We don’t think about emotions much when we consider optimization. But isn’t it conceivable to say that no decisions you ever make are based purely on reason? I mean the basis of your reason is driven by several emotional factors in your mind. Sometimes your brain completely eliminates certain decisions choices based on emotional factors. When we’ve discussed personas in the past, we’ve noted how important it is to get understand the user, but more importantly is getting inside a user’s head. We like to dig deep and  understand what works and what doesn’t and how they “FEEL” about certain things in order to gain perspective on what do about a specific website. It’s really quite an extraordinary concept.

Continue reading Psychology, Conversion Optimization and Ethics

Tags: Conversion Optimization and Ethics, conversion rate, Psychology
Posted in Conversion Optimization, Ecommerce, Sales & Marketing

We’d like to share some news with our readers that we’re pretty proud of here at Invesp. During the first 6 months of 2008, our team conducted 7 landing page optimization projects and 4 e-commerce projects. Our average client conversion rate for that period was 9.2%. Our clients reported an average increase of 35% increase in conversion rates during that period, with our best project delivering a 98% improvement in conversion rates.

If you follow this blog regularly, you know that our clients averaged 14.56% in 2007. While it might seem that there is a large drop in clients conversion rates this year, I believe the numbers will adjust very well during the holiday season, since most of our clients usually report large increases during the holidays.

The team has been able to deliver great value to our clients in the last six months and made great improvements in solidifying the conversion framework. At this point, the framework has been tested on over 30 conversion optimization projects and has consistently delivered great results.

Our biggest lesson this year comes from the one project where we could not deliver the results. Investing enough time upfront before starting any conversion optimization is critical. Our client did not have enough traffic to that landing page to notice any real improvement in conversion. The page received less than 200 visitors a month. That is something we should have been aware of prior to starting the project. But as they say: “live and learn” and I believe we have. J

With the economy declining by the day, there is no better time to focus on conversion optimization. If you have been thinking about starting your own conversion optimization project, call our office at 1.800.421.7393, or contact us to get started.

Tags: Conversion Optimization, conversion rate, e-commerce, Invesp
Posted in Conversion Optimization, Ecommerce

Redesigning an existing ecommerce site is much harder than you may think. However, there are a couple of things that you can do to organize your ecommerce site that will immediately increase your conversion rate.

Continue reading 7 easy tips to rejuvenate your ecommerce site and instantly increase your conversion rate

Tags: Conversion Optimization, conversion rate, Ecommerce, website design
Posted in Conversion Optimization, Ecommerce

Every page on an ecommerce website plays a significant role in the conversion process. As a user, I want to be persuaded to move from the main page, to the category pages, to the product page , and finally to the check out process.

Today I’m going to examine some of the best practices that Gymboree, a children’s clothing ecommerce site, utilizes to make their site one of the top 100 ecommerce sites of 2007.

Since I’m a very busy mom, this is not the first time I visit Gymboree’s website. I’ve already been to the store enough times to know how the sizes run and the type of materials they use for their clothing. So it’s convenient to go online and shop for the things that I need. I’ve even bookmarked their girl’s page as a favorite on my computer.

Continue reading My inspiration to keep spending money

Tags: Conversion Optimization, conversion rate, Ecommerce, relevance, scent, top 100 etailers
Posted in Conversion Optimization, Sales & Marketing

All e-commerce sites are designed to get the site visitor and prospective customer to make a purchase. Everything in the site must lead to that desired action. There are many issues that must be considered such as: How easy is it to navigate your site? How fast do your pages load? Can users find what they are looking for? These are a few of the most common mistakes ecommerce sites tend overlook:

1. Poor product images- Large images swallow precious time and increase FUD’s (fears uncertainties and doubts) because of the longer loading periods. So make sure to edit and optimize your pictures to minimize load times.
Also, don’t stick to a one-size-fits-all formula. Give your user a dynamic experience by providing multiple photos from different angles.

  2. Lack of authenticity- Make every effort to show your customer that you are a viable and authentic company. An address instead of a P.O. Box and a phone number are helpful. However, becoming affiliated with organizations such as the BBB, verisign, and others will drastically help enhance trust within your customers giving them the incentive to make the purchase.
3. Poor Design-Design and content play a part in trust. A poor design gives off an unprofessional feeling. If a company can’t afford a decent website, or won’t spend the money on it, the user can’t be sure their order will be treated with the importance it deserves. If content is inaccurate or badly written, the same applies. The design does not to be extravagant by any means. Simplicity is often best. As long as it gives a professional feel.

4. Uncategorized products- No one wants to sift through lists and lists of products and product info. Categorize your products, especially if you have a large inventory, and make sure you’ve provided all the specs on color, size, material…etc.

5. Assuming the user knows too much- When you send out order confirmations, make sure to include all of the product details to re-assure the buyer that they’ve made the right selections. If I accidentally ordered size large instead of medium, I would want to know so I can fix it.

6. Lack of calls to action- The “call to action” in marketing refers to copy that sways the user to take action. When developing your website, think of all the desired actions you would like your customer to take. The obvious ones are “subscribe to our newsletter”, “buy now”, or “add to shopping cart”, and make sure to include them to your website in visible locations.A more subtle call to action moves the user through your website and gets them to stay there longer “read more”.

7. Long sign-up forms- Cut down on the long sign up forms. It’s one of the first opportunities the customer has to interact with your company, and it’s a common place for users to drop off because the company attempts to collect too much information all at once. Keep this part of the communication short and friendly and let your visitor enjoy their shopping experience.

8. More than 3 multiple check out steps-Don’t keep your user hanging. Too many check-out steps are not effective or efficient. Review the purchase, make the payment, and confirm the payment. 1-2-3 and you’re done!

9. Un-secure checkout- People are cautious about buying online, so give your customer every reason to trust you. It’s important that you host your order form on a secure server so hackers cannot get in and steal information. You can get a secure server though your ISP or setup your own if you have a server. You can also use a payment gateway to provide your customers with a secure checkout page.

Striking the right balance on your site of displaying your info, yet making the site extremely user friendly and client-centric is not easy. But in order to see more conversions, there are some basics that need to be considered. What other deadly mistakes do you find e-commerce sites tend to make?

Tags: Conversion Optimization, conversion rate, ecommerce conversion, ecommerce design, ecommerce mistakes
Posted in Conversion Optimization