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10 Great Myths of the Internet. Amy Africa, amy@eightbyeight.com Sponsored by Merit Direct * October 4, 2007. Today’s Agenda…. Shopping Carts Navigation Entry Pages E-mail (Thrust and Trigger) NCASE Web 2.0 Statistics and more….
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10 Great Myths of the Internet Amy Africa, amy@eightbyeight.com Sponsored by Merit Direct * October 4, 2007
Today’s Agenda… • Shopping Carts • Navigation • Entry Pages • E-mail (Thrust and Trigger) • NCASE • Web 2.0 • Statistics and more…
Myth #1:A good shopping cart abandonment rate is 10% or less.
A good AR is about 60%. • If you don’t have about 60% – you aren’t selling hard enough • How do you get more of them? • Key metrics: • Unique visitors to carts • Cart to completed orders • How to convert them: • Clean, efficient checkout with temperature bar • Limited distractions • Capture E-mail Address (#1 technique) • Use aggressive converting techniques • Pop-ups • E-mails • Telemarketing
Myth #2:E-mail is free. You should mail everyone & everything every single time.
It’s all about deliverability. • Factors that are important in e-mail • Content • Segmentation • Deliverability • Format – #2 most underestimated factor • From address • Personalization, including the “to” address • Subject line • First two lines of your e-mail
Navigation is a self-fulfilling prophecy. • Largest determinant of a site’s success. Period. • What type of navigation? • C Navigation: Top/Left/Bottom Navigation • Consider other types of navigation • Problem/Solution • If something is important you need to showcase it more than once • Your navigation should be so solid that the user never relies on text search
Myth #4:Text search is a good thing. Every site should have it.
Text search = abandons. • Text search is a necessary evil…. Sometimes! • People search differently • Men • Women • If you have to do it – do it right: • Get a good program • If you do it yourself: • Populate effective Thesaurus and Spelling options • Respond on failed searches • Pop-ups • Emails • Live Chat • Monitor results • Track what people are looking for
Myth #5:Your home page is the most important page on your site.
Entry pages are the most important pages. • Develop strong pages for all major category, product lines and products • Supports all marketing programs • PPC, Organics and Alternates • Email Marketing • Hubs • It is the first page many people see – make a good impression so they bounce • Not every page needs to be an entry page, in fact, most shouldn’t
Myth #6:Your site should change once a week, preferably on Monday.
Sites should change based on traffic patterns. • Look at repeat visitors • Change only the things that will make a difference, don’t change just to change • Do not change the C
Myth #7:When it comes to the web, aesthetics matter the most.
Aesthetics often matter the least… • Contrary to popular belief, websites are all about functionality • SEM doesn’t consider “pretty” • Users see things on the web in visuals • Search Engines see things in text • Design for the view
PPC is a right-hand column function • Organics convert better and they typically have higher LTP • Develop a program for alternates • Use data feeds
Myth #9:Web 2.0 is THE killer application. If you aren’t using it, you’re an idiot.
Most companies aren’t even at web .05! • Web 2.0 (in this context social networking) • Very expensive • Not masking the original problems of a site • Adding community to your site may be the kiss of death if you don't have good navigation and structure for your website. • Do the basics very well – then you can move to next level
Myth #10:You need the latest and greatest technology to market on the web.
It’s all about the basics… • You should know what’s inside the box before you think out of it. • Solid navigation • Great product presentation • Standard formatting • Leading people to the sale • Intuitive checkout • Understanding of stats • Email Capture • Trigger and Thrust email programs
The web is the main driver of incremental business… • Most companies are living in the offline world – so it’s self-fulfilling • Companies are not allocating the resources to the web • Marketing dollars • Manpower • Technical innovation
Myth #12:Statistical packages are over 90% accurate and will help you make good, solid decisions.
Truth is, they’re about 55% accurate. • What is important to look at? • Unique Traffic -- New and Repeat and by Source • AAUS – Active Average User Session • Critical usage pages -- entry/exit/most popular pages • Search Stats • Key Benchmarks • Unique visitors/Carts • Carts/Completed Orders • Checkout Funnel • Email Sign-ups • Trends are more important than the stats