A recent article in Read Write Web revealed 87% Of Connected Consumers Prefer Websites & Mobile Sites Over Apps, which is fantastic news for digital strategists trying to manage budgets.

Rather than spending additional budget on applications we have the opportunity to really maximize the mobile browser experience. In fact, preference for mobile (smartphone or tablet) websites reveals the opportunity to design websites from mobile views out.

Designing and budgeting mobile-out also alleviates a few other traditional budget snags, such as:

Development, development, and more development
Designing from the mobile view out to bigger devices means considering development first. Rather than budgeting separetely for the website, the mobile browser, the application, the tablet… development can now be consolidated to one very flexible language. I recently worked on a new launch that did just that.

The website was built using HTML5 and WordPress. It’s flexibility is device agnostic –meaning budget was spared from needless spends accommodating infinite device sizes.

Over-done design
We designed the website to be viewed in the mobile browser, forcing a clean simplicity we may have otherwise not had. There’s little room for design-by-committee when real estate is constrained.

…Though I really shouldn’t use “constrained”; the smaller real estate challenges designers to think creatively to create a clean, usable interface.

Broken user experiences across platforms
One of the biggest complaints on mobile application reviews is inconsistency from the website. Users log onto apps expecting the same functionality the business website. When expectations are managed or met, an app’s review credibility can quickly suffer, rapidly deflating the return on investment.

From the above HTML5 and WordPress example: Rather than building for each device touchpoint, the digital platform we built was flexible enough to be consumed across user experience opportunities.

Poorly prioritized content
When you begin designing for mobile the simple real estate restriction forces you to prioritize what is most important to the user. Not only that, this means you have to make usability a top priority. And that’s fantastic.

It’s more important to strip out the extra details on the mobile browsing view and introduce “extras” when the user will benefit most.

Have you built mobile-out? How was your experience?

Or have you created budgets for this type of project? What did you like or not like about the approach?

Traffic investments load the funnel.
There is a lot of focus on increasing traffic to websites when assessing online marketing tactics. This is for good reason: Without website visitors, no one is there to make a purchase or learn what your business is all about.

Website traffic tools are sold most often (likely) because it’s the easiest non-invasive marketing influencer a third-party can offer. Website traffic tools include a wide range, from offline to online: billboards to pay-per-click to social media will all grab some amount of website traffic.

Conversion investments widen the mouth.
The forgotten focus is on website conversions. Conversions include sales, downloads, contact form completions–any specific business goal on a website. Conversions are influenced by a number of on and off website considerations, some examples: qualified traffic, website design, website usability, images.

There is an extremely high amount of permutations a visitor can navigate through in order to make it to the actual conversion. This is where the analytics nerds love to play, with exciting results. (There’s a fantastic example beginning on slide 15 of Google Analytics Decision Making.)

Too many companies get lazy about making design updates or testing out interfaces. I get it–it’s not easy. Website interfaces and design require a balance of science and art. And it’s not a set-it-and-forget-it process. What you’ll learn from the results, however, are worth every investment made.

Consider the following example chart.*

There’s a reason not to be lazy about making conversion rate investments. Even if the average transaction value of each conversion was only a dollar you can still see significant impact across the board. So why are so many companies only focusing on increasing website traffic?

Website traffic is a clear necessity for business growth. Just make sure you test out ways to improve conversion rates regularly.

*Please note: Conversion rates are often low percentages on average. Even incremental changes at tenths of a percentage can make a significant difference (depending on website volume). This chart was kept simple for illustrative purposes.

This is a guest post written by Hubert Sawyers, a co-worker and one of the best project managers I’ve had the opportunity to work with. Hubert has remarkable insight on digital strategy and applies it to every project he works on. Follow Hubert on Twitter and, better yet, check out his digital communications company, SORSAW.

It has become apparent that even the biggest enterprises are struggling to provide complementary virtual environments for their clients / customers. Ian Lurie has a great blog post on how complicated websites are actually more of a deterrent than a conversion vessel. He is right too; there is nothing more off-putting than a user experience that requires unnecessary work to window shop.

As so many companies are looking to get their customers to “engage” (which is more like a euphemism for “easy data collection”)* with them more, you tend to see in many instances the cover all your bases approach. Instead of allowing the person to make a choice to connect with you, many business-driven websites like to force the issue and post PUSHY call-to-actions are in every nook-and-cranny of their webpage. Consider the amount of white space that gets decimated by every new widget that gets inserted on these offending sites; there are designers with ulcers not far behind it.

Mind you, I am not a graphic designer, but I have worked with a lot of them. I actually have a customer service background, so I can comfortably work with both value providers and value consumers. I understand the importance of great service and how great a challenge it is to be everything to everyone. Yes, it is much easier to just lay everything out on the table and pray that one of your options cures your [internal / external] customer’s ailment. You definitely do not have to think as much, but then you complicate things when you make the customer think. That is never good. When a client has a problem, one has to provide a solution and make it look like it was on the way before they even knew they had an issue.

When I got into the wonderful world of All Digital Everything, I realized my strong suit was my ability to communicate seemingly complicated ideas in an easy-to-consume manner. Many times people just want a basic understanding on how social media is different than setting up a kiosk at the mall. Or need clarification on why long-tail keywords should permeate every of outgoing content piece in an online campaign when it sounds offensive; even though, it is not. It takes a special individual to have the patience to teach. While I do not fancy myself to be special, I will admit that I have quite the threshold for the slow-to-learn. That is why I advocate for making things easier for people, not more complicated.

Think about your favorite website. No really, like really think about it. What is the main purpose of that website? How does it succeed at providing value to you? Could it better? If so, how? When I consult with a business on helping them make their user experience better on the web, I make sure to always keep business goals in mind. At the same time, I have to align that with what that business’ (potential) consumers are seeking and how to best design an environment to serve them. The four questions I ask in this paragraph are paraphrased for every scenario. Every website component has to have a purpose and should provide value. There is only so much space on a computer monitor, let alone a mobile device, so how do you make it easier for people to connect with you? Here are some of my suggestions.

Keep an Open Door Policy

The best websites are designed to help a visitor find exactly what he or she is seeking and when a sensible opportunity arises, the website politely tries to compel a visitor to engage. Touching on Ian Lurie’s point in his article – if you look at Zappos.com, you don’t see one registration button above-the-fold. If you already have an account with them, they have it so you can log into the site. There is not anything that is begging you to sign up though. They are in the business of selling shoes, not absorbing your time.

But when you find something that might be of interest to you, they set up an environment that politely aids you in purchasing or at least saving the thought of purchasing. There is no need to be pushy. If you provide a great customer experience, people are more likely to buy. It is best for people to be happy about spending money, not guilty. People never like to feel scammed into doing anything, even if it is good for them. By the way, if anyone asks what to get me for the holidaze, I need a pair of these in size 13.

Encourage Bookmarking, But When It is Appropriate

Keeping with the Zappos example, they allow users to connect via social media to share their goods on the web as well as the ability to bookmark through their site. Then and only then, do you get asked to register for the site. You can add additional support by integrating the APIs of relevant bookmarking systems. In the retail space, this would be very cool, especially if people could use it to update a Tumblr page that was used to showcase one’s personal style.

Kiss It Simple, Stupid – Stick to Your Purpose

Again, it does not do any good to try to be everything to everyone right at once. If you sell loose leaf tea, then make sure your website is focused on selling loose leaf teas. Anything else is a distraction from your purpose. Registrations, alternate products, blog posts and the like can be distracting and prevent you from converting your website visitors into paying customers.

Leave Room for Air

I swear white space can turn new visitors into amenable clients. You may have learned it here first. If your product or service line is simple, allow room for people to see it. Your conversion rate will increase significantly, if you are using an overly busy platform. Kill the widgets; leave room for white space.

In summary, when considering the user experience of your current or future website, always keep your purpose in mind. Then be sure to consider your ideal end-user and work your long-tail off to figure out exactly what they want. Once you do that, the rest will be easy. Less is more. White space is beautiful.

*I do not have any problem with people / brands / causes wanting it easier to keep data on their client / customers. It just is a better practice to focus more of making consumers happy to share information than force them into it.

About SORSAW:

SORSAW is a digital communications company. We develop and implement strategies for goal-driven content. Our expertise allows us to tackle projects that are focused in search engine optimization, social media marketing and user experience design. SORSAW helps people, brands and causes excel at communication in the digital space. We like to think of people today as busy bees and we turn our clients into figurative nectar.

Once you’ve set up a solid digital base, it’s natural to want to fine tune things. While Google Analytics and Adwords are both continuously improving their offerings, I thought I’d share a few options.

This list isn’t an endorsement, nor does it imply your current analytics solution isn’t cutting it. It’s a look into my notebook. Literally. See the photo?

Analytics

1. Comscore: Digital marketing intelligence
2. Pardot: Real-time alerts on visitors, mobile insights
3. Clicktale: Heat maps, real-time, conversion funnels
4. Kampyle: User feedback
5. Statcounter: Real-time tracking
6. SiteMeter: Free web counter
7. Kiss Metrics: Conversion funnel metrics
8. Crowd Science: Combines analytics with survey research
9. Chart beat: Real-time analytics

Why they matter…

• Conversion Funnels: I really like the idea of more comprehensive conversion funnel mapping. A few of these providers actually create visual maps for these–which the nerd in me loves. This is something I really wish Google Analytics did better.


How a Conversion Funnel works

• Real-time Analytics: Real-time is neat, but I don’t know of many companies who are willing to commit a resource to using that regularly. That said, this tool would be great for understanding comprehensive time patterns or for tracking traffic bursts specific to a campaign.
• Combining analytics with survey research: I really like the idea of what Crowd Science is doing. They’re batching the quantitative metrics with the qualitative, essentially reinforcing the value of each in doing so. (Say your traffic is fantastic one day, but it’s because someone posting an incredibly embarrassing photo of you…You’d know!)
• Heat maps: These maps provide a graphic view of how people are using your website, using colors to indicate frequency. Heat maps are probably best used by user experience planners rather than dataphiles.


How a Website Heat Map looks

Advertising

1. DoubleClick by Google: Buy, create, and sell digital media
2. Revenue Science: Behavioral targeting
3. Right Media by Yahoo: Digital ad placement
4. Turn: Ad placement for custom audiences

Why these matter…

• Behavioral targeting: This is an incredibly powerful tool and can have an awesome impact on conversion rates when used correctly. It is critical to profile your target market prior to using these tools.
• Custom audiences: This phrase alone reinforces the idea that your consumer is multidimensional and should be treated as such–but it’ll probably cost you. As it stands, Google Adwords doesn’t support much beyond the basics (location, language, networks and devices, and age.)

Additional thoughts…

• Text vs. Banner (image) ads: From what I’ve read, text ads do better on generally targeted campaigns–which is probably why you can get away with them using Google Adwords; however, image-based ads convert much better than their counterparts when placement is based on qualified traffic and the banner is specifically targeted.
• Outsourcing ads: There is a lot of heavy lifting associated with bigger ad campaigns, so I’ve heard a lot of companies say they’ve turned to third party providers to manage campaigns for them. When properly managed internally (markets defined, campaigns cohesive, etc), this can free up a lot of otherwise generally mindless work uploading text, etc.

What analytics or advertising solutions are you using? Wish lists? Work arounds?

A client blog I managed was written to draw traffic and increase prospect inquiries. The blog launched about a year ago and exceeded expectations. At launch, the client had set the blog up in a WordPress content management system with a free blog theme. It was a standard blogging theme with minimal customization.

As the blog content started to mature, I realized a need to display the content in a way that would allow for featured content to be highlighted. In addition it was clear the content took on a conversational, but resourceful, feel. I started looking for a theme that would reflect these new needs and found a magazine theme. As a bonus, the new theme also offers a 468x 60 ad space at the top, if the client should choose to use it in the future.

Results:

• Traffic improved by over 200%
• Time on page improved by a over two minutes
• Bounce rate decreased by over 30%
• Pages per visit improved by about 1.5 pages
• Substantial traffic sustained post-initial marketing investments

Improving website traffic is great, but if there’s no conversion mechanism it can be a lost investment.

My take aways was this: Despite your greatest intentions, ultimately it’s the user who will dictate how they want to consume content. If you pay close enough attention to what’s given (analytics, social engagement, conversions), you’ll have a better understanding of how to resonate with the user.

pandora advertising

Despite our love of social media and engagement-driven marketing, display advertising isn’t going anywhere fast.

Analysts and Google CEO Eric Schmidt are in agreement that (display advertising) is the next major cash cow for them, estimating that display will account for more than $1 billion in 2010.

And that’s okay. But it means we need to do it better.

I’ve often heard (and even thought) that if you build an exceptional web property/mobile app with a ton of users, advertising will be a sufficient revenue model. The fact is, (most) advertisers aren’t stupid. Traditional banners have lost a lot of their effectiveness. Here’s how Pandora is making it work.

1. Pandora offers experiential advertising. Instead of only offering pay-per-click models, Pandora draws users into the brand experience. Users can interact with the ads: scroll over special deals, play a funny video, launch a station… And it’s all in a way that doesn’t irritate the user.

2. It spans platforms. From unobtrusive ads at the bottom of mobile, to music-infused blurbs between songs, on up to stations customized to your brand, Pandora meets consumers where they want to connect.

Pandora is offered via web browsers or downloadable desktop apps. Pandora also offers free mobile apps across platforms to offer their services and, of course, advertisements.

3. Each advertisement has custom dimensions. Face it: Users are virtually unresponsive to your banner ad.

Generally speaking, Nielsen’s eye tracking research typically showed that there are no fixations within advertisements. And users don’t fixate with design elements that resemble ads. In the early years of display advertising on Web pages, people ignored ads because they were usually totally irrelevant. Not only that, most banner ads were as creative as you’d get from a box of crayons and a drawing pad. (Even worse when the animated gif arrived and everything had to flash off and on just because you could). Source

Sure Pandora ads show up in (generally) the same places, but the shape, size, feel, and experience of each ad created is crafted to allow the brand to interact with the user in a completely custom way. Bottom line: They don’t look like “ads.”

4. They empower advertisers to use a medium users are already familiar with. Instead of using never-heard-of songs to avoid copyright, Pandora has brands associating products with the songs users are already singing along to.

There is nothing new for the user to learn or retain. Rather, the user is now able to connect a brand to something they’re already opting into engaging with.

5. They’re targeting based on on-the-fly user inputs. This means the user experience is customized as the user customizes and experiences the website!

Case in point: Clicking the “thumbs up” on a party-themed hip hop song changed my ad from the Ford’s “Sales Event” to Barcardi’s “Color your summer.” Those of you who can’t see the correlation between party-themed hip hop and Barcardi are in serious need of a vacation or a college student.

Learn more about advertising on Pandora. No, I’m not a compensated blogger.
How are YOU using these trends to purchase or sell advertising?

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