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Great article I just came across about SEO campaigns and how to set expectations for them especially now during this difficult economy.

It talks about setting real expectations for your SEO campaigns. You shouldn’t freak out if you’re not listed on page one of Google’s search results page right away. SEO isn’t simple and there are a whole slew of things that affect the positioning within the search engines. Moving toward the top of those listings is going to take some time and effort. It’s not going to happen over night. Some people tend to get frustrated because the results are not instantaneous like it is with pay-per-click. SEO is an effective, long-term investment, but the results are going to take some time. If you know this and understand this right off the bat, this will help you know what to realistically expect from your SEO campaign.

First page rankings depend on many things such as keyword competitiveness, link popularity, and content volume. You need to know that your listing is not guaranteed a page one result in the SERPs and that you cannot simple “move” your organic listing to page one. Making sure the person who approves the budget for SEO understands this should help you from the beginning.

Make sure you are measuring the right thing. While increasing the number of visits from the search engines should be a goal of your SEO campaign, it shouldn’t be the only data point you want to measure to prove the value of your campaign. Take time to identify your calls to action and know what your conversion goals are. What is your company trying to measure? What is their goal? Once you know that, you can then measure each conversion point within the sales funnel.
Maybe it’s a request for more information, a newsletter sign-up, a brochure download, or an application submission. Having all this data and being able to tie it back to other reference points with your SEO program will help you prove the value of the increase in search engine traffic.

Setting a baseline to measure progress over time is extremely important.
Don’t forget that the search engines need time to index your web pages.
Try looking at month-to-month comparisons as opposed to daily comparisons, as the month to month data tends to be more realistic. Understanding the month-to-month implications of your SEO efforts is important. Don’t give up on your entire SEO plan just because you notice a slight dip in one day’s results after you have changed something, like the heading tags, for example. Looking at the day-to-day data can be interesting and even become quite addictive, you should make a habit of comparing the month over month data.

Make sure you understand what’s working and what isn’t working. Keeping a log of the dates on which you implemented each SEO activity can help you do this.
Any data that you can tie back to your SEO activities will help you justify your need for SEO—especially now when budgets are so tight.

In summary, if you are setting realistic goals, measuring your performance towards reaching those goals over time, and if you are identifying key conversion points, you should be on your way to having success and longevity with your SEO campaign.

I just watched a really good introduction webinar on Google Website Optimizer tool. You use this tool to test different variations of your landing pages and then you determine which version is generating more conversions for you. This is a great tool—and it’s free!

They went over some common misconceptions about using WO in this webinar and I want to address some of them here.

1. Many people think that you need an Adwords campaign to use Website Optimizer.
You do not. You only need to have an Adwords username and password, but you do not have to actually run a campaign.

2. You will only need to create a WO account in order to use the tool.
This is not true. You will need to have a Google Analytics account in order to use the Website Optimizer. This is the only way that your results can be measured.

3. There is a big difference between an A/B-test and a Multivariate test.
Not really.
With an A/B test, you create two different versions of a web page or landing page.
The WO will automatically split your visitors to either page A or page B.
A/B tests are good to use for first time tests, layout tests, and pages that receive lower traffic.

With a Multivariate test, only one web page is created. You then tell the Website Optimizer which sections of this page you want to vary. For example, you want some visitors to see the page containing picture A combined with text B, and others to see the page containing picture B combined with text C. The Website Optimizer will rotate the content of the sections you indicated, so different visitors see different versions of the page. Multivariate testing helps to maximize conversion rates, discover winning combinations, and allows you to test dozens of versions of a page.

4. With an A/B-test, you can test only two versions of a page
The name A/B can be somewhat misleading, but in reality you can test an almost unlimited number of pages at the same time in an A/B test. You just need to specify that you have alternative pages when you are setting up your test. Google’s WO best practices suggest that you start testing with a small number of variations, but you can certainly test more than two versions.

5: With an A/B-test, you can test very different webpage-designs simultaneously
This one is actually true. You can create two versions of a website that are completely different, and then test which one converts better. It isn’t really recommended that you do this though because if one page performs significantly better than the other page you don’t really know what caused it. You won’t really know what to tweak on that page to further improve its performance.

Some best practices in testing that they recommended:

1. Test a small number of variations.
2. Test big changes.
3. Consider early indicators if you don’t have enough conversions.
4. Don’t jump to conclusions! Less than two weeks worth of data is no good—so be patient, don’t freak out, and allow time for the data to be collected.

The economic downturn has changed the behavior of many users when it comes to landing page optimization. While small, well-tested moves have generally been the best approach when it comes to optimizing, the state of the economy has forced many people to make changes to the way the have viewed optimizing in the past.

Now is a great time to optimize your landing pages! You should not only review all the best practices that you have used and applied in the past, but you should be willing to try some new things when it comes to optimization—things that maybe weren’t in the “old rulebook.”

Here are some examples that you may find useful.

Try being bolder!
You should be willing to try enlarging your call to action, placing it in a more noticeable, “out front” location. Your landing page should really be as eye-catching and as in your face as possible. Audience are very easily distracted, so you need to have something that will really reach out and grab them and get their attention. We know in the past, smaller changes were preferred when optimizing landing pages, but since times are less stable now, it’s worth considering a larger redesign rollout.

Be willing to add options.
Users nowadays are searching for a variety of needs. Marketers should try and remember that their audience is searching for more information and not just making purchases or commitments. Landing pages should be re-worked for a more info-seeking audience.

Keep an eye on your competitors.
In the past pay-per-click marketers have been aware of their competition but maybe haven’t focused too much energy on what they were doing. The main reason for this was that marketers couldn’t be sure at what level their competitors are converting or if they are even converting at all. But now IS the time to be paying more attention to your competitors. Watch for any new site functions they are using and if there are any changes in their content. You should ask yourself what user needs are your competitors answering. And then make sure your own landing page is also answering those user needs.

But there are still some best practices that you shouldn’t forget about completely…some are more important now than ever.

Always be testing!
This is especially important as you are making bigger and bolder changes to your landing page. Once you implement the change, you should allow for enough time for the relevant data to be collected, and then you can closely examine the results. You shouldn’t mistake bold changes for frivolous ones. Try and focus more time on testing the optimization techniques.

Stay calm.
Try and keep your cool, no matter what results come back. Many things are changing these days—including spending patterns and budgets, and so that has to be kept in mind. When you’re evaluating the performance of a landing page and collecting data and implementing changes, remember to keep calm. You will be in the right mind frame to make the needed adjustments.

This next year will see many changes to online marketing tactics—the PPC marketers who will be willing to change with the times are going to be the most successful.
Try and put your energy into making sure each visitor to your landing page becomes a customer. Landing page optimization is such an important element in a successful pay-per-click campaign. Optimizing, tweaking, and fine-tuning really may be the best thing you can do to survive a weakened economy.

I just came across a great article about landing page optimization and some rules to follow when trying to optimize your landing pages. These are great things to keep in mind while optimizing and if you follow these rules, you should see an increase in the number of conversions you receive. This article discusses seven things to keep in mind—seven “rules” if you will. There are obviously many more than seven things to do when looking at what matters and what’s important on your landing page, but this is a great start. These basic elements have been used consistently in landing page optimization and have shown great results.

1. Your headline should be very clear and direct.
The headline is the first thing your user will see once getting to your landing page. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, right? Same holds true in the online world. Your headline should be a simple statement of what your user is trying to accomplish. The goal is to get the user to understand that the rest of the content on that page is in line with completing their desired goal.

2. Whitespace has a high value.
Your user isn’t going to read all of the text on your web page. They are going to scan the text and take away only certain elements that they need to decide whether or not the page is relevant to what they are looking for. Having a clean use of space allows them to scan and absorb the key messages.

3. Your Value Proposition Should be Delivered Quickly and Directly.
If your user cannot easily and quickly understand what your product or service is and the benefits of them, they will quickly bounce from your site. Your value proposition should state why would they want to buy from you over any of your competitors. Keep them limited to three or four bullet points and don’t mince words. Be direct and to the point.

4. Have a Persuasive Message Directly Above the Call to Action.
This is your chance to persuade your user into buying your product or service. Your landing page is sort of like an online salesman. You want to make sure you have one final strong persuasive message above the call to action.

5. Large Red Buttons Help.
It’s been found that red buttons can by themselves raise your conversion rate. Green also works, but if there is a color that wins, it’s red. Size matter, too. You want to make sure your users notice where the button is when they land on your page.

6. Your Call to Action Copy Matters.
It’s been found that some call to actions can be harmful to your conversion rate. Words like “Buy,” “Subscribe,” or “Add to Cart” seem to sometimes scare users into committing when they aren’t yet ready to. This can produce lower conversion rates. Try using softer calls to action like “Try it Now.” “Try it” infers a “risk free” trial, so it actually ends up improving conversions by getting more users into the funnel.

7. Trust and Security Icons are Incredibly Persuasive
Brand, trust and security icons as well as testimonials deliver confidence messages that can have a tremendous impact on conversion. Users on even the largest web sites are influenced by seeing these images and messages on a web site. Having logos like eTrust, HackerFree, and Better Business Bureau really help to improve your conversion rates.

Great things to keep in mind when trying to optimize your landing pages!