I’m confused why we refer to this world of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Pinterest, YouTube, Google+, MySpace, etc., as "social” media. From everything I’ve experienced, it should really be called “anti-social” media. The sad reality is that social media has devolved into a series of faceless and impersonal interactions through PCs, smartphones and tablets, whereby … [Read more...]
ROI On Marketing: Still The Only Thing That Matters
Klein Online (& Out- of-Line) The national debt is climbing to $15B, the Dow Jones dropped 1,000 points in August and yet online advertising spend continues to soar quarter after quarter. Clearly advertisers see online as a viable channel to reach consumers and maximize ROI in these difficult times. And clearly CMO’s are being pressured to deliver results instead of just … [Read more...]
Klein Online (& Out-of-Line): Kick Fraud Out!
The mThink/Revenue Performance team were kind enough to offer me an outlet for my opinionated self and perhaps also provide a nugget or two of value. Those who know me understand that I am rarely bashful or quiet, but that said, allow me to bring to you Klein Online. I’d like to throw some thoughts out there on fraud. What’s the biggest single threat to us these days? Al … [Read more...]
Forget Cool: Design Your Homepage to Convert
Homepages often have multiple objectives. Everyone in your organization wants to pile stuff on your homepage: products, partnership announcements, press releases, job opportunities, marketing copy, positioning statements, special offers and welcome messages. But most importantly, it is often the first step a visitor takes on the way to a conversion action. So the single most … [Read more...]
Your Web Design is Killing Your Conversion Rate
Let me tell you an inconvenient truth – your baby is ugly. No, I’m not offending your family genes. The “baby” I’m referring to is your website. The design elements that you’ve invested tons of time and money into have created severe problems that are contributing to your low conversion rates. To make matters worse, this predicament was completely avoidable: you have been a … [Read more...]
Usability Basics for Landing Page Optimization
We’ve all heard the saying “perception is reality.” And when it comes to website usability, there is no truer statement. Bottom line: if a user cannot find something on your landing page, it might as well not exist at all. Website usability has to do with how information is organized, how much emphasis is assigned to items, and how easy the information is to access for the … [Read more...]
Website Conversions: Closing the Sale
Many people are familiar with the well-known concept of the sales funnel. Conceived over a hundred years ago, it still serves as a useful framework for understanding the decision-making process. The sales funnel is known by the acronym “AIDA” which stands for the stages that a person must pass through before buying something: attention, interest, desire and action. Times have … [Read more...]
What are You “Converting” on Your Website?
Conversion actions are measurable events that move a website visitor toward the mission critical activities that you have identified. Many people view conversions as large-scale or “macro” events, such as product sales or sign-ups for a service. In fact, most conversion actions are incremental micro-events that reduce friction and allow a visitor to continue moving toward your … [Read more...]
The “Anti-Data Pass” Bill And Affiliate Summit West
Affiliate Summit West was one of the best-attended and diverse shows of the last few years. It left me reflecting upon several industry trends. On the positive side, there seems to be a shift toward proprietary technology development and also a focus on internal traffic sources as a value-add for advertisers. On the technology side, many companies are investing in building … [Read more...]
Emotional Motivators in Landing Page Optimization
Visitors arrive at your website with their own needs, perspectives, and emotions. How can your landing page influence them to take action when you don’t know what motivates them? Start with this basic truth: people don’t often make rational decisions. In fact, the capacity for abstract rational thought is only a recent evolutionary addition to our brains. We have mainly gotten … [Read more...]
7 Landing Page Fixes that will Skyrocket Conversions
Landing page optimization and testing can have a dramatic impact on your online marketing profitability. But even if you don’t have the staff or resources to do testing you can easily evaluate your landing pages for some of the most common conversion killers. Here are 7 simple landing page fixes that work across a surprisingly wide variety of circumstances and … [Read more...]
Usability Basics for Landing Page Optimization
If a visitor cannot find something on your landing page, it might as well not exist at all. Have you used common sense in the design of your landing page? You probably think so. But there is often a disconnect between how a website designer approaches a site design, and what actual users experience when they visit the site. The point of good usability is to make things easy for … [Read more...]
What is Your Website Worth? The financial impact of conversion rate improvement
Most business websites are developed for a specific purpose. They are focused on achieving a desired outcome from a particular audience. A website conversion happens when a visitor to your site takes the desired action, and likely represents a measurable value to your business. Calculating the value of a conversion can go a long way in justifying an ongoing landing page … [Read more...]