CLICKS THAT COUNT

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CLICKS THAT COUNT

• 38 Sure-Fire Tips for Increasing Your Website
  Conversion Today without Breaking the Bank
• Amy Africa, amy_at_eightbyeight.com

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What are the 5 most important things every
website should have?

• Solid entry pages (12)
• Streamlined and easy-to-use navigation (including
  text search function)
• The perfect shopping SYSTEM (includes cart and
  abandoned programs)
• Thrust and trigger e-mails
• NCASE (includes organics and alternates)

3
What is the 1 most underestimated thing online?

• Evidence. Proof that someone else just like them
  was already there.
• Comes in all forms ask the experts, polls,
  surveys, user reviews, and most important,
  PICTURES OF PEOPLE

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What are the 2 most important things every entry
page should have ON THE FIRST VIEW?

• E-Commerce Sites
• ATC or Buy Now Buttons
• Perpetual Cart in at least two places
• Lead Generation Sites
• 6-12 CTA for the inquiry
• Perpetual Lead Form in at least two places

5
What is the length of time in which the user
stays or goes on your website?

• You need to measure from the time the user types
  what theyre looking for into Google.
• Men make faster decisions than women.
• Strangely enough, older people make faster
  decisions than younger ones.

6
What is the 1 tactic that you can use on your
website to get people to stay when theyre about
to leave?

• Plugs and SABs
• Purpose is to get users to drill deeper into the
  site.
• Should be like mini-advertisements.
• Every plug or SAB should have CLICK HERE NOW at
  the bottom of the box.
• Provocative messages work best. These include
  teasers, facts, quizzes, polls, and the like.

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What is the maximum amount of traffic that any
one entry page should account for?

• 6 to 10 percent.
• Block any non-viable entry pages from search
  engines.
• Entry pages have a direct, and HUGE, impact on
  conversion.
• Solid entry pages become RTPs.

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What is the maximum amount of time that the user
should spend on the entry page?

• 40 seconds the first time they see it.
• 7-18 seconds thereafter.
• If theyre spending more than a minute, your
  navigation is too complicated.
• If theyre spending less than 10 seconds, your
  navigation is not complicated enough.

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From a user perspective, what is the perfect
cart?

• One-click.
• Second choice
• View Cart (sometimes, not always)
• Welcome Page
• Bill-To
• Ship To
• Payment Information
• Review Your Order
• Confirmation Page

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What is a perpetual cart and do I need one?

• A perpetual cart is a cart that stays with you at
  all times and EVERY site should have AT LEAST
  one.
• Best of breed sites have a perpetual cart in the
  upper righthand corner, the right column and the
  bottom.
• They also have a larger-than-life, red PTC button
  at the bottom of the middle column.

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What things should be in my perpetual cart?

• Number of items and total
• Red checkout button when the user has item(s) in
  their cart
• 100 secure shopping guaranteed tag
• Shopping cart icon
• Links for view cart, print cart, e-mail cart and
  save cart

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What things truly make a difference in the cart
from a user perspective?

• Speed
• Dynamic and/or pre-filled information
• Alternate contact information
• Picture of Wilford Brimley
• Security and privacy guarantees
• Single view presentations
• Simplicity in colors and fields
• Temperature bars

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I dont have a cart. How do I create the perfect
lead form?

• Use vertical capturing fields only.
• Prefill any/all information that you can.
• Format the page, using the middle column only.
• Use the colors that work.
• Use as many submit now buttons as you can.
• Ask ONLY relevant questions.
• Make sure to address privacy and security on
  every view.
• Use full contact information.

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What is C-Navigation?

• Top Navigation
• Product tabs
• Action bar
• P/S Navigation
• Left-Hand Navigation
• Index of your Store
• Bottom Navigation
• Repeat of top navigation

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What should be in my right-hand navigation?

• Theres no such thing as right-hand navigation.
  The sole purpose of the right-hand column is to
  save the user from exiting.
• Offer box with deadline
• Bestsellers lists
• Recently viewed items
• Highlights of specific products or categories

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We have a two-column site. Is that ok?

• No. (Read absolutely not if you want to
  maximize your conversions.)
• Yes, I know. Three-column sites are ugly.

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What percentage of success does my navigation
really account for?

• 40-60 at a minimum.
• Navigation is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Text search should be a bonus. You should not
  include it as a means to your success.
• Users dont want to search, they want to find.
  You need to give them a variety of ways to find
  what they are looking for?

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I just heard about backwards navigation. What is
it?

• Things like breadcrumbs, recently viewed items,
  and Q-blocks, make up backwards navigation.
• You should employ it any (and every!) chance you
  get.

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Where should I put my text search box?

• If its perfect (or close to perfect) put it in
  the upper middle column (a la Amazon.)
• If its not, place it in the top of the lefthand
  column, under the e-mail sign-up box. (The
  e-mail sign-up box should disappear if you have
  already collected their e-mail address.)

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What is the average number of FS and what can I
do about it?

• Failed searches account for about 2/3 of searches
  on an average B2B site.
• You can help fix them with generic
  recommendations for no finds, improving your
  search results presentation, developing a
  dictionary and a thesaurus, using an abandoned
  search program (test e-mails and telemarketing)
  and so on.
• Searchers have 2 highest propensity to buy.

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What is this BTF line that usability folks always
talk about?

• The Below-the-Fold line is critical when it comes
  to web design.
• Web designers design pages. Users see views.
  They are incredibly different.

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How can I improve my product page conversion?

• Use more Buy Now/ATC buttons
• Employ multiple visuals
• Use pictures of people
• Use H1, H2 and quick facts dont assume that
  your users can and/or are reading anything
• Ask for the order on every page

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What is theming? Is it that thing that used to
not work?

• Theming allows you to feature a different topic
  every time a user visits your site.
• Two years ago, it was the kiss of death. Now,
  for most sites, it works like gangbusters.
• You need to develop a theme calendar.

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Should I really put in the effort to cater to my
repeat visitors?

• Repeat users should account for about half of
  your traffic.
• Page personalization works well. Start with
  Welcome Back Mark.
• If there are items in their carts, take them
  there immediately.
• Your main entry page should change based on your
  traffic pattern.

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What is a RURL?

• A referring URL is the last place the user was
  before they came to your site. It has a huge
  impact on your conversion.

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All these metrics drive me bananas. What should
I look at first?

• Your top exit pages. Theyre often the easiest
  things to fix. (The exception is text search.)

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Whats an AAUS?

• Average Active User Session. Its the length of
  time that the user spends ACTIVELY on your site.

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Whats the difference between a page view and a
drill?

• A page view is just that a view of the page.
• A drill is an action the user takes.
• You should look at your drills in conjunction
  with your AAUS.

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What things should I look at that nobody has ever
told me to look at?

• CTS and DTS.
• Clicks-to-Sale
• Days-to-Sale

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What should my AR really be?

• Shopping Sites
• 60 in checkout
• View cart page will have the most abandons. That
  is NOT part of your checkout.
• Lead Generation Sites
• 50 on forms

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Whats the difference between thrust and triggers?

• Thrust assigned groups of people
• Trigger aka Good Dog e-mails (start with the 3
  abandons)
• To
• From
• Subject line
• First two lines of your e-mail
• Format
• Deliverability

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What are the best ways to create an integrated
strategy?

• Watch your metrics, especially users paths and
  waves
• Use different landing pages or sites for offline
  users
• Emphasize Quick Order in at least 3 quads
• Utilize P/S and redundant navigation
• Feature a perpetual cart in the URQ/Offer Box
  Area
• Use deadlines and/or test theming
• Integrate e-mail deployment plan with offline
  circulation plan (thrust)
• Focus on PCEs and organic searches

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What is hubbing?

• Concentrated strategy to connect all your
  microsites with ONE main site, called a hub.
• Design it with the purpose of eliminating text
  search but build it for the search engines.
• Its not a landing page, its a specific site.
• You need to be aggressive. The user has already
  proven a propensity to buy. Customize your cart
  and personalize as much of the site as you can.

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Thank you!

• Questions? Comments?
• amy_at_eightbyeight.com