September 17th, 2008
OK, it’s time to come out of my Melbourne winter hibernation with this important question…
“Can you produce your website KPIs for me in 10 seconds?”
“What are they?” You wouldn’t be alone if you asked that.
We recently consulted with the lead generation department of very large Australian business. Interestingly they were unable to provide us with this information in a timely manner.
You might think, if a big corporation can’t pull this information together quickly, then how could you expect me to?
Well, as a small business, you actually have an huge advantage. Since there is likely to be only a few people involved in the collection of the information it is much easier to put it together. The smaller your business, the quicker it should be to do this.
So what KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)Â am I talking about? Well, three KPIs in fact.
- Visits- How many visitors came to your website last month?
- Leads - How many leads were generated via phone, drop in or contact forms?
- Sales - How many leads turned into a sale?
These three KPIs will tell you exactly what to focus on in your website at any point in time. Without this information so much effort is wasted. We make it a rule not to make any recommendation on any website without this minimum of information.
So, it’s been more than 10 seconds now. There’s no excuses for not having this information at your fingertips. Go get it!
If you need help making it easier, contact us. 
 From the author: If you regularly advertise for leads in the Yellow Pages®, in the newspaper or on the radio, then there’s a good chance that your website could be generating more leads for you than it is. The key is in your website’s conversion rates.
We know that to achieve high conversion rates and sales from your web marketing you need a team that includes seasoned marketers, web designers, web programmers, copywriters, editors, bloggers and search engine gurus. That’s why we created Bitemark.
And yes, we can get your website to number one in Google too ;-)!
Contact us on 03 9012 6600 for a free conversion rate review of your website.
Yellow Pages® is an Australian registered trade mark of Telstra Corporation Ltd. This company has requested and has been granted permission from Telstra Corporation Ltd to use the Yellow Pages® trade mark. This company is not otherwise associated with Telstra Corporation or any of it’s subsidiaries.
Posted in Conversion Rate Optimisation, Web Marketing, Web conversion rates | No Comments »
July 8th, 2008
It’s unfortunate that we continue to see Australian businesses choosing to spam Google maps.
Mike Blumenthal first reported spam local businesses listing on Google Maps on the 27th July 2007. It’s nearly one year on and Mike is still reporting on cases of spam on Google Maps that Google appear to be turning a blind eye to.
You may recall that we brought attention to a Melbourne mobile mechanic who created over 500 dodgy listings on Google Maps on February 20th this year. Those instances were eventually removed, and that spammer has gone on to find new and innovative ways to spam. They have also made a series of threats against us for reporting on the matter (we may publish those at a later date).
Today we have the case of a Sydney based locksmith with a couple of vans and one registered office that shows up on every street corner of Sydney.
According to Google Maps, this business claims to have 40 addresses in the one suburb alone… Have you ever seen a suburb with a locksmith on every corner? Probably not a suburb that you’d want to live in.
Once again despite many contacts and exchanges with Google, so far nothing has been done about the spam.
We know that showing up in web searches on Google Maps results in many more clicks than even the number one organic result attracts. Undoubtedly, this spammer has attracted plenty of unsuspecting customers through this deceitful measure. Our question for potential customers is:
If a business is willing to falsely represent their business address, how are they likely to treat their customers?
Ultimately, such conduct will come back on the business. It is deceptive, and customers should beware.
Yesterday, Mike Blumenthal called for Google to create a formal solution to the map spam problem. We definitely support this idea. Like the Yellow Pages® of previous decades, Google’s actions (or lack thereof) have a significant economic impact on small businesses in Australia. They have the power to make or break businesses and they must take this responsibility seriously.
In addition we believe that the practice of spamming Google Maps with false addresses is misleading advertising that the ACCC should pursue. If a competitor of yours is engaging in such a practice, you should contact the ACCC and your state fair trading office to register a compliant.
From the author: If you regularly advertise for leads in the Yellow Pages®, in the newspaper or on the radio, then there’s a good chance that your website could be generating more leads for you than it is. The key is in your website’s conversion rates.
We know that to achieve high conversion rates and sales from your web marketing you need a team that includes seasoned marketers, web designers, web programmers, copywriters, editors, bloggers and search engine gurus. That’s why we created Bitemark.
And yes, we can get your website to number one in Google too ;-)!
Contact us on 03 9012 6600 for a free conversion rate review of your website.
Yellow Pages® is an Australian registered trade mark of Telstra Corporation Ltd. This company has requested and has been granted permission from Telstra Corporation Ltd to use the Yellow Pages® trade mark. This company is not otherwise associated with Telstra Corporation or any of it’s subsidiaries.
Posted in Google Local Business Listings, Google Maps | No Comments »
July 7th, 2008
 Since we reported on eBay’s recent move to force PayPal on all of its online auctions in Australia, you may have heard that eBay has compromised on the second part of its plan to eliminate all competition in the payment systems market.
Faced with the case that was building against the move at the Australian competition watchdog (ACCC), eBay pre-empted a negative response by withdrawing its proposal to eliminate all competition in payment systems.
It was unlikely to go well for eBay at the ACCC as objections flooded in from consumers and bodies like the Australian Federal Reserve Bank, Electronic Frontiers Foundation and others.
Of course, eBay is still forcing everyone to offer PayPal, and I wonder if eBay’s strategy was to distract you from that fact by creating a fuss around the threat to eliminate the competition. eBay can’t seriously have ever believed that they could pull a stunt like that.
Rather than doing their a PayPal business any favours eBay has galvanised dissatisfied users to educate the public on the perils of dealing with the monopoly. It has undoubtedly tarnished the eBay and PayPal brands as well as given competition the best opportunity it has ever had to gain a foothold.
eBay claimed that they should be able to offer PayPal exclusively since they say it is more secure than other payment methods. However, contrary to what eBay’s publicity machine have been pumping out, according to the ACCC (from this artcile by Alex Zaharov-Reutt on ITWire):
5.173 The evidence available does not support the view that PayPal is the most secure method of payment, or offers the best service for all transactions.
Simon Tsang of the Sydney Morning Herald compared eBay’s method of consumer “protection” to organised crime.
We can take this out of the whole eBay + PayPal debacle so far: If you’re operating on the Internet and you’re prepared to walk all over your customers, it will come back to bite you.
Was this whole episode simply smoke and mirrors from eBay to distract you from the fact that they are now forcing you to offer PayPal?
From the author: If you run an eCommerce website then you might wonder, “How do I know if I’m getting as many orders as I could be through my website?” The answer to that question is in your website’s conversion rates.
We know that to achieve high conversion rates and sales from your eCommerce website you need a team that includes seasoned marketers, web designers, web programmers, copywriters, editors, bloggers and search engine gurus. That’s why we created Bitemark.
And yes, we can get your website to number one in Google too ;-)!
Contact us on 03 9012 6600 to find out how you could boost the conversion rates of your eCommerce website.
Posted in eCommerce websites | No Comments »
June 23rd, 2008
Google Website Optimizer is an awesome tool that allows you to test different versions of your web pages to see which ones work better.
Here’s what the Google Website Optimizer home page says about it:
Using Website Optimizer to test and optimize site content and design, you can quickly and easily increase revenue and ROI whether you’re new to marketing or an expert.
We’ve been using Google Website Optimizer in our Conversion Rate Optimisation program to find out what customers really want from websites.
Over time, we’ve come to understand this: Whether you use Google Website Optimizer to run a split test or a multivariate test, the results that you are going to get are only as good as your ideas.
Testing the colours of call to action buttons will only get you so far… You need to delve deeper to make this tool work for you. So where do you find the best ideas to test?
- Know your customers - Spend time talking with them and understanding them.
- Know your bottom line conversion stats - Visits, Enquiries and Sales or Visits for lead generation, Carts and Sales for e-commerce websites.
- Delve into your web analytics to find problem areas and opportunities for improvement.
- Know the outcomes that you would like to improve. Is it more sign-ups, downloads, lead contact forms, shopping carts, orders or sales?
- Get the help of experienced testers.
Google Website Optimizer is a key tool that can help you to keep your conversion rates heading north. Of course, here in Australia, we would prefer to call it Google Website Optimiser. Perhaps that’s something that Google could test to see if it helps.
From the author: If you regularly advertise for leads in the Yellow Pages®, in the newspaper or on the radio, then there’s a good chance that your website could be generating more leads for you than it is. The key is in your website’s conversion rates.
We know that to achieve high conversion rates and sales from your web marketing you need a team that includes seasoned marketers, web designers, web programmers, copywriters, editors, bloggers and search engine gurus. That’s why we created Bitemark.
And yes, we can get your website to number one in Google too ;-)!
Contact us on 03 9012 6600 for a free conversion rate review of your website.
Yellow Pages® is an Australian registered trade mark of Telstra Corporation Ltd. This company has requested and has been granted permission from Telstra Corporation Ltd to use the Yellow Pages® trade mark. This company is not otherwise associated with Telstra Corporation or any of it’s subsidiaries.
Posted in Conversion Rate Optimisation | No Comments »
June 16th, 2008
If you’re involved in marketing, then you’ll probably have heard about the ABC’s show about advertising, The Gruen Transfer. Last week, comedian and host Will Anderson asked the panel to talk about advertising that backfired on them.
According to Russel Howcroft, MD of Ad Agency George Patterson’s Y&R,
All advertising works, it’s just a matter of how much.
For many businesses marketing is one of the biggest expenses, and you don’t need to work for an ad agency to know that there is big money changing hands for good advertising… and bad advertising.
Maybe Russel Howcroft’s statement that all advertising works is true in an advertising agency sort of a way… but maybe not for long.
Marketing on the Internet has introduced many businesses to the concept that you can draw a direct line from good marketing to increased sales. It has introduced an unprecedented standard of tools, data and accountability.
Now, Google Analytics has launched a tool in the US that allows marketers to see what impact their TV ads have on their website traffic.
It may not be expected in advertising agencies, but In our opinion advertising has failed if it doesn’t generate a return on investment. Looks like Google Analytics is about to shake up the ad world.
From the author: If you regularly advertise for leads in the Yellow Pages®, in the newspaper or on the radio, then there’s a good chance that your website could be generating more leads for you than it is. The key is in your website’s conversion rates.
We know that to achieve high conversion rates and sales from your web marketing you need a team that includes seasoned marketers, web designers, web programmers, copywriters, editors, bloggers and search engine gurus. That’s why we created Bitemark.
And yes, we can get your website to number one in Google too ;-)!
Contact us on 03 9012 6600 for a free conversion rate review of your website.
Yellow Pages® is an Australian registered trade mark of Telstra Corporation Ltd. This company has requested and has been granted permission from Telstra Corporation Ltd to use the Yellow Pages® trade mark. This company is not otherwise associated with Telstra Corporation or any of it’s subsidiaries.
Posted in Google Analytics, Web Marketing | 1 Comment »
June 16th, 2008
I received an email this morning that made the startling claim that “People remember 50% of what they see and hear and only 10% of what they read.”
Interestingly I read this quote (and for that matter, saw it too) in an email about online video. I’m sure that you have read, seen and heard variations of this so-called research too.
Before you rush off to turn everything that you’ve ever published into a video - as the email implied that I should - you should know that this research is a myth and the quote itself is rubbish.
Graphics like the one above are extremely widespread and they are usually constructed to suit the purpose of the person presenting them.
There are a couple of things that give these graphs away:
- Percentages are being used to generalise people
- The results are always a factor of 10%
So I did some research to find the source of this information, and I found this post from learning consultant Dr Will Thalheimer that shows that there is in fact no valid research that shows that any mode of learning is superior to another.
A comment on the blog cites the following quote regarding the real story of retention:
Each of the methods identified by the pyramid resulted in retention, with none being consistently superior to the others and all being effective in certain contexts.
Lalley, J., & Miller, R. (2007). The learning pyramid: Does it point in teachers in the right direction? Education, 128(1), Page 64
In other words, as soon as you hear someone say, “people remember blah blah blah,” know that you’re hearing rubbish.
The two keys to retention
The reality is that there are no real statistics on reading vs hearing vs seeing vs doing and there can’t be.
There are two keys that dictate retention:
- Student
- Subject
For example, taking a guitar lesson (subject) from a book is pretty tough. There are so many things about learning guitar that just can’t be communicated in written words. The lesson is unlikely to be retained if you (student) don’t play guitar.
However, if Dr Will Thalheimer presented his debunking of the retention styles myth by video, it would be hard to comprehend. That’s because video is real time, and that makes it harder to digest at your own pace.
Also, if you are a motivational speaker, a transcript of your last speech probably isn’t going persuade people to hire you.
How to increase retention (and conversion rates)
So if you want people to retain your message, consider the student and the subject. That will determine the mode of delivery that you choose.
What ever mode you choose, ensure that the content you deliver is of a high standard, targeted to your audience. This applies to your blog, copy writing, online video, pictures and every form on content on your website.
From the author: As a web programmer I have been involved in developing several content management systems. I was hands on in developing our own content management suite called eComMetrix®.
What I know from working on hundreds of lead generation and eCommerce websites over 11 years is that there is something far more important when creating a website than the system that you use. It’s your conversion rates and it’s a measure of how effectively the content of your website engages your website visitors.
We know that to achieve high conversion rates and sales from your website you need a team that includes seasoned marketers, web designers, web programmers, copywriters, editors, bloggers and search engine gurus. That’s why we created Bitemarkâ„¢.
And yes, we can get your website to number one in Google too ;-)!
Contact us on 03 9012 6600 to find out how you could boost the conversion rates of your website.
Posted in Online video, Web Marketing, Website Video | No Comments »
June 4th, 2008
 Do people believe that the testimonials on your website are real? We often hear people express the view that testimonials on websites are contrived or made up. Sometimes with good reason.
Let me make one thing clear: Made up testimonials do not belong in professional web marketing.
In this “Web 2.0″ world of fast customer feedback, fictitious testimonials will come back to bite you. So, how can you prove that your testimonials are real, spontaneous expressions of gratitude from your customers?
Firstly, the best testimonials are the unsolicited ones, so do a good job, and you’ll get testimonials. Do an exceptional job an you’ll get even more.
Here are a couple of ideas on how to keep the testimonials flowing:
- Do an exceptional job
- Respond well to complaints
- Measure and improve your customer service
- Let customers know that testimonials help your business, and you need their help.
Make it as easy as possible for people to send their feedback, but never apply pressure. If good feedback doesn’t come freely and naturally, then it is contrived.
There are some simple ways that you can improve the acceptance of the testimonials on your website:
- Include scans of real handwritten thank you letters, or email print outs - don’t know why but it just seems more real if its printed
- Include pictures of your clients - using your product if applicable (with their permission of course)
- Include negative comments - demonstrate how you resolved issues and turned a situation around
- Video testimonials - Can be hard to arrange, try the simple things first.
For an eCommerce website you might consider using a product rating and feedback system. However, the implementation of a system like that is not right for every eCommerce website. It’s also a big project that needs to be carefully planned.
Taking small steps to prove that your testimonials are genuine will have a greater effect than having hundreds of testimonials on your website.
Take a look at the testimonials page we were able to create for Block Out Blinds using their customers real feedback here.
From the author: If you regularly advertise for leads in the Yellow Pages®, in the newspaper or on the radio, then there’s a good chance that your website could be generating more leads for you than it is. The key is in your website’s conversion rates.
We know that to achieve high conversion rates and sales from your web marketing you need a team that includes seasoned marketers, web designers, web programmers, copywriters, editors, bloggers and search engine gurus. That’s why we created Bitemark.
And yes, we can get your website to number one in Google too ;-)!
Contact us on 03 9012 6600 for a free conversion rate review of your website.
Yellow Pages® is an Australian registered trade mark of Telstra Corporation Ltd. This company has requested and has been granted permission from Telstra Corporation Ltd to use the Yellow Pages® trade mark. This company is not otherwise associated with Telstra Corporation or any of it’s subsidiaries.
Posted in Web Marketing | No Comments »
May 30th, 2008
Is shipping a mystery on your online shopping website? Lack of clarity around shipping is one of the biggest conversion killers in eCommerce. Fortunately there are some simple conversion techniques that you can use to stem the flow of lost orders caused by shipping mystery.
Let’s start with the basics:
- Detail your shipping policy
- Link to your shipping policy
- Display shipping costs up front
- Keep shipping simple
- Use shipping offers
Detail your shipping policy
The first shipping conversion technique is having a clearly stated shipping policy. Some of the details that you need to cover in your shipping policy include:
- Where do you ship to?
- What options are there?
- What carriers do you use?
- How long does it take to get there?
- How do you calculate the shipping price?
- What happens when problems arise?
Link to your shipping policy
Once you have a good, well detailed shipping policy, you need to make sure that it can be found. Include a link to the shipping policy near the shopping cart, in the menus and on product pages.
Display shipping costs up front
One of the real keys to succeeding with shipping is being up front about it. Unfortunately, many shopping cart systems are configured to kill conversions by default. That’s because they force you to register and enter your personal details before they show you the price of shipping.
Make sure your shopping cart shows your customers the full price of the sale before they’re asked for their personal details.
But what if you need to know the customer’s location to calculate the shipping price? Ask them for their postcode, state or suburb, but… keep it simple.
Keep shipping simple
If your shipping calculations are complicated, do they really need to be? You might have more success with a simpler shipping price structure. Even if it is more expensive, making shipping easier to understand for your customers could have a positive effect on conversions.
Of course, this may depend on other factors such as competition, but it’s worth a test!
Use shipping offers
Shipping can be a conversion killer, but it can also present a profit opportunity for your eCommerce business. Try using quantity based shipping incentives to increase your average order value. For example, you might offer free shipping on orders one $100.
You can also use free shipping or discounted shipping offers to create an artificial deadline to push some of those conversions over the threshold.
Carefully calculate the costs of any offers that you make on shipping and make sure that the cost will be less than the return.
Once you have the basics covered, you can then start to look at some of the technical tricks that can improve your customer’s shipping experience even further.
From the author: If you run an eCommerce website then you might wonder, “How do I know if I’m getting as many orders as I could be through my website?” The answer to that question is in your website’s conversion rates.
We know that to achieve high conversion rates and sales from your eCommerce website you need a team that includes seasoned marketers, web designers, web programmers, copywriters, editors, bloggers and search engine gurus. That’s why we created Bitemark.
And yes, we can get your website to number one in Google too ;-)!
Contact us on 03 9012 6600 to find out how you could boost the conversion rates of your eCommerce website.
Posted in Web Marketing | No Comments »
May 13th, 2008
Have you noticed that your Email Marketing piece looks real funny in Outlook 2007? That’s probably because Outlook 2007 now uses Microsoft Word to digest a HTML email. Previous versions of Microsoft Outlook used Internet Explorer to display HTML emails.
For email marketers that means that a number of significant HTML features are gone.
In Outlook 2007 you may have noticed that you can’t use:
- Background images. Not in HTML or Style Sheets (CSS).
- Rowspans to format a table.
- Forms to capture users input.
As Office 2007 gradually gets rolled out, you are going to have to change the way your emails are built and perhaps designed.
It may be of little consolation, but Microsoft has released a tool that checks to see if your email will work in Outlook 2007. The tool is for users of Microsoft Expression Web, Microsoft Visual Studio or Macromedia Dreamweaver (MX 2004 and Version 8). You can download it here.
It would be a good idea to check your next email marketing piece before you click send!
 From the author: If you use email marketing to reach your customers and prospects, then there are simple things that you can do ensure that your message gets through and is acted on. The key is in your email marketing conversion rates.
We know that to achieve high conversion rates and sales from your email marketing you need a combination of the best email marketing tools and a team that includes experienced web marketers, email designers, web programmers, copywriters, and editors. That’s why we created Bitemark.
Contact us on 03 9012 6600 for a free conversion rate review of your email marketing.
Posted in Email Marketing | No Comments »
May 8th, 2008
We’re happy to say that we’ve set a new conversion rate record for our lead generation websites - 41.82%.
That means that for every 100 people that visit this page, at least 41 of them will complete and submit this form.
Why is this page converting so well? Here’s a couple of reasons:
- It’s a simple form
- It’s being seen by the right people
- It meets the visitor’s needs
What’s even better is that it’s the second most popular page in the whole website. Congratulations to the Piano Removalists - Network Piano Carriers.
From the author: If you regularly advertise for leads in the Yellow Pages®, in the newspaper or on the radio, then there’s a good chance that your website could be generating more leads for you than it is. The key is in your website’s conversion rates.
We know that to achieve high conversion rates and sales from your web marketing you need a team that includes seasoned marketers, web designers, web programmers, copywriters, editors, bloggers and search engine gurus. That’s why we created Bitemark.
And yes, we can get your website to number one in Google too ;-)!
Contact us on 1300 248 362 for a free conversion rate review of your website.
Yellow Pages® is an Australian registered trade mark of Telstra Corporation Ltd. This company has requested and has been granted permission from Telstra Corporation Ltd to use the Yellow Pages® trade mark. This company is not otherwise associated with Telstra Corporation or any of it’s subsidiaries.
Posted in Web conversion rates | No Comments »
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