SEO

I make my landing pages fight to get placed on my site

A lot of people I know split test headlines and different aspects of their landing page.

But, how many split test their entire landing page? Not many. Even some really experienced Internet Marketing guys either are too lazy or don’t realize the power of some advanced split testing.

Did you know that a seemingly irrelevant factor like the color of a button or the location of a headline can make or break an entire marketing campaign?

People always ask me how I know this stuff. How do I know that a button moved 5 inches to the right or using red or blue instead of yellow is going to make that much of a difference?

The first tool I use is called a heatmap.

It tells me what on my page is getting attention (clicks) and what isn’t. It’s a higher level tool than simply analyzing data to see what people clicked on, because it literally shows you WHERE they clicked. Some of the more elaborate ones even have movie taking abilities to show you where the mouse went, so you can study that data.

Did you know that grocery stores put the milk in the back on purpose?

Yes, they do. I know because I used to work at one when I was a teenager. They do it because they know most people buy milk and in order to get to the milk you will have to pass by other items, and maybe you will buy another item impulsively.

This is the same as online landing pages, if you put everything someone needs right at the top, they might not see your entire page. This then becomes a debate if you want them to read your copy or if you want them to just take immediate action. Do you want them to get the milk from the front or from the back? Well, you don’t know what’s going to be most effective if you aren’t split testing and using heatmaps.

A lot of marketers do split testing and track pages, but they don’t get down as deep as a heatmap. I think it’s a brilliant tool. You can get some nice software from crazyegg.com or clicktale.com.

Here’s how I make my landing pages compete to get placed on my site

Interesting concept, right? Well, it works. Why should a landing page be any different than anything else.

One of my processes of beginning a split test.

Ironic side note: I don’t start a split test with a split test.

I think a lot of people begin split testing a little prematurely. I generally will start with one page, and have that page outfitted with things like crazyegg, and various analytic tools like Google Analytics, depending on the niche or the project. Then, I will watch that data for a few days to a week, again depending on the niche or the project.

After I have studied some data and have a good idea of what my current traffic is looking for, or not looking for. I’ll begin my split tests. The next step in this process is to create 2 additional landing pages using the data from the first phase to base the tests off of. At this point, you are using data but you are also partially guessing, so you have to make 2 to be effective.

This is where the actual split test begins for me, not sooner.

Why not sooner? I don’t have data yet. I don’t think you should blindly create split tests with 0 data, unless that is your only option for whatever reason. Like I did with my Homeless Split testing Case Study, I spent a lot of time observing homeless people, writing down notes, and gathering data before I actually incorporate a first split test. I couldn’t use a heatmap in the real world, so I was left to utilize my god given talents of observation

So, I’ve gone from 1 page gathering data to 2 pages now split testing based on that data.

This is now where my landing pages start fighting with one another. If they want to stay on my site, they must duke it out and prove to me that they are better than the other. And, sometimes (a lot of the time) I’ll find that something from each page is good, and I’ll then go into another round of split testing, guessing again what those elements are that would make up 2 (or more) additional split tests.

This process can go on and on…

It sounds like an endless battle, and quite frankly it is. The good thing however, is that when you put this much effort, thought and split testing into landing pages, usually after a few of these tests you have something that is converting really well. All you’re doing from here out is ensuring that everything keeps converting for you and that you are always maximizing the traffic coming to your landing pages.

 

 

 

 

————-
Source
Daily Conversions