3 Must-See SEO Infographics to Help You Reach Higher Search Rankings

If you’re like me, you need a little more than ideas to convince you of something. So, here are three must-see SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Infographics to speed your web-optimization quest with statistical fuel:

1) SearchMetrics’ Ranking Factors

SearchMetrics is a Search Engine Optimization company that specializes in helping businesses achieve top search engine results (SERPs). They put together this infographic to clarify what factors contribute to higher Google search rankings:

2) Search Engine Land’s Periodic Table of SEO

Search Engine Land is a content-based resource for your SEO education. I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with their content. This is a resource they put together to help you assess what elements were essential in the development of a high-ranking website:

3) SpringBoard’s SEO On-Page Checklist

SpringBoard SEO is another company specializing in helping websites reach their maximum search engine rankings and web traffic. This company put together a checklist to help you guarantee that your web pages are maximized for search engines:

My recommendation is this: As you work to develop or improve your website, keep these factors in the back of your mind. Rememberthese small factors while working on both your on-page and off-page optimization efforts, and you should see a steady increase in search ranking in just a few short months!

Questions? Comments? Other helpful infographics? Share below!

How to Make Every Detail of Your Web Site Perfect: A Look at Crate & Barrel’s Strategy

Photo Credit: Reuters.com

Crate & Barrel’s Story

For those of you who are unaware of the brilliant, beautiful retailer called Crate & Barrel, allow me to introduce you. Crate & Barrel was founded in the 1960’s by an inspired newlywed couple in Chicago, Illinois. According to Crate & Barrel’s Web site, the couple had recently returned from their honeymoon to Europe, when they set out to make the chic and beautiful European home furnishings available in the United States. This endeavor led them throughout Europe, buying directly from glassblowers, coppersmiths, and bistros. When the couple returned home, they had no funds to purchase displays f0r their merchandise, so they stacked everything on the shipping crates and overseas barrels that brought the goods to America. Thus, the name Crate & Barrel.

 

Beautiful, Both In-Person and Online

If you have ever shopped in Crate & Barrel, you will see that its store aesthetic harkens back to that of its original 1960s stores. Its European-inspired furniture, glassware, dishes, throw pillows and decor are all displayed on unassuming shelves in an airy, inspiring layout. Each product is carefully lined up in rows, stacks, bins and buckets to assemble a beauty-by-sheer-quantity look. Crate & Barrel stores include convenient wedding registries, friendly staff, and beautiful whites and wood tones that beckon you to buy.

Crate & Barrel Store

Though the stores are a sight to be seen, in my opinion, the real brilliance of Crate & Barrel’s merchandising lies in its online store, where Crate & Barrel has leveraged Web analytics, multivariate testing and A/B Testing to ensure that its Web Site converts the maximum amount of site visitors into sales. Here’s how they did it:

 

What Exactly is Multivariate Testing?

Let’s start with “multivariate testing.” According to VisualWebSiteOptimizer.com, multivariate testing requires directing different Web site visitors to different versions of the Web site in order to test which version of the Web site produces the desired outcome. Items such as headlines, tag lines, images, colors, buttons, text, logo placement, etc. are manipulated in the test groups to see which items generate sales, clicks-through, or donations, or whatever site’s key performance indicators (KPIs) are.

Here is a visual that may help you understand multivariate testing:

Image Credit: Visual Web Optimizer

 

What Exactly is A/B Testing?

Along with multivariate testing is “A/B Testing.” According to Optimizely, A/B Testing is the process of “pitt[ing] two variations against each other.” A good example of A/B testing is changing the text on a check out button to read “Buy Now” or “Checkout” and testing with two random groups to see which button generates more sales. Other items can be manipulated as well, including the check out button’s color, placement, size, etc. This may help you visualize A/B Testing:

Image Credit: Optimizely

By testing literally every detail of a Web site, multivariate and a/b testing can help companies identify the most compelling layout to psychologically stimulate customers to perform the desired actions.

 

How Crate & Barrel Used Testing to Perfect its Site

Crate & Barrel uses multivariate and a/b testing to continue to improve its Web site, according to Examiner.com. Joan King, Crate & Barrel’s ECommerce Director and Site Optimizer and Analyst, explained that Crate & Barrel saw a 20% increase in conversion rate “due to simple changes in wording and color,” according to Examiner.com. Crate & Barrel is ALWAYS testing, and many of the tests run for two weeks at a time to allow Crate & Barrel to get an accurate read on how site visitors are responding to the small changes. Here is what the site looks like on my computer today. It may look just slightly different for you or just slightly different tomorrow because Crate & Barrel is constantly using Web analytics to improve its site.

Crate & Barrel Homepage: December 9, 2013

 

Where Web Analytics Comes In to Perfecting Web Sites

Now that we’ve discussed how Crate & Barrel changes visual elements on its Web site to improve the aesthetics and conversion rate of its Web Site, let’s examine how exactly they know which visual variations are winning out. Crate & Barrel uses the Searchmetrics software for its SEO Analytics, and it uses Omniture SearchCenter for its Web Analytics. Omniture provides Crate & Barrel with a whole slew of Web analytics data, but a few funnels receive the majority of the attention when testing different visual elements. (Refresher from an earlier blog of mine: Funnels are “path[s] that you expect visitors to take on the way to a conversion goal,” according to Web Metrics & SEO Lesson 6.)

According to a Lecture given by Joan King, Crate & Barrel keeps a close eye on its “Confirm page” and on those who proceed to check out without ever completing the transaction at the “Confirm page.” This information helps determine if the visitors were converted into sales. With each visual element change, Joan King and her team are asking, “Did this element do better or worse at driving site visitors to the confirm page?” If the answer is yes, then the element is implemented (and possibly vetted against other options in the future). Monitoring this funnel and the actions visitors take to get to the goal page (Confirm) helps ensure that each tweak is helping Crate & Barrel get closer to a perfect Web site both aesthetically and logically.

How to Make this Work For You

If you want to perform multivariate and/or a/b testing on your Web site, there are services you can subscribe to that will help you pull off this testing. One of the companies I mentioned earlier, VisualWebSiteOptimizer.com, does just that. Or, you may be able to perform your own version of multivariate or a/b testing by modifying specific visual elements of your Web site and leaving them active for a couple weeks at a time. Though this will not get as accurate of a read (due to different time frames, instead of simultaneous testing), it can shed some light on which elements preform better. Then, as these elements are implemented, use your Google Analytics account to keep an eye on your Multi-Channel Funnels and on your goal pages (i.e. your “confirm” page, or your “Thank you” page). Also keep an eye on the traffic flow people follow in your site, and keep an eye on your E-Commerce reports (specifically your Sales Performance Report and your Time-To-Purchase Report) to see if the changes are resulting in the conversions you wish to earn.

Armed with tested and tried data, you’ll be well on your way to perfecting the details of your Web site and increasing your conversion rate.

Google Analytics: Why Less is More in Small Business Web Analytics

Before this year, I had very little exposure to Google Analytics. In fact, I had very little exposure to Web metrics at all, but as I have spent time analyzing the traffic patterns on Web sites, as well as the referral sources, clicks-through, landing pages, social shares and mentions and the ways that blogs contribute to corporate search engine optimization, I have begun to fall in love with the importance of analyzing Web site traffic. Now, I know you are busy and do not have the time you need to sit down and watch how people interact with your Web site, but might I suggest considering spending even twenty minutes per day checking to make sure your Web site is doing what you intend for it to do. Remember less is more. Starting some Web analytics can make the world of a difference over no Web analytics at all.

Where to Start with Web Analytics

Let’s start with intentions, using this blog as an example. My intentions for this blog are to provide content that engages readers, welcoming you all to click on multiple articles and spend time learning from the things I have learned. Beyond that, I hope that my site will allow you to see that Amy Bayer Marketing can help your company with many of the day-to-day marketing tasks that you may not have time for or with which you may want to employ our expertise. So that you can get me and my team on your team, helping you accomplish your business’ goals. With these two key performance indicators (KPIs) in mind, let’s take a look at how Google Analytics says I am performing.

Why Google Analytics is Probably Sufficient for You

As an aside, I am using Google Analytics because it is a free service, available at no cost for just about everyone (unless your website has over 10 million visits per month, in which case it will cost you $150,000 per year). Google Analytics is set up to allow you to track traffic for just about any function of your website. For most companies, Google Analytics is sufficient, but for those desiring more in-depth data, I recommend looking into HubSpot, GoSquared, Hootsuite, ClickTale, IBM Digital Analytics, Mixpanel, Piwik (free), VisiStat, XiTi, Adobe Site Catalyst and other fee-for-service analytics providers.

Getting Started with Google Analytics

To get started with Google Analytics, open an account, indicate which Web site you want to track, and generate a tracking code to plug into your site. Opening another window on your browser, bring up your site and insert the tracking code. For more information on tracking code placement, read this article on Yoast.

Once you have inserted the tracking code into your Web site, you are ready to begin tracking. After about a week or so, your site will have captured data about site visitors, their time on your site, the average number of pages they viewed, how long they spent on each page, where they were located when they visited your site, what Web browser they used when visiting your site, if their visits generated any revenue for your company, what operating system they were using when they viewed your site, who their internet provider is, and what their typical flow through your website is, including the page from which people typically leave your website. Surprising, isn’t it? The way I see it is:

Just think of what you could do, armed with such expansive data, to improve your website or cater your marketing efforts toward the needs and wants of your target audience as expressed in their use of your website!

My Most Important Metrics

Obviously, unless a company has a full-time analytics team, it is going to have a difficult time leveraging all of the data available in every area of digital communications. So, selecting most important metrics can be helpful. Again, these key metrics should be chosen based on your company’s key performance indicators. Here are some of the most helpful metrics Google Analytics has provided me in dealing with the key performance indicators of this blog:

• Visitors Flow: This gives a visual representation of where people click, then click next, then click next on my blog. This helps me to discern which pages are driving traffic to which pages. This metric is helpful in blogging because it indicates which pages drive people to new blog posts. In the world of e-commerce, this metric can be particularly helpful in determining which pages drive site visitors toward the purchasing pages. Here is a visual of Visitors Flow in action: 
  

Screenshot: Google Analytics Visitors Flow

• Average Visit Duration: The Average Visit Duration metric is helpful for Web sites that are seeking to engage readers with content. And, this metric can be helpful for companies that have found that sheer time exposure to a product boosts sales of that product. Either way, Average Visit Duration is helpful for me as a blogger in that it indicates how much time people are spending reading the content I am developing. Google Analytics makes it easy for you and includes this metric in the dashboard, so it is one of the reports you can have easy-access to.
• Location: This metric may not be as helpful for someone in the service industry or for a communicator/blogger as it would be for a product distributor, but it is absolutely fascinating! When pulling up the Location metric in Google Analytics, it displays as a map of “hotspots,” indicating from where your site visitors are coming. It can also display the language in which they are reading your Web site. This can be helpful for product distributors, as it can shed light on which region of the country and of the world could benefit from a manufacturing, distribution or retail location due to high demand. Here is what it looks like:

Screenshot: Google Analytics Location

• Frequency & Recency: These metrics go beyond the simple “unique visitors” metric to explore HOW OFTEN the same individual visits the site and HOW RECENTLY did they visit. This metric is helpful for bloggers and other Web sites seeking to build affinity and loyalty because it provides concrete numbers of how many people are coming back. It can also be helpful for events-based organizations seeking to boost attendance at events, as they can see how many people continue to come visit the digital events calendar. More, it can be invaluable for e-commerce websites seeking to solicit repeat sales from customers. As a side note, many companies in the direct marketing industry leverage frequency and recency for a system called “predictive analytics.” Predictive Analytics couples frequency and recency with monetary value to discern which customers are the most likely to spend, what they are likely to buy (based on their purchase history and aggregate data from others like them), and how much they are likely to spend. Companies like Coldwater Creek leverage predictive analytics to boost sales and customer loyalty.

These are four metrics I like. The Google Analytics list goes on and on, and they’re all free! My suggestion is this – set up an account, start tracking, and choose four metrics that you want to keep an eye on. Then, spend maybe 20 minutes per day looking at the data and making adjustments to your website. In the end, those 20 minutes per day could end up being the most financially lucrative 20 minutes of your day. Who knows? You may just find a fluke in your website that is keeping people from being able to check out, or driving them away for some silly reason. Either way, Web analytics can pay off greatly in the long run while still keeping in focus the principle LESS IS MORE.