Google to the Rescue: Top 15 Website Optimizer Tips and Tricks
By Michael Jenkins
Google offers the Website Optimizer to help test variables and increase conversions.
Most everyone starting a new e-business struggles with their website. Either they pick an awkward web design, are unfamiliar with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), know little about rankings, or fall victim to other mistakes that will make their grand entry into the exciting world of e-commerce difficult.
It is true! Some websites are horrible and their performance underwhelming. This makes you wonder what they are doing wrong as their competitors, who launched their websites at the same time are accelerating just fine.
The web would be boring if all websites were alike and fortunately for us, many offer variety and differentiate themselves well in their industry. Unfortunately for those who don’t seem to get the hang of it, many bad websites have been observed over the years and still exist today. Some have been designed by small businesses, while others belong to large corporations – this shows you that generous funds, as well as the expertise of designers and developers, does not always guarantee an incredible conversion rate. Take, for instance, online computer sales giant Gateway and electronics favourite Radioshack. Gateway averages a 0.25% conversion rate, while Radioshack is not doing much better with 0.75%. That means that this major electronics retailer receives only about 7 orders per 1000 website visitors. Ouch!
Low conversion rates can be worrying but are certainly not the end of the world, as they can be turned around with the right action. It will require some of your spare time, but with dedication, the tips offered here, and a bit of extra work, you too can create a well performing website.
Can you explain what a conversion rate is?
Conversion rates play a vital role in Internet marketing, as they are used to measure marketing performance. In simple terms, conversion rates represent the percentage of shoppers that visited your website, and actually ordered something during a specific time frame. This means that if you received 100,000 visitors per month, and 1000 of them placed an order, your conversion rate would equal 1% (1000/100,000). Is one percent acceptable? Certainly not! Your start-up goal should be at least 10 %!
How can Google Website Optimizer (GWO) help?
In 2006, Google released ‘Google Website Optimizer,’ a user-friendly tool for testing website content, and determining which sections and design elements of your pages deliver the most actionable results. This program is quite useful, as it allows you to test various versions of your web pages. Soon you will know exactly which elements of your web design are underperforming in terms of conversion, and which ones can persuade your visitors to convert.
What do you need to know when setting up a GWO test?
Anyone can set up a test in GWO. It is simple, as long as you have all your ducks in a row.
1. Set your test scenario: Before you start:
- Think about what your business goals are;
- What the best test strategy is to achieve those objectives;
- Decide what pages you want to test (e.g. home page, product and category pages, or the checkout process)
The more details you put into your test design, the more informative your results will be. Keep in mind that poorly planned experiments always run longer, do not generate compelling results, and will be less than helpful, as they will confuse you even more.
2. Know your visitor count and your conversion rate: Without this data it will be tough to estimate the length of the test. The more visitors you have, the quicker you will compile test results; the fewer goals you have set up for your visitors (conversions), the longer the test will run.
Put a fair amount of time aside for your first experiment, which can take up to 8 hours depending on the size of your business.
3. Figure out which elements can impact your conversion rate:
- The page (website) layout
- Your headlines
- The images & videos
- The text
- Your offers/prices
- The call to action buttons
Your site may also lack surveys, contests, a comment page, or other sources you can use to communicate with your audience.
4. Conversions are important for all websites – not just dynamic e-commerce stores:
- For blog sites/pages, a conversion might be a comment from a reader, an RSS subscription, or a link.
- For content sites (news, health care, ecological information, etc.), conversions can generate from page views, requests to forward a particular story to a friend, etc.
- For lead generation sites, conversions increase when people fill out a contact form.
5. Carefully pick your tests: The more conversion-influencing factors you incorporate into your experiments, the longer they will run. Select tests you can control as a delay in acquiring results means that you will not be updating your website soon. Keep in mind that without improvements to your website, your conversions will probably not increase.
Of course, you cannot control external factors, such as discount sales your competitors organise, or fluctuations in the economy. If things such as this do happen, you may have to run more tests.
6. Conversion optimisation rules to live by:
- Your audience is always right – if they do not like your site they will leave and not come back.
- Nice website pages do not always lead to conversions – aesthetics, though important, are not all that you need to consider for your website.
- Know how your visitors will react – be aware that what you want may be completely different from what your visitors want, try and see their point of view. Swallow your pride and adapt if you want your business to succeed. As always, the customer is king!
How can you find out what customers like best? By simply designing a page where visitors can post comments and testimonials, you can collect some great quality feedback. Of course, you will have to read those notes and, if necessary, make changes to your site!
7. Know your problem areas: Take a closer look at your analytics to see what your audience dislikes, and fix that first. Problem areas could be:
- A checkout abandonment rate of more than 60% (is it too difficult?)
- A website abandonment rate higher than 70%, (concentrate on your categories and website navigation)
- A home page desertion of 50% (check your design, content, photos, load time, etc. That first impression is very important)
You may also have to consider revising your product selection. Nobody likes to buy outdated, unfashionable goods. Although many people like to be cool, creative and stylish, they may not necessarily like a website with main pages that are over the top. If a page is too complicated, has a confusing layout, incorporates too many flash images, or takes too long to download, your design may backfire!
8. Test both Micro & Macro conversion: Conversions from home, catalogue and product pages are considered micro conversions. Those conversions taking place when visitors roam your site, adding to their shopping cart before finalising their order, are considered macro conversions. Both conversion types are crucial to your success, so test them both.
9. Double up: Whenever you can, run your same test scenario several times, but with different conversion pages. The results may surprise you, as what works fine for a micro conversion may perform poorly for a macro conversion, and vice versa.
10. Analyze your results: The true art of conversion optimisation is not in running the test, but the analysis that follows as soon as the results are in. Find out why some pages are more successful than others so that you can incorporate their characteristics into your other pages.
11. SEO goes a long way: Thriving marketing strategies include Search Engine Optimisation in everything they do online. However, over-crowded keyword titles, footers and headers are not only unappealing to the search engines, but also to your website visitors. Be select about the articles, blogs, and images you offer, and be careful about how you present them.
12. Have an original tagline: Taglines are like branding slogans. They are used in advertising and marketing materials to communicate propositions. Quality taglines will speak to and appeal to the consumer and, therefore, lend their brand and website to more conversions. They also have to be related to your business. If they are not, your audience will be confused.
13. Compose dazzling headlines: Simply placing a couple of images on your main page will not keep your visitors intrigued. They want more, like messages and eye-catching headlines. Set up a few tests to find out which headlines will bring you the most conversions. Catchy headlines should tell your audience what you can do for them, how important they are to you, and why they should pick you over your competitor.
14. Visitors rely on site searches: It happens to all of us. We visit a retailer for a certain product, yet cannot find it because there is no ‘site search’ option. Frustrated, you leave. Do not make that same mistake, especially if you have more than 100 products in your e-shop. When installing a search box, consider the following:
- The location of your search box could be wrong if less than 10% of your visitors use it;
- Make sure your search box design is appealing;
- Offer various filters your visitors can put search results through – e.g. price, brand, new arrivals, sales, size, etc.
15. Establish credibility: Your followers will trust you and your brand even more if they hear nice things about you through positive media coverage, third party reviews, industry certifications, awards, and other entities customers generally recognize as a reliable organisation or source.
A word of caution: Google website optimizer can be quite addictive, especially once your conversion rates start to rise after a few targeted website improvements. Enjoy your progress, but remember that competitors never sleep! So, keep up the good work, and the thrill of success will continue to be yours!
| Michael Jenkins is the director of Shout Web Strategy which is a firm in Melbourne specializing in Search, conversion rate optimization and web usability.. |
This article is an original post from The Web Optimist – SEO in The Desert.
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+Richard Burckhardt
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Hey Good Blog! Simply wondering, how effective is search engine marketing by way of promoting an offline product or service. I see pages on a regular basis that promote an online based product (e-book, amazon.com and so on), but if I need to promote say a fitness club – is the net an effective means to do that? Have you learnt of any examples of this? Anyway, thanks upfront for any help.