Conversion rate optimization is the art of ensuring that a customer takes a desired action when in your store, on the phone or on your website or online store.  

That desired action can vary.  If you have an online store it means they buy something.  If your product is a service or something that can’t be purchased easily online (maybe you sell Sherman Tanks) then you might define a conversion as booking an appointment for a test drive?  You might wish to build your e-mail list or have people download a white paper.

Marketers have been doing this since the first hand-printed flyer was chipped onto a cave wall.  It’s nothing new but neither is the fact that marketing initiatives often don’t get it right.

The amount of information coming at consumers these days has exploded in volume.  Converting a shopper into a buyer is actually the art of asking for the sale and it’s sadly the piece that tends to get missed.  You can have a website that is loaded with gorgeous images but if it isn’t optimized to get the visitor to take some kind of action – that website is just an expensive, glossy online brochure.

A website or e-commerce store that’s optimized for conversion is an investment that pays back in spades, not a marketing expense.  An optimized site works hard for you and by knowing what to tweak and which metrics to measure, your site can perform with precision and focus.

I always get so excited when I work with a client and first dig into their site.  There are so many opportunities to remove the barriers between your customer and your products and services.  Customer Friction is a term you may have heard. It refers to the many little irritants that bug someone when they’re navigating your site.  They’re like little ticks in the negative column and when a few of them add up – you’ll often lose the customer. The best definition I’ve come across defines friction “as a psychological resistance to a given element in the sales or sign-up process” (Source: MarketingExperiments.com).

Friction in your online experience can be related to:

• Technical issues
• Ease of use
• Consumer motivation and engagement
• Website content issues

Everything from how fast your site loads to your written copy will increase your chanced of connecting with that customer.  It used to be enough to have a good website developer to make sure the site had the right key words, tags and structure.

Those days are long gone. Google still controls most of the online search so what they decide is important and Google has decided that engaging content is what’s going to raise a site higher in the search results.  

Using a keyword too frequently will cause you to sink in the search results and it’s believed that Google’s spiders aren’t even looking at site meta tags anymore so strong sales conversion can’t rely only on the digital gurus.

A strong conversion rate optimization strategy needs the artistry of traditional marketing with the precision and measurability of digital marketing.

It’s where science and psychology meet.

A site owner might be concerned that conversion rate is not strong if their bounce rate is high.  Bounce rate is a measurement of how many people left your website after viewing only one page. Not all bounces are created equal though.  If the page they view has the address or hours of operation and that’s all the customer wanted, they could then come and visit your business or call you – their action in this case equals a conversion.  The bounce rate will be high for that page because the purpose of the page was very functional in nature. Good marketers can interpret the data through the lens of human behaviour.

I really love working with clients who have physical stores in addition to online stores and sites because increasing sales conversion can and should happen in all locations.  I once discovered that customers had stopped purchasing because they were lined up for the bathroom and by the time they were able to shop, it was time to get back on the bus. We fixed it by asking the bus driver to stop just out of town so the passengers could visit the loo before they arrived. Sales went back up.

If you value great content and want to use it to help your business grow, I’d love to help.  Drop me a note at michelle@textrixconsulting.com and let’s discuss possibly working together.

Michelle

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Now, there’s another stakeholder we have to appease.  His name is Google.

According to some reports, Google controls 74.54% of search so understanding how their algorithms prioritize digital information in terms of search ranking can impact the success of your marketing initiatives emphatically. Staying on top of the latest algorithms is a challenge mainly for two reasons:

1. They change frequently
2. Google doesn’t publicize exactly what their algorithms measure

Google does however release quarterly updates that announce changes to their algorithms and those briefings tend to focus on the intent of the update without revealing the ingredients for the secret sauce.  Google is keenly aware that if they share the specifics of their algorithms it would be easier for competitors to copy and easier for digital marketers to find loopholes. Google has launched a new algorithm called Rank Brain and what we do know about it reveals a shift more towards rewarding digital content that is relevant and engaging.

If something is engaging, it means you want to spend time with it.

This is why Google is looking at metrics like time spent on page and number of pages viewed as a way of measuring engagement and doing well on these aspects will improve your search ranking. Certain types of content invite more engagement than others.  People love to watch videos or glance over an infographic more readily than they do a wall of copy. Breaking your copy up into chunks gives the reader a visual rest and increases the likelihood that they will keep reading.

Above all – be interesting.

In the race to incorporate the sexy keywords and other digital gymnastics, we sometimes forget that engagement is about being enthralled and a bit seduced by what we’re reading or watching.  There may be a lot of content out there but there’s a lot of boring content too.

A wise creative leader once told me that “creative concepts are like babies, they have to be protected until they’re full grown”. Great creative content is quite magical. It makes the lightbulb go on. It makes you want to take action but here’s the rub.

When creative is really good – it looks effortless because the technical pieces are perfect too.

Artistry can be dismissed because a true creative genius makes it look easier than it is. We don’t realize the technical expertise that allows the end result to manifest. Behind every great musician is years of practicing scales, brilliant writers make sure they read as avidly as they write and high performing athletes spend hours breaking down each move to its precise component and mastering it.

Everybody is creative but not everybody understands how to bring creative concepts to life so they hit the mark connecting the message to the message receiver.

I called my company Textrix because it’s Latin for “weaver”.  Weaving is about interlacing two elements together to create something new, useful and stronger.  Textrix interlaces the artistry of traditional marketing with the science and measurability of digital marketing. Science and art belong and are stronger together.

It’s great that search engines are shifting towards rewarding online content that’s smart and creative and responsive to the needs of the person searching for information. It makes for better marketing and for more creativity.

As a business owner or operator, you know what you need but you may not have the skills or time in house to bring it all together in a way that drives the business forward. You also may not be in a position to keep up with the trends in digital search that will inform how you can best execute your online strategy.

This is where we focus our consultancy and how we can help. If you think there might be a fit – let’s chat.

Michelle

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The answer to this challenge is clear…come up with a new buzzword.  MarTech!

Yes, I’m being glib but “MarTech” is a new word that attempts to capture a new marketing discipline that marries the traditional story telling and psychology of marketing with the analytical and mechanical aspects of the technology.  

MarTech…the Brangelina of business.  Hopefully, without the messy drama.

I’m happy that there is a word that formally interlaces the two disciplines because Textrix Consulting is all about blending the engaging content development of traditional marketing with the SEO and data-driven decision making of technology.  While I could wax poetic about why the blending of art and science makes the result greater than the sum of the parts; there’s an even more practical reason why I believe traditional and digital marketing belong together.

Google rewards those websites who have engaging content for people to view.

The best thing to ever happen to innovative and creative people was Google’s decision to change its algorithms so that online content that’s been created with thoughtfulness and empathy will outshine digital content that’s designed to try and outsmart the search engines.  

The marketing is still the main event.  The data is simply there let you know if the marketing achieved its objective.  This is great because traditionally, marketers never knew if their radio ads, billboards and TV commercials actually worked.  They might assume the marketing worked if sales went up but it was a crap-shoot at best. As David Olgilvy once said “I know half my marketing works, I just don’t know which half.”

The data tells us what’s working and what isn’t   Or, we have the potential to know and this is where many companies want help.

Instead of creating a new social media feed every time the next Snapchat or Pinterest pops up – understand that each channel has it’s strengths and appropriate audience.  It’s important to match those attributes with your desired audience and business goals. Don’t try to be everywhere unless you have a team of marketers the size of the Game of Thrones cast.

Companies are overwhelmed at the thought of AI (artificial intelligence) and Conversational Commerce but sometimes don’t realize that being ready for these trends isn’t as difficult or as expensive as one might think.

Being ready for AI and Conversational Commerce is often about getting the basics right.  It’s about being easily found and ensuring your marketing content answers popular questions clearly and engages and educates your audience.  We can help you figure out where your bang for your buck will be. We’ll guide you on a digital strategy that helps people find you easily and then do business with you easily.

Connect with us.  We’d love to hear about your business goals.

-Michelle

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