The Smarter Marketing Blog

• My Xmas Gift to You

  Free Google Adwords

  I have a Santa sack full of Google Adwords vouchers to give away.

  Valued at $75 each, they are free to anyone who wants to set up a new Google Adwords account.

  Play with Adwords to get a taste of what it's all about.

  My vouchers are exclusive to Perth and Western Australian businesses.

  However, other Australian and international readers need not worry as there should be similar goodies available in your regions from your local online marketing agency. Ask around.

  But wait, there's more...

  read more...

• Conversion Rates Report 2011 - Nothing's Changed

  Econsultancy has just released its Conversion Rate Optimisation Report for 2011, and sadly the rates are still stuck around 2% to 3%. The same as they’ve been for the past decade and more.

  So Econsultancy asks the question: “...why are conversion rates not better than they are?” and it suggests it’s “...because conversion rate optimization is complex.”

  I disagree.

  While conversion rate optimisation undoubtedly takes work and discipline, it’s not like we don’t know what to do.

  Leading Conversion Rate Optimisation consultants such as Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg, Tim Ash, Steve Krug and others have been proclaiming the techniques and benefits of conversion rate optimisation since the 1990’s.

  Yet marketers and businesses still do almost nothing about it.

  Why? Read on...

  read more...

• Improve Your Shopping Cart Conversions

  (How to make your shopping cart suck less)

  Saw this cartoon over at The Oatmeal and I just had to share it. It highlights what's wrong with just about every shopping cart and registration process on the web.

  Underneath the humour, and despite the scatological language, there are lessons for us all to learn here. This will help you reduce your shopping cart abandonment rates and increase your conversion rates. Study it hard.

  All images courtesy of The Oatmeal

  Read on...

  read more...

• Marketing as Theatre

  Does your marketing entrance, engage, enrapture and encourage your customers to want more?

  Because it’s not how good (or not) your product is, what matters is how you sell it.

  The company or salesperson that puts on the best performance wins.

  A clear reminder of this occurred the other day when I was attending the Perth Home Show at the Exhibition and Convention Centre.

  I bought something didn’t even know I wanted because the salesman’s show was so good - The World’s Most Advanced Broom

  Step right up folks, because of all things, he was selling rubber brooms, supposedly a technically superior alternative to the normal hair broom.

  Certainly unique and different, I’d never even heard of, or could imagine a broom made of rubber; I mean it just sounds ridiculous.

  But the sales guy was good; it was like watching a finely tuned performance, which is exactly what it was. I knew it, and I paid more out of admiration for his “game” than for the actual product.

  Read how to up your marketing performance level...

  read more...

• 55% of Shoppers Abandon Poor Performing Sites

  Conversion Rate Optimisation Tip #9 - Make Sure Your Site Works

  That is, make sure everything works on your website, for everyone, all the time in all circumstances

  You will lose more than 50% of your sales and leads if you don't.

  This has been said many times before, and the research over the past 10 years always backs it up.

  This latest study on Online Retail Usability from Econsultancy really puts some stark numbers on what poorly working sites can cost you.

  Among the findings:

  

  Read more findings...

  read more...

• eGroup Association, Perth Western Australia

  eGroup WA Association provides a forum for Perth and Western Australian based online entrepreneurs to confidentially discuss issues particular to their business, and to share advice, solutions and ideas in a supportive, informative and educational manner.

  It was established October 2009 and includes some of Perth's leading online business people. 

  Its charter is to support, encourage and provide education to new online ventures (at all stages of development) in Western Australia; and to provide an organised voice to industry, government and the wider community by which we define, disseminate and promote ideas, findings and issues that are common to members.

  You can find out more at their website

  read more...

• Where Your Online Business Comes From

  

  Google Analytics recently sent me an email detailing where most people's traffic comes from.

  The results were based on performance benchmarks for all their clients who subscribe to their anonymous benchmarking service.

  According to Google, search engines and direct traffic (bookmarks or direct typing of a web address) make up the bulk of most businesses' traffic sources, followed by referrals and other sources.

  Read more...

  read more...

• Slow Sites Will Kill Your Sales

  Speed Up Your Site to Get More Business

  There's one very simple reason why anyone in online business should have a fast loading site:

  You'll lose lots of business if you don't.

  Slow loading sites will cost you sales and leads.

  Research has always proved that customers want fast loading sites and will do more business with sites that load quickly.

  Even Google has started penalizing slow loading sites in their search results.

  Recently I came across some even more compelling research that showed how much revenue the big boys lose for every fraction of a second their site's slow down.

  Click here to find out more...

  read more...

• Incredible India's Unique Value Proposition

  Sometimes you can break all the rules and get away with it.

  If you've read my blog or spoken to me you'll know that I'm always banging on about the need for a USP/UVP (Unique Selling/Value Proposition), a big idea and the need to address the WIIFM (What's in it for me?) question.
  
  These issues are always at the top of any potentail customer's mind: "What is this place, what can I do here and what value can I get?"
  
  When I saw this latest ad from the long running and very successful Incredible India campaign I was sharply reminded that we don't always have to be so obsessive about our USP's.
  
  A unique value can often be implied, and left to the customer's imagination to fill in the rest.
  
  And with something like India, the imagination can run rampant.
  
  But what is it about this campaign that allows it to ignore the rules and yet still succeed?
  
  Click to learn more...

  read more...

• Why Food Pics Increase Your Conversion Rates

  Conversion Rate Optimisation Tip # 7

  Foodtography is the latest craze sweeping the internet. Millions of people are sharing photographs of their food, often for no other reason than they just feel like it.

  According to stock photography site Crestock, there are dedicated blogs and websites springing up daily.

  So what has all this got to do with increasing your conversion rate?

  Simple, pictures of food are one of the quickest ways to boost your conversion rate or engagement rate, even if your site has nothing to do with food.

  And if it’s sexy food, even better.

  Why Sexy Food Works

  Learn Why...

  read more...

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