Converting the click to conversion mystery Options

[cre8pc]

There's some good stuff in part 2 of

[url=http://www.searchengineguide.com/hotchkiss/2004/0629_gh1.html]Inside the Mind of the Searcher Part II: Search Behavior Explored
[/url]

In addition to the types of searchers (I'm a 1-2-3 Searcher), there's this:

Conversions

In watching what happens after a user clicked through to a site, it became clear that the searcher is clear about what they want to see on a site and that the decision is made quite quickly. Again, men tended to make these decisions faster (about 10 seconds) while women were a little more deliberate (18 seconds). And, as with the search itself, there were distinct variances in the factors researchers were looking for, as compared to purchasers.

What Researchers Looked for on a Landing Page (in order of importance)

Query Keywords  - In a heading or other prominent location  
Product Picture  
Selection - Ability to see different products in one place. Should have trusted brands featured  
Features - Find out more about the product  
Prices – Don't make them ask for it!  
Comparison  - Direct comparison between models  
Clean Professional Layout  - Is this a trusted site?  
Reviews - Consumer reviews, client testimonials  
Offers – Value added offers, i.e. free shipping  
Clear Navigation – Is it easy to move around and continue researching  
Clear Conversion Path – Is it easy to buy or ask for more information
What Purchasers looked for on a Landing Page (in order of importance)

Query Keywords  - In a heading or other prominent location  
Product Picture  
Offers – Value added offers, i.e. free shipping  
Prices – Don't make them ask for it  
Features - Find out more about the product  
Clean Professional Layout  - Is this a trusted site  
Clear Conversion Path – Is it easy to buy or ask for more information  
Selection - Ability to see different products in one place. Should have trusted brands featured  
Comparison  - Direct comparison between models  
Clear Navigation – Is it easy to move around and continue researching  
Reviews - Consumer reviews, client testimonials

These are all things often tested for in usability testing. What interests me, of the many things in their research that's helpful, is that it proves how important it is to understand and KNOW YOUR USER and their habits.

What I'd like to know more about is how to obtain this information, especially before a site is even built. How can, for example, a small business or startup truly "get" who their customer is and build an online store for this customer?

It's obvious that understanding user behavior comes in handy, in many ways. I think it's also something that doesn't occur to many web site owners. They build and submit to engines. What happens after that is one of the great mysteries of life, ha ha.

I'd like to find more data for affordable tracking and feedback, that's within the realm of everyone, not just companies with budgets to blow on analysis software.

Does such a thing exist? What are budget ways to measure one's success, or lack of it?

[bragadocchio]

I like the list. I'm not too sure about the "order of importance" of some of the items and would probably argue some of them. But it does give you soemthing to plan for.

How does one know one's customers? How can them build a store to attract them?

There are quite a few ways to get this information, and to get feedback from people who might be your customers. The best is to probably talk to a lot of people and ask them lots of questions. See what they like and dislike, what they want and need.

It isn't always a "Field of Dreams" styled "build it and they will come" result when you put together a web site. You do need to know why you are building it, and who will read it. All of that can, and should be done in the business plan stage and the marketing paln stage. The web site should be planned for long before it ever appears on a computer screen.

[cre8pc]

Here is an article about how and what to ask customers that have been to one's site:

Four Tips For Learning What Customers Want

So how much do you really know about the individuals who visit your Website?

So how can you find out what your customers want? Simple, ask them! You can easily accomplish this by asking them to complete a survey questionnaire. This questionnaire can be located on your Website, or it can be sent to a targeted list of people using email.

[DCrx]

A survey questionnaire is a problem. First, I don't know of many sources for constructing one which doesn't create problems. Second, users don't always have the insight needed to predict future behavior or change a design in important ways.

Bugs yes, design no.

First rule of usability: Don't Listen To Users. The unfortunate tendency is to assume you'll get UI design bug reports like you will error code popup boxes. Users won't tell you a lot of the things conversions are made of. They don't tell you what to do to make web copy compelling -- but will tell you about a typo.

Users and their input are far too often used as a substitute for design.

[cre8pc]

For sure, I've heard varied arguments about how accurate surveys are, and how truly useful the feedback is, or not :wink:

I used to work for CustomerSat.com, a survey developer and also Justaskthem.com, whom I'm still on good terms with and help on occasion.

For the latter, developing an in-page survey of just 3 questions is what they'd hoped would be more accurate, but the structure of the questions themselves, I came to learn, is quite a science and open to debate as well.

I had been wanting to use one of their survey apps for usability type testing but as you say, they won't likely help much for debugging or even with real constructive feedack, such as what we get from the Web Site Hospital here in the forums.

Still, I want to encourage web site owners to at least consider opening their door to customer feedback, so they can make improvements. Customer satisfaction is so helpful, and yet so many online companies don't ask even a simple question like "Did you find what you were looking for?"

What I want to find are ways to ask that question. Like say, for example, someone clicks into a page via a search engine and leaves without clicking deeper into the site, making a purchase, etc.

How can web site owners learn the cause for this abandonment? There's usability testing for the usual culprits, yes. But, is there another way that's cheap, and instant?

Kim

[Black_Knight]

What I want to find are ways to ask that question. Like say, for example, someone clicks into a page via a search engine and leaves without clicking deeper into the site, making a purchase, etc.  

How can web site owners learn the cause for this abandonment? There's usability testing for the usual culprits, yes. But, is there another way that's cheap, and instant?

Not instant, no. Cheap may also be relative.

The one thing you absolutely must not do is attempt to popup a questionaire to people who are leaving. These people have no involvement with the site, have decided to leave, and you are delaying them. Any answers you get will be from someone you have made justifiably hostile, and are therefore completely worthless.

What you need to do instead is user testing, and preferably where you pay a group of people matching your broad target market, to view the site and give feedback.

There really isn't any other alternative but guesswork.

Sometimes a place like our Website Hospital can help, but if your target audience are less tech-savvy and 'Net experienced, our views may not be representative. You've merely swapped your own guesswork for that of other webmasters.

[Respree]

How can web site owners learn the cause for this abandonment?

Bryan may know or have some input.
http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/inde...?showtopic=9413

[cre8pc]

What you need to do instead is user testing, and preferably where you pay a group of people matching your broad target market, to view the site and give feedback.

Yes yes, user testing is key. In fact, I was on the phone yesterday with a company who faces a conversion issue, but lacks a clear idea about why people aren't buying their product, though the site isn't terribly bad.

I asked if they had any demographic info on customers, and he replied no. He did say they felt just about anyone would fit their target market, but in my mind I was wondering about how technical they'd need to be, because the product is hardware, and needs to be installed.

How can this company know, other than hiring user testing (which I was essentially selling him on), what actual things are driving away potential customers? Do they think the product is hard to use? If so, this would be great information to have, and steps could be taken to address this concern in the web site, brochures, etc.

I hate exit pop up surveys too. :roll:

Are there alternatives to hiring user testing?

James from Site-Report offers this service. If he's around, perhaps he can offer some insight into the process? How they screen the testers? What types of things they look for...etc.


Kim

[peter_d]

There will be as many reasons for abandonment as there are people visiting your website - got distracted by a co-worker, ran out of time, remembered that my cousin knew a guy who sold this product out of his van, etc etc. How can you measure that? You can't.

You don't need to know everything about your customer in order to sell to them, so be careful what you spend your time testing. You do need to know where the customer is, what they want, and then you need to give it to them.

A good way to obtain this information via a web site is to isolate elements and use split run testing. Test, test and retest. Test different channels. Test those channels against each other. Compare and contrast demographics. What works in one country? What works in this city? What works at this time of day? What is the effect of raising prices? What is the effect of reducing prices? What if I use one item as a loss leader? Does that effect my upsell % on my high margin items? Run with the winners and cut the losers.

Building up a picture of what most of your customers want takes time, and I'm not sure there is any quick, easy and cheap way to do this. It is something that comes with constant testing, attention to detail, and statistical analysis.

[Ron Carnell]

I'm sure I've shared this before, but one more time shouldn't hurt too much.

I teach one-day seminars a few days a month, plus two one-week classes each summer for local kids through the national GearUp program run by WMU. Not all of the seminars are Internet related, but many are, and it's only natural that I use my own web sites to illustrate some of what I teach. Watching my students come into my sites, as I walk around the room talking about the principals being discussed, has been one of the most enlightening experiences I could have ever imagined. I get the opportunity to watch them make mistakes, to see what confuses them, to discover the parts of the page that first captures their interest. The focus isn't really on my site, but I think that makes the input all that much more valuable. It's "natural," rather than contrived, and has resulted in more than a few Eureka moments for me over the years.

I'd be willing to bet than anyone willing to do a half- or one-day seminar on e-commerce at a local community college or university would find a willing audience. Turning that audience into usability testers is almost inevitable.