First, answer the following questions about your business goals and write out your answers:

1. Identify your ideal target consumer:
   • List the words or phrases that are most important to the type of customer that will produce the highest dollar amount for you?
   • List the words or phrases that are most important to the type of customer that will be the easiest to convert?
2. What is the primary task that you would like this consumer to complete before leaving your website (register, purchase, subscribe, etc.)?
   • On what pages of your site is this task referenced
   • On what pages of your site is the task itself facilitated?
3. Describe and number steps that are required for the visitor to complete primary task on your site?

Next, take a look at your web traffic via Google Analytics and answer the following questions:

1. Where is the majority of your website traffic coming from?
   • Which websites are you receiving referring the most links from?
   • Which keywords are producing the most referring links?
2. Which pages produce your highest bounce rate?
   • If you have set goals in your Google Analytics account, which pages have the highest conversion rates?
3. Which pages on your website have the most views?
   • How much time are they spending on these pages?

Now, based on the above, answer the following questions, giving yourself 1 point for every “yes” answer:

1. Have you defined a primary task for visitors of the site?
2. Is your bounce rate highest on your home page?
3. Your bounce rate is NOT highest on any of the pages where the primary task of your customer is to be completed?
4. Does more than one page link to or directly reference the page(s) that facilitates your primary task (not including the global navigation)?
5. Your primary task does NOT require viewing more than one page or executing more than three steps?
6. Does the page (or pages) that facilitates your primary task have the highest conversion rate?
7. Is the page that facilitates your primary task third place or higher among the pages with the most number of views?
8. Are any of the pages that promote your primary task third place or higher in most amount of time spent per page?
9. Did your list of words or phrases match three or more of the top performing keywords from your Google Analytics report?
10. Are less than half of your top referring sites paid advertisers for your brand?

Now add up your score:
10 = Excellent. Your site is best configured to achieve your core business conversion goals. Keep monitoring it’s performance and be prepared to engage in a few periodic tweaks to maintain its effectiveness.

9 – 6 = Almost there. Your site is doing some things well, but there is definitely room for improvement. Put some thought into how your site is set up to engage your target customer and facilitate your primary task. Some professional advice would be helpful.

5 or less = There’s work to be done. Roll up your sleeves. Your site is missing a number of key elements to facilitate effective conversion. Consult a web professional to review your call-to-action, navigation and your core conversion goals.

A Few Things to Remember

Generally speaking, your bounce rate should be low — particularly on the pages where your visitor conversion takes place. While there are a number of valid exceptions to this (such as ads or links that reference other sites), in general, this would mean that when a user lands on a page within your site, instead of leaving your site after viewing that single page (a bounce), they complete the primary task (a conversion) and potentially view additional pages.

Look at the pages that receive the most views. How much content is on the page? How easy is it to find and interpret the important links? Content and navigation design combined equal the “user experience.” While your website may have much in the way of visual and textual information and functionality, it’s most likely an individual user will only focus on 20% of it. Therefore, it’s important to maximize the user experience and time spent on the site by focusing primarily on that which allows the user to consume information most critical to conversion. Essentially, make sure your conversion has a clear, easily accessed call-to-action.

While this is a simple analysis utilizing only data gleaned from a Google Analytics integration, perhaps it has yielded some interesting insights on your website’s effectiveness in addressing your business goals and market needs. Identifying such correlations are important to determine your site’s productivity and identify its strengths and weaknesses. A comprehensive assessment of your website’s performance is an integral part of your business’ digital strategy. Without a clear idea of where you are and where you need to go, it’s impossible to achieve any measurable results. If you are not currently measuring your site’s conversion, speak to your digital team and put those wheels into motion today.

Original guest post at Module’s Digital Conversation Blog

I’ve been thinking about the “call to action” lately. The call to action is too often an afterthought. Too often, I’m looking at a website wondering what action it’s target market is supposed to take. Before we get in too far, let’s review a few examples of a call to action–which, by the way, should be designed based on the website owner’s return on investment needs.

• Newsletter sign up
• Contact form submission
• Online sales
• Quote request
• Consume information
• Request information

There are a variety of actions a user can take but without a definitive, obvious, effective call-to-action a user’s action might just be to leave the website all together. When a user fulfills the intended call to action (completes a form, initiates contact, whatever), website analytics regard this as a “conversion.”

One way to determine how your call-to-action is performing is to first look at two things within your website analytics:

1. Bounce rate (should be a low percent, at least under 30%) and
2. Conversion rate (should be a high percent, depends on nature of your action).

If your website isn’t performing the way it should be, it’s time to take a look at its user interface. Let’s face it if your analytics aren’t where they need to be, you’re tying to bungee cord to your users’ feet making sure they’ll never convert.

But how do you measure the value of a conversation?

You could rate it on a scale: zero means no sale, ten means sale. Is a conversation with a friend who might be a prospect more valuable than just a prospect? Who decides? How? At this rate we’re racking up a lot of subjective numbers.

Forget it. Not only are your numbers virtually useless, you’re dehumanizing the conversation. The sole reason social media marketing is effective is due to the HUMAN element. No one likes to be talked at. Social media requires speaking with your market.

Consider what it would be like, as a user, being talked at via Twitter; viewing an advertisement in the space designed for conversations among mutual followers. Consider being that same user and finding out your conversation was not considered valuable to the business you’re communicating with. Credibility is lost; resources wasted.

This isn’t a new concept. In fact, Duke University studied and consequently labeled it “The IKEA Effect”  (Norton 2009). The premise is people put a higher value on products and services that provided a personal experience. The IKEA case illustrates the product sale with the personal labor required for assembly.

“(L)abor enhances affection for its results. When people construct products themselves, from bookshelves to Build-a-Bears, they come to overvalue their (often poorly made) creations” Norton asserts.

In fact, an increasing number of businesses have found themselves relying on this vary value. Websites are constantly being redesigned and extended to speak clearly with specific markets. Meanwhile, CFOs see a sacrilegious marketing effort invested without a concrete way to measure the return.

Of course, continue monitoring the basics (web traffic, conversion rates, etc), but do not stress to measure the human element. Relax and realize social media is an extension of your product, services, and business.

_______

Citation: Norton, Michael I. The IKEA Effect: When Labor Leads to Love. March 1, 2009. March 10, 2009. http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/web/2009/hbr-list/ikea-effect-when-labor-leads-to-love

This is Shauna’s panel position piece written for the Internet User Experience 2009 conference. Learn more here: www.iue2009.com