It is so vital to set goals on your website, to track the effectiveness of all your online marketing efforts & campaigns. This 60 second video sheds more light on Google Analytic’s funnel visualisation report – which shows each step you have defined as part of your conversion process. It is particularly very useful for tracking shopping cart abandonment rates on eCommerce sites.

Measuring Conversions and Setting Up Funnels on Google Analytics is a post from: Fuzz One Media

Over the next couple of weeks, Google will be rolling out a new AdWord reporting section in its analytics package – Google Analytics. It’s intention is to give advertisers more insight into user actions after their AdWords ads have been clicked. In order to fully access the new AdWords reports, your AdWords and Google Analytics accounts must be linked with destination URL auto-tagging enabled in AdWords.

The new reporting feature I’m most looking forward to using is direct access to exact match keywords in Google analytics. Google currently does not share exact match keyword date on Google Analytics (requires a hack to access exact match keywords).

There are also single click common reporting queries in the overview section that automatically generates reports (see image below):

These reports are meant to answer questions marketing experts and site owners ask about:

• Site Usage
• Goal Tracking and Conversions
• AdWords Clicks
• eCommerce activity and
• Revenue metric ROI i.e. revenue per click

All this data would be available in a drill down mode familiar to AdWords users:

Campaign > AdGroups > Keywords

The new analytics reports would also be able to show data by AdWords dimensions at the campaign, adgroup or keyword level like: Match Type, Ad Content (your text ad title), Ad Distribution Network, matched search query, Placement domain, Placement URL, Ad Format, Targeting Type, Display URL, Destination URL and more (see image below):

These new insights on AdWords campaigns in Google Analytics reinforces the need for AdWords experts to have a deep understanding of Google Analytics to manage their campaigns effectively.

Track Exact Match AdWords Keywords in Google Analytics and More… is a post from: Fuzz One Media

I came across this Webinar video presentation this morning when doing some research on the landing design best practises and have to say it is the best I have come across as yet. It was presented by Tim Ash, author of the book, Landing Page Optimization and the CEO of sitetuners.com for the official Google AdWords blog, Inside AdWords.

I have to say, it is a really long video, with a duration of about 1hr 15mins. For that reason, I have summarised the key salient points from his presentation. Hope you enjoy it!

• Sin #1 – Unclear Call-to-Action
• Sin #2 – Too many Choices
• Sin #3 – Asking for too much information
• Sin #4 – Too much text
• Sin #5 – Not Keeping Your Promises
• Sin #6 – Visual Distractions
• Sin #7 – Lack of Credibility & Trust

Sin #1 – Unclear Call-to-Action

Question Visitors’ Ask: What do they want me to do on this page?
Answer: Strengthening Call-to-action

Common Issues

• Spend precious time deciding what to do
• Get confused and frustrated

The Fix:

• “Call-to-action” should be clear & draw the eye
• Placement of call-to-action should be “about-the-fold”
• Competing calls-to-action should be de-emphasized

Sin #2 – Too Many Choices

Question Visitors’ Ask: What do I do next?
Answer: Get them closer to their goal

Common Issues

• Too many choices cause paralysis
• Can’t find the right link to get closer to desired goal

The Fix:

• Don’t present detail too early in the process
• Group choices into a small number of categories
• Use visual shortcuts to reduce reading

Sin #3 – Asking for Too Much Information

Question Visitors’ Ask: Is this information absolutely necessary to complete the transaction? (Form fill test)
Answer: Simplified Forms

Common Issues

• Each extra form field makes the process more imposing
• Information asked for is inappropriate or too personal
• Have you earned the right to get my email?

The Fix:

• Ask only for absolutely-required information
• Collect additional information at a later date
• Shorten label and unclutter form layout (use usability tricks)
• You can break one pages forms into multiple phases

Sin #4 – Too Much Text

Question Visitors’ Ask: Do you really expect me to read all of this?
Answer: Shorten Your Text

Common Issues

• Short attention span – people don’t read on the web
• Information overload – hit the “back” button

The Fix:

• Use clear headlines and headings
• Put important stuff first – write in “inverted pyramid” style (Jakob Nielsen)
• Do not write in complete sentences – use short bullet lists
• Ruthlessly edit and shorten your text
• Cancel all subject speak make you

Sin #5 – Not Keeping Your Promises

Question Visitors’ Ask: This page is not what I expected
Answer: Keep Your Promises

Common Issues

• Disconnect from “upstream” ad promise
• Promised information is not on the landing page
• Mismatching the searchers intent

The Fix:

Repeat the ad-text or keywords on your page

Provide clear access to information from the ad

Sin #6 – Visual Distractions

Question Visitors’ Ask: Where am I supposed to look on this page?
Answer: Make it More Boring

Common Issues:

• Visual assault is extremely annoying
• “Gratuitous graphics” unrelated to product/service
• No clear separation of content and navigation
• Time wasted on looking at the wrong stuff

The Fix:

• Don’t compete with the call-to-action
• Remove colourful page elements and animation/motion
• Replace generic photos with specific relevant images
• Don’t use image unless they are directly relevant to your product

Sin #7 – Lack of Credibility & Trust

Question Visitors’ Ask: Why should I trust & buy from you?

Common issues:

• Lack of endorsements
• No “social proof” (testimonials)
• Trust symbols are not prominent
• Assurances are presented too late in the process

The Fix – Borrow & Solidify Trust:

• Feature well-known symbols/logos/brands prominently
• Use client logos/brands/media coverage as “badges”
• Remove anxiety with generous policies & guarantees

Recommended Reading

• Permission Marketing – Seth Godin
• Don’t Make Me Think – Steve Krug
• 24 Immutable Laws of Marketing – Al & Laura Ries
• Landing Page Optimization – Tim Ash

Remember multi-variant testing i.e. A/B testing to test your landing pages. You can use Google’s Website Optimizer for free.

Dos & Don’ts of Landing Page Design – 7 Deadly Sins of Landing Page Design is a post from: Fuzz One Media

Whilst working on an AdWords account today, I came across a really interesting find – Google AdWords actually allows more than 25 characters in Ad Text headlines. They appear to be testing this feature on text ad headlines using the Dynamic Keyword Insertion i.e. {KeyWord:default text} only. The ad text headline below has 29 characters!
There would have been no way this would have been accepted if it was added the normal way.

What is the Effect of this New Feature?

Well, this added flexibility in the character length of Ad text headlines would certainly improve and increase the ad’s Click Through Rate (CTR) as it would match searchers exact search phrase.

How to Add More than 25 Characters to Your AdWords Ad Text Headline is a post from: Fuzz One Media

I came across this video on YouTube and thought I’d share it with you. Its show cases Google’s Chief Economist, Hal Varian, explaining how the AdWords Ad Auction system determines what you pay per click and how maximum CPC bids and quality scoring are computed.

The Economics of Google AdWords is a post from: Fuzz One Media