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http://ift.tt/1VueB0G The word “cohort” can be scary to those unfamiliar with the term. It may sound like something out of a medical journal or statistics class. But, I promise you, there’s nothing to be afraid of. And, if you’re a marketer, it’s pretty important to understand cohorts if you want to get into and benefit from marketing analytics. So, what is a cohort? Wikipedia defines it as:
Pretty simple, right? And, if you’re one those left-brained people who love to analyze data, then cohorts are perfect for you. Cohorts are frequently used in studies to compare groups of people. They’re useful because, in a cohort study, you track the cohorts over a period of time to see what kind of data each one brings. To use one of the examples from above, you could study truck drivers who smoked between age 30 and 40 compared with those who didn’t smoke at all and/or those who smoked earlier or later in life. You would then look at various test results for each cohort and compare the data. Now, we’re not going to be talking about truck drivers who smoked. Since we’re marketers, we’re going to run through how we can apply cohorts to optimize our marketing. We’ll also examine a couple of tools that offer cohort analysis. How Can Marketers Use Cohorts?There are literally hundreds of cohorts marketers can create. But, the question here is not how many they can create. It’s which cohorts will produce the most insightful data. When thinking about which cohorts to track, ask yourself these questions:
Here are three cohorts marketers may find useful: 1. Signed Up / Purchased, Organized by TimeYou’re a marketer, so it’s critical for you to deliver leads and signups to your sales team. Create a cohort that tracks people who visited your site and signed up. You’ll see when they first visited your site and how long it took them to sign up after their first visit. This can essentially tell you if your marketing campaigns lead people to take immediate action. Let’s break it down. The new year begins, along with your new marketing campaign. You’ve spent the past 2 months planning it, designing it, and setting targets. Now it’s prime time, and you’re ready to see how it performs. Your campaign runs from January – March. You get 100k visitors to your site, and your signup rate during this time remains at .5%. You start a new campaign in April. Fast forward a few months, and you’re looking at a Cohort Report. You’re viewing the people who visited your site and signed up. For the people who visited your site sometime in the period January – March, you notice a slight increase in signups in the months following. You see that 1.0% of the people who visited your site in February came back in June and signed up. This means that the January – March campaign was more effective than initially thought. As marketers, we often expect people to sign up right away. In our minds, we think they come to our site and either sign up or don’t. But the truth is, it’s not that binary. It’s not a yes or no at that very moment. Sometimes it’s a “wait and see.” People might visit our site, browse around, but then not sign up until later. This is why it’s a useful cohort. Signups don’t always occur right away, and a cohort reporting tool can track signups over a long period of time. 2. Your Most Loyal CustomersEvery marketer wants to acquire customers. But, as we know, not all customers are created equal. Some spend more than others, and some may require more “help” than others. There are also customers who sign up for your service and cancel a few months later (which doesn’t help your Cost to Acquire a Customer (CAC)). Most important, there are customers who sign up, stay engaged with your product, and tell their friends about it. You need to know who these customers are, where they came from, and how you can get more of them. With a sophisticated Cohort Report, marketers can create a cohort of users who frequently login, and then they can segment (aka group) those users by the marketing channel they came from. Here’s a way to think about it: Your marketing challenge is finding loyal customers. You have no problem delivering signups, but 80% of them cancel their accounts after a few months. What about the other 20%? Where do they come from and how do you get more of them? This is where a Cohort Report can help you. This is the Kissmetrics Cohort Report. It’s one of the best places to get this kind of data. On the left, we see the marketing channel users came from. Move to the right, and you’ll see how well each channel performed. The darker the shade of blue, the higher the login retention. With this information, we can see which channels are sending us the most valuable customers and then spend more money and energy on them and less on the ones that aren’t delivering. 3. Repurchase RatesEvery business needs loyal customers. That includes retail stores, SaaS companies, subscription-based companies, you name it. They need customers who come back and make purchases on a recurring basis. There’s no getting around it. So how do you, as a marketer, find and acquire these loyal customers? Use a cohort. Here’s what you’ll want to do: Find the people who have repurchased. This can be for any business, but let’s use e-commerce as an example. Then segment the purchases by product categories, marketing channels, or marketing campaigns. Here’s what you’ll learn:
The Value of Cohorts for MarketersAs you can see, there are many insights you can gather by grouping people together and tracking their behavior over time. Each business and marketing challenge is unique. I’ve listed a few ways marketers can use cohorts to help optimize their marketing. But your challenges are unique, and only you will be able to create cohorts that garner valuable insight. Where to Get This DataThere are two tools we’ll focus on that provide cohort reporting. The first is Google Analytics and the other is Kissmetrics. Let’s start by examining Google Analytics. Google Analytics Cohort AnalysisGoogle Analytics has a feature called Cohort Analysis. Here it is: You have four choices in setting up your cohort analysis: Cohort Type Cohort Size Metric Date Range Underneath these options, the Cohort Analysis presents the data visualization. Users can see how well the cohort is performing over time. The bottom part contains the raw numbers and the retention afterward. The darker the shade of blue, the higher the percentage (i.e., better retention). The Cohort Analysis is still in its early stages. Some of the more advanced things you’ll want to do may be a little more difficult to set up in Google Analytics. It is, of course, free and does not inherently come with support. You can get support through a partner. Kissmetrics Cohort ReportThis report is one of the most customizable out there. You can track any event and property across a custom date range. Using this report, you’ll be able to measure how your marketing campaigns are performing and refine them based on the data. The report’s usefulness can also extend beyond the marketing department. Here are a couple of other departments that could use it: Product Team
Sales Team
Here’s a video demo of the Cohort Report: If the video embed is not showing up, you can click here to view the video on the Wistia page. RecapWe’ve gone through a lot. Here are the takeaways:
See How Cohorts Can Impact Your MarketingWant to learn how the Cohort Report can help you optimize your marketing? Request a personal demo today! About the Author: Zach Bulygo (Twitter) is a Content Writer for Kissmetrics. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1N4I5mA via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1KOPqD2 We all know that no user is the same. Aside from the very basics such as age, gender, socio-economic background and so on–every person differs in their life experiences, interests, and preferences. Since this is the case, why do Marketers continue to use the same tired methodology to reach a diverse customer base? There are lots of excuses: Little man power, not enough resources, and of course—time constraints. But, with today’s technology, customization, segmentation and individualized targeting can be done efficiently without utilizing too many resources. The importance of individualized messaging for your website cannot be overlooked. After all, there is a strong psychological basis behind the practice. This generation has seen tremendous breakthroughs in terms of promoting the interests of people on a personal level and while it has proven tremendously advantageous in the social arena, it has also lead to higher expectations in terms of customer experience, marketing and sales. People want their needs to be met right here, right now. As a result, your messaging needs to be in tune with your users specific problems, provide viable solutions and give them maximum bang for their buck in terms of information provided and personal appeal. In other words, your users don’t want to feel like they are being spoken at. Instead, they want to feel valued as an important part of a community. In order to arrive at the information necessary for individualized website marketing to be successful, you should first consider analyzing your users accordingly. DemographicsUser demographics tell you who they are on the most basic level. This includes information such as age, gender, socio-economic level, location, profession, education level, and marital status. In certain marketing contexts, these elements would be extremely important to note. For example, if you are creating a landing page meant to increase your jewelry sales, it would be a bad idea to target single people about buying your jewelry as a gift for their spouse. Not only can this be a slap in the face for some, but it also makes people subconsciously feel discluded from your brand’s messaging and by extension, your community as a whole. To avoid such disasters, you can obtain your users’ demographics in a few different ways. First of all, your website should always be set up to be a two-way conversation. This way, you can casually ask users this information either through conversation or asking them to fill out a short survey. Some great survey tools include SurveyMonkey, Typeform, and Zoho Survey. Using surveys is highly beneficial since you get the personal information you need while simultaneously empowering your customers and showing them you care about being relevant in their lives. If surveys don’t cut it, use analytics tools such as Google Analytics Demographics Report along with Facebook Insights. Additionally, products such as Demographics Pro and Quantcast are able to easily provide great insights to classify your customers. To demonstrate how demographics can make significant impact on a Marketing campaign, check out this great infographic about using demographics for social media marketing: As you can see, by gaining knowledge of which social media sites are more popular based on age, income, and other factors, marketers are better equipped to decide which social media campaigns to use where. Obviously, the same type of information can be used for websites in general in order to run the right campaigns and write appealing website content. Psychographic SegmentationPsychographic segmentation digs deeper. This type of data focuses more on people’s lifestyles, behavior, and belief systems. While this type of information is more difficult to attain, it is by far the most valuable way of appealing to your customers. Going back to the psychological level, appealing to a person’s intrinsic, emotional beliefs is generally extremely effective. For example, you can appeal to a targeted segment of say– young mothers based on the ideal of providing quick, healthy meals that children love. In contrast, the exact same message will likely not be a significant core belief of a college aged male and will therefore fail to make a deep impression on his buying habits. Selling people on beliefs and lifestyles rather than products have been a key strategy in marketing for years. As seen in the ad below, Tiffany and Co. builds an emotional connection with their audience by connecting the emotion of love with their brand. Through this strategy, they as a brand resonate with individuals that identify with this emotion. At this point, it is important to note that connecting emotionally is not the only way to utilize psychographic data. Often times humor, hobbies, and other motivations are just as effective – if not more so. Check out this landing page by Awesometalk for example. Its messaging is simple and funny, while making a valid point which almost everyone can relate to. While the data needed to come up with messaging that resonates with your target audience can be obtained through surveys, keyword searches, and your previous effective content – in order to put the values into practice for your marketing efforts, you need to put these beliefs into words. So design landing pages, content, and social campaigns that communicate such themes and messages, and watch your users grow to love your site. Prior PurchasesDeriving information about previous buys can help you gain insights on the types of products and services that interest a particular person. For example, if a person has previously bought a new comforter for their bed, they may be interested in buying pillows as well. Therefore, using website features that sell complementary products or services can make your customers’ lives easier. Even prior to purchase, you can give your customers smart options. Many ecommerce sites such as Amazon show similar products that others have looked at so users can compare products and make a purchase. Thankfully, there are a variety of tools and plugins that will allow you to instantly install this intuitive sales feature. For example, Retail Rocket specializes in real-time ecommerce personalization and product recommendation based on previous purchases and products that have been clicked on. By installing features such as this, your users feel that your site understands their needs and cares about their ease of use. Eventually, this will lead to increased sales and greater customer loyalty. Previous BehaviorEach browser’s behavior online can show you a lot about their interests and what information is relevant to their lives. Answers (or lack thereof) to email newsletters or taking into account what they’ve clicked, Liked or read on your website can help indicate an individual’s interests and/or place in the buying cycle. Heatmaps such as Crazy Egg as well as Google Analytics In-Page Analytics can show you where your customers are clicking, scrolling, and reading, which can help you get a feel for how to best approach them. Obviously, if you see on a heatmap that a person has already watched a demo of your product, they may be more inclined to purchase than someone who is just reading your blog. However, if you notice that a user is constantly coming to your site to read blogs posts on growth hacking, writing more content on the topic and informing them about that content could give that user an extra push. In addition, getting information about the searches your users are making and how they arrived at your site can help you to figure out messaging that is tailored to their needs. What’s Next?So now that you have gotten all the data needed to understand your customer’s needs, how do you actually follow through with your site’s customization? Here are some tips: Individualize Your Newsfeed, Updates, and NotificationsThere’s a reason people keep coming back to Facebook– and there’s no reason your site can’t capitalize from their understanding of targeted website marketing. They came up with the newsfeed so people get a glimpse at what’s happening in their friends’ lives. They then altered the newsfeed and notifications according to their users’ preferences and stories they wanted to see most. The same with Netflix – each users homepage is different. Each user sees different suggestions and recommendations based on their previous viewing history and ratings. You can do the same. Think about installing updates and notifications based on the type of content specific users want to see. For example, if you have users who repeatedly read content related to growth hacking, display those stories in a special section and ensure they get notifications when a new story on that topic goes up. You can also employ a comments section where your users can converse amongst themselves about topics that interest them. In this scenario, user’s conversations about growth hacking should also appear on this individual’s newsfeed so he or she is instantly informed and can participate in the conversation. Targeted Landing PagesAs we have established, your users interests vary. Therefore, creating landing pages that appeal to specific keywords and niche subjects is a great strategy for reeling in segmented audiences. Landing pages work great because they bring people to your site based on specific interests. For example, you may have users that love gardening. To bring them in initially, you would place an ad about growing beautiful flowers on a different site, targeting these specific individuals. Once the ad is clicked on, they get to an entire page elaborating on how your product can help make a beautiful garden. This eventually guides them to perform a specific action. So now that we know why landing pages are great for targeting users, here’s how to write one that is sure to convert: First decide which key messages, subjects, and topics are most relevant to various user-types. Then develop short, concise headlines for each topic along with information that elaborates the main points of what you can offer your customers. Make sure there is one call-to-action in order to ensure users are more likely to actually follow through with what you want them to do. Finally, design it, and watch it do its magic. For further guidance, check out Kissmetrics’s comprehensive guide to creating an effective landing page. Power to The PeopleAs we mentioned earlier, your users are not interested in a one-way conversation. They want to feel you are open to their suggestions, input, and knowledge. Therefore, adding a comments section or another area where your users can communicate and discuss ideals is a great way to make them feel you geared their site to fulfill their needs. Not only does it help them to use your site for a social means, but it also helps them to solve their problems and share their beliefs in a manner that is both educational and informal. Of course, since nothing is more individualistic than voicing an opinion, so by installing such features, you are definitely scoring points with your users. Individualized ContentLike many sites, your content might cover a variety of different topics. However, not all of these topics have the same meaning to everyone. This is where individualized content comes in. By guiding your users toward information that’s of specific interest to them, you provide them with useful intellectual tools that are relevant to their lives while also enticing them with more reasons they should continue to visit your site. To take this to the next level, install tools that suggest new content to read at the bottom of each article. This way, you get greater loyalty and user retention by keeping their interests at heart. Get PersonalFinally, don’t be afraid to take your site to a personal level. Allow your users to have usernames pictures and even gravatars. This way, they can feel they are talking to real people on the other side of the screen and feel that their comments are being noticed and attributed to them. Individualizing your site is extremely important for creating personal relationships with your users. Your users want to feel that they are valued as people and not just as potential leads. By paying attention to their individual characteristics, you grab their attention and make them feel like a valued, dynamic member of a community. About the Author: Nadav Shoval is the CEO & Co-Founder of Spot.IM, an on-site community that brings the power back to the publisher. Prior to Spot.IM, Nadav has developed and founded 4 technology startups. Spot.IM is his fifth venture. Nadav is a technology erudite and a sports addict. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1Lk9sso via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1L4a1EE As fellow analytics fans, we’d like to ask for your feedback in a short 15-question survey. Not surprisingly, it’s about analytics tools and what you as marketers need the most from your systems. We promise this is not entirely self-serving. Not only will the results inform the topics we consider for upcoming blog posts, we’ll share the results with you as soon as they’re in. After all, what’s the point of insights if you don’t share them? Participate in the survey here: http://ift.tt/1L2FVBt And of course, sound off in the comments with any stream of consciousness thoughts on analytics tools, data exhaustion, how marketing budgets are determined, and so on. About the Author: Maura Ginty is the VP of Marketing at Kissmetrics. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1RepcMz via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1MEDN23 As a marketer, you’re always trying to move the needle in the right direction. Everyday you work to increase conversions and nudge visitors towards action on your website. That’s why we built Engage, where you can create notifications on your website to increase conversions and move the needle in the right direction.. Marketers around the world are using it to convert inactive users into valuable users. Engage optimizes every interaction on your website and does not require IT or design resources. After you install the JavaScript code on your website, you can optimize every conversion goal on your website and launch without IT or design resources. Today’s infographic outlines what Engage is, how it’s used, and why it’s the best CRO tool available. Click on the infographic below to view a larger image: Want to display this infographic on your site?Watch a DemoWe’ve created a video demo for Engage: You can also learn more about Engage on our website. Get Started With EngageReady to harness the power of Engage? Click the button below to request a demo of Kissmetrics! // $(function() { $('.footer-dynamic-cta').hide(); }); // About the Author: Zach Bulygo (Twitter) is a Content Writer for Kissmetrics. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1OEgMzs via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1VoSLvp Online retail sales are growing by the day, with U.S. revenues already exceeding $300 billion in 2014, a figure expected to double by 2018. The steady annual rise in e-commerce revenue and scope seems unstoppable, but what does that mean for those old barriers that once held back many from converting online, mainly personal information security? As you may have deduced, these figures hardly represent the full potential of online and/or mobile consumption. Google changed their algorithm to favor sites with secured URLs, and a MarketWatch survey found that security is the leading barrier to conversion amongst users, with only one third stating they do not shop online in fear of personal data breach. Moreover, in a different survey a staggering figure of more than 80 percent of U.S. shoppers who searched for a product online expressed interest in finding products nearby — indicating that there’s still a strong preference for shopping in person, but also clues us into a very basic level of mistrust in both the online presentation of items, and more importantly a hesitance to input personal information. High profile user data hacks such as the one eBay faced in 2015 do more to deter already-fearful Web users from handing over their details. It almost doesn’t matter how quickly and effectively the company dealt with the breach, or how much (if any) damage was incurred by the users whose data was leaked. Establishing or recuperating trust is one of the main barriers to conversion from existing and future consumers. This is doubly true when it comes to lesser known, new, or online-only retailers. The fact of the matter is, if you own, operate, or promote a website, your information — and your users’ information — is exposed to a certain level of risk. While not all businesses can afford to enlist a team whose role would be to monitor their site’s cybersecurity, it may be beneficial for you (as a web marketer professional) to consider training someone among existing staff to deal with security at least at the basic level. As business owners, we all know we get a myriad of “lookie-loo leads” — prospects that are just price shopping with no intention of ever committing — and there are dozens of reasons why a potential client would legitimately say “no” to your proposal. Even when dealing with a site that’s been found relatively secure, you or your potential client may be soon parting ways due to the failure of showcasing efforts to secure data. Read on to learn how you can polish any site’s security to improve consumer trust and ultimately, revenue. This post covers how to use security as another piece of your sales funnel and as a pitch to prospective clients. Some NumbersWhen conjuring up an image of a hesitant online user, we often think of the elderly. After all, relative to the younger crowd, they’re likely inexperienced in completing Web tasks, and generally used to doing things a certain (offline) way. Yet, according to the MarketWatch survey referenced above, the fear of personal data being possessed by malicious sources is most prevalent among the 35-and-older crowd, which is probably a much younger cut-off than you anticipated. Moreover, it’s not as though everyone younger than 34 is completely comfortable with sharing and managing information online. In fact, two thirds of consumers say they believe they will fall victim of a data breach in the coming year, and the same percentage say they’re more worried about their information in cyberspace now than they ever were before. Finally, there’s one new and important factor making nearly all online consumers uneasy: fear of breach is common in all age groups when it comes to completing purchases on mobile devices — a figure we should be mindful of in light of the steady increase in mobile usage for e-commerce purposes, reaching nearly 40 percent of all online sales in the U.S. on Black Friday 2013 alone. While barriers to conversion are virtually endless, security is one that’s consistently cited by Internet users as a deterrent from completing online purchases. If you own or promote a long-established giant retail chain with well-distributed brick-and-mortar stores and an online store, your reputation is likely doing more than half of the work. If the above doesn’t apply to you, below are some tried and true tips that are essential to strengthening a site’s security. Audit and Take ActionAs with all journeys, the road to safety begins with one major step — figuring out where you are on the safety spectrum. This step should be as thorough as possible; consider involving one or more professionals who can closely examine the site and assess it as whole. Depending on the size of the company, these professionals can either be one-time consultants or full-time team members paid to have their eye on the ball at all times. The following three areas are where you’ll most likely find security gaps during your inspection, so focusing on them is a great start:
Don’t Keep Security a SecretPreventing a potentially financially devastating attack is an end in and of itself. Studies have found that prominent trust signs, such as conspicuous SSL layers actively boost customer trust and thus positively impact sales. Any reputable site should display trust signs proudly, including accreditations, encryptions, and verifications. These symbols subconsciously — but powerfully — indicate to clients that the business is serious and concerned about their online safety, helping them feel comfortable completing a purchase or handing over precious information. It shouldn’t end there, however. Consumers know security is also in their hands, so any help provided to them in order to understand how to protect themselves online is beneficial and works to establish the site as an authority on online security — not a bad place to be. For instance, you can be more transparent by giving clients access to their stored account details and teaching them about the importance of having a unique password by raising the minimum level of complexity; making real time automated recommendations. When all parties are well informed about what constitutes as unsafe behavior and make a conscious effort to be safe, it’ll make fraud easier to detect. Stay Ahead of the Next AttackUnfortunately, hackers are just as sophisticated and creative as cybersecurity experts. For site owners, this means living in a never-ending arms race where an attack may always be just around the corner. Assuming your client is already keeping their security software consistently up-to-date, their best bet to stay safe is to test the network occasionally by running cyberattack simulations. This can be carried out by a cybersecurity professional, and it should be a regular protocol — especially before important sales or promotions when system overflow may make data more susceptible to real time attacks. In severe cases, Google may dole out a manual action and send an alert to Web Master Tools (Search Console), indicating that the reason for the penalty is Malware or third party hacking. Though often enlightening, periodic attacks should not be relied on as the only measure of site security on an ongoing basis. The best way to monitor suspicious activity is by setting up real-time alerts and consequences for suspicious activity. Depending on the niche you’re dealing with, that could mean denying registration or checkout completion for any of the following cases: a foreign IP, multiple attempts at registration / login / checkout completion, suspicious telephone number input (e.g. 111-111-1111), multiple identical orders placed, or if an order is placed that differs greatly from typical new client projections. By being able to identify these behaviors real time, you could stop attempts at fraud in their tracks. You’re on your way to becoming an online safety expert. Use the above information as a starting point, and lay the foundation for advanced cybersecurity. It can and will pay off in revenue and trust. Once you become aware of the risks that loom, you may be surprised to realize how many close calls you and your clients have had — and how effective security measures need to be. About the Author: Asher Elran is a practical software engineer and a marketing specialist. He is the CEO at Dynamic Search and founder of Web Ethics. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1Vms1vo via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1L0zE9n Content marketers beware:
What’s a content hub?If you were to search the phrase “content hub” and begin scouring the results for its definition, you may get confused fast. The term gets thrown around quite a bit and is interpreted in various ways. The definition for “content hub” we’re going to use (and the proven approach I’m going to tell you about) is: A content hub is a destination where website visitors can find branded, curated, social media, user generated, or any type of content related to a topic. You might think… Isn’t that a website? Or isn’t that a blog? It could be. However, a content hub is generally smaller than a website and bigger than a blog. The best ones—and I’ll show you examples—are microsites or branded resource centers published to help visitors find the information they seek in the form they prefer. 6 benefits of content hubsIt’s awfully hard to create a sustainable business today if you’re not pulling people into your website. It’s your main medium—your connection center. Is your website magnetic? A value-packed content hub is your best bet for creating a digital media magnet. Let’s examine the benefits (as explained in a blog post and free ebook about content hubs from ScoopIt) 1. AuthorityOnline buyers put their trust in authorities. Consistently publishing trustworthy content is a proven route to building thought leadership and is amongst the most important benefits of hosting a stellar content hub. 2. Visibility and trafficSucceeding with search, the largest source of traffic on the web, calls for having great content. Search engines index billions of pages and are very good at determining the quality of content on them. If you want traffic, you need your content hub to be a collection of attractive pages. 3. EngagementYour website could be ultra-magnetic, but not all that successful. Great sites do more than generate traffic; they inspire engagement. Content hubs foster engagement (as in reading, sharing, signing-up, trying, buying, attending, and so on) more than sales pages ever could—or can. 4. ControlSocial networks are ever-changing and the changes don’t always benefit members who rely on them for content distribution. Traffic on your content hub is far more meaningful because you control the experience. You tailor the experience. Your objectives come first. 5. LeadsContent hubs enable you to generate leads and sales. When visitors find value in the information you offer, they’ll invest more time there. You’ll create opportunities to “feed the funnel” with tactics such as lead capture, progressive 6. Marketing insightsYour content hub will give your company detailed analytics reports. The metrics you’ll gather inform your content creation team as to what does and doesn’t excite readers. With more insights into what users deem valuable, you’ll become a more effective publisher. House a more appealing media mixYour hub can be 100% blog-based, but a diverse media mix—from a variety of sources—will raise the bar and appeal to a wider range of media consumers. A content hub is a flexible forum where you can publish whatever you like (or more importantly, whatever your audience likes). The media mix may include video, audio, infographics, slides, articles, papers, or any digital media. Your hub centralizes all that you publish to provide its visitors a more interactive and valuable experience. Content may be:
Content hubs look sharpContent hubs often take a cue from websites like ultra-popular mega-hubs on the social web such as Pinterest and SlideShare. They’re presented “tile style” or magazine-like. They’re highly graphic with a simple structural form, which makes them easy on the eyes and easy to skim. Content hubs usually present social media share stats at a glance, which tends to promote sharing. Create an effective content hubContent Hubs Are Here: The Secret to a Long and Prosperous Life in Publishing, a recently published eBook from ScoopIt, reveals important details for creating a killer content hub. Here’s the short version. Establish objectives and a mission statementGet your marketing and sales leaders together to agree on the primary objective. Prioritize secondary objectives and document them. Document a content marketing mission to clearly articulate:
Create a publishing planAssess your prospects’ needs—The foundation of your editorial plan is to create content to deliver the answers to your prospects’ questions. Examine the competition—Dive into the content your competition delivers to determine how you can do things better or differently. Audit existing content—Closely review existing assets such as email, FAQs, presentations, webinars, RFPs, case studies, research, sales pages, and brochures. Look to find what might be revisited and turned into helpful articles, blog posts, infographics, videos, eBooks, podcasts, etc. Tap search and social—Focus on things your target market does and says online. Try the following:
Hire the right talent—Consider hiring a content strategist to take the lead and a managing editor. Hiring freelancers is a practical strategy to fill voids, round out the team and maintain a steady publishing schedule. With a content hub, a single person with editorial skills may be capable of writing, editing and curating content to manage all your needs. Design an attractive hub—Your content hub should be user-friendly and smartly branded. Bring a graphic design professional onboard to give your content hub a branded look and feel and serve its audience well. Create promotion plans—Make distribution and promotion part of your plan from the get-go considering paid, earned and owned channels. Get the tools you need—To host a content hub, you’ll need a couple of tools:
Feeling like toast?I should now confess (or disclose), I wrote the ScoopIt eBook I’ve mentioned a few times. In it I wrote a dedication to every content marketer who feels like toast. See, every day thousands of companies join the content marketing parade and thousands more bail. Do you know why? They don’t have the resources to stay the course. Like most, they understood if they consistently published the valuable content readers actually want to read, watch, listen to and look at, the content marketing dream would be realized. And like most, after awhile they’re toast. Burnt. You don’t want to suffer the same fate. Consider creating a content hub and populating it regularly not only with blog posts or homegrown content, but with curated, user generated, co-created and various types of media your prospects find relevant and useful. Want to learn more about content hubs? Content Hubs Are Here features a detailed explanation of the ingredients of a killer content hub and 13 examples of the hottest content hubs on the web. About the Author: Barry Feldman operates Feldman Creative and provides clients content marketing strategies that rock and creative that rolls. Barry has recently been named a Top 40 Digital Strategist by Online Marketing Institute and one of 25 Social Media Marketing Experts You Need to Know by LinkedIn. Visit Feldman Creative and his blog, The Point. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1gUCS1W via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1MuiL6o Editor’s Note: For any issues or questions regarding the law, please contact an attorney. Marketing can be extremely beneficial for your business. It consolidates already-existing client relationships and builds new ones. However, there are several key legal issues you need to be aware of before you start contacting customers or potential customers. The three main legal areas you need to consider are privacy and data collection, intellectual property issues, and rules and regulations of the FTC and other consumer protection bodies. Let’s begin by looking at privacy and the online collection and storage of data. 1. Privacy and Data CollectionIt may seem simplistic to point out that before you can send marketing emails or messages, you need to collect the contact information of your customers or potential customers. Yet, the actual process of collecting the information is far more complex than it seems, particularly if you’re trying to collect it in a legally compliant manner. Laws and Your Privacy PolicyMost jurisdictions around the world have privacy legislation in place that requires you to notify people before you collect their personal information. This includes someone who is already a customer, although the UK has some slightly more permissive laws for people who have already purchased something from you. In the US, there is no overarching privacy law that applies to the collection of data, but California has a piece of legislation that covers online privacy – the California Online Privacy Protection Act (OPPA). It requires that you need to disclose:
If you have an online store or if you’re marketing to people online in the US, you’re quite likely to have customers or potential customers in California, so you should take care to comply with this law. The easiest way to comply is to set up a Privacy Policy on your website and require your customers or website users to agree to it when you collect information from them. To make sure your customer’s or user’s agreement will stand up legally, use a clickwrap method. A clickwrap method is where your customer or user has to click “I Agree” to your Privacy Policy in some way. This could be when they sign up to receive your marketing messages or when they make a purchase on your website. Here’s an example of what a clickwrap method looks like: In this example, the customer or user is required to tick the box to agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy of The Weather Channel before they can receive the newsletter. Security and Cloud StorageIt’s also important to reassure your customers that once you’ve collected their information, you will keep it secure. Your users need to feel they can trust you. You can show them you are trustworthy by informing them about how you will protect and store their information. Take a look at this example from Google that lists the protection mechanisms they have in place: One simple way to protect customer privacy when you collect information is to use security mechanisms such as SSL. SSL means that the connection between your website and the user’s browser is secure when data is transmitted. Ensure that any websites you use with your customers have SSL enabled. Another potential security issue is the storage of customer data. A popular way for many online businesses and marketing companies to store data is to use cloud storage providers. To reassure your customers that you are keeping their data safe, always choose a reputable provider. And, preferably, choose a reputable provider within your own jurisdiction. This is because some jurisdictions have legal requirements that data should either not be transferred out (or must be accessible even if it is stored overseas) or should be transferred only to jurisdictions with similar legal protections for the data in place. If you overlook this fact and store data with a cloud storage provider in another jurisdiction that has inadequate protections, you may be in breach of your local laws. If you use a cloud storage provider, you need to ensure that your Privacy Policy and/or your website Terms of Use cover the situation in which a cloud storage provider has a privacy breach and your customer data is released. Here’s an example from Amazon of that type of clause: You can see that the clause limits Amazon’s liability and includes no liability for loss to any files. You want to ensure that you are not liable if a third party (the cloud storage provider) has a data leak. To maintain customer trust, use only reputable providers and be transparent about whom your customer data is stored with. How to Comply
2. Intellectual Property IssuesThe next legal issue to consider as a marketer is intellectual property. First, you want to protect your own intellectual property, such as trademarks and copyright. Second, you want to ensure that you don’t infringe on the intellectual property of others. Let’s take a look at the main types of intellectual property protection you may need. TrademarkIf you are sending out marketing emails or contacting people with flyers or advertisements, the first thing you will need to protect is your brand or logo. Registering a trademark gives you the exclusive right to use a specific word or words, name, design, or logo in connection with specific goods or services. It is valid for 10 years and is renewable if certain requirements are met. Before you register yours, check that you are not infringing on anyone else’s trademark and that your logo is not too similar to someone else’s. The easiest way to do this is to have your lawyer check whether your proposed mark is similar to any other marks. The lawyer will search an intellectual property register, namely the US Trademark Database. They may also search international registers or registers in other jurisdictions, depending on how broadly you plan to market using your mark. You can search the US Trademark Database yourself, but an intellectual property lawyer will have a better idea of what you need to search for. Sometimes you need to search for the same trademark in multiple categories of goods; for example, a trademark that you want to register for marketing relating to a supermarket roadshow may come under categories relating to food, alcohol, other beverages, supermarkets and retail stores, marketing, and many more. When you’re ready to file your trademark application online, in the US, you can use the Trademark Electronic Application System. CopyrightIf you use original marketing language on your website or text in emails, you may want to copyright that text. Copyright relates to authorship of original works, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, architectural, and a broad range of other works. If you work with any third parties who write your marketing copy or text for you, ensure that their work is checked for plagiarism. You don’t want to infringe on someone else’s copyrighted work when sending out your emails or newsletters. Here’s an example from Ads Direct of what you might include in your Terms of Service to protect your intellectual property: You can see that they list a number of different types of intellectual property (names, graphics, logos, etc.) and that they also claim they do not own any third-party names, trademarks, or service marks that may appear on their website. If you partner with any other organizations or use quality assurance marks on your marketing materials, this may also be worth covering in your clause. How to Comply
Rules and Regulations of the FTC and Other Consumer Protection BodiesThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has dominion over several key areas relevant to marketers: privacy, anti-spam legislation, and truth in advertising. We’ve already covered privacy above, so let’s take a look at some of the FTC’s rules on advertising and anti-spam practices. 3. AdvertisingThe FTC requires that advertisements and marketing messages must not mislead consumers or unfairly affect consumers’ behavior or decisions about the product or service. Unfair or deceptive advertising is prohibited, which means that any marketing must tell the truth and not leave out any relevant information that a consumer would be interested in. Be careful with any comparative advertising or marketing. If you don’t compare products fairly and transparently, you may be breaching advertising standards. Check the wording of your marketing messages carefully and ensure that someone outside of your marketing team (such as someone from your legal team) has a quick look at what your message is saying. A fresh pair of eyes may notice claims that aren’t quite true or descriptions that overemphasize a product’s abilities. Other regulators on the advertising front that you may need to keep in mind are the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council, which governs the National Advertising Review Board and the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU). If any of your marketing is targeted at children, ensure that you are fully aware of CARU’s guidelines. Anti-Spam LawThe main anti-spam law in the US is called CAN-SPAM. The FTC enforces CAN-SPAM and has issued guidance on how to comply. We’ve covered this previously. To recap, CAN-SPAM requires that you:
The FTC also has a great guide that provides a checklist and guidelines to help you make your business “consumer friendly” overall for international ecommerce. Before you begin marketing your business, be sure that you’ve incorporated some consumer friendly business tips so that you don’t run into trouble further down the line. If you get into trouble with the FTC or any other consumer protection body, be prompt and clear in your communication with them. Aim to work together toward a solution right away, as it may help you avoid prosecution. How to Comply
ConclusionTo comply with the law, the key things to remember are: get consent to send your marketing material; ensure that your customers are aware of and sign up to your Privacy Policy when you originally obtain their information; protect your intellectual property and don’t infringe on that of others; be honest and clear with all marketing messages; and allow your customers to opt out of your messages if they wish. As a marketer, you may be wary of legal pitfalls, but by keeping the issues of privacy and data protection, intellectual property, and consumer protection laws and regulations in the forefront of your mind, you can ensure that you won’t run into any problems. About the Author: Leah Hamilton is a qualified Solicitor and writer working at TermsFeed, where businesses can create their Privacy Policies and Terms and Conditions in minutes. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1VdsKPC via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1NXdQOm Data is the most valuable tool in your business. Based on a Gartner survey, 73% of organizations have invested or plan to invest in big data within the next two years. It’s now the responsibility of both marketing and IT departments to translate data into profitable insights. How your team integrates data into a strategy will help determine your business’s growth. Equipped with a dash of business acumen and a pinch of creativity, companies can persuade buyers to purchase their products and services. Compelling statements backed by credible data will lead to an increase in conversion rates and ROIs. Nedra Klein Weinreich, the president and founder of Weinreich Communications, agrees that storytelling is essential in our fast-paced society. “I believe that the age of the 30-second spot and interruption marketing is just about over. It’s so easy now to skip over TV commercials with our DVRs, block online banner ads, and tune out the pitches being thrown at us constantly,” she says. Right now, the marketer’s challenge is to create a data-driven recipe to drive sales growth, while presenting a consistent brand messages to customers. It’s a great opportunity for organizations to transcend traditional norms. Companies that embrace this new way of thinking can separate themselves from competitors and gain an undeniable spot in the marketplace. Explore these five ways to align data and storytelling into your business strategy: 1. Revamp Your Buyer PersonasTo target the most influential consumers, data identifies which buyer personas have the most impact on lead generation. Teams then can create focused messaging to grab the customers’ attention. Plus, research shows that by adopting marketing personas websites are two to five times more effective and easier to use. For personas to be helpful, the data must be accurate. The information can be gathered from interviews with sales representatives, customer service interactions, and even customer complaints. For B2B companies, conversations are concentrated on the client’s expected outcomes. Ardath Albee, a B2B marketing strategist, suggests gaining intel on the following:
In essence, personas assist your team in effectively meeting the buyers’ needs. Here’s an example: With properly researched buyer personas, you can now craft an intentional brand message. Cohesive content will offer your business as the solution to your clients’ problems. It nurtures prospects’ trust and converts leads. Here’s a good example by Rain Castle. The creative agency built a CTA library based on solid messaging for the Jim Stengel Company. 2. Influence Your Customer Service TeamWith analytics, the goal is to change how we make decisions. Empowering customer service teams with proper data can prepare them for consumer interactions. It really doesn’t pay to lose a customer. NewVoiceMedia found that the cost of poor customer service in America is $41 billion per year. Moreover, disappointed people tend to share their experiences with family and friends, which leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of both the disgruntled buyer and prospective customers. Data helps your team fulfill the customer’s interests. For example, a simple analysis report may pinpoint that startups founded by millennials prefer discussing product details over lunch, instead of dinner. Once the data is sorted, start generating scripts or messages for your customer service teams. Remember that a good story will influence your audience to care. Your story toolbox should contain a promise and resolution for the client. Connect the story to their needs and focus on your company’s strengths. Farnell element14, one of the world’s largest distributors of electronic components, tackled a customer perception issue. In a customer satisfaction survey, the company learned that consumers disliked their pricing, despite their competitively priced items. Working with their pricing, analytics and marketing teams, they created a campaign to show customers “the products they had bought, what they paid last time, what the cost would be now and what the line saving was.” As a result of their initial campaign efforts, Farnell element14 achieved a 13% conversion rate. 3. Reevaluate Your Loyalty ProgramsThe 2015 Loyalty Report states that 76% of Americans think that loyalty programs are part of their relationships with brands. A well-run rewards system is paramount to your customer retention rate. Similar to interacting with your friends, loyal followers want you to communicate with them regularly. Give them the latest news and tips to better their endeavors. Social media and the occasional phone call are great ways for your customers to connect with your business. Be sincere and transparent about your loyalty program’s intentions. Never abuse your customers’ data, like selling it to a third-party without their permission. When you truly understand your customers, you understand their values and can build a story behind it. Offering a loyalty program centered around those particular values may offer more meaning to your customers than discounts. Eco-friendly outdoor apparel company Patagonia decided to offer more than coupons to their loyal following. With help from eBay, it launched the Common Threads Initiative to aid customers with the reselling of their Patagonia clothing. The program reflected Patagonia’s brand of sustainability and gave their target audience an opportunity to participate in this shared mission. 4. Freshen Your Content StrategyContent marketing is transforming how organizations attract and retain consumers. The Content Marketing Institute reported that 70% of B2B marketers are creating more content than they did a year ago. With the help of analytics, your team can use data to evaluate how the reader reacts (or doesn’t react) to specific content, which gives your team the power to create strategic messaging. Social data is readily available and will aid your team in learning your audience’s interests. Focus your efforts on the topics and keywords your consumers use. Answer these questions:
Data without a story results in a lack of interest. Good stories compel people to change. Whether you desire to spark interest amongst your clients or inspire them to take action, your content marketing strategy should appeal to people’s feelings. Contently leads the industry in offering great content with powerful data. Their online magazine The Content Strategist offers better ways for businesses to connect to their consumers. Even their marketing includes the perfect ingredients‐data and storytelling. 5. Renew Your Email CampaignsEmail campaigns are effective tools when they convey the human experience. Aligning data with storytelling to send personalized campaigns will increase clickthroughs and convert prospects. Marketers can use storytelling to tie in the emotion of the brand to the email recipient’s passions. Rich customer data gives businesses a sneak peak into every subscriber’s email activity, including when they opened the email and what they clicked. Customer behaviors should influence how you tell your business’s story. The most engaging stories are sweet, spicy, and everything in-between. They are creative and relevant to the buyer. When the right story is told, sales resistance is lowered. Anecdotes wrap a healthy sales pitch into something delicious for the prospect. This personalized LinkedIn message applies data-centered storytelling with a relatable twist. Transcend the CompetitionData is valuable, but most people seek a connection, too. Encourage your team to build customer relationships by weaving data within storytelling. Buyers gain personalized services, while your business can increase its customer lifetime value. Leverage the power of statistics and stories. When you satisfy your customer’s appetite, your company will experience growth. About the Author: Shayla Price lives at the intersection of digital marketing, technology and social responsibility. Connect with her on Twitter: @shaylaprice from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1L8EMKE via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1LzMNXO I need to be honest with you about something. AdWords is harder than it looks. From the outside, it seems like you just add keywords, write a few text ads, and then sit back and collect paychecks. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. AdWords is incredibly complicated and can run away from you quickly if you don’t know what you’re doing. For example, it’s really important to know the difference between broad, phrase, exact, and broad match modifier keywords before getting started. If you don’t know the difference between those phrases and terms like Search Network, Display Network, CPA goals, cost per click, conversion rates, etc., then using AdWords is going to be more like playing a slot machine than leveraging a scalable advertising network. That’s just how it is. You also need to understand the following at a minimum before getting started:
So now that you understand that AdWords is more complicated than it looks, let’s talk about some advanced ways to improve your results. If you don’t yet grasp the basics, I recommend going back to study up on those first, but for everyone else, here’s a quick breakdown of some advanced tactics you can use to get better results. #1: Take Advantage of Callout ExtensionsThe first thing you want to do to take your AdWords account to the next level is to take advantage of callout extensions. Callouts are a relatively new extension that Google added to allow advertisers to write short, 25-character blurbs to ads that “call out” important features or offers. For example, some advertisers use callouts to mention things like “Free shipping” or “Save 50%.” At iSpionage, we use callouts to draw attention to the points below. You can see these callouts in action in the screenshot below. The great thing about callouts is that they allow you to draw attention to important product features and offers while also giving you more room to extend your ad copy thereby enabling your ads to take up more space in search results. Basically, callout extensions are a win for everyone involved. Customers get more information about your product or service, and you get to tell more reasons why your company is awesome. To take advantage of callout extensions, log into your account, click on “Ad Extensions,” click “View: Callout Extensions,” and then click on the red “+Extensions” button to add a new callout. Here’s the graphical version of the above instructions. #2: Increase Continuity Between Keywords, Ads, and Landing PagesThe next thing you can do to turbocharge results is to make sure you have a good continuity between keywords, ad copy, and landing pages. For example, if someone searches for nike running shoes, you want your ad copy to mention nike running shoes, and your landing page to be product results for nike running shoes. What you don’t want is ad copy about general running gear and a landing page with non-Nike running shoes. If someone is searching for nike running shoes, then you need to give them what they’re searching for, and that starts with having a good continuity between keywords, ads, and landing pages! To carry this out, you need to make sure that keywords are broken out into multiple ad groups. Nike running shoes should be it’s own group, as should Xero running shoes and Adidas running shoes, etc. In addition, you need to write ad copy that matches the keyword being searched. One way to do that is with dynamic keyword insertion, but I recommend studying up on DKI before giving it a try because if you don’t study up, it’s easy to make mistakes that will negatively affect your campaign. The final step is to make sure your landing page matches the keyword searched. You don’t want to put in the time and effort it takes to create individual keyword groups with custom ad text only to drop traffic on your homepage or a non-related landing page. Instead, create as many landing pages you can to match your ad groups and the term being searched for. One way to do this so it scales is to use Unbounce’s dynamic text replacement. With dynamic text replacement, you can program the headline and other text to match the term that was searched. Pretty slick, right? In the end, whether you use dynamic keyword insertion or dynamic text replacement or not, you definitely want to make sure there’s a good continuity between the keyword searched, the ad copy shown, and the landing page you direct traffic to. #3: Ensure 100% Impression Share for Branded TermsA big mistake a lot of advertisers make is not ensuring a 100% impression share for branded terms. The thought process goes something like this… Option #1: I already rank #1 for my brand in organic results, so why should I pay for clicks I’ll probably get anyway? The emphasis here is on probably. Another way to look at it is like this… Option #2: You’ll save a little bit of money with option #1, but you’ll get more clicks and more revenue with option #2. It’s annoying to bid on your own brand terms that you already rank for, but that’s the game you have to play if you want to maximize revenue. Just remember: if you don’t bid on your brand terms, your AdWords competitors will, and that means less money for you and more money for them. #4: Build Out Your Negative Keyword ListThe next step towards turbocharging your account is to build out your negative keywords list. The good news is that it isn’t difficult to do (although it does take time), the bad news is that you’d be surprised at how many advertisers don’t include negative keywords, including accounts that are managed by PPC agencies! So what are negative keywords? Negative keywords are terms you add to your campaign that you don’t want to rank for. For example, if you only sell women’s shoes and don’t want to advertise for men’s shoes, then you can add men’s as a negative keyword. Or if you only sell men’s dress shoes (like Jack Erwin does) and don’t sell running shoes, then you can add running as a negative keyword. Make sense? If not, you can read more here. The value of negative keywords is that they allow you to be more specific about which terms you show up for and also make sure you don’t show up for terms that are completely unrelated to what you offer for sale. To add negative keywords, log into your AdWords account, and then click on a campaign and then an add group. Once you’re in an ad group, click on “Keywords” and then “Negative Keywords.” From here you can add negative keywords at either the ad group level or the campaign level. (Pro Tip: Some keywords should be added campaign wide while others only need to be added to particular ad groups.) #5: Leverage Sitelinks ExtensionsSitelinks are another AdWords extension a lot of people miss. With sitelinks, you get to add links to your website that look like this: As you can imagine, it’s a great way to take up more search engine result page (SERP) real estate while also sharing valuable links searchers might find useful. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that sitelinks extensions don’t always show up. Google decides when they do, and just because you add them doesn’t mean all of your ads will look like the one above. But when they do, you’ll have a really good looking ad. To add sitelinks, click on an ad group, and then click “Ad extensions.” From there you’ll click “View: sitelinks,” and then click on the red “+Extensions” button to add your sitelinks. #6: Adjust Geotargeting Bids Based on Conversion RatesNot many people realize you can adjust your bids by geography based on which cities, counties, states, etc. convert better for your business. Here’s how it works. First, take a look at conversions according to location by clicking on “Settings” then “Locations.” Next, evaluate your conversions by country. If one country converts better than another, you can adjust your bids up by 25%, 50%, etc. If, on the other hand, one country performs more poorly than the others, you can adjust your bids down as needed. To adjust bids by geographic region, simply click into the column next to the geographic region you’d like to adjust your bid for. You can also drill in further by clicking “View location reports.” From here you can select “What triggered your ad (geographic)” or “Where your users were (user locations)”. At this point you can zoom in further to look at individual states, counties, cities, postal codes, etc. Drilling in like this means you can adjust your bids at more and more precise levels and don’t have to rely on simply adjusting by country or state. Sometimes you just need to adjust country level bids, but other times you’ll want to adjust at the city or zip code level. It all depends on the type of campaign you’re working on and how much time you or your PPC manager has to tweak the campaign. #7: Develop a Retargeting StrategyLast but not least, you want to make sure and develop a retargeting strategy for your AdWords campaign. Here’s a brief description of retargeting for anyone who’s not so familiar with how it works. Retargeting is an advertising method where you drop a cookie on your visitor’s computer so you can continue advertising to them. First, they visit your website, then you drop a cookie, and after that you can continue advertising to them for 30, 60, or 90 days. It ends up being a great way to get more conversions because it means you don’t have to convert everyone the first time they land on your site. Instead of needing to hit a hole in one for every single visitor you can introduce your company with the first click, and then follow visitors around the web with retargeting ads until they’re ready to click and make a purchase. It doesn’t always work, but when it does, it works really, really well. So how should you run a retargeting campaign? The easiest way is to do it with Google AdWords (this can be either search or display), and here are some resources to help you get started:
These articles are a good place to start with self-service AdWords retargeting. On the other hand, if you’d prefer to go the full service route, then AdRoll is a great option. AdRoll is slightly more expensive than doing it yourself, but they help with starting and managing retargeting campaigns for people who don’t have time to do it all themselves. Turbocharging Your Account for Breakthrough PerformanceLike we mentioned at the beginning of this article, AdWords is quite a beast. You first have to understand the basics before you can move on to some of these more advanced techniques. You also need to spend time daily or at least weekly to manage your campaign in order to optimize the results. If you don’t have that kind of time, then you should consider hiring your AdWords management out to someone who does have the time and expertise to deliver breakthrough results. But if you’re a semi-experienced novice looking to squeeze more profit out of a campaign that’s currently performing well, we hope this article gives you the fuel you need to turbocharge your account so you start getting breakthrough performance from your campaigns. Did you know? With Kissmetrics, you can track the effectiveness of your online advertising. Optimize your marketing by knowing which campaigns perform and which don’t. Check out our infographic to learn more or request a personal demo of Kissmetrics. About the Author: Joe Putnam is the Director of Marketing at iSpionage, the only competitive intelligence tool that monitors the entire PPC conversion funnel—from keywords to landing page surveillance and competitor A/B test monitoring. He also recently wrote a free guide on competitive intelligence titled 7 Ways to Use Competitive PPC Intelligence to Dominate the Competition. You definitely want to download the guide if you’re interested in learning how competitive intelligence can help you dominate the competition. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1FftVfF via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1KA1gxu You know all about Google Analytics and love the data it provides, but wouldn’t it be nice if there were tools to make managing all of that complex information simpler? You’re in luck. There are! These helpful add-ons for Google Analytics not only make it easier to digest data, but also help ensure you’re getting the most out of all Google Analytics has to offer. Google Analytics Spreadsheet Add-onDeveloped by Google Engineer Philip Walton, this spreadsheet add-on makes it easy to pair up your extensive Google Analytics data with the data manipulation tools in Google Spreadsheets. For you, this means better data visualization that you can share quickly and easily with your team. Features include:
Use This Add-On If:You are required to produce various Google Analytics reports on a regular basis. Automation features with this add-on makes reporting simpler, faster, and easy to examine. Cost: Free Google Tag ManagerTag manager for Google Analytics helps you create and update tags for both mobile and website applications without having to write any code. With this add-on, you can launch fresh tags fast without having to wait for monthly code updates. Plus, debugging features help ensure your tags are reliable and working properly. With the data collected by your tags, you can create stronger campaigns and make more informed decisions that help you get the most out of your marketing efforts. Features include:
Use This Add-On If:You have multiple campaigns running at once and often need to launch tags quickly to respond to real-time events. Cost: Free Debugger for Google AnalyticsUsing Chrome, this add-on uses the debug version of Google Analytics Javascript for all sites. Error messages and warnings are printed in the Javascript console so you can identify any tracking codes that aren’t functioning properly and never miss an important segment of Google Analytics data. Plus, the debugger sends a detailed report of each tracking beacon so you can find tracking code errors and missing data from your reports. This add-on specifically helps spot incorrect method names, when the method name is cased incorrectly, strings containing leading or trailing whitespace, and when you’ve passed a non-string value using quotes. Use This Add-On If:You can’t afford errors in your tracking codes. We’re all human—mistakes happen. This add-on keeps you from making costly tracking mistakes by finding and alerting you of bugs (so you can fix things quickly without having to hunt down the problem.) Cost: Free Infinity Call TrackingThis call tracking add-on allows you to integrate your call data with Google Analytics (and Google AdWords) so you can study information such as call length, lead source, and other custom dimensions. Infinity also provides quality insights and ratings that can help to improve customer service efforts and streamline processes related to handling incoming calls. Site visitors are tracked via a custom phone number that ties in with their unique Google Client ID. With availability in more than 50 countries, this add-on offers versatility to a wide variety of organizations and prides itself on easy integration with various CRMs so that no call goes untracked. Use This Add-On If:You’re interested in tracking your call data in tandem with website visitors. What once was difficult to study becomes infinitely insightful with this add-on. Cost: Free trial available Quill EngageQuill Engage uses artificial intelligence to analyze your Google Analytics information and then transforms it into natural language reports that are easy to understand. Using this add-on, you can set up weekly and monthly email reports for different metrics, or run reports on demand. Reports generated by this add-on include instant insights into different metrics (such as where site traffic is coming from) as well as actionable advice on where you can make changes to improve your site—all in a simple Word document format. Use This Add-On If:You don’t have time to write up detailed reports of Google Analytics data. This add-on makes it look like you broke down all of the detailed statistics into simple, actionable information. Cost: Free with upgrades from $19.99-$49.99/month Wordsmith for MarketingIf you need white-label Google Analytics reports as a marketing agency, Wordsmith for Marketing can help. This add-on generates professional-looking reports (written in plain English) that explain ROI in detail via charts, tables, and general notes. Reports can be automated and sent to clients on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis and are 100% editable. Custom reporting dimensions include channels and parameters for conversion tracking. Use This Add-On If:You are an agency with multiple clients that need detailed reports on a regular basis. This add-on saves time and staff resources and makes analyzing detailed reports fast—so you can put those statistics to work for your customers. Price: $250-$1,700/month RegExr Regular Expression ToolGoogle Analytics uses regular expressions (often called regex) to find patterns. Similar to what you learned in algebra class, these expressions work by discovering patterns within reports (like a table filter) and within separate report sets (like view filters). They’re also used to configure goal conversions and to define advanced segments and funnel stages. RegExr is a free online tool that lets you build and test different regular expressions that then tie in with your Google Analytics to find interesting trends and patterns you may not have found otherwise. Use This Add-On If:You’re looking deep within Google Analytics to identify data trends that can increase conversions. This tool lets you work smarter (not harder) to spot patterns that you can then leverage to increase effectiveness with your online strategy. Cost: Free Table BoosterTable Booster is a Chrome add-on that improves the information grid within Google Analytics by creating three different types of visual representations for each metric. Whether you need a bar chart, a heat map, or a grid, you can turn your metric data into simple visuals that are easy to understand. Bonus: This tool also allows you to compare two rows for rate difference via a Z-test that finds statistical significance. Use This Add-On If:You need to turn your Google Analytics into visual representations. If your team’s eyes glaze over at a report full of numbers, this might be a good way to bring greater understanding to trends and patterns within Google Analytics. Cost: Free Annotations ManagerIf you need to copy annotations, remove multiple annotations, or export notes as a CSV, you can use this Annotations Manager in Firefox (thanks to Vincent Giersch.) Use This Add-On If:You’re tired of wasting precious time on annotations within Google Analytics. Annotations Manager lets you make multiple edits all at once instead of having to go through each individual line item. Cost: Free Campaign URL BuilderUsing this add-on, you can save a few steps while generating custom URLs within Google Analytics. This more robust version of the Google Analytics URL Builder has increased functionality, which includes:
Use This Add-On If:You use Bitly links in your campaigns and hate having to switch between screens to generate links. This add-on can speed up the campaign URL generation process so you have more time to focus on results. Cost: Free UserReport.comUserReport.com syncs with Google Analytics to fill in data gaps. Using surveys, UserReport asks site visitors questions about their gender, income level, and other custom dimensions, and then integrates with your existing Google Analytics data. UserReport then helps you find in-depth information about conversion paths and learn exactly who your target customers are online. Use This Add-On If:You need deeper data about your website visitors to further define your niche online. Cost: Free Analytics Edge Add-InIf you use Microsoft Excel to manage your Google Analytics data, the Analytics Edge add-on allows you place query results anywhere on a worksheet that refresh with one click. This means you can have multiple queries, used advanced segmentation, and search for specific metrics all within a single custom spreadsheet. The free version works for single channel data. Use This Add-On If:Your Google Analytics data lives in a custom MS Excel spreadsheet. Using this tool, you can update information quickly (and without having to export and import new information every time.) Cost: Free OWOX BI ROIThanks to OWOX BI ROI, you can calculate daily cost data of your external ad campaigns and to upload it to Google Analytics. Thus, you can compare your PPC efforts via Bing, Yahoo, Facebook, and other platforms all in one place. Once it’s setup, you can study the cost, clicks, impressions, and more from your AdWords and non-AdWords campaigns to discover which advertising channels are bringing you the most ROI (without switching screens.) Use This Add-On If:You need ROI data for external advertising campaigns side-by-side with your online advertising mediums so you can identify what really works. Cost: Free Live Site Search VisualisationNeed to visualize user search data in real time? The Live Site Search Visualisation add-on accesses the Google Analytics real time reporting API to showcase live search activity with colored tiles. Now you can see what people are looking for at any moment within a colorful display that’s easy to read. Use This Add-On If:You want to leverage your Google Analytics data for an insightful art piece within your workspace. Cost: Free Save Time With These Google Analytics Add-OnsYour time is precious. Use these add-ons to make time spent analyzing Google Analytics data more effective and efficient (so you can get back to the other million things on your to-do list.) Plus, they might even help you find that missing metric you weren’t quite sure how to track. Are there any other add-ons you’d put on this list? About the Author: Kaleigh Moore is a freelance writer and social media consultant who works with SaaS companies to create interesting, insightful content people actually want to read. Find her on Twitter @Kaleighf. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1QWNpqp via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1OsncSd Rebranding. It’s the latest marketing trend in a whirlwind of efforts to appear fresh, new and relevant to today’s audiences. But oftentimes, a rebranding campaign focuses too much on the aesthetics and too little on the core components that drive it. Rebranding is about more than just slapping up a new logo and calling it a day. It’s about helping your company, and your customers, make the switch gradually and confidently to a company that demonstrates how it aligns with the very same values it presents to its customers every day. It’s about making sure that pride, quality and satisfaction are more than buzzwords. And it’s about honoring your commitment to the new brand without abandoning the old. Here are five companies that successfully rebranded themselves – and what you can learn from them. CVS Pharmacy: Do the Right Thing, Even if it’s Seemingly UnpopularThe Problem: The pharmacy. It’s where you go to get your medications, your vitamins, your protein shakes and your cigarettes. Say what? The Rebranding: CVS is the first chain pharmacy to stop selling tobacco products – which, although they accounted for around 4% of its sales, was a positive step that perfectly illustrates the company’s commitment to health. In addition, they changed their name to CVS Health from its previous iteration as “CVS Caremark” (which meant nothing to anyone but them). Changing their name and their stance on tobacco products resulted in doing more for the brand that nearly any other marketing initiative they’ve done. Through public relations support and social media buzz, they were able to generate over 100,000 tweets and even a comment from the President. By making their actions louder than their words, CVS as proved that they stand for something rather than just talking about it. So far, no other pharmacies are following suit, but at this point, it really doesn’t matter – since the first one to make a bold move is always the one you remember. What You Can Learn from Them: When rebranding, make a strong statement and then stand behind it, even if it seems to be bold or unpopular at the time. Your unwavering commitment and dedication is what people will remember, and suddenly, the bold, fresh step you took becomes the norm. Just look at smoking on airplanes and in restaurants to see an example of this philosophy in action. Burberry: The Luxury Brand of Thugs?The Problem: Burberry is commonly seen as a luxury brand. With over 150 years of history, this company brought the popularity waterproof gabardines and trench coats to our shores. Their iconic design is reflected everywhere, from clothing to handbags to fragrances. Unfortunately, they had also become a target as gangwear. At one point, the use of the brand by thugs was so widespread that anyone caught wearing Burberry was banned from certain city pubs. The Rebranding: High priced clothing is always going to be attractive to gangs, but Burberry took the initiative in reinventing itself, putting a sexy spin on utility clothing and getting endorsements from well-known and well-liked celebrities. Of course, the transformation wasn’t completely about focusing on the new and forgetting the old. Burberry still carries trench coats and swimwear – except now, they’ve taken an even more creative, artistic approach without sacrificing the 150 years of heritage and brand goodwill they’ve generated. What You Can Learn from Them: Although there’s nothing you can do to keep your brand from being adopted by an unintended target audience, you can look for ways to adjust that brand to become more modern and unique, without giving up years of quality and the reputation you’ve built. Old Spice: Not Your Grandpa’s DeodorantThe Problem: Old Spice is a men’s deodorant much like any other. It reminds many of the younger generation of their grandparents. Interestingly enough, the very first Old Spice was designed for women. When you think of something old-fashioned, you tend to think of stagnant, head-in-the-sand, traditional and unflattering fragrances. It may seem hard to sell something as everyday as deodorant, after all, there are thousands of options out there. The Rebranding: Old Spice worked with NFL Player Isaiah Mustafa, affectionately known as the Old Spice Guy, on a series of commercials aimed at women that portrayed Old Spice as something seductive and alluring. It even referred to its deodorant and body wash line as “scent vacations” rather than the same, old, antiperspirant pitch we’ve heard a million times before. In addition, Old Spice didn’t have to change its logo. Rather it changed people’s impressions of Old Spice by using someone young, fun and attractive – all qualities that Old Spice wants people to think of when choosing their deodorant. What You Can Learn from Them: Message and brand consistency are crucial in improving customer awareness and sales. Look for ways to turn something everyday (deodorant) into something new and interesting (scent vacations). Pabst Blue Ribbon: Frat Beer Retails for $44 in ChinaThe Problem: Pabst Blue Ribbon is an inexpensive, commonly found beer that’s hugely popular among the college and fraternity crowd. It’s not exceptionally refined, nor is it artisan quality – at least not in the U.S. China, however, is a different story. The Rebranding: Pabst is known as Blue Ribbon 1844 beer in China, based on the year the company was founded. A third party licensed the Pabst brand and formulated the beer slightly differently than its American version. The Chinese version sells for a whopping $44 and is hugely popular due to an upswing in the artisan beer market from upper middle class Chinese consumers. Why China? Well, they have leaped beyond the U.S. and even Germany as the world’s largest beer drinking market, so although the ad itself (above) looks like something you’d see for a fine wine or brandy, it’s actually the very same Blue Ribbon you see at keg parties. What You Can Learn from Them It’s never too late to change what people associate with your brand. One culture’s perception of what you stand for may be radically different from another – something that is particularly important for companies that do business on a global scale (which means pretty much any business on the internet!) Corn Syrup: Not as Sweet as You ThinkThe Problem: If I say the words “high fructose corn syrup” do you cringe? If so, you’re like the millions of others who have been clamoring for changes in the things we eat and drink every day. Facing a backlash from consumers over the rising rates of diabetes and obesity, food and drink manufacturers have started putting sugar back into their foods (as evinced by “Mountain Dew Throwback” and other original formula items) in place of previously favored high fructose corn syrup. Not surprisingly, the corn industry is upset by this sudden vilification of their product. The Rebranding: Seeing money slip through its fingers, the corn industry rapidly tried a rebranding tactic that, had it worked, would’ve been a very slick trick. From a health point of view, it was rather low and sneaky. From a marketing point of view, it was brilliant. The answer? Relabel corn syrup as corn sugar! Corn sugar sounds natural and healthier than “high fructose corn syrup” doesn’t it? And it doesn’t have the same stigma that corn syrup has. Fortunately (or unfortunately for the corn industry), the FDA said “nope!” For one thing, syrup and sugar are two different substances. For another thing, corn sugar already exists (it’s chemically known as dextrose) and it has been used for over 30+ years by people who have had trouble digesting or processing sugar. BONUS: Rebranding Disaster: Could Nothing Could Save “The Shack”?The Problem: RadioShack wanted to expand its brand to be more than just where your grandparents used to shop or where amateur hobbyists went for odd batteries. The Rebranding: They decided to rename themselves “The Shack” – but that didn’t help either. You don’t associate “The Shack” with electronics or technology. You associate it with a run-down place where questionable things happen. And for RadioShack, that, along with many other factors was the final nail in the coffin. Had you been in charge of their rebranding effort, what would you have done instead? Tell us in the comments below! About the Author: Sherice Jacob helps business owners improve website design and increase conversion rates through compelling copywriting, user-friendly design and smart analytics analysis. Learn more at iElectrify.com and download your free web copy tune-up and conversion checklist today! from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1Jl1GqM via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1MEJjEM
On the face of it, the much beloved Mr Spock (originally portrayed by the late Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek: The Original Series) might not seem to have much to do with copywriting. However, whether you’re a Trekkie or not, imagining that you’re writing your copy for Mr Spock can be a very helpful exercise. Spock’s character is defined by the logical, emotionally detached approach he takes towards things. Mr Spock doesn’t deal in jokes, flowery prose or puns, three things that are all too common in content that is supposed to be copywriting. Here’s why I believe writing copy for Mr Spock is a recipe for success. If something is logical it is, by nature, persuasive:
Persuasion – without being pushy or coming across as trying too hard – is one of the key desirables in sales content, and taking a completely logical “Spock-like” approach to a subject is one way to generate it effectively. That’s the first big takeaway I want to highlight in this article but there are several other ways in which writing for Spock can help you to develop your copywriting, illustrated by some classic quotes from the man (or, umm, Vulcan) himself. Moving Beyond “Copywriting 101”The “so what?” test – which involves analysing your content by asking “so what?” after each paragraph, or even sentence, in order to ensure that everything you write has a clear point – and “sell benefits, not features” are two techniques often recommended to junior copywriters. They’re both useful, but they don’t necessarily encourage writers to focus on creating content that’s designed to be directive. For example, lots of copy written by inexperienced writers asks questions: “Have you ever experienced X? Why not come in and try Y today? We can help! “ Asking “so what?” doesn’t really work here, because “we can help” technically answers that question…just not in a very compelling way. But you can be damn sure that if Spock read the above, he’d start thinking about all the reasons not to come in and try Y because that’s what the copy actually invites the reader to do. Apply the Spock test to your copy by following the points you want to make through to their logical conclusion: “If you’ve ever experienced X, [u]you know how disruptive it can be[/u]. We’ll help you get going with Y [u]so it never happens again[/u].” That’s a very short, simple example, but hopefully you can see that the end result is a far more clear call to action than just asking questions or rambling about the product or service you’re writing about. Don’t Act On Everything You ReadOne of the greatest tools in any writer, marketer or businessperson’s arsenal is a hefty dose of scepticism. The amount of “X Is Dead” and “Y Is The Next Big Thing” articles I come across on a daily basis is staggering, but only a tiny percentage of them turn out to be correct. Best practices are useful to keep up with, but they can also be damaging if you take them as gospel. This is because it’s impossible to convey ALL of the context associated with any research or findings when they are presented in a relatively easy to digest 1,000 word article. And, as Spock says:
At best, blindly following best practices can result in writing that’s derivative and rehashes work that’s already out there. At worst, it can result in discounting techniques or methods that might actually work very effectively in your niche. Take this article, for example: writing for Mr Spock is a helpful exercise, but there will be times that you’ll need to evoke emotion with your copywriting. Emotions like fear and envy can be very powerful tools for conversion – sadly I don’t have the space to get into that much here – but you’d never try to evoke them in Mr Spock. For that reason I’d recommend that you remain hesitant to act on any advice you read unless you’ve seen it have a positive impact, ideally on a piece of work you’ve been actively involved with, with your own two eyes. Find A New IdolThe purpose of copywriting isn’t (just) to look nice and read well. Its primary function is to do something. Being well read is a definite advantage for copywriters, but writing prose in the way a novelist would is a huge no-no. With the possible exception of straightforward, ‘honest’ authors like Hemingway and Kerouac, novel-style prose just doesn’t work as copywriting – this post on Copyblogger does a nice job of showing why lyrical or ‘fluffy’ writing doesn’t make for good copy. But it can be hard to shake the style you’re used to from reading fiction, as that’s where a lot of writers draw their inspiration. Your new mission?
Well, not no-one exactly. But it is time to break out of your comfort zone and expose yourself to a new breed of writers. In particular, figures in online marketing have all sorts of valuable things to say about sales copywriting.
Keep Thinking About TrianglesBut not just any triangles. Specifically, the following triangle: How any piece of writing looks, functions etc. should always take into account those three things:
For example, a banner ad promoting vacation rentals for people over 60 will look very different to one pushing the same location to a student crowd during Spring Break. Likewise, a cold email about a new model of electric car won’t have much in common with a sales brochure distributed to a customer who indicates an interest in the subject. It’s very easy to think, “Ok, I need to come up with some banner ads and content for a pamphlet. What can I cull from the website for that?” But it neglects the impact each of the three points of the triangle has on what the copy will look like. Of course the content on the website will inform them to some degree but, any time one or more of the points on that triangle mentioned above changes, I’d recommend starting over with a blank piece of paper rather than trying to repurpose content. If It Doesn’t Convert, It Sucks
Even the best among us sometimes fail to see things that are right in front of our faces. When I was starting out as a copywriter, I was way too proud. When my copy didn’t work as expected, I would look for excuses:
I found that as soon as I became tough enough to start taking it on the chin, and owning up to it when my copywriting wasn’t right, my writing started failing a lot less often. The reason for this is that, with that one mindset adjustment, I was suddenly much more open to learning from my mistakes than I had been previously. The earlier you can wrap your head around the concept that “if it doesn’t convert, it sucks”, the sooner you can start becoming a better copywriter. A big part of that is figuring out what the copy is supposed to do before you start writing it:
However nice a piece of copy looks and however lovely it is to read, the purpose you set out before you start writing should be at the front of your mind the whole time you spend writing it. ConclusionThe biggest problem new copywriters, or business owners trying to write their own copy, face is they’re too preoccupied with themselves (“the one”): they’re so busy thinking about their business or their writing skills that they forget to focus on potential customers (“the many”). The iconic Spock quote above, which I’m tempted to frame somewhere in my office, is a reminder that copywriting is first and foremost about the people that it’s being written for and not the person who’s writing it. Once you have a clear, or as clear as you can get, picture of those people you can then start working on your copy. And, by keeping Spock and these other tips in mind, you’ve got a better chance of coming up with copy that’s:
and, with a bit of luck, primed to convert. Live long and prosper. About the Author: Art Anthony is a freelance copywriter based in the UK. He’s worked on email marketing, CRO, blogging and web content for Fitocracy, Crazy Egg and, most recently, next gen live chat startup, Chatra. You can also find him on Twitter. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1W8zhNT via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1QmY50P It’s easy to make a confusing website. It’s hard to make a simple website. The things that we create — websites, user interfaces, business plans, articles — are the product of our minds. How we think impacts how our product looks, feels, and functions. When making a website, things can get dicey. So many different groups are providing their input, making requests, asking for changes, insisting on features, and making the whole thing pretty darn complicated. By the time the website gets to the end user, the website a hopeless, confusing mess. It’s time to change all of that. The KISS rule helps to stamp out confusion and turn your website into a simple, seamless, powerful, well-oiled machine. (Your users are going to love you.) The Surprising Truth About Simple WebsitesFirst off, let me whet your appetite for simplicity. You’ve probably heard that smart people love simplicity. Einstein, who discovered that E=mc2, was a major fan of simplicity. There is nothing simple about mass-energy equivalence or special relativity, but Einstein was able to express it in five characters. What does Einstein have to do with your website? It’s simple. You can distill the complexity of your website into something way more simple. Humans love simplicity. Our brains are wired to love simplicity. Simplicity Makes People HappyIn one study, scientists asked subjects to pick up a two types of objects: easy-to-hold objects (simple), and hard-to-hold objects (complicated). The subjects were hooked up to electromyographic equipment to measure facial response to the objects. Scientists found that the easy-to-hold objects made people smile slightly. In other words, simple objects made people happy. Simplicity Makes People Think BetterAnother test discovered that simple fonts and print helped people reason more clearly. The more complicated or hard-to-read the font, the harder it was for subjects to process information and impaired reasoning skills. Another way of saying it is that simplicity makes people smarter. Simplicity Makes People Spend MoneyA final study should convince you. Yale researchers in partnership with Stanford and University of Michigan scholars, wanted to find out if people were more likely to spend money in response to complicated descriptions or simple ones. As you would assume, the simple options won. If consumers felt that an option was simple or easy, it made them more likely to spend their money. Google’s research discovered that simple websites — those with low visual complexity and high prototypicality — were much more appealing than complicated websites. One of the most surprising findings of the study was that people can tell whether a website is simple or complicated in 50ms (just .05 of one second). Maybe that’s why Google, the most-visited website on the planet, is also one of the simplest websites on the planet. Yep, that’s it — the most popular website of all time: The concept behind simple websites is cognitive fluency. Cognitive fluency is “a measure of how easy it is to think about something.” As you’d guess, we like to think about things that are easy to think about. Our brains get tired easily. If there’s an easier way to think about something, we choose it. Take a simple example: Stocks with easy-to-pronounce ticker symbols outperform those with hard-to-pronounce ones. BABY is going to perform better in the stock market than, say, JWXEV based on the name alone. In the face of such evidence, why would you not make your website simpler? Scientists can throw around terms like “cognitive fluency” and they can run complicated tests with electromyography. But me? I like to measure the stuff that matters to my business — dwell time, conversions, revenue. Guess what. I’ve come to the same conclusions, with a sharper point. Simple websites convert better, too. Let me say it as simply as possible: A simple website will make you more money. Period. Here’s the Rule: KISSKISS stands for “keep it simple, stupid.” A less abrasive version is “keep it simple and straightforward.” The idea has many iterations among engineers, developers, designers, architects, and programmers:
I prefer KISS. Keep it simple, stupid. Here’s How to Apply the KISS PrincipleNone of this matters unless you actually implement it. Redundant acronyms aside, here’s how to do simple. 1. No ads. None. Period.Ads on your homepage are a major no-no. Unless you’re running a site whose primary purpose is ad revenue, then ditch the ads completely. Ads inject tons of complexity into a website. Only use ads if your business is ads. 2. Reconsider the SidebarDo you really need a sidebar? Brian Dean, conversion guru, used Crazy Egg to discover that a paltry 1.9% of his visitors clicked on his sidebar. This was a problem. Why? Because that sidebar was his conversion goal — a social squeeze page. I’ve wondered if the sidebar — a fixture of most blogs (even one of my blogs) — is actually a distraction. 3. Make Your Homepage a Place of Absolute SimplicityThe page that matters most is your homepage. Your homepage should set the tone for the rest of the website — simple, clear, and free of distraction. Look at the website of designer Jonas Lindvall. It takes minimalism to the nth degree, and showcases an extremely subtle design (look for it). The beauty of the website is its simplicity. The user knows what they should do next. 4. Use Your Above-the-Fold Real Estate For One ThingAn easy way to apply the principle of simplicity is to think of it like this: What is the one thing I want the user to do when they are on this page? If you were to ask people in your website what they want users to do on the website, you’d get tons of different responses:
Clear the table and start fresh: What is the one thing that you want the user to do? Find out, and then design the website around that one thing. You can still provide a menu, giving the user flexibility and option, but don’t force them to think hard. Give them simplicity, and they will be more likely to do what you want them to do: I’ve tried to make my website, Neilpatel.com, very simple. There is a menu, but you have to scroll below the fold to see it. 5. Limit Your Menu to Seven ItemsThe short term memory can hold only seven items. To make your website as simple as possible, limit your menu to seven items or fewer. Many websites try to give their users as many options as possible, but this only confuses them. IBM, for example, has 11 menu items, plus a couple of other things I could click. That’s way too many. Keep it simple, like this. Four menu items. Much better. 6. Use Lots of White SpaceWhite space, or negative space, is the area of your website that doesn’t have stuff — no menus, no text, no images, etc. The space doesn’t need to be literally white. In fact, it can have subtle design, like in the image above. The clouds and horizon are red tinted, and they have texture. But it’s safe to call it negative space, because it’s not an area of the page that is competing for the user’s attention and action. In the website image below, the white space would be the background image of the coffee beans. There is an image, but it’s not distracting. The website uses white space in order to create a sense of simplicity. A site like the one below uses lots of negative space to focus attention on the central point of information. White space is not wasted space. It’s valuable ingredient in creating a simple and elegant website. 7. Make The Structure Intuitive and ShallowSite structure has a lot to do with simplicity, too. Make the navigation easy to understand for a user who knows nothing about your business. Don’t require that a user click menu after menu. Give them all the information that they need in one or two clicks. 8. Avoid Drop Down MenusDrop down menus seem like a good idea. They save on space. They allow you to add more information. But many times, drop down menus can produce added complexity to a website. I would avoid them if possible. The ecommerce website below has created massive dropdown menus that cover the entire page, a clear violation of the KISS rule. If you must use dropdown menus, use them carefully and sparingly. 9. Reduce ChoicesHick’s Law states that the more choices a person has, the longer it takes them to make a decision. In other words, too many choices is a bad thing. Reduce the number of choices on your website, and you’ll improve your simplicity and conversions. 10. Use Minimal ColorColor is a good thing, but not too much of it. Some of the best websites designs keep it simple by using a single color or very limited colors. 11. Kill Stuff That’s Not Clicked OnIf people aren’t clicking on certain parts of your site, get rid of those features. An easy way to tell what people are clicking on is by analyzing your site using a heatmap tool like Crazy Egg. 12. Use Lots of ImagesImages are easy on the brain. Your brain can process images faster and easier. The more images you add to a website design, the more enjoyable it is for people to look at. Plus, it makes your website feel so much simpler and intuitive. 13. User TestingFinally, test your website. Every target audience is going to respond differently to color, design, imagery, layout, and functionality. Test your website early and often, and make sure that you’re adapting to what users need and want. ConclusionWe all want a website that “looks good.” But what makes a “good looking website?” It’s simplicity. Simple websites work better, look better, feel better, act better, function better, respond better, appear better, and are better. Follow the KISS rule, and you’ll make your website the kind of place that users want to spend time on. How have you applied the KISS principle to your website? About the Author: Neil Patel is a lifelong evangelist of Kissmetrics and blogs at Quick Sprout. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1izQKAE via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1MeELSB As a content marketer, you’re always pushing out content you hope visitors will find and love. And you’re always trying to get visitors to convert into customers. Those are your two jobs – producing content and converting visitors. But are your efforts paying off? And, if they are, how do you know what’s working and what’s not? How do you optimize your content marketing? Thankfully, Kissmetrics is here to help. I’ve detailed five reports every content marketer can use to refine and optimize their content marketing. The measuring and reporting tools outlined below will help you get focused on the work that will produce the best results. Let’s get started. 1. Track and Improve Conversions with the Funnel ReportYou’re a marketer and you have numbers you need to meet every day, week, month, quarter, etc. Maybe the goal is to increase email signups by 2x, drive more people to a “Send Me Info” form, sign up people for your product, deliver orders (for ecommerce companies), get people to leave comments on a blog post, or drive people to a landing page. Whatever it is, you need to start by seeing how many people are already moving toward that goal. Enter the Kissmetrics Funnel Report. This report shows you how people move through a website flow. This can be a signup flow, product usage flow, checkout flow, etc. You can place it anywhere on your site, and you’ll see where you’re losing customers. Here’s a sample funnel: Now ask yourself: Where am I trying to drive my users? What would make my boss happy? Would it be acquiring customers, increasing email signup rates, or bringing more leads to our sales team? Figure out what this is (or “these are,” as you can certainly work toward increasing more than one number). Who knows, maybe you want to see how many people are commenting on your blog posts. If you want to move that needle (or are just curious), that’s cool. I won’t judge. Then you can use the Kissmetrics Funnel Report to see your baseline, and use A/B tests to move the needle (more on that later). Being able to see where you’re losing customers is pretty great, right? In addition to that, you can also segment your traffic. Segment is a fancy analytics word for “group.” You can group your traffic by things like marketing channel and see which channel is sending you the most customers. You’ll be able to see how each group moves along your funnel. Here’s an example (it’s the columns and rows underneath each step in the funnel): You can break out each group and see how well it moves through your funnel. The best groups should get more of your attention and money, while the worst groups should be toned down. Actionable Tips for Content MarketersYou aren’t limited to grouping people only by channel. Here are a few other groups I’d recommend:
This tells Kissmetrics to show me who the referrer was when someone visited the blog and to show me the full URL, not just the domain name. I click Apply and get my data: The blurred column on the left is a list of the exact URLs that sent traffic and signups. This is especially useful with guest blogging. If you guest blog and link back to your marketing site in the byline, you will be able to see how many people visit and how many of them sign up. If you have an affiliate program, you can track traffic from each affiliate and see how it moves down your funnel. Okay, so you get the idea about the Funnel Report. You can see where you’re losing customers through website flow, you can Now, how do we move the needle? Through tests and iteration, of course. Let’s get into that now. 2. Test the Entire Funnel with the A/B Test ReportYou want to get more people to sign up (or reach whatever goal you have). The best way to do this is to A/B test. Since you’re a marketer, you’re probably running tests galore. You also probably use Optimizely, VWO, Unbounce, or some other testing tool. The good news is that you can track the results and import the data (automatically) with Kissmetrics. There’s nothing additional to buy – it all comes with our Analyze product. We call it the A/B Test Report, and it’s pretty awesome. Here’s why:
Here’s an example of how the report looks: At the very top, you select a baseline. Below that, in bright blue, is the recommendation. On the next line, those 5 numbers in bold are the metrics for the test: how long it ran, how many people were in it, how many conversions there were, the improvement, and the certainty of improvement (aka statistical significance). You’ll want to go for at least 95% certainty. The middle of the report is the data visualization. You can see the variant was the big winner here and that it was during the entire time the test was running. The bottom section contains the metrics for each variant. You see the number of people in each variant (click the number to see a list of every person), the number of conversions for each (click the number to see each person who converted in the specified variant), the conversion rate, the improvement, and the certainty. Actionable Tips for Content MarketersThis depends on which needle you want to drive. Since you’re a marketer, I’m assuming you’re in charge of increasing signup rates. Your boss tells you “If you double signups by the end of the year, you get a bonus.” You accept the challenge (why wouldn’t you?). Awesome, now start testing. You’ll run the test on your blog. It’ll include a small CTA that shows up at the end of blog posts. Talk to a designer, get something sketched up, bring in a developer to get the variant page running, and create your test in Optimizely, VWO, Unbounce, etc. (we integrate with them all), and track the results in the A/B Test Report.
So more people click on the CTA in your variant page. Great? But did they actually start using your product? You’ll know with the A/B Test Report. Here are a few more tips on where to A/B test:
It’s a good idea to A/B test these tools on your website to see if they actually move the needle. The general rule of thumb is this: anything the visitor can see should be tested. The visitor can see a lot of things (CTA, headlines, optimization tools, elements on landing pages, etc.), and you should test them all. 3. Track and Grow Reader Retention with the Cohort ReportBuilding loyalty is difficult. This rule goes for almost anything, but especially for building a loyal audience on the web. There is an unlimited number of websites, but visitors are able to keep only a small number of sites in their rotation. For most people, that might include Facebook, their favorite news site, YouTube, and a few others. So it’s very difficult to get into that daily rotation. The best you can hope for is to have people sign up for your email newsletter and/or subscribe to your RSS feed. Now, how do you track reader loyalty? If you’re not familiar with the term, “cohort” can be quite intimidating. It may sound like something you’d see in studies or medical journals. “A cohort of people were put on x” or “There was the y chromosome cohort” (also known as males). Don’t let the 6-letter word put you off so that you never learn what it is. A cohort is pretty simple: A cohort is a group of people who share a common experience or characteristic within a defined period of time. For marketers, this could be a group of people who signed up for your product in May. It could be called the “May Signup Cohort.” People who visited your blog and commented may be a cohort you pay attention to. If you want to see the cohort of people who visited your blog from a specific marketing channel, here’s how that would look (actual data will vary): On the left-hand side, we see the list of marketing channels. People who first visited the blog during our date range (May 1, 2013 – May 31, 2014) are put in one of these buckets, depending on the channel. In the next column, we see the total number of people in each channel who visited the blog during those months. On the right, the blue shaded cells with percentages in them show us when the people visited the blog. So if a person came to the blog from a Google search in May 2013, they would be put in the organic bucket (20%). If they visited the blog again in July, they would be put in column 3 across from organic. The higher the percentages (darker shades of blue), the more retention there is. Since you’re a content marketer and you want to drive retention, you’ll want to get more traffic from the marketing channels that have proven to deliver strong reader retention. This example shows us that email brings strong reader retention. The main takeaway for us is that we need to continue to drive people to our email newsletter. Once we do that, we will have a strong possibility of keeping them as readers. So our new goal is to build up our email list. Actionable Tips for Content MarketersHere are a few other ways you can use the Cohort Report:
You’re probably thinking “Why track signups on a Cohort Report? I can use the Funnel Report.” Yes, you can. But the Cohort Report allows you to track signups over time. So if someone comes to your site in March but doesn’t sign up until November, the Funnel Report may not report that if you don’t extend your date range long enough. Another benefit of using the Cohort Report to track signups is that you can see how long it takes people to sign up after they visit your site. Did you have a marketing campaign in April that didn’t get many signups? Perhaps people who visited in April weren’t ready but came back 8 months later and signed up. You’ll see this with the Cohort Report. You’ll be able to tie marketing campaigns to signups. We’ve written a lot about this before. Check it out if you would like more information. 4. Use People Search to See Which Content Moves the NeedleA big benefit of using an advanced analytics platform like Kissmetrics is that it tracks people. Every action on your site gets tied to a person – THE person who performed the action. This opens a world of possibilities, one of them being the ability to tie content to business growth. Let’s break it down. You create content because you want to build awareness and convert traffic into customers. But can you see exactly which pieces of content convert readers into customers? With Kissmetrics, you can. There are two ways:
In the first option, you have a piece of content on your website, be it a blog post, video, audio page, etc. You want to know if people who viewed that page eventually went on to sign up, submit a lead form, etc. Here’s how you do it. Step 1) Open the Kissmetrics People SearchHere is the starting page in People Search. In simple terms, you can find people based on things they have done on your site. Step 2) Set Your CriteriaWe’ll click on “Add a condition” and set our criteria. We’ll look for people who have viewed a particular blog post: We’ll use the “Viewed Url” property: We’ll use a blog post url and select “Sign up” as the event. This means that people will have to have viewed the url and signed up. If they viewed the url but didn’t sign up, they will not be in this list. The same goes for if they signed up but did not view the url. They have to have done both to be in this list. A quick note: This is not in chronological order. A person does not need to view the url and then sign up. They can sign up and then view the url. They just have to have done both within the selected date range. We’ll select the date range as the last 30 days. This means that people must have viewed the url and signed up within the last 30 days. We’ll also find out when each person signed up. The final step is to click Search. Step 3) Get Your DataWithin a few seconds of clicking Search, we get our list of people: The blurred out column on the left is a list of email addresses. This is how we choose to identify people. You can use anything you like, but email address is usually best. So we see that over the last 30 days, 4 signups have viewed that specific url. You can do this with any url on your site. Just set your criteria, and you’ll get your data. Actionable Tips for Content MarketersHere’s what you can do with this data:
This can totally change your content strategy game. The question shifts from: “How much traffic did that post get?” to… “How many signups did that post bring?” Again, you don’t have to use signups. Just use whatever goals you have or what needle you want to move. A quick note about this data: If you want to get a more broad view of the relationship between content and revenue, you can use the Kissmetrics Revenue Report. 5. Let the Revenue Report Show You Which Content Brings CustomersSometimes you just want a bird’s-eye view of what type of content is bringing you the most revenue. You may have questions like: Which blog post categories acquire the most customers? Which type of content brings the most customers? Which content brings the most valuable customers? If you’re asking these questions, then the Kissmetrics Revenue Report is your new favorite tool. This report gives you an overview of your revenue. You’ll get a graphical representation of your revenue. Also, you’ll be able to break up your revenue into segments (groups) to see which group is performing the best. Why is this useful? Because, taken as a whole, your revenue is just a number. It’s great by itself, but it really doesn’t give you the information you need to bring more revenue to your company. You can break up sources of revenue into groups. For instance, you can look at the customers who came from each marketing campaign and see which campaign brought the most valuable customers. When you do this, you’ll have a much better understanding of what you need to do. This is exactly why it’s called actionable data. And it’s exactly the type of data you get in Kissmetrics. Enough talk, time to see the Revenue Report in action. I’m not going to bore you with every step of setting up a report. We’ve already been through that. Let’s say we have an ecommerce store selling auto parts. Throughout our site, we have content on car repair and maintenance – everything from changing oil to replacing transmission gaskets. We love producing the content, but we also need to make sales. We want to know which type of content brings us the best customers, so we use the Kissmetrics Revenue Report. Here’s how our data looks: We’re sorting by total revenue. We can see that the most revenue comes from customers who viewed articles about transmission repair. There are a few other important metrics. I particularly like lifetime value. This tells us the total amount of revenue we can expect from each customer. As we can see, customers with the highest lifetime value viewed articles on transmission repair. Our largest number of paying customers also came from this post category. What about our old friend, churn? For our ecommerce company, we need return customers. Businesses aren’t built with one-off customers. We need to keep churn as low as possible. With the Revenue Report, you can trigger churn as an event or if a customer doesn’t pay you within x number of days. In this case, churn is pretty high, and there isn’t much variation among post categories. This looks like a larger company-wide issue. Also, we may need to expand our churn time frame. Some car parts and materials are consumable – people will always need to buy quarts of oil, filters, wiper blades, etc. Other products are bought only once. This makes churn a little more difficult to nail down. Customers will repurchase some items, but not others. So here’s the plan:
Actionable Tips for Content Marketers
Become a Content Marketing Hero with KissmetricsMarketing is all about measuring and optimizing, and these five Kissmetrics reports will help take your content marketing to the next level. And you aren’t limited to just these five reports. Every business is different, and you have goals you need to meet and exceed. Kissmetrics is a versatile product. You can track any action a person takes on your site. It could be clicking a button, submitting an order, downloading a file, etc. Track everything or only a few things. It’s up to you. Kissmetrics is here to give you the data you need to optimize your growth. Now, finally, I’ve got one more tool up my sleeve. This tool will help you boost conversions towards whatever needle you’re looking to move. Let me tell you a little bit about it. Bonus! Use Engage to Nudge Visitors toward ConversionKissmetrics has this great tool called Engage. It allows marketers to create nudges that move visitors toward action. This video explains it all: Here are a few things content marketers can use Engage for:
With Engage, you’ll have a great tool that can optimize conversions and turn visitors into customers. Use it wisely. Got All That?We’ve gone through a lot. Here’s a recap:
Optimize Your Marketing with KissmetricsThese are just a few examples of what content marketers can do with Kissmetrics. Our reports are more than vanity metrics – they provide insights into how users are behaving on your site. Once you see this data, you’ll know what needs to be improved. Ready to get straight into the action? Just click the button below to request a personal demo of Kissmetrics. You’ll learn more about Kissmetrics and how it will help you optimize your marketing. About the Author: Zach Bulygo (Twitter) is a Content Writer for Kissmetrics. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1Mc03Al via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1UV8W3a More than 80% of the visitors to your website will not convert. But what if you could get these visitors to return to your website so you could present your offer again? That’s where retargeting comes in. And besides getting visitors back to your site, retargeting can also be used to reach people who didn’t open your email and people who showed a special interest in your product. In this article, I’ll teach you a few techniques that have enabled me to achieve the best results I’ve ever seen with paid advertising. Read on to discover 10 techniques that will help you target your consumers better and deliver more results from your retargeting campaigns. The techniques below will work on either Google AdWords or Facebook Ads. Just consider the two as one medium for retargeting. #1 – Engagement FactorsCustom Segment in Google Analytics allows you to segment your traffic with incredible precision. By linking Google Analytics and Google AdWords, you’ll be able to retarget specific segments of your audience. And you can use a wide range of factors to base your retargeting on. Some of my favorites include:
You’ll need to crunch your data in order to understand what works for you. As an example, you may find that people who visited your website 3 times and spent more than 5 minutes are more likely to buy. You can then create a custom segment and target these people on the Google Display Network. #2 – Vertical Website(s)If you know your industry lacks knowledge regarding a specific topic but you don’t think it’s relevant on your main website, you can create a separate website. Here are some examples:
Once you’ve created the new website, you can easily retarget warm prospects to your website. To give you an example, Prezly developed PRStack.co, which features PR resources and enables them to channel traffic back to their product. Look at what your industry is missing and what you can offer to fulfill that need. If you don’t create that website, someone else will. This technique can work wonders if you rank on competitive keywords with your new website. If Google can bring you 100k visitors on a handful of keywords, do it. You won’t regret it. Keep in mind that exact match domain names tend to rank pretty well. As an example, GrowthHackers.com will easily rank well for the keyword “growth hackers.” #3 – Form Completion StatusYou can track the people who started filling out a form but didn’t complete it. They may have had something else on their mind, or they may have been interrupted. You can create a segment of warm leads who will be ready to fill in that form the next time it hits them. #4 – Free TrialsHow many people signed up for your product, used it for 5 minutes, and then never came back? Maybe they got distracted, or maybe the timing wasn’t right for them. After a few days of inactivity, you can send them some interesting content to remind them of your product. You could send the emails directly, but I’d suggest you try different approaches, such as:
See what works best for you. #5 – Past UsersHow many leads have you had in your entire history? This is probably a huge number. You can get these people back on your website through targeted ads. Since you already know their emails, you can get started in a few hours. Here are a few examples of what to promote:
The main idea is to stay in touch with your past contacts and engage them with new content. #6 – Active Users and PromotersCustomers are not created equal. Some are more likely to engage and share your content. What if you could target them directly? You can measure engagement of users through an analytics tool like Kissmetrics (using the Cohort Report) or by using a NPS survey. You can then retarget these users based on how engaged they are. Highly engaged users won’t hesitate for a second to share your content with their peers. As an example, let’s say you use Kissmetrics every day and are delighted with their software. You’d be more likely to share something on your medium of choice (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) than to forward their weekly newsletter. In this example, retargeting can allow you to meet your users on their own terms, where they are the most likely to engage with your brand. If you target the right people, you’ll drive more awareness. #7 – Past PromotionsAs a marketer, you run plenty of promotions to acquire customers. But the people who visit your website aren’t always ready to buy your products right away. The important thing is to make sure they remember you when they’re in need of a solution like yours. This is where most businesses retarget. Once a person visits their site, the business will show ads to the person when he or she visits on other sites. You can easily present your offer (even if it was six months ago) at several different times and places. #8 – Email Marketing ComboWhat if you could target people who never open your emails and people who open your emails but never click on them? As a savvy marketer, you’re probably building an email list in order to keep engaging your audience. Think about all the people who never opened or clicked on your emails. You could easily target these people depending on how warm they are. You can then show them different content depending on where they stand within your funnel. As an example, you might want to show very informative (top of the funnel) content to people who never engaged. You could show use cases and whitepapers to people who click on all your emails. Implementing this tactic might require a bit of development on your end. It is however fairly easy to make a script to synchronize MailChimp and Facebook. Doing this can have a great impact on the effectiveness of your email marketing strategy. People who never opened your emails will finally reach your website. #9 – Content SeriesSometimes cold prospects don’t want to give you their emails right away no matter what you show them. In that case, you can create a series of content and retarget them from one piece of content to the next. The best part? You don’t need their email, retargeting will do the trick… You’ll don’t ask for their email until the last step. Here is a quick example:
This way, you can funnel your visitor toward interesting content. The warm prospects will convert whenever they want by inserting their emails, while the others will wait until they’re ready. #10 – Page BasedOne of the most common methods of retargeting is to base the content you show people on the pages they’ve seen on your website. The content you would show people who’ve seen your pricing page would be different from the content you would show people who’ve seen only your blog. You could also use this technique to show people content that is similar to what they’ve seen before. Pro TipsAvoid Being CreepyYou could retarget people whose payment failed with an ad saying “Your Payment Failed,” but I’m not sure they would like it. These days, you can collect a massive amount of data about your users. Being able to target people with incredible precision based on that data is a great opportunity for marketers. However, make sure you’re not being too intrusive or annoying. Retargeting can sometimes appear creepy. Use your good judgment to avoid these situations. Consider Your Audience SizeIf you have only a few hundred visitors on your website, you won’t be able to apply most of the techniques above. Make sure you have a decent audience size when you begin retargeting. With a small audience, pay attention to your Budget and Frequency to avoid spamming people. Clean Your ListsIf you can’t get people to buy from you, just let it go. Not everyone is interested in what you’re selling. If you keep showing them ads, they’ll get tired of you and they might even talk badly about you. I sometimes notice that people who look at specific pages rarely convert (e.g., Career page). Knowing that, I exclude these people to improve a campaign’s ROI. Also, pay close attention to the membership duration of your audiences. If you haven’t seen someone for the last 540 days, chances are, they won’t be interested. Watch for Concurrent AdsEnsure that your ads aren’t concurrent or that their concurrence doesn’t look weird. Let’s imagine the following context:
Therefore, people who saw both your blog and your pricing page will see both ToFu and BoFu content. Make sure the experience isn’t weird for them, or exclude the concurrent audience (target people who visited your blog but didn’t visit the pricing page). Set Up AutomationI’ve seen people waste hours manually adding and removing customers from retargeting lists… Don’t do that! You’ll waste time and become overworked. The next thing you know you’ll be showing the wrong ads to the wrong people. Linking your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to your retargeting audiences is also possible. Integrate and automate as much as you can. Do as little work as possible. Automate to the maximum. Make sure the whole process is automated and that you don’t need to do anything to update your audiences. Keep ExperimentingYou need to experiment with different techniques in order to discover what works best for you. Techniques highlighted in this article are only some of the ones I’ve tried in the past. Don’t listen to me blindly; test them yourself and brainstorm around new ideas. As an example, in previous campaigns, we realized that pushing content to new audiences and retargeting people who engaged was an incredible source of revenue. When getting started, most people will think about conversions as the ultimate goal of their PPC strategy. This vision is clearly short-sighted. It’s primary to get your goals straight (e.g., generating revenue), but don’t forget other types of advertising that could lead to the same results. Retarget Unopened EmailWe are all building incredible email lists. It’s terrific because sending email doesn’t cost anything and can drive great results. Unfortunately, more and more people aren’t even opening their emails. Gmail and their “Promotion” tab isn’t helping. Something I like to do is send an email and then retarget people who didn’t convert (including those who didn’t open/click the email). If you notice that your emails have a low open rate or a low CTR, retargeting may be one way to talk to these people and win back their attention. Remove Poor Performing Geographical LocationsNot all leads are created equal. Some are ready to buy and are a great fit for your product, while others aren’t worth your time. Is there a certain geographic locations where poor quality leads are coming from? If so, you may want to eliminate that area from retargeting. For example, if you find that you consistently find yourself getting low quality leads from Mexico, you’ll want to remove people in Mexico from being retargeted. This will make for a more cost-effective retargeting program. Did you know? Using Kissmetrics, marketers can track the effectiveness of their online campaigns. You’ll see how many conversions and customers each campaign has delivered, allowing you to comfortably eliminate what’s not working so you can focus on what is. Become a better marketer today with Kissmetrics! Request a personal demo to learn more. Retargeting MadnessRetargeting is very powerful and can show great results. It allows you to target the right people and show them timed and customized offers. By doing so, you can expect to transform cold leads into warm leads and warm leads into customers. That’s everything a marketer could ask for, right? Retargeting can be an incredible source of exposure. Get creative, find new ways to target people, and share them in the comments below. Did you try any of these tactics? What kinds of results did you get? Did you have any trouble implementing them? About the Author: Pierre Lechelle helps startups grow through digital marketing and growth hacking. Follow him on his blog or Twitter. from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog http://ift.tt/1UT497Z via http://ift.tt/1k9TeBg http://ift.tt/1LwC248
-John Herman, in an article for Buzzfeed The above quote by John Herman is interesting because he’s both right and wrong. He’s right because, in terms of simplicity, scrolling is a far better option than clicking. It’s something that just happens naturally. Clicking, on the other hand, is a choice, and that isn’t as easy or as appealing—especially not on a smartphone with limited screen space. But John is also wrong because he is oversimplifying the reality of website engagement. Single page sites are better because scrolling is superior to clicking, but that’s not to say that users “don’t mind scrolling.” They do mind scrolling because they have attention spans. And last we checked, our attention spans are pretty pathetic. That’s why all websites, whether they’re traditional or single page, are designed with “the fold” in mind. The fold is the invisible cutoff for any page when it loads. In the picture above, it’s at the bottom of the pink shaded region. Everything in pink is “above the fold”, while everything else is “below the fold”. And what’s above the fold is what determines whether your website is optimized. If you haven’t given much thought to the fold since your website launched, here are 5 things you should be doing right now: 1. Find Out What Devices Your Visitors Are UsingDetermining whether the majority of your visitors are on mobile, tablet or desktop devices is critically important to effective website design. If you haven’t done so already, go to the “Audience” tab of your Google Analytics account and find out right now. If you haven’t had the time to configure Google Analytics to display these stats, you’ll have to set up the web tracking code. This helpful support article from Google shows you how to do it. Once you determine the device most of your visitors are using, you can create a strategic plan for your homepage design. Without this key piece of information, you’re relying on guesswork. 2. Find Out Which Screen Resolution Most Visitors UseKeep in mind that even if 90% of all your visitors are coming from mobile (in which case a single page website is pretty much your only option), they could still be viewing your mobile-optimized site in all sorts of weird ways you wouldn’t expect. By turning a phone on its side, for example, you’re effectively cutting everything above the fold in half while increasing the size of everything in the first half. The same goes for desktops and tablets. Some monitors are set up on their sides (developers usually do this), and different monitors have different resolutions. Although there’s no way to actually know how your visitors are viewing your site, you can do the next best thing: know the most popular screen resolution. In Google Analytics: Audience —> Technology —> Browser & OS —> Screen Resolution: Once you’ve determined the most popular resolutions, you can compare notes by viewing your site at those resolutions. In Chrome, all you have to do is open “Inspect Element” and click on the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Once you’re in Settings, select “Overrides” and check the “Enable” box: Now you can easily toggle the viewing resolution of the page using “Device metrics”. How closely did what you put “above the fold” match up to what your visitors are actually seeing? 3. Know How Far Visitors Are ScrollingKeep in mind that everything above the fold is just the tip of the iceberg, and everything below it is the majority of your site. In order to really optimize your content, you need to know just how far your visitors are scrolling, which can be a bit tricky. One of the only disadvantages of a single page website is that it’s harder to track visitors. In a traditional website, you could easily see what pages are most popular. In a single page website, you need to rely on heat-mapping and mouse-tracking. If you aren’t using either of those solutions, you can still rely on published statistics. It turns out that the majority of website visitors (~75%) begin scrolling before a page even fully loads. In other words, they can very quickly decide whether they want to see what’s below the fold. Nearly 90% of all visitors will wait until the page fully loads, and will see everything above the fold. But retention drops off very quickly after that. 25 million web sessions don’t lie. While people certainly don’t mind scrolling, they do have low attention spans. Only 30% of visitors will remain on your website by the end of the “second page” beneath the fold (1,500 pixels)–a staggering 300% loss. And by the end of the “third page”, only 13% remain. Another chart shows that the average time spent on a site before abandonment beneath the fold is 13 seconds. Some marketers like to argue that the fold isn’t really all that important. I’d like to think these charts have convinced you otherwise. 4. Make Sure They Keep Scrolling DownThat’s not to say that there’s no hope for any content beneath the fold. There is–you just have to convince your visitors to keep scrolling. Different websites do this in a number of ways, from using page trails and staggered content columns to flat out asking readers to scroll down. The morale of the story? If you want readers to keep scrolling beneath the fold, you need to hook them. 5. If You’re Telling Your Story Right,
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