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Split Testing: What It Is & How To Be Effective To Increase Conversions

Nov 6, 2019

Split Testing: What It Is & How To Be Effective To Increase Conversions

Home > SEO > Page 5

Transcript:

You’ve only got one chance to make a first impression…

The powers of split testing mean you get to try both those chat up lines… or *ahem* call to action in your marketing.

Now make like a banana and split, because Wednesdays are about to get GIANT.

Hello, my name is Sai and welcome to Giant Wednesday, the only place to be to discover the wonderful world of digital marketing. Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel and post your comments below.

We’re here today to look into what split testing is, what it allows you to do and the things you can achieve with some clever tactics.

Split testing, by definition, is a method of conducting controlled, randomised experiments which in the wonderful world of the internet allows us to better understand our audience’s behaviours.

It’s all about comparing two different versions of something and determining which one works better – using that information to make sure you make the relevant tweaks and changes necessary to move closer towards your goals.

So, if you’ve ever wondered whether your call-to-action wording is quite right, or whether an image of a kitten or a baby in your ad is more likely to get clicks… then wonder no more.

If you find your audience is more likely to complete an action when you use a certain colour text, or a certain tone of voice, or maybe like I said… they prefer kittens to babies, then you can use the knowledge gained from the split testing to inform your future marketing.

Running these split tests helps take the guesswork out of marketing – allowing you to make decisions based on hard facts.

Most digital advertising platforms make setting up split testing easy as pie but if you need advice on a specific platform then leave us a comment below and we’ll lend a helping hand.

But let me share with you some split testing top tips… try saying that five times faster.

Number 1: One is a magic number

To make your life easier and to really split test your content then you should only really change one thing between your original and amended variation.

This will help you to pinpoint exactly what resulted in increased performance.

If you just try different fonts, then you’ll get a feel for which one resonates with your audience best. But if you change the fonts, the call to action, the colour and the picture then you can never be truly sure which was the winner in the situation…

This won’t always be possible, I get that, but make sure you try to keep track of what you’ve changed and where so it isn’t a wasted effort!

Number 2: Focus on the call to action

So now you’re wondering… what one thing should I change to REALLY test my awesome marketing capabilities?

Well your call to action is the best place to start. And by George I hope you’re using them in your marketing…

The way these are worded can have a huge impact on whether or not your audience will resonate and take action. Some might like a more forceful approach, some might like it subtle but you won’t know until you try.

These are the things that have a big impact on conversions – hence a great place to start your split testing journey.

Number 3: Trust your own data

A big mistake we often see is those basing their activities on things they’ve seen working for others around them. This is a big no no.

Just because someone else found that red buttons worked better than blue doesn’t mean the same will apply for you.

You could have different products, different audiences, different locations… no two businesses are the same despite how it might look at times.

Use your own data found through analytics software and past experiences to determine your activity.

Number 4: Go big or go home

Google one famously tested 41 different shades of blue to determine which performed the best… damn.

However, unlike those guys, most people don’t have the time and resources to commit to such intense testing on such… small matters.

Instead of whacking out those paint samples, try to focus on testing variations that are likely to make the most GIANT impact on your conversion rate.

And finally, number 5: test, test and test again

Something important to remember is that when it comes to split testing, not every variation you try is going to work.

In fact, the amends you make to test things out might make things worse! It’s a gamble – but it’s worth it.

If things go wrong then it’s back to the drawing board with you, time to try something else.

There is always something to test – just because you do see success with your first variation doesn’t it’s the best it could be.

So as long as you strive to be the best, just like me, then you should be in for split testing splendour.

And that’s my advice for smashing your split tests. Focus on one thing at a time, get creative with your call to actions, trust in yourselves, go big or go home and most importantly, keep up that testing.

You can’t go wrong with split testing, because there’s always an opportunity to get it right.

So, that’s it for today, go forth and comment your views – give us a like and subscribe to see more great digital and marketing content every week.

Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next week for another GIANT Wednesday.

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What Makes A Good Conversion Rate In Marketing?

Oct 30, 2019

What Makes A Good Conversion Rate In Marketing?

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Transcript:

When it comes to conversion rate, what is the magic number?

No, I’m not talking about how many euros you can get for your pound, I’m talking marketing. Duh.

What’s the rate you should be aiming to achieve in order to make your boss, the client and yourself happy? What will make you feel proud?

Well, hold on to your metrics, because Wednesdays are about to get GIANT.

Hello, my name is Ant and welcome to Giant Wednesday, the only place to be to discover the wonderful world of digital marketing. Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel and post your comments below.

Ok so we’re here to talk about conversion rate so let’s quickly cover off what it is.

Well, to start with is something I like to call a “most wanted response”.

It’s often misunderstood that conversion rate has to be based on a sale you’re making or action you’re driving. But that’s not true!

Ultimately, it’s likely that whatever you’re tracking will be about delivering some sort of business value and this isn’t always e-commerce based.

That’s why we talk about the MWR or the “most wanted response”.

This is the action you feel is most valuable to you and your needs, but most importantly, what you want users to do when they get to your site.

This could be downloading a whitepaper, filling in a form, calling through to make an enquiry and of course, it can be something e-commerce related such as making a sale.

The most important thing when setting a conversion is to ensure that whatever you choose has business value and is worth measuring. Something that is agreed across all stakeholders that you’ll be reporting to.

If you don’t agree that it’s a valuable metric to report on then what’s the point?

Make sure what you track is something everyone values from so not to waste an opportunity.

Once you’ve figured out your most wanted response, it’s time to set up a conversion point, a goal or an event in Google Analytics and start tracking.

This is the bit we all love, and once you start tracking you can gain a better understanding of what is working and what could be done better. That’s the point, right?

But anyway, you’ve stuck with me, so now to actually delve into what a good conversion rate is.

And, I’m sorry to have strung you along… but the answer is there is no such thing as a good conversion rate.

Now don’t up and leave, understanding why is very important

Conversion rate is not static. It’s not fixed and it should always be progressing and developing.

I mean sure, a conversion rate of 100% would be beautiful – but we’ve got to be realistic and if you’re measuring a metric at that value then it’s probably not the right one…

Now it’s not to say there isn’t a required baseline which may be understood as ‘good’ if you achieve it, but that will be absolutely unique to your business and your commercial model.

An example to illustrate my point…

You own a website that sells red shoes and are spending £100 a day on pay per click advertising to drive roughly 200 people to your site.

Every time you sell a pair of shoes there is a margin of about £10.

To get that margin you’re spending £100 to send those 200 visitors to your site. So you need to make at least £100 to break even.

That’s the equivalent of ten sales, so if you know that you need to achieve ten sales from 200 visitors then the required conversion rate is 10/200 as a percentage so that’s… 5%!

In this instance, you could very well say that is a “good” conversion rate target to start with. But the reality is that you should never settle because all you’ve done is set a benchmark.

When we do talk about “good” conversion rates, we talk about the trend. Is the conversion rate developing and progressing through optimisation? Is it up year on year?

On top of this, you’ve got to be respectful of the things that will impact your conversion rate, positively and negatively.

For example, competitors entering the market, your prices changing and adding delivery charges, could all have a negative impact on your rate so you’ll need to continually adjust your benchmark.

So, in true marketing style, you’ve got to optimise. Here are three tips for you.

Number 1: Keep it simple.

Users don’t like to work hard – make the process to complete your most wanted response as easy and as quickly as possible.

Number 2: User experience.

We all like to have good experiences online whether that be through site speed or design, so keep these in mind to help people convert and encourage return visitors.

Number 3: Test and test again.

Any form of optimisation and usability testing should not be a one-off thing. Change something, track the change and review the results. Make a decision on success and keep testing.

So yeah, sorry but there is no such thing as a good conversion rate. There’s just a drive to constantly strive to be better and better and better.

That’s it for today, go forth and comment your views on this and give us a like and subscribe to see more great digital and marketing content every week.

Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next week for another GIANT Wednesday.

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How To Optimise Your Google Business Profile For Better Performance

Oct 22, 2019

How To Optimise Your Google My Business For Better Performance

Home > SEO > Page 5

Transcript:

Google My Business offers you a free business listing on the most used search engine in the world – what better marketing real estate could you ask for?

Low cost, high value and easy to manage, it’s a great place to increase your chances of being seen online.

But setting one up is only a small part of the journey, so let’s boost your listing today.

Get ready to dominate Google, because Wednesdays are about to get GIANT.

Hello, my name is Lizzi and welcome to Giant Wednesday, the only place to be to discover the wonderful world of digital marketing. Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel and post your comments below.

Right, so you’ve started from fresh, or claimed your listing… you’ve filled in all the relevant details and your Google My Business page is complete. Good job.

But how do you make it extra special and search friendly, using all the tools available on the platform from the search engine wizards?

Well you may have noticed that I mentioned Google My Business as being low-cost, and yes, by that I mean it’s free. Jackpot!

The only cost is that of your time, and only you can set that value. But, should you follow my advice, optimising your Google My Business page for optimum performance should be a breeze.

The information you provide through Google My Business can appear in Google Search and Google Maps, so keeping it up to date and optimised is key to success.

So, with that in mind, here are some crucial tips for optimising your listings…

Tell them everything!
When someone searches for something you do, sell, or offer, then local search results will favour your listing if it’s the most relevant.

You wouldn’t want to appear for garden sheds if you’re a garage door company, would you?

Because of this you need to make sure you don’t leave things to chance because Google might be clever, but it’s not THAT clever.

Make sure your listing communicates with potential customers what your business does, where it is, and how they can purchase your products or services that you actually offer.

Keep it keyword kool
Just like other forms of search, Google will look for a variety of signals in order to serve the searcher your listing.

These signals are things you can put in place in the form of keywords and search phrases. The kinda things people will type into Google in order to find your product or services.

So if you serve vegan and gluten-free food in Folkestone, then make sure you include those keywords!

It’s also really important to Google that all mentions of your name, address and phone number are consistent across the internet – do some research and make sure that the info on your Google My Business page matches what’s on your website and elsewhere across the net.

Let them know when you’re around…

Nothing is more annoying than wandering down to the restaurant you’ve wanted to try for ages only to find it was shut for a national holiday you didn’t know about!

Don’t be that business. Keep your opening hours up to date. Consider it a very important element of customer service.

You can enter your business hours on Google My Business, but you’ve got to make sure you update them whenever they might change.

Google also offers the ability to customise hours for holidays and other special occasions so you don’t have to reset them every week.

Add some personality with your photos

What’s a better way to prove you’re the real deal, than by posting a photo?

Photos will help your business listing performance more than you may think.

In fact, if you have them, you’re likely to receive 42% more requests for directions, and 35% more click-throughs to your website than listings without photos. Or so says Google…

Your most important photo will be your profile image, the one that will get the most exposure and, hopefully, have the most impact.

But don’t forget to also add a cover photo and additional images to show off your business, painting it in such a way that will make your business irresistible to the user.

And finally, manage the way people speak about you

Your Google My Business listing is a great place for customers to leave reviews about their experience for the world wide web to see.

Because of how public these reviews are, it’s important to manage and respond to them, illustrating business values and customer service.

You can ask people to leave a review once they’ve visited your store or used your service, hopefully inspiring future customers.

Other than people saying nice things about you, there’s also the added bonus of positive reviews increasing your business’s visibility in search.

By implementing a few of these things onto your Google My Business profile, you can expect to see some more GIANT results.

We’ll look into it in more detail another time, but you can even look at the analytics within the Google My Business platform to monitor the success of your efforts.

If you’d like any advice then share links to your listing in the comments below and we’ll see what we can suggest.

So, that’s it for today, go forth and comment your views – give us a like and subscribe to see more great digital and marketing content every week.

Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next week for another GIANT Wednesday.

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Digital Marketing, technology & business insights, how to's and explainer videos, released on a Wednesday. Make sure to subscribe to be notified and sign up to our mailing list! 🎥 See below, the transcript from this episode of Giant Wednesday if...

A Marketer’s Guide to AI-Generated Content

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5 Ways to Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

Sep 30, 2019

5 Ways to Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

Home > SEO > Page 5

Transcript:

Smartphones are taking over the world!!!

Stats show that up to 70% of web traffic comes through a mobile device and 89% of people would recommend a brand after having a positive experience on a mobile, so can you afford to lose out on that much traffic?

Making your website mobile-friendly is the key to success in today’s digital world – and the digital world of the future. But it doesn’t have to be difficult – and we’re here to help.

Get your smartphone’s ready, because Wednesdays are about to get GIANT.

Hello, my name is Sam and welcome to Giant Wednesday, the only place to be to discover the wonderful world of digital marketing. Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel and post your comments below.

Making your website mobile-friendly is a must if you’re looking to see success online.

It’s been a few years now since mobile phones knocked desktops off the top spot when it came to overall internet usage – yet you can still come across websites that haven’t been optimised for mobile devices.

It’s 2019 people – the time has come.

Fortunately, for those who are a little late to the party, or for people just launching their digital presence, there are a few simple ways to get your mobile site up to standards.

So sit tight as we cover 5 ways to help ensure that your website is mobile-friendly.

Number 1: evaluate where you’re at

Before you start making changes to your site, first evaluate where you’re at right now.

Use things like Google’s Mobile Friendly Test to check how easily a visitor can use your page on a mobile device – and see how you score.

The beauty of running the mobile friendly test, is the fact that it will flag areas of improvement, that should give you a steer on how close you are to the mark of ‘mobile friendliness’.

You can also use responsive design checkers to show you what your website looks like on different devices, which can help to point out areas to improve.

Number 2: make it responsive

On the topic of responsiveness, mobile devices have much smaller screens than desktops, which come with their own considerations in regards to website design.

In order to be eligible to receive a “mobile-friendly website” label from Google, make sure your site is responsive.

This means that your content will resize to the screen automatically – and prevents mobile users from having to scroll around or zoom excessively, causing a bad on-site experience.

Number 3: optimise for tap targets

Tap targets are elements on a site that users interact with – such as nav bars, menus, buttons etc. Not actual taps, disappointingly.

Make sure that they have enough space around them so that a thumb or finger wouldn’t accidentally tap something else when a user tries to interact with it.

Do the same when you’re adding things like CTAs or internal links – give them space. Don’t crowd their bubbles.

Number 4: speed can be impressive

As Google says, “A slow mobile site limits your business” – and nobody wants that.

In fact, statistics time. 10 years ago Amazon found that every 100ms of latency cost tehm 1% in sales. Google found that an extra half a second meant a 20% drop in traffic. AND, a stock broker could lose £2.5 million in revenue per millisecond if their platform is just 5 milliseconds behind… EEK.

Make sure that your site loads quickly and efficiently on mobile devices to prevent losing traffic, customers and your cool.

53% of mobile users will leave a page that takes longer than 3 seconds to load – so keep this in mind when you’re optimising.

And on that note….

Number 5: Compress, compress, compress

Images and other visual content usually take the longest to load on web pages, but fortunately they’re also relatively easy to optimise.

Review your visual content and make sure it’s all required with no unnecessary straglers, and then work to compress them – reducing their size without compromising on quality.

Also think about what content shows straight away, or ‘above the fold’, and focus on that in order to make a good first impression.

And that’s our top 5 for today! There are plenty of other things that you can do to appease the mobile gods, but remember that Mobile-friendliness is no longer a ‘nice to have’ – it’s a must if you want to see your business continue to grow and flourish in the online world.

Going into your digital efforts with a mobile-first mindset is a sure-fire way to ensure that users have a great experience on your site, no matter what device they’re using.

So, that’s it for today, go forth and comment your top tips for making your site mobilicious, and give us a like and subscribe to see more great digital and marketing content every week.

Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next week for another GIANT Wednesday.

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