By Karon Thackston © 2008, All Rights Reserved
In parts 1, 2 and 3 of this series, I briefly covered common areas that can have a negative impact on conversions and/or rankings. In this last installment, I’ll introduce you to simple testing procedures that can get you started in your detective work.
Simple Ways to Test
Aside from SEO, if you think your copy is holding back conversions, then don’t, I repeat don’t, ditch the copy as a whole and begin a complete rewrite. You’ll want to conduct microtests or – if you have the software and ability – multi-variant testing to find out what the problem(s) is.
For instance, start with the headline. Simple A/B testing or tests using AdWords or another PPC ad service can quickly show which of two headlines is more compelling to Web surfers. Give each headline an equal amount of traffic. Take the winner (control) and pit it against a third headline. Which one won? The winner then goes on to compete against yet another version. How far do you take it? That depends on your results. For me personally, when I see that the control has beaten four or five other headlines, I will typically be comfortable with using the current winner.
Do the same with other elements of your copy. Start with the other most read sections of your copy: opening paragraph, captions under hero shots (product images), copy beside graphics, calls to action and other important segments of copy. As before, test until you get a clear winner.
Unless you have the ability to conduct multi-variant testing, you’ll want to take this one element at a time. If you test several elements without using multi-variant testing, you won’t know which one(s) caused the improvements.
Training courses are available for those who want to get serious about testing their sites. Marketing Experiments offers an exceptional and very detailed training series that results in an in-depth knowledge of testing procedures as well as certification. You take one lesson each week via pre-recorded video and – at the end of the course – a final exam. It is rather pricey, but well worth every cent.
Remember, testing to see if your copy is in need of adjustments is a time-consuming process. It’s not something that typically takes a day or two. Most people assume all things conversion-related mean the copy is not doing its job. The majority of people don’t test… they guess. And guessing is why the majority of websites fail.
If you truly want to know what the problem(s) with your website is and how to fix it, do what the pros do: Test, evaluate, adjust. Test, evaluate, adjust. Test, evaluate………….
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Practice, although it is time consuming it will make a person perfect on its craft.
Welcome Racquel! True… very true.