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As marketers, we have a tricky job. We learn a very specific set of skills, and then re-learn a new set of skills only a few months later. Our industry changes so quickly that if we’re not constantly staying in the loop, we could easily fall behind.
Many of our clients are aware that the Internet is fast-paced and constantly redefining itself. However, they’re not always so pleased when a strategy that has been working well for months, or even years, is suddenly no longer valid and/or effective.
It makes our jobs challenging, but that’s where the fun begins! Exploring new methods for reaching higher conversion rates and creating a better user experience is a marketer’s equivalent to a mad scientist’s lab. We know the basic principles (ex: users don’t like to be spammed, users don’t like slow loading times, etc.) and then we experiment within those principles to find new and exciting ways to reach the target audience.
Our newest lab tool is Google Analytics’ Content Experiments API. It allows us to develop multiple versions of the same web page, distribute that web page to a percentage of the visitors, and track how the visitors are responding to the different versions.
Let’s discuss Content Experiments with a real live example. A client has a beauty business. She offers haircuts, makeup applications, and bridal party packages. She’s quite established in the first two services but she would like to become a more prominent bridal party stylist. How should she go about doing this?
She has a few options. First, she can redesign her website to have a big and colorful new banner that proudly exclaims she can now be hired for bridal parties. But, wait. Maybe she just wants the “Bridal Party” link in the navigation menu to be in a bigger font. Or maybe she wants the same link to be in a bigger font and have a cutesy icon next to it.
In short, there are clearly many ways to draw attention to her new service, but we can’t be sure which strategy will be the most effective. Enter Content Experiments that will allow us to develop and design a version of the same page with varying elements, text, designs, etc. and try out each version (as well as the original version) and see which one leads to the most conversions.
Now, you might be wondering how Content Experiments is different from A/B Split Testing, a service we already offer at RumbleLink (and might I add, one we absolutely love performing). In truth, the concept of Content Experiments isn’t entirely separate from A/B Split Testing, but it has evolved the strategy to a more efficient process. See, I told you this is a constantly changing industry!
Traditional A/B Split Testing allows you to create two versions of the same page and then dole out a version to visitors at random. Content Experiments now lets you create up to five, fully function versions of a webpage without dealing with redirects or plugins.
However, we haven’t even gotten to the best part about Content Experiments and Split Testing. Everything we learn from the different versions of the page (this color worked better than that color, this button in this particular position was pressed more often than that button in another position) can be applied site-wide.
Instead of creating an Experiment for every page on your site, we can deduce information about how visitors see and feel about your site and then cater to them on each and every page. And since the overall goal of Content Experiments is to win over a visitor to do something (buy, book an appointment, subscribe), we can use this shiny new tool to turn an entire website into a lean, mean consumer converting machine.
And that’s just good marketing.
If you’re interested in learning more about Content Experiments and how it can give your website a high conversion rate, contact us today!
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