image and video content. In addition to its large ad campaign, Ford used Instagram, Tumblr and Pintrest to tap into the behaviours and values of young adults and encouraged those to share its videos. The results were palpable to which they found a 77% improvement in opinion of the focus, with a 61% consideration rate (Guardian, 2013).

So the question really is, do you know who you’re selling to? And what drives them, motivates them, makes them happy or sad? These are questions which will have you creating tailored content that resonates with consumers. Toyota, with a large customer base could really do with repositioning itself in such a way where they remain relevant in the west and not the mid-market stalemate they’re becoming. Creating a personality for your consumer creates identity for the brand and therefore must be kept consistent in all digital platforms to appear genuine.

5) Use the platforms that your audience uses
Last year Ford introduced another web series entitled “Escape my life” to promote the new Ford Escape model. Launched on YouTube and Tumble, Ford decided to use paid media integration and limit the series to only the two platforms. This made for a highly unified strategy subsequently allowing impressions to be directed to either two platforms at higher volumes. Overall, the campaign hub recorded 1.5 million visits, with a great deal occurring on Tumblr (Guardian, 2013). This tactic really helped Ford to showcase their Tumblr site and to later put it on a pedestal for all future campaigns.

Social media is overrun with thousands of ad campaigns and consumer impressions which is why it’s important only firms handpick only the most necessary of platforms. Vauxhall, for example only have an estimated twitter reach of 26,000, belittled by rival ford with around 460,000 and even Toyota with 110,000 (Twitterreach, 2014). As a social media benchmark, Toyota should seek to increase this number before setting eyes towards Vine and Instagram which at this stage will only confuse users at a time where they need to further progress in the digital arena.

References

Asghar, R., 2014. Gen X Is From Mars, Gen Y Is From Venus: A Primer On How To Motivate A Millennial. [Online]
Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/robasghar/2014/01/14/gen-x-is-from-mars-gen-y-is-from-venus-a-primer-on-how-to-motivate-a-millennial/
[Accessed 12 February 2015].

Chu, S. & Kim, Y., 2011. Determinants of consumer engagement in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in social networking sites. International Journal of Advertising, Vol 30(Issue 1), pp. 47-75.

Econsultancy, 2014. Why is Ford’s social media strategy so good?. [Online]
Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/64701-why-is-ford-s-social-media-strategy-so-good/
[Accessed 12 February 2015].

Ford Motors, 2014. FORD NOW LEADS SALES CONSIDERATION WITH MILLENNIALS. [Online]
Available at: https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2014/08/19/ford-now-leads-sales-consideration-with-millennials.html
[Accessed 12 February 2015].

Gothelf, A., 2013. 5 Social Media Lessons to Learn from Ford. [Online]
Available at: http://www.exacttarget.com/blog/5-social-media-lessons-to-learn-from-ford/
[Accessed 12 February 2015].

Guardian , 2013. 5 social media lessons to learn from Ford. [Online]
Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/salesforce-partner-zone/5-social-media-lessons-to-learn-from-ford
[Accessed 12 February 2015].

Jansen, B., Zhang, M., Sobel, K. & Chowdury , A., 2009. Twitter Power: Tweets as Electronic Word of Mouth. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Vol 60(Issue 11), pp. 2169-2188.

Ray, A., 2010. Peer Influence Analysis: What It Is & How Marketers Use It. [Online]
Available at: http://blogs.forrester.com/augie_ray/10-04-20-peer_influence_analysis_what_it_how_marketers_use_it
[Accessed 25 November 2014].

TwitterReach, 2014. TWEETREACH SNAPSHOT FOR VAUXHALL. [Online]
Available at: https://tweetreach.com/reports/13042335
[Accessed 5 December 2014].

Wiertz, C., Hennig Thurau, T. & Feldhaus, F., 2013. Exploring the “Twitter Effect:” An Investigation of the Impact of Microblogging Word of Mouth on Consumers’ Early Adoption of New Products. pp. 1-50.

Nielsen. (2012). Global Trust in Advertising and Brand Messages. The Nielsen Company. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2012-Reports/global-trust-in-advertising-2012.pdf

East, R., Hammond, K., & Wright, M. (2007). The relative incidence of positive and negative word of mouth: A multi-category study. International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol 24(Issue 2), 175-184.

Roschk, H., & GroßE, S. (2013). Talking about Films: Word-of-Mouth Behavior and the Network of Success Determinants of Motion Pictures. Journal of Promotion Management, Vol 19(Issue 3), 299-316.

 

 

 

Email Marketing: Some Small Tips

Using one of my email subscriptions as an example, in this post i will be examining the  contents from e-newsletter, Retail Week, particularly focusing on its design, personalisation and relevance to me as its end consumer. Additionally i will be drawing upon Mohammad, M et al (2013) Email Marketing review for small businesses to further my review in this post.

First of all, while scanning the message and its contents, i found little to no marketing riff-raff, diversion links to other services or promotional eyesores averting me from which was important to my emailing experience. Content was kept suitable and concise and much in keeping with the permission based content i signed up for. I can safely say that Retail Week have delivered on my expectations giving me the only the content in which i subscribed to prior to this email.

While all the content is somewhat relevant and useful, i feel like the breaking news stories have been compiled together to fill the page. It feels standardised with no focus on personalisation which i know would make for a more pleasurable experience, giving me the opportunity to view only the news stories that suit my interests.

I have these news bulletins set twice daily and expectedly they comprise of similar content, not really giving me any good incentive to open the second bulletin. Rather this, it would be an idea for them to reinforce their strategy by possibly offering me a call-to-action (CTA) incentive or potential free download. While this kind of strategy can negatively impact the perception of the brand, CTA’s get unprecedented traffic through impulse clicks.

While companies want to preserve credibility, there is a way to appear at the very least, polite about trying to sell a product or service. Soft-Sales is an approach where you formulate “gentle reminders” as a means of promoting new products in an attempt to soften the pretence on what can appear to be aggressive sales. Thereby tailoring certain offers on a CTA basis Retail Week could potentially increase their subscription list over a wide range of platforms. Aggregating the  two (CTA and soft-sales) is a cohesive tactic and a potentially very effective one if companies want to explore new revenue streams whilst sustaining a loyal following.

Pre-determined triggers are a fantastic way to target consumers when they are most susceptible and likely to be of value. However, Retail Marketings should be using alternative strategies in order can reinforce the message of the brand and to remain interesting to its target market. Thereby effectively utilizing personalisation techniques and a further promotional incentive, such as CTA strategies, they may find that competitive advantage that we all know is so vital in such a augmented marketplace.

Big Data – The Future of Management

The likes of Amazon and Google have had a rather big head start in this era of digital data, leaving many traditionalists long in its wake. But its easy to see why companies that are born digital tend to have a greater understanding of their consumer markets. Simply put, the digital lynchpins are engaging vigorously with Big Data, extrapolating various unique insights that only strengthens managerial and strategic decisions. In the past we would use analytics as a means of making business decisions, much of this left down to “gut-feelings” or “roundabout” guesses. The Risks were higher. However, what we have now is an articulate understanding of the market with the capabilities to manipulate Big Data.

McAfee & Brynjolfsson (2012) explores just what makes Big Data so special and sheds light on how data-driven companies perform. Zooming in on some contemporary issues they illustrate the before and after effects of Big Data on a US airline. The before demonstrates poor service scheduling, bad weather predictions and a fleet of unhappy customers. Fearing that the company was losing millions in revenue, they sought decision-support technologies that would predict arrival estimates. Thereby compiling data of weather, flight schedules and a backlog of flight history, the company could predetermine flight arrivals. This provided a constant flood of information and pattern matching to assimilate exact arrivals and next departures.

“It’s a simple formula: Using big data leads to better predictions, and better predictions yield better decisions” McAfee & Brynjolfsson (2012)

So it’s not just digital companies that will reap the future benefits of big data. What is now needed is “a new culture of decision making”. We must remember the value of human input and impact of managerial decisions. The data is all there, it’s just how we decide to manipulate it that will dictate our success. Online Databases are rife with business intelligence that remain rich in variety and value, more the reason to have many eyes on one pie. The risks may be mitigated, but the stakes in this case are higher with competitors having that same access and same opportunity. Laggards should see this as an opportunity to recast their gaze on arguably the biggest technical advancement since the inception of the internet. Big Data will mark a changing of the guard for how we base our future decisions, those that fail to keep up with the curve will simply be left in its wake.

McAfee, A. & Brynjolfsson, E. (2012) Big Data: the Management Revolution. Harvard Business Review

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