Archive for December 2008
A command line search engine for the more geek minded
Quick and clever photo searching
http://www.zoo-m.com/flickr-storm/
Quick testing for SEOs and coders
Creating videos from your screen
http://www.screentoaster.com/
Create “Lorum Ipsum” text for designs
SES London and Landing Pages
Posted on: December 17, 2008
Why does SES London (Feb 2009) dedicate so little time to Landing Pages? It would be great to see more landing page sessions within the conference. Landing pages are as important as search engine marketing and search engine optimisation in any progressive web company. See the line up. It would be great to see Johnathan Mendez there.
Average Conversion Rates
Posted on: December 12, 2008
A Marketing Sherpa guide suggested that the average conversion rate across email and search landing pages is 3.84%. On shopping engines it is said to be 2.9%. Paid search is the highest, followed by SEO, followed by in-house email lists, followed by 3rd party email lists.
Drop downs vs radio buttons
Posted on: December 12, 2008
We found that drop downs help bounce rates in forms with 6 to 10 questions. I think the reasoning behind this is that a form looks smaller if you use drop down boxes instead of radio buttons.
1. BRANDING HELPS
Trusted brands have better conversion than unknown brands. Branding efforts can impact conversion rate. I am not suggesting a large brand awareness campaign as these are expensive. Large email newsletter shots impact our conversion rate across all traffic sources. Partner with a famous brand website and white label your site to help conversion rate.
2. ADD SEARCH TERMS TO LANDING PAGE
I have yet to experiment with this yet, but I hope it will impact conversion. Any recommendations on this.
3. SIMPLE QUESTIONS FIRST
When trying to get user input, ask an easy question first and don’t ask for contact details straight away.
4. MAKE SURE YOUR LANDING PAGE WORKS IN 800×600
We find about 4% of traffic is 800×600. This is important, so make sure your landing page communicates your main proposition at this screen resolution.
5. DROP CANCEL AND CLEAR BUTTONS
Never ever have cancel or clear buttons on a landing page. These significantly decrease conversion rate.
More coming soon.
Next Generation Landing Pages
Posted on: December 12, 2008
I think this Slideshow by Jonathan Mendez describes the power of dynamic and relevant landing pages and online advertising. Enjoy!
I have been recently working on the landing pages for a variety of websites and all these tips had significant effect on my conversion rates. We have one site that we have improved conversion from 2% to 14%. I hope the tips come in useful for your site.
1.LEFT HAND SIDE
Put your main form or product on the left hand side. That is what people look at first. Ideally drop left hand navigation as this distracts.
2. RED BEVELED BUTTONS
We have trialled many different types of buttons. 3D Bevelled buttons work best. Red seems to work better than any other colours.
3. WHITE BACKGROUND
I recently read that white backgrounds are the best for conversion. We tried this and it worked. Maybe it gives users a sense of security over other colours.
4. 75% OF SPACE DEDICATED TO FORM/PRODUCTS
Your main proposition should take up 75% of space. The rest of the space should be dedicated to supporting info to re-assure the user.
5. NEVER FORCE A REGISTER
Never, ever force people to register for e-commerce or form entry. People hate it and it takes a lot longer. Dropping registration will increase your conversion.
6. ONLY EVER OFFER ONE MAIN GOAL
Don’t try to offer two main options on a page. Give people just one main one. You can offer other products and services but make these smaller and less significant.
7. BULLET POINT TEXT
On a landing page, don’t have any paragraphs of text. Have short 1 line sentances and succinct bullet points. Most users don’t read paragraphs of text.
8. GREAT IMAGES
Large and good images impact conversions. If you have rubbish images use istockphoto.com for more imagery. Cheap and easy win.
9. ADD A PADLOCK/SAFETY BADGE
Gives users a sense of security and helps conversions.
10. MINIMAL EXIT POINTS
The lower number of links, the higher the conversion. Links distract. I would recommend links to your homepage and privacy policy and thats about it. Maybe 1 or 2 more that give confidence to the buyer.
Hope those tips work. I plan to go into more depth soon, so please visit back.
Landing Page Magic 