NOTES:
We will be adding notes here. Please refresh this page when instructed to do so.
| Case Study #2 - Test C: Landing Pages | |
|---|---|
| Page | Conversion Rate |
| Page A (Control) | 0.67% |
| Page B | 0.66% |
| Page C | 1.05% |
| Case Study #2 - Test B: Basket Recovery | |
|---|---|
| Variable | Conversion Rate |
| Before Basket Recovery | 0.49% |
| After Basket Recovery | 0.73% |
| Case Study #2 - Test A: Price Testing | |
|---|---|
| Price Point | Conversion Rate |
| $29.00 | 0.44% |
| $34.95 | 0.36% |
| Case Study #2: Compounded Improvements in Conversion Rate | |
|---|---|
| Implemented Change | Improvement in Conversion Rate |
| Test A - Price Testing | 22.22% |
| Test B - Basket Recovery | 49.98% |
| Test C - Landing Pages | 56.72% |
| Total Improvement | 187.27% |
O(PR) > O(PRN) > O(CNN)
Where:
O = Optimize
PR = Product
PRN = Presentation
CNN = Channel
Stage 1 - Optimizing Your Product or Offer:
This step covers Steps 1 and 7 in our Marketing Blueprint (Conduct a Competitive Analysis and Price Testing), but also covers market analysis, quantitative analysis, product and program strategy, usability testing, and similar efforts.
Stage 2 - Optimizing Your Presentation
This stage covers the following steps from our Marketing Blueprint:
2. Optimize Your Home Page and Landing Pages
3. Optimize Your Website Copy
4. Implement Your Website Metrics and Testing Platform(s)
5. Improve Your Order Process
6. Develop Your Email Capture
12. Pursue Site Credibility Indicators
Stage 3 - Optimizing Your Marketing Channels
This stage covers the following steps from our Marketing Blueprint:
8. Set Up Your Comparison Shopping Engine Campaigns
9. Set Up Your Pay-Per-Click Campaigns
10. Optimize Your Website for Natural Search Engines
11. Implement a Linking Campaign
13. Utilize Email Marketing
14. Explore Alternative Marketing Channels
15. Explore Additional Marketing Opportunities
| Case Study #1: Compounded Improvements in Conversion Rate | |
|---|---|
| Implemented Change | Improvement in Conversion Rate |
| Optimizing Landing Pages | 64% |
| Testing a Free-Trial Offer | 541% |
| Improving Site Offer Copy | 47% |
| Optimizing the Subscription Path | 293% |
| Total Improvement | 6068% |
URLs:
BIO:
Primary Speaker: Dr. Flint McGlaughlin
The Marketing Experiments Journal is published by Digital Trust Inc. (DTI). Dr. Flint McGlaughlin is the Director of DTI.
Dr. McGlaughlin is a pioneer in strategy and communications. His primary research is focused on discovering the most effective means to market intellectual assets across the Internet.
Dr. McGlaughlin has advised more than 1500 companies including, AT&T, The Federal Reserve, Pitney Bowes, and Merrill Lynch. He has conducted over 2000 hours of keynote speaking. He has directed the development of more than 20,000 web pages.
Dr. McGlaughlin currently serves as the Co-Executive Producer of the new FOX Family series: "Courage" - hosted by actor Danny Glover. He also serves as a senior advisor or board member to twelve growing companies, and four charitable foundations.
His writing and television production activities have, thus far, won two Tellys, an Edwin Murrough, and an Emmy.
Dr. McGlaughlin is quick to acknowledge that the research at MEC is largely dependent on the intense, focused efforts of the Lab's Leadership Team.
NOTES:
We will be adding notes here. Please refresh this page when instructed to do so.
To get the most benefit from these experiments:
You can apply for a Research Partnership and participate in our calendar of experiments. To read more about the qualifications, click here:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/research_call.cfm
15 Steps:
Optimization Methodology
o(pr) > o(prn) > o(cnn)
Where:
o = optimize
pr = product
prn = presentation
cnn = channel
Success Index (S)
S = 2v + o + t
Where:
v = Force of Value Proposition
o = Optimization
t = Inexpensive Traffic
Step 1 - Conduct a Competitive Analysis
A competitive analysis is a formal evaluation in which you review the businesses of one or more companies that compete, directly or indirectly, with your own. Online, competitors have access to each other's company information and marketing materials that they might not be able to gather as easily in the offline world. This allows for even greater opportunities to benefit from competitive analysis data.
But how can companies improve by analyzing their competitors? And what is the best way to implement a thorough competitive analysis?
L1. Online Competitive Analysis Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1093L2. Competitive Analysis Spreadsheet:
http://www.meclabs.com/CompetitiveAnalysis.xls
Are you using the best names for your products and services? Is your domain name the ideal name for your business? Our testing has shown that intuition does not always produce the best names, and that there is no substitute for well-crafted name tests.
L5. Domain/Product Name Testing:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1123
Step 2 - Optimize Your Home Page and Landing Pages
Before you drive traffic to your site, you need to make sure that it is optimized for the highest possible yield. You have just a few seconds to capture your visitors' attention, focus their eye path, and drive them to a revenue-yielding click.
L7. Home Page Design Tested - Part 1:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1063L8. Home Page Design Tested - Part 2:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1065
Page weight is a measurement of the file size (usually in kilobytes) of a web page that includes the combined size of all the elements of the page, including HTML files, images, audio or video, Flash animation, etc. Optimizing your page weight can have a significant impact on your site's conversion ratio.
L9. Page Weight Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1094
What are landing pages and why are they important? Is it possible that these pages may be even more important that your home page? Are you spending too much time optimizing the wrong pages on your site? How did our test site improve its total site conversion and increase revenue by 31.5% just by optimizing its primary landing page?
L10. Landing Pages Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1041
What good is it to optimize your site for maximum yield if 40% of your visitors experience browser display issues? This is the single most overlooked problem with site design. For some reason, marketers don't know how or don't want to be bothered with cross-platform testing -- but it is essential.
L11. Site Compatibility Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1061
Step 3 - Optimize Your Website Copy
In addition to site design optimization, you should pay close attention to your site copy. What impact can the length of your sales copy have upon your website's conversion ratio? What are the advantages of long copy and short copy? What are the ten key guidelines to keep in mind when evaluating your site copy?
L12. Long Copy vs. Short Copy Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1085
Our article "Transparent Marketing: How to Earn the Trust of a Skeptical Consumer" will also provide a number of guidelines for writing high-quality copy for the Information Age.
L13. Transparent Marketing:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1068
Step 4 - Implement Your Website Metrics and Testing Platform(s)
The Internet was supposed to provide a wealth of useful data, but for many, it is a quagmire of disconnected, inaccurate numbers. Is there a way to cut through the web metrics confusion? Here are some of our discoveries, including our recent testing of A/B and multivariate testing platforms.
L14. A/B Split Testing:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1119L15. Multivariable Testing:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1127L16. Web Metrics Tested - Part 1:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1081L17. Web Metrics Tested - Part 2:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1075
Although some marketing efforts may be home-runs, don't expect spectacular results with each new effort. Einstein remarked that compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe. This compounding force can apply to small, incremental gains in your marketing as well.
L3. The Compounding Effect of Micro-Gains:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1126L4. Compounding Effect Spreadsheet Tool:
http://www.meclabs.com/CompoundingEffectTool.xls
Step 5 - Improve Your Order Process
More than 30% of all orders are abandoned in the shopping cart. Billions of dollars per year are lost due to poor cart design, unstable credit card processing, or weak follow-up. Improve your order process and you can double your revenue without spending one dollar more for advertising.
L18. Conversion Rate Optimization
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1118L19. Shopping Cart Recovery:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1116L20. Order Process Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1052L21. Abandoned Order Recovery Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1054
What is a Configurator and how does it work? What are the benefits of using one and how can it contribute to increased conversion on your retail site? On what kinds of sites is a Configurator useful and what is the best way to set one up?
L22. Configurator Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1018
For subscription- and service-based sites, we looked specifically at optimizing the subscription path for potential customers. In just the first month of testing, our test site was able to increase its monthly revenue by 14.74% by improving its subscription path.
L23. Ideal Subscription Path Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1040
Step 6 - Develop Your Email Capture
Before spending thousands of dollars with the pay-per-click engines, make sure that you are capturing the email addresses of as many visitors as possible. Why pay again to reach the same shopper? A smart email capture program can significantly improve your pay-per-click return by eliminating the need to pay to reach the same individuals more than once.
L24. Email Capture Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1024L25. Email Capture Pop-Ups Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1025L26. Email Welcome Message Sequence Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1086
Step 7 - Optimize Your Offer Pricing
When determining your ideal offer price, there is no substitute for effective testing. Often, you won't know your ideal price until you've gone too high. On the other hand, free trials sometimes produce greater returns by allowing your customers to try your services risk-free.
L27. Price Testing:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1124L28. Price Testing Analysis Tool:
http://www.meclabs.com/MEC_Price-Testing_Analysis_Tool.xlsL29. Free Trial Offers:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1109L30. Free Trial Profitability Calculator:
http://www.meclabs.com/FreeTrialProfitabilityCalculator.xls
What if you could leverage a few simple tests to optimize the price of your online offer? How do you know if your price point is high enough to achieve maximum margins, but low enough to achieve maximum revenue? We tested three price points to maximize profit for our test site.
L31. Offer Pricing Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1049
For subscription-based sites, we also looked specifically at content sales and subscription revenue. What is the ideal pricing structure for your online content?
L32. Content Sales Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1030L33. Subscription Revenue Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1091L34. Subscription Site Metrics Tool:
http://www.meclabs.com/SubscriptionSiteMetrics.xls
Step 8 - Set Up Your Comparison Shopping Engine Campaigns
The comparison search engines typically achieve a much higher conversion ratio than traditional pay-per-click because the shopper reviews price, availability, and shipping information before clicking through to your site. We tested 40,000 products to measure the conversion ratio for 17 different engines. You can use this data to select the most appropriate channels for your products.
L35. Comparison Search Engines Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1016
We achieved a conversion rate of 13.3 percent on this information-rich shopping search engine AND we did not have to enter thousands of keywords. DealTime may be one of the quickest ways to begin capturing qualified traffic.
L36. DealTime Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1020
What are the typical requirements of a comparison search engine data feed? How do you update and maintain a data feed once it is created? And how can you optimize and effectively use data feeds to drive the most qualified traffic?
L37. Data Feeds Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1019
Step 9 - Set Up Your Pay-Per-Click Campaigns
Pay-per-click (PPC) remains one of the most effective means of attracting a large volume of qualified traffic. Our recent research outlines a 90-day plan for launching a new PPC campaign.
L38. 90-Day PPC Plan:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1121
What are the risks of click fraud? Our research indicates that as much as 30% of paid search traffic may be fraudulent. This report will help you remain vigilant against potential losses.
L39. Click Fraud:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1115
PPC optimization begins at the level of the ads themselves. This article outlines techniques for optimizing your ad headlines, body copy, and more. Our testing improved click-through rate by as much as 121%.
L40. PPC Ad Copy:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1114
Our experience suggests that the best way to begin your primary search engine work is to create an effective Google AdWords campaign. We generally use the data from this campaign to prepare all of our other search engine plans. It can be the least expensive and most data-rich testing platform. Read how we achieved at 1200% ROI and get our step-by-step blueprint for success.
L41. Google Adwords Select Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1033L42. Google AdWords Revisited:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1035
Overture can drive significant traffic to your site. The key is to control your bid pricing. Read how we reduced our average costs from $1.52 to $0.25 per click. Get our step-by-step blueprint for an effective Overture campaign.
L43. Overture Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1055
We've also tested a number of other PPC engines and techniques that may help enhance your PPC marketing.
L44. Small PPC Engines Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1067L45. 5 Paid Search Engines Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1058L46. Google AdSense Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1032L47. PPC for Subscription-Based Sites:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1057L48. Avoiding Unprofitable PPC Campaigns:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1088L49. Max Bid Analysis Spreadsheet:
http://www.meclabs.com/MaxBidAnalysis.xls
Step 10 - Optimize Your Website for Natural Search Engines
With the predominance of PPC engines, how important are natural search engines? How much traffic can you expect from those sites? What techniques can you implement that will help improve your site ranking in ALL natural search engines?
L50. Natural Search Engines Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1048
Researchers at MEC studied the Google PageRank system for six months before publishing any results. Our objective was practical, if a bit daunting: to cut through a number of complicated algorithms and articulate a simple way to increase your Google traffic.
L51. Google PageRank Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1036
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using dynamic web pages? Can you increase the likelihood that dynamic web pages will be indexed by search engines? What are most effective techniques you should keep in mind when optimizing dynamic web pages?
L52. Dynamic Pages Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1087
Step 11 - Implement a Linking Campaign
Why are incoming links important for your website? What is the most effective technique to generate incoming links, and how can you measure the number of incoming links to your site? What are 20 additional strategies to generate incoming links?
L53. Linking Strategies Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1089
Step 12 - Pursue Site Credibility Indicators
Customer ratings are a customer feedback mechanism used on many online shopping sites, such as Shopping.com (DealTime), BizRate, Yahoo! Shopping, Amazon.com, and eBay. How can customer ratings impact your conversion rate? Why should you view customer service as a marketing expense? What are the best ways to increase your customer ratings?
L54. Customer Ratings Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1092
What if you could launch a two-part campaign that focused on (1) winning website awards and leveraging those awards to (2) improve your conversion ratio? Jean Baudrillard is quoted as saying: "Governing today means giving acceptable signs of credibility." He might as well have been talking about web marketing. In our hype-laden world, credibility is key. MEC Researchers analyzed six hundred award websites and tested fifty to determine how to use awards to improve your marketing.
L55. Awards Sites Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1078
Step 13 - Utilize Email Marketing
How has SPAM impacted the effectiveness of email marketing? How does the CAN-SPAM legislation affect your email strategy?
L56. The Impact of SPAM on Email Marketing:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1112
What if you could leverage the online marketing resources you're already using to create a perception of value in the eyes of your customers? Is there a more effective way to design your email messaging? Researchers are MEC have been testing a new approach. Here is what we discovered.
L57. Email Campaigns Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1023
How effective is ezine (email newsletter) advertising? How can you gauge the effectiveness of your ezine advertising campaigns? How can you get the most out of your ezine advertising dollars?
L58. Ezine Advertising Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1090
Step 14 - Explore Alternative Marketing Channels
Does eBay, the undisputed leader in online auctions, represent a viable marketing channel for your retail business? Or is it prohibitively expensive for many products? How can you determine if eBay is right for you?
L59. eBay Stores Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1095L60. eBay Basics Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1022
Are Amazon OLS Stores a viable marketing tool? What is the difference between the (old) Amazon zShops and the (new) Amazon OLS Stores? What costs are involved with running a store on Amazon.com? How difficult is it to set one up? This research brief will answer those questions and will offer seven key points to setting up a successful store on Amazon.com.
L61. Amazon Stores Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1015
At MEC, we have been testing Yahoo! Stores for the past several years. In a previous report, we identified Yahoo! Shopping as one of our lab's "Top Performers". Recent changes at Yahoo! have given us reason to pause and re-examine Yahoo! Stores as a marketing channel. Is Yahoo! still as effective as it once was?
L62. Yahoo! Store Changes Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1080
Step 15 - Explore Additional Marketing Opportunities
Do you view inbound customer service calls as an unfortunate expense, and take steps to minimize them? If so, you may be surprised to hear that our testing shows these calls can actually generate a PROFIT.
L63. Profit from Inbound Customer Service:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1125L64. Customer Service Analysis Tool:
http://www.meclabs.com/MEC_Cust-Svc_Analysis_Tool.xls
We tested the impact of press releases on website traffic and inbound links, and found that effective PR can deliver an ROI superior to PPC advertising.
L65. Press Releases Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1122
In our testing, how is it that one affiliate program achieved a success ratio of 80%, with sales per affiliate ranging between $100,000 and $1 million per year, while another affiliate program projected (a very promising) $3.6 million per month, and yet has failed to generate even 10 percent of that number? What made the critical difference? Can the average company still grow through affiliate/partnership marketing?
L66. Affiliate Program Marketing Tested:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1013
L6. Merchandising Calendar:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/see/1110
BIO:
Dr. Flint McGlaughlin
The Marketing Experiments Journal is published by Digital Trust Inc. (DTI). Dr. Flint McGlaughlin is the Director of DTI.
Dr. McGlaughlin is a pioneer in strategy and communications. His primary research is focused on discovering the most effective means to market intellectual assets across the Internet.
Dr. McGlaughlin has advised more than 1500 companies including, AT&T, The Federal Reserve, Pitney Bowes, and Merrill Lynch. He has conducted over 2000 hours of keynote speaking. He has directed the development of more than 20,000 web pages.
Dr. McGlaughlin currently serves as the Co-Executive Producer of the new FOX Family series: "Courage" - hosted by actor Danny Glover. He also serves as a senior advisor or board member to twelve growing companies, and four charitable foundations.
His writing and television production activities have, thus far, won two Tellys, an Edwin Murrough, and an Emmy.
Dr. McGlaughlin is quick to acknowledge that the research at MEC is largely dependent on the intense, focused efforts of the Lab's Leadership Team.