Since the common predictions over the last two months have been that Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is going to have a big year in 2010, some of our GrokDotCom readers have expressed interest in how to evaluate the different CRO service providers out there.

Despite an obvious bias, I still think I can offer some objective talking points, questions to ask, and things to think about if you’re going to pursue hiring help to optimize your conversion rate.  But before we go…

...continue to read "20 Questions to Ask When Evaluating Optimization Services"

There was a question posed in the comments section of my last post on Pay Per Click optimization that I thought I’d try to address: “What are your thoughts on using CRO to improve the quality of leads?”

Good question!  Many people assume that optimizing for higher conversion rates in the Business to Business (B2B) environment always ends up decreasing lead quality.  We at FutureNow don’t believe that for one minute, though.  If you’re responsible for a B2B lead generation…

...continue to read "Can Conversion Rate Optimization Improve Lead Quality?"

Every client I talk to who’s using Pay Per Click (PPC) as part of their online marketing mix voices some level of concern about cost and ROI, and for good reason.  With PPC, there seems to be a thousand different ways to spend too much money for not enough return.  Have you ever experienced any of these headaches?

Setting the wrong daily budget, only to have it spent within a few short hours Having all your clicks come from the…

...continue to read "How To Optimize Pay Per Click Advertising & Control Costs"

Today’s topic is all about using blog (or forum) comments to drive qualified traffic to your site, and how to begin the persuasion process.  It’s an interesting topic for me since I read nearly every comment that gets left on my GrokDotCom posts.

Note: before you read further, understand that this post is NOT about how to use blog comments as a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tactic.  This post is about how to use blog comments to begin an…

...continue to read "How to Use Blog Comments for Persuasion: Dos & Donts"

I was asked recently to look into my crystal ball and make some predictions for where the online marketing optimization space (including Conversion Rate Optimization) is headed in the next year.

Some of my predictions will be “wishful thinking,” but if I can sway the direction of an entire industry I’d be surprised, honored, and ask for a raise

One of my favorite magazine formats for this sort of thing is the “What’s In and What’s Out” or “What’s Hot and…

...continue to read "Online Marketing Optimization: 5 Predictions for 2010"

My inbox is a battlefield.  It’s where the chosen few companies/brands that I allow into my consciousness battle it out for my attention, my clicks, my time, and my credit card.

I scan the list of unread messages in waves: First, I pick off the obvious junk messages.  Then, I scan the “From” fields and subject lines to make sure I at least recognize who these messages are from and that they’re “legitimate.”  If anything looks questionable, it’s…

...continue to read "How To Loosen Up the Tone of Marketing Emails"

One of the things I’m looking forward to in 2010 is more and more people getting involved in optimizing their online marketing efforts.  This past year was really exciting in terms of Optimization gaining momentum (and budget) among many, many online marketing organizations.  It is, after all, the business that FutureNow has been in for over ten years.

As we all evolve our optimization approaches, one of the things to watch out for, especially for those who are just getting…

...continue to read "Don’t Optimize First and Ask Questions Later"

Figure 1

The Holiday (online) gift shopping saga continues!  First, I was buying water bottles, and now I’m shopping for a gift card to send to some relatives.

Instead of taking you through the somewhat exhausting 11-step purchase process I went through for the sake of “convenience,” this post will just call out a few of the interesting high points and low points (with suggested optimizations) on the emotional roller coaster that is online shopping.  While the theme is a…

...continue to read "The Highs and Lows of a Holiday Gift Card Conversion"

This is a story about Christmas shopping of the worst kind a male can possibly imagine: buying a ‘teen heart-throb’ gift for a younger, female family member.  Well, I guess it could be worse, this gift could have been requested by my wife

I have a certain younger sister-in-law who is a freak for the actor who plays “Edward” in the Twilight movie saga.  I undertook the mission to buy the “Edward” water bottle that was sold through…

...continue to read "Twilight New Moon Online Persuasion Examined"

Last week, I posted Part 1 of my book review of Steven Wood’s Digital Body Language book.  It covered how the landscape of B2B, complex sales, and marketing has changed because of rapid developments in the Online world, and what the Digital Body Language (DBL) concept is.

In this post, I’ll wrap up by covering some of the benefits you can get if you learn to observe and leverage DBL, as well as some of the author’s ideas about the future of…

...continue to read "B2B Marketing Book Review and Commentary, Part 2"