There is a  lack of tested business practice when it comes to website optimization.  This is because it is a brand new aspect of the (in itself young) discipline of eMarketing.  That said, one of the most compelling aspects of optimization is that there is no right way or wrong way to do it.  Given the cyclical nature of an optimization initiative, if you make a change to your website and get lousy results, you are that much more likely to do better on the next pass.

Given that Sitebrand is a personalization company, we spend all of our time assisting customers in getting their own conversion optimization efforts off the ground.  Because of that, I have a few points that I think should be considered by any marketer about to get started in this space.  If you follow the first point, and remain aware of the second, you should be off to the races in optimizing the desired outcomes of your web property.

POINT 1:  You can’t score if you don’t know where the goal is.

Don’t bother tinkering with the zeros and ones that make up your website unless you are aware of and educated on your traffic and the goals you have for them.  Let’s say you want to rebuild your home page to grow your conversion rate (for simplicity, let’s assume conversion equals making a shopping cart purchase:

• How many page views does the home page have?
• What is the bounce rate for this page?
• How many home page views were the entry pages for a session?
o What is the conversion rate of this visitor type?
o  How does it compare to the overall site average?
o If it was 10% higher, how much money is that worth?
o How does it trend for the last year?

These questions will allow you to see a rough revenue opportunity for your optimization, and provide some baselines to show if your changes have created a noticeable lift in goal outcomes over time.  The end-game of optimization is not a feeling, it’s a number.  Make sure you have clarity about what the number is and where it comes from before you start trying to play with it.

(If you want to get really into it, start drilling down a little and looking at the conversion rates of homepage visitors by source, geographic location and new or returning visitor status.  Give each one an opportunity cost, and alter your page to speak to the one worth the most money.  When you are done drop me an email, I would love to hear about the results)

POINT 2:  There is a difference between optimizing the medium and the message. (sorry Mr. McLuhan)

An important consideration when considering online optimization is that it is delivered in two key pieces, what you say and where you say it.

Sounds Obvious huh?  However most of the current discipline around site optimization focuses on where things are said.  Look at some of the case studies online, where you see that moving the ‘buy now’ button two inches on the screen has an impact on conversion, or making a green menu blue decreased bounce rates by 52%….

I’m not at all saying the numbers are wrong, but I am saying that changing the shopping isles and front door of your store is only part of the equation.  Moreover, it the most easily automated.  Someday soon a software tool will be announced and:

• it will have a really cool sounding algorithm
• it will take every element of your site and shuffle them in real time to optimize your store layout.

Proper site optimization takes what is being said in equal (or perhaps more) consideration with where it is being said.  The better your dialog with a visitor, the better your goal outcomes. The better your dialog with a visitor, the better your goal outcomes.  Look at the messaging, the incentives, the calls to action and the relevance to the visitors you are targeting.  You need as much Eisenberg as you do Taguchi.

Map out your goals properly, remember that the message is important too, and have fun growing your business.

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal” – Henry Ford

Cheers,

Jim

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