How do people view search results? The answer to this questions brings great insight to those trying to make money on search marketing, whether SEO or PPC. We conducted a new eye tracking study to find out.
It’s always fun to find out what others think about what you do.
In regards to conversion optimization, we’re of the belief that UX is a big part of our process and that great UX leads to more conversions. But how do UX people view conversion optimization? What do they think it is, and how do they think it fits into the organizational context with UX?
A while back, Seth Godin published a list of things that “every good marketer knows”. Among that list was: “Anticipated, personal, and relevant advertising always does better than unsolicited junk.” His conclusion was that there is a very big difference between knowing and doing.
Good marketers continue to send unsolicited junk. [Tweet It!]
Transactional emails are the key every good marketer is talking about, but that few are doing something about.
You know that a good user experience leads to more conversions. You also know there’s always room for improvement, and you’re never done optimizing. There are always areas of opportunity.
One of the biggest areas of opportunity, for most companies at this point in time, is mobile optimization. How is it different and how can you improve the mobile user experience?
You’d think conversion optimization and SEO should play together nicely, right?
In theory, conversion optimization aims to improve the user experience, which, conveniently, is what Google wants to do as well with their top search results. Therefore, the more you test and improve your site, the higher it should appear in the rankings. You get more traffic, more conversions, more money – in an endless hockey stick shaped cycle.
Of course, it’s not so simple.
As an optimizer, it’s your responsibility to understand the implementation and analysis of digital analytics. Gone are the days of relying on the IT department to help you with basic analytics tracking. [Tweet It!] Fortunately, Google Tag Manager makes it easy.
Still, many optimizers don’t use Google Tag Manager (or any tag manager, for that matter) because it looks daunting. The truth is that once you understand the basics, it essentially becomes a second language.
Watch this trailer of The Hateful Eight, and then fill in the blanks:
K I _ _
Because of priming, you’re most likely to spell k-i-l-l because of the violent images in the video clip. You’re highly unlikely to fill in the blanks to spell k-i-s-s or k-i-n-d, or anything else really.
Priming is a popular strategy to influence human behavior, and it’s one that has been studied extensively for quite a while.
In Advanced Google AdWords, Brad Geddes wrote, “Wouldn’t you like your ads to be sought after, not ignored?”
That’s the ultimate goal, right? To craft a PPC ad that’s so compelling people are happy to click it. It doesn’t happen often.
If PPC has been around since 1996, why doesn’t it happen more often? Why haven’t advertisers perfected the process? Because the landscape is constantly changing. What you learned 6 months ago could already be outdated information.
You’re familiar with the term “growth hacking”, right? You’ve likely read about how Facebook, Uber, Airbnb, Hotmail, Dropbox, etc. growth hacked their way to mega success.
Those case studies resulted in a widespread shift in thinking. Many marketers became more concerned with 10x growth hacks they read about online than strategy and growth process.
Is growth hacking useless? Absolutely not. Is the way it’s commonly talked about useless? Undeniably.
You’re familiar with the phrase, “A creature of habit.” Yet, as we strive to disrupt industries, take out the competition and launch innovative new products, we forget the power of habit.
Think about what dish soap is sitting by your sink or under the counter. When is the last time you put serious thought into what dish soap to buy? What about your toothbrush? Toothpaste?