Human nature hasn’t changed and neither have the priorities required for successfully conveying your message.

Contrary to common opinion, David Ogilvy didn’t have a preference for long copy.

What he had was an overwhelming bias towards anything that had been proven to work (which included long copy).  Ogilvy’s real, professed preferences were for consumer testing, research-driven techniques, and performance-based advertising in the truest sense of the term.

Based on those things, the conclusion he came to was that messaging and relevance had…

...continue to read "Tests Indicate Ogilvy’s Old-School Layout Still a Winner"

Most companies measure keyword performance – and especially PPC keyword performance – based on one factor: did that word or phrase bring converting visitors to the site on the visit in which they converted.

So the natural thing to do is trim non-performing words and phrases in order to increase the efficiency of your PPC spend.  And that’s exactly what one client did, except rather than increasing his efficiency, he dropped his sales by 30%.

Why?

Because, depending on what you…

...continue to read "Are Your Analytics Causing You to Lose 30% of Your Sales?"

We’re now 6 months into 2009, and if you’ve embarked on a program of Website/ Marketing optimization, you’re probably looking for some clear, common-sense benchmarks to measure your progress.  Here’s what you should be looking at:

Cost Per Visitor (CPV) – How many advertising, marketing, SEO, etc. dollars do you need to spend to bring in each Website visitor you’re getting.   Don’t look at conversion just yet – it’s your website’s job to convert the visitors; marketing’s job…

...continue to read "Have You Given Your Website a Mid-Year Check-up?"

Since OnTarget debuted, we’ve been learning a lot about why certain clients succeed with optimization, and why others succeed “less.”  To use the exercise regimen metaphor we often refer to, many people start exercise programs with goals of losing weight or a better physique, but not everyone sticks with it and achieves their goals.

We thought we’d share some insights so that if you’re thinking about an optimization program, you can avoid the pitfalls and reap the rewards.

There are many, nuances…

...continue to read "Four Steps To Optimization Success"

One of the things that makes being a Persuasion Analyst at FutureNow fun is watching clients –> partners –> friends grow as an organization.  Many start off skeptical about the process of site optimization, or unrealistic about what can be gained in a given time frame.  But after working through some of the challenges, it’s great to see them thinking about their sites and their businesses in completely different (read: better) ways, and subscribing to a culture of continuous…

...continue to read "The Development of an Optimization Culture"

So apparently the Internet Advertising Bureau is dissatisfied with search-based Internet ads.  Seems they want to “overcome perceptions of ‘creative shabbiness’ in online media, and to help prevent the slide toward a ‘performance-based’ Internet advertising economy.”  Ouch.

While I can’t help but shake my head at the elevated nose and depressed intelligence of a dying attitude that associates “performance-based advertising” with creative shabbiness, that’s not what really bothered me about this piece.

What bothered me was two-fold:

1)  …

...continue to read "Let’s Get Rid of Performance Based Marketing, Huh?"

If you’ve been to one of our trainings over the past few years, or seen any of us present at a conference, you’ve probably heard the line about the average tenure of a Chief Marketing Officer being less than the gestation period of an elephant.  Well, it’s time for some new material.  New research from executive search firm Spencer Stuart shows that CMOs are making it into their 3rd year with the same organization, on average, based on a…

...continue to read "On CMOs, Customer Service, and Birthing Elephants"

In the column, “Calling You to Action,” I covered the basics of optimizing the calls to action on your site. The column prompted this comment from “Florida Design” that appears on our blog:

I keep telling people this. I don’t think that optimizing a site for conversion is a “Call to Action” science. It’s a usability science. People aren’t going to click something because its big round and yellow, and says “Click Me”. The reason people click this types of links…

...continue to read "The Sciences and Disciplines of Web Site Optimization"

Hanging out at SES Chicago last week, I spent some time with Stewart Quealy, VP of content development for SES, who told me that he enjoyed my last column about the power of a great unique value proposition. He suggested that as more new faces begin to adopt conversion rate optimization, some may not be as familiar with the fundamentals as many of us are.

And of course, the end of the year is always a good time to talk the fundamentals.…

...continue to read "Calling You to Action"

The idea of a unique selling proposition isn’t new or unique. According to Wikipedia, the term was coined in the 1940s. More than seven years ago I wrote about it. Here’s a bit:

What simple statement about your business or brand — just a quick, clear sentence or two at most — tells your prospects that you are the only alternative for them? Sounds like a response should just jump out at you. Yet most businesses (on- and offline) cannot provide an…

...continue to read "The Value of a Unique Value Proposition"