Tim Ash — author of Landing Page Optimization Book
Siteturners Multivariate Testing Website Optimizers
@tim_ash
I’ve somewhat deconstructed Tim’s blitz “Conversion Engine Toolbox” session at Search Engine Strategies last week. It really was about tools for testing (see below). For me, and I hope most of us, these side notes (mostly regarding landing pages) may be more helpful. Let me know what you think. I do have incomplete notes on the pros of the tools and would be happy to share … lemme know and also make sure to click here to get the best ideas
Conversions = sales, forms completed, sign-ups, whatever your call to action or desired outcome is
The purpose of your home page is to get people off your home page
- Let them discover: Who are you?
- Then guide them here and there to get into more relevant content
Website design formula for conversions
2 columns only
Left column = your content, what you want visitors to do
Right column = validation, why you’re trust-worthy (see 4 types of trust, below)
Left column content
- Headline: What is the page about? Underneath have 3-5 bullet points that summarize
- Action block: colored box with pastel background call to action
- Desired visitor thought-process: “What do I get if I push the button?
Finer details to keep in mind
- Guide the user from general to specific
- There has to be a clear visual hierarchy
- Don’t give everything
- Don’t surprise
- Have a tagline that actually says what you do
- How far do people scroll? put trust symbol near the top
- Do they actually reach the bottom of the page?
Don’t do anything unexpected or surprising
- No hoverovers
- No whitebox popovers for testimonials
- No scrollbar
- Only supply them when someone asks for it
How to determine whether your forms killing your conversions (recommended tools, below, enter in)
- Which form fields are left blank?
- Which forms/fields causes the most delay?
- Which links are hovered over but not clicked?
- Funnel: Landed on the page, filled out the form, finished the form
- Look at how long it’s taking to fill out each field?
- Do we need to ask that?
- Are we asking in the right order?
- Why is this happening?
- Which fields are blank?
More design and usability take-aways
- All visual elements distract from goals
- Determine exact amount of emphasis for key elements
- Don’t let others’ logos take over attention, don’t make them full color
Improve a landing page design before you publish it
- Why go live with a page you’re unsure of?
- Think about wasted time
- Provide a cleaner visual profile
- Streamline your content
4 types of trust
- General clean site
- Appeal of authorities
- Social consensus: 1 million downloads
- Trust marks, not a trust mark if it’s not recognizable, use most relevant
Bottom line: Your visitors don’t care, have 8 seconds to get them to care
Recommended tools
UsertesTing.com
Mosquito Interactive
CrossBrowserTesting.com
AttentionWizard.com
About Suzanne McDonald
Thanks for the thoughtful writeup. I am glad that you shared my side notes.
Hi Tim,
Thanks for your thanks and for checking out the post — not to mention thanks for your practical content!
I’ve updated the tools you Tweeted.
Looking forward to diving into your book,
Suzanne
have incomplete notes on the pros of the tools and would be happy to share … lemme know.Los Angeles Search Engine Marketing
Absolutely, want to add them as a comment? Thanks for sharing!
What did you think of the session? What the best session at SES, in your opinion?
Thanks again!
Suzanne
Hey i am really thankful for this site for giving me such a wonderful tips…thanks a lot….
Thanks for the thanks and do let us know if there are particular topics you’d like to see more (or less) of! -Suzanne
Its bull shit blog……….. waste
Sorry to disappoint … I’d genuinely appreciate any constructive criticism you may have for the blog.
Thanks for taking the time to comment,
Suzanne
I always do the same thing. Thanks for tips.
Thanks for taking the time to comment … wondering if you have any other tricks/tips you’d care to share?
You make some interesting points. I don’t think most people scroll at all. I’ll bet statistics would prove that. You need to grab people in the upper part of your page, and not annoy the reader as you do it with gimmicks and flash. Just present a well-written, organized presence.
Absolutely, and it’s becoming increasingly vital to streamline things, as more and more people are accessing web page from a mobile phone screen! Thanks for taking the time to post a comment and be sure to subscribe! -Suzanne
Yeah there are some interesting points,but to grab the information or if they have it,they surely scroll it down..
Hi there,
Good point … but these pages aren’t designed to be landing pages, and there’s nothing to buy here, directly.
The intent of the blog is to share information and demonstrate Designated Editor’s ability to provide content for websites and social media that people will read and search engines will like.
For example, when I met my client with the iPhone app for boaters, he browsed around Blog.DesignatedEditor.com and realized there’s a lot of knowledge here at Designated Editor to leverage on behalf of his business.
The Designated Editor website, on the other hand, is designed more with a call to action. We’re in the process of updating that as well, but you can see where the newsletter sign-up is a primary call to action.
Always looking for suggestions, though, so be sure to pass some along!
Thanks for taking the time to comment,
Suzanne
That’s simply a great post. You lay out all the basics of efficient web design. It’s true that it should be usable by anyone, even the not-so-computer-literate people.
Hi and thanks for taking the time to comment in such a meaningful way! True, you always have to think of your audience and assume they won’t always be able to follow the breadcrumbs in the way you envision.
Thanks again,
Suzanne
That’s simply a great post. You lay out all the basics of efficient web design. It’s true that it should be usable by anyone, even the not-so-computer-literate people.
You have some great tips here. I also think that a clean site, visually, is really important. Clutter drives people away fast. You didn’t mention the importance of good writing and good grammar/spelling on your home page. If you look unprofessional there, people will not go into the site further.
Hi there and thanks for taking the time to comment! Very good point about content … I suppose it’s a bit of modesty, but also Tim didn’t address grammar and spelling in his talk. Goes without saying, but we have to remember to say it! Thanks again! -Suzanne
That’s an excellent technique. You want your website to be user-friendly for those without much computer knowledge. And like anything in life, the simpler the better. Complicated things never last very long.
Absolutely! Thanks for taking the time comment. Looking forward to posting more great stuff from Affiliate Summit in August! Thanks again! -Suzanne
perfect points. it would be cool if more blogs like this were on the net. way to many blogs discuss nothing floating on the internet. keep it up
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. Tim Ash also hosts a Landing Page Optimization podcast, which is also fascinating.