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In April, Apple unleashed a new update called Apple iOS 14.5 for iPhone users. The update requires apps to allow users to opt-out of tracking when they download an app from the iStore.

Data is money — and tracking users’ movements and actions online is gold to many companies, especially Facebook, which uses this data to improve ad targeting.

Here’s what the Apple iOS update means to your social media advertising and the potential ramification of Apple’s first strike in the battle for user privacy.

What Is the Apple iOS 14.5 Update?

Like all companies, Apple periodically updates its software to accommodate changes, fix bugs, and shore up its security. The iOS 14.5 update focuses on privacy issues by updating Apple’s app Tracking Transparency Framework (ATTF). The update is intended to provide greater clarity and transparency into companies’ monitoring, tracking, and use of consumer data.

Apple iPhone users always had at least some measure of control over their privacy, if they knew how to go into their settings and set it so that tracking was disabled, but few people had an awareness of just how much and what kinds of data was being tracked. Now, however, every time they download an app to their iPhones, they will be prompted with a message that shows all the types of data that the app will have access to. A pop-up box will appear prompting users to actively accept tracking. The default is now to block tracking on apps installed on iPhones.

What It Means for Social Media Marketing (Especially Facebook)

More control over personal data is a good thing, right? Well, to most consumers, it certainly is a good thing. Consumers were spooked a few years ago when the sheer volume and detail of Facebook’s data tracking activities became known. This, coupled with European GDPR requirements and similar pro-privacy ripples across the world may have encouraged Apple to focus on user privacy in their latest update.

What’s the big deal, then? Consumers may herald this as a ‘win’ for privacy rights. But companies are viewing it with trepidation.

The Impact on Facebook Advertising

One such example of the possible negative impact of Apple’s new privacy stance is with Facebook advertising.

Facebook currently tracks users’ movements through the placement of pixels. Pixels are small pieces of code stored in an app or on a website. When a Facebook user visits a website and takes an action (such as adding a product to the shopping cart or moving on to page or another website), the pixel captures that information and sends it to Facebook. This adds data to the Facebook campaigns which advertisers can use to assess how well various Facebook ads perform.

With the new iOS 14.5 update advertisers will now only be allowed to set up eight prioritized and ranked optimization events for a pixel on a single domain, choosing which event is most important for each campaign, rather than tracking all activity from each visitor to a website. According to Facebook, “Only the highest priority event will be sent whenever a customer takes multiple actions during a conversion window, all other events may report numbers that are lower than expected, even if they are within the 8. These events may still be happening, but they might not reflect in reporting.” That’s going to limit the data that sites are allowed to collect. What if a site has 100 product pages? That will severely curtail the amount of data that can collect from a Facebook campaign.

Another way this will impact marketing is to decrease companies’ abilities to personalize ads. Without data, companies cannot show visitors personalized content. Marketers know that personalized ads work better than impersonal ones.

If advertisers know you’ve been shopping on pet product websites for dog food and toys, showing you ads for dog training products provides you with an ad focused on something you may want. But without the data that shows you own a dog (because you shopped on websites related to dog products, and advertisers track that information), you may see advertisements for rugs instead.

Perhaps you need a new rug (a new puppy in the house?) But it’s just as likely that you’re satisfied with your current rug. It would have made much better sense to show you dog training ads after you visited an e-commerce pet store to purchase dog food, but without the data, advertisers cannot target customers’ interests as effectively. The result may be ads that aren’t as effective because they do not target consumers’ current interests and needs.

Without the relevant and timely data collected from tracking activities, advertising online returns to the digital equivalent of billboard ads: untargeted, generic ads shown to a large number of people in the hopes that one among many is interested in the product.

Revise and Rethink Digital Advertising Strategies

As you can see, the new iOS 14.5 update is likely to have a major impact on digital advertising strategies. We recommend contacting Dashboard Interactive Marketing immediately for a consultation to review and adjust your digital advertising strategy.

There are specific steps that we can take to refine and retarget your ads so that they continue to get you the best possible ROI for your advertising dollar. But we need to take action on your behalf now to prevent the update from negatively impacting your advertising response.

It is likely that other companies will follow Apple’s lead, or that social media sites, that depend on the wealth of data they collect from their users to fill their bank accounts, to push back in other ways against the new privacy updates. This continues to be an unfolding and evolving situation, so we will keep you apprised of any developments.

We welcome your calls to schedule an advertising check up to ensure maximum ROI for your digital ads. Call Dashboard at 763-242-2454 today.

Almost everyone understands the term “vital signs.” When a doctor examines you, she’s looking for specific metrics that assess vital organs. Your blood pressure should be below 120/80, your temperature near 98.6, and so on. If your vital signs match the established baseline for the average human being, you’re considered healthy.

Now take this concept and apply it to websites and you’ll understand the gist of Google Core Vitals. Google announced the Core Vitals Initiative in mid 2020, but you’re forgiven if you may have missed it (hey, there was a pandemic going on.) But now, as the launch date of May 2021 approaches, may websites face the frightening consequences of ignoring critical site infrastructure updates.

Here’s what you need to know about Google core vitals and how your site may be impacted.

A Primer on Google Core Vitals

The new Core Vitals Initiative uses three metrics to assess websites:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
• Cumulative Layout Shift
• First Input Delay

These metrics look more closely at a website’s architecture and technical setup. Other criteria such as user experience, quality content, conversational writing, and appropriate use of keyword phrases continue to be an important part of the (secret) Google equation to determine which pages rank on the first page of search results.

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

There are several ‘givens’ when it comes to websites and the qualities in websites that Google values. Google’s search engine is in the business of matching a user’s inquiry with the best webpage that meets their needs. To do so, it must index millions of pages and serve them into all types of devices – smartphones, tablets, laptops, computers, you name it – within seconds of making a match between inquiry and webpage.

In the case of Google search, seconds count. One of Google’s Core Vitals is website speed. Google measures this using a metric called Largest Contentful Paint (LCP). The ideal LCP is less than 2.5 seconds.

Goodness, but that’s fast. How can you help your website be speedier than a NASCAR driver? Site speed depends on many factors including the hosting server and the framework or programming your site is built upon, but it also depends on the content uploaded on the site, too. Images can bog down your site if they aren’t sized properly, as well as video and audio files and even PDFs.

Cumulative Layout Shift

Have you ever tried to click on a link or a button on a website and you ended up somewhere else? This can happen on a smartphone if the page is resizing to the screen or if the site’s theme doesn’t support a mobile-first approach. The technical term is a cumulative layout shift, and Google has stated the ideal is 0.1 or less.

First Input Delay

First input delay measures how long it takes a website, after loading up, to become interactive. If someone clicks on a link on your site, how long does the site take to respond?

Are You Ready for Core Vitals? Contact Dashboard Interactive for Help

It may seem like Google is really picking at little things here, but little things, as we all know, really do add up. As more and more people navigate the web using smartphones and other handheld devices, the need for sites to be mobile first, not just responsive, has become paramount.

So too has the need for speed online. The new 5G network promises faster delivery speeds, but can websites keep up with them?

Only time will tell how your site will be affected by the Core Vitals Initiative, but one thing is sure – it will be affected, for good or for bad.

We can assess your website’s overall health in a site audit and provide recommendations to get the site to the “peak of health” to pass Google’s new Core Vitals Initiative. If your site is an important lead generation tool for your business, call Dashboard Interactive today to schedule a site audit with a focus on Google Core Vitals. Call 763-242-2454.

When I first heard about Google Analytics 4, I had the same reaction as I did when my cellphone provider announced they were switching to G5 and my old phone wouldn’t work anymore on their network.

“Why do companies always take a good thing and change it?”

But just as the move to G5 on the cellphone service is all about improving user experience (fewer dropped calls), so too is Google’s move to the “G4” platform. Here’s what you need to know about the shift in how Google collects and displays your website data.

Google Analytics 4: It’s All About the User

Google Analytics 4 launched in October 2020 after nearly 15 years of the old Google Analytics platform. The previous Google Analytics platform collected and linked metrics based on the session. This groups all interactions with a website in a time frame.

What’s the difference? Sessions were all about the site: how long people were on the website, where they went, what they clicked. Users, on the other hand, will focus on what people actually do when they come to your website.

By focusing on the specific actions that each user takes, the goal is to add further details to the rich repository of information already available in Google Analytics. It’s all about what the user does on the site rather than what the user does during a specific timeframe.

Capture Data About Interactions

What interactions will the new G4 record? Several important pieces of information including downloads, video views, site clicks, scrolling, outbound clicks and page views, for example, will be captured on the new Google Analytics 4 platform.

This information can be used in many ways. Site owners can see which content encourages click throughs to products or leads visitors deeper into their website. Combined with the existing data in Google Analytics (which remains visible on the updated platform), site owners can now gain a much clearer picture of the actions that people take when they visit their website.

Reflects How Users Visit Websites Today

The original Google Analytics platform was added in 2005. As you can imagine, the way people use the internet has changed dramatically since then. Today’s site visitor is more likely to land on a site from their mobile device or tablet than a desktop unit. Some people switch back and forth among devices. The older platform could not capture cross device visit history. The new Google Analytics 4, however, can track users no matter what type of device they use, and gather consistently useful data on site visitors no matter where, when, or how they visit your website.

Improved Predictive Analytics

Google has always seemed a little uncanny in its ability to predict future actions based on a user’s past behavior. Now, however, the company has improved its machine learning functions in Google Analytics and promises that G4’s improved predictive intelligence will be better able to help marketers serve their customers. We’ll see how accurate it is, but sources say it is a big improvement over past predictive capabilities in Google.

No word on whether or not it can predict the weather, but knowing Google, they’re working on it!

The Bottom Line: Adding Google Analytics 4 Is a Must to Stay Competitive

Smart business owners know that understanding consumer behavior is an important step toward increasing sales. The more information you have about your customers’ behavior once they land on your website, the better you’ll be able to leverage that information to help them find the products and services that they need.

The Dashboard Interactive Marketing Team is already completely up to speed on the transition to Google Analytics 4 and is ready to transition your website to the new reporting method. We’re here to help you both use and interpret the fresh new data available to users of G4. Schedule a consultation now with our team to learn more about how we can help you benefit from the wealth of data available through your website. Call 763-242-2454 today for a consultation.

Among the top trends we’ve seen from the world of content marketing this year is the trend towards refreshing and renewing content. Companies with established blogs are discovering the many benefits of updating old blog posts.

Sure, they’re adding new content – that’s always a smart move. But they’re also taking time to examine older posts and find ways to improve them.

Here are the top 5 reasons why refreshing content is a smart move to kick off your digital marketing program in 2021.

Why You Should Update Your Old Blog Posts: 5 Reasons to Refresh Old Content

Companies who blog get 97% more search engine traffic than companies who do not blog. Many companies have several years of content published to their blogs but haven’t revisited it in quite a long time. They continue to publish new materials, but fail to update older ones.

One truism of blogging is that it’s your older posts that tend to drive the most search engine traffic to a website. Search Engine Journal calls it the “power law” but it’s a fact: on average, 80% of a blog’s traffic is driven by a handful of posts. Most of the time, these are older posts.

There’s gold to be mined from older posts for sure. By reviewing, revising, and refreshing older blog posts, you’ll enhance existing content and make it better able to compete in today’s SEO world.

Why update old posts? Our top five reasons:

1. Fix outdated information and make posts evergreen

When I was a kid, the school handed out our textbooks. New textbooks were ordered on a rotating annual basis: one year the English textbooks were replaced, the next, the math, and so on. Well, in 7th grade I received a social studies textbook that was falling apart. The spine was taped and, worst of all, the text read, “Maybe someday, man will go to the moon.”

Mind you, I was handed this textbook in 1980.

Of course, your blog posts probably aren’t as outdated as my old social studies textbook. But there’s a good chance that your older blog posts contain:

• Industry-specific information that’s outdated
• Best practices that have been replaced by newer methods
• Pre-pandemic advice, such as attending meetings, meeting face to face, etc.
• Outdated statistics
• Broken links

And that’s just for starters. Fixing older blog posts allows you to correct all of this and more and to transform old, outdated posts into evergreen content pieces you’ll be proud to share!

2. Google loves updates and fresh content

Google’s search engine algorithms (the programs that decide whether your page ranks first, second, or 70th in their search engine results for a user’s query) count site updates as activity. While changing one word here or there probably won’t grab the bot’s attention, changing 50% or more may ping the indexing system to take another look at your page. And, with that look comes the chance to boost your post higher in the search engine rankings.

3. Updating keyword choices

Changing the keyword phrase on the page and revising the text for the new phrase enable you to better communicate with search engines what your site is about and rank for new phrases. It’s a chance to go after a particular niche, to stand out from the crowd, and to get visits to your site on search engine queries you may not have ranked for before. Keep in mind that you should always keep the URL of the page the same because changing it can cause massive headaches unless the redirects are set up properly.

4. Improve the competitiveness of your posts

Have you looked at what posts are ranking higher than yours in several search engines? Now is the time to input keywords into search engines and see which posts come up higher than yours in the search results. Then, take a close look at them. Do they contain more information? Better images or videos? Why do you think they rank higher than yours?

Now’s the time to change your older posts to make them more competitive with the posts that are beating yours in the SERPS. The first position in the search engine results page yields 31% of all click-through rates. That’s a lot more traffic than other first page positions. If you’re on the second page or lower in the results, you might as well be invisible. Refreshing content may well enable you to improve your website’s visibility through a better-ranking page.

5. Improve user experience

Let’s face it; some blog posts aren’t as good as others. Some are cluttered with jargon or corporate-speak while others contain boring images. By updating and refreshing old posts, you can replace those boring images, explain jargon clearly, and improve the user experience. The more readers love your blog, the longer they’ll stick around, and the more opportunities you have to cultivate a relationship with them and, ultimately, a lead or a sale.

The Prerequisite to a Blog Refresh: Content Inventory

The first step towards a full blog content refresh is to conduct a content inventory. A content inventory means listing of all the pages on your website. This is similar to a list of all of a company’s products. Next, a content inventory looks for opportunities to improve and refresh older posts, fix broken links, and add links among related posts. It’s a wise step to organize a major content refresh project.

Let the Pros Handle Your Content Refresh

Refreshing older content sounds easy until you roll up your sleeves and dive into it. Then, you realize that updating 1,000 blog posts isn’t as simple as it sounds.

Well, we have a solution for you – let the pros do it! If you are interested in a professional content inventory or refreshing old blog posts, call Dashboard Interactive Marketing. Our content professional has over 20 years of experience working with all types of websites, blogs, and online content. She can conduct a content inventory, identify posts for improvement, and prioritize updating posts based on their potential to boost SEO.

Get your digital marketing off to a strong start in 2021 with a content refresh. Now is a great time to revisit the blog posts you’ve invested in and take them to the next level.

Call Dashboard at 763-242-2454 today.

Websites often display symbols or badges that immediately impart trust, quality, and reliability. A Better Business Bureau symbol, for example, tells customers that you’re willing to have your company’s performance scrutinized and put its reputation on the line for all to see.

A new symbol has emerged as an important trust indicator in the digital age. It’s called the Google Guarantee, and in today’s digital age, it’s an important emblem of quality.

Here’s how to participate in the Google Guarantee, what it means to your company, and what it means to your customers.

What Is a Google Guarantee?

Companies interested in participating in the Google Guarantee program must first be registered with Google local search, then go through a rigorous screening process. The screening process includes a background check, license check and confirmation (if applicable), and an insurance check. Lastly, Google combs through reviews and ratings to ensure the company provides excellent service.

Once Google confirms that your business meets or exceeds their quality standards, they’ll add your business as a Google Guaranteed business to the search engine results. Google Guaranteed businesses appear at the top of search engine listings, so they are the first thing someone sees when they type a query into Google.

For example, a local HVAC contractor who receives the Google Guarantee may appear at the top of the organic search engine results above other companies in their area. The addition of the Google Guarantee means that customers see the guaranteed company’s listing first, resulting in more clicks, calls, and potentially, business.

People looking for local services such as plumbers, HVAC contractors, electricians, painters, gardeners, locksmiths, plumbers and others often search Google when they have a pressing need of such services. They are likely to click on the first listing they see and if you are a participating and approved Google Guarantee business, your business tops the list, making it much more likely to be clicked. The more clicks you receive, the more leads; and the more leads, the more potential business.

Dramatic Results

Google ran a beta test of the program in San Francisco, San Diego, Stockton and Sacramento, California, in February 2020. Businesses participating in the program saw dramatic increases in calls and revenue.

Businesses who participated in the February test received 1800% more leads from Google Guarantee ads than from other types of advertising. Such results could result in higher profits for your company, too, if you participate.

Customers Receive Benefits, Too

It’s not just businesses who benefit. Customers also receive the added assurance that the company they are entrusting with their business has been screened by a third-party.

Google also puts its money behind the guarantee. Work booked with a Google Guaranteed business is backed by a $2,000 warranty. If the customer claims (and can prove) that the job was not done correctly, Google will reimburse the customer up to $2,000.

Getting Started – Call Dashboard Interactive Marketing

As we mentioned earlier, the Google Guarantee program is part of Google’s Local Search Advertising. Dashboard Interactive can create an effective Local Search campaign that includes Google Advertising and other digital marketing methods for maximum return on investment for your business.

Please call Dashboard today to speak with a digital marketing expert. Adding the Google Guarantee listing to your Local Search program can translate into plentiful leads and higher sales.

Call 763-242-2454 to begin the Google Guarantee process or fine-tune your Local Search marketing.

Amazon welcomed 2.63 billion shoppers to its site in January 2018 through February 2019. And, with the global pandemic forcing people to find online retailers for everything from diapers to flour, the company experienced exponential growth throughout 2020. The second-quarter earnings for 2020 were $75 billion.

As people begin considering their holiday shopping needs, Amazon, with its enormous catalog of products and third-party vendors, is likely to become even busier. And with that rush of customers flocking to the site to buy presents for friends and family as well as household staples and supplies, come enormous opportunities for savvy retailers (that’s you.)

Starting on Amazon Can Be Challenging

If you’re already selling on Amazon, you know that the Seller Central dashboard challenges even the most tech-savvy individuals. Setting up product categories, adding images, optimizing text with high traffic, and relevant keywords…it’s enough to make many sellers take their products and try elsewhere.

Stop! With so much opportunity available, maximizing your presence on Amazon as a valued Amazon Seller can mean a lucrative year for your company. Here’s what you need to know to be successful as an Amazon third-party seller.

Amazon Is a Search Engine

First, it’s important to understand that Amazon acts like a giant search engine, only instead of returning articles, videos, and images like Google or Bing does, it returns product listings. Because Amazon functions as a giant product search engine, sellers must apply expert search engine optimization tips to their Amazon listings. This includes discovering keywords, both through keyword research and Amazon research, competitive analysis, and customer feedback.

Utilize Amazon’s Pay Per Click Advertising

Sellers who are serious about maximizing revenues on Amazon also take advantage of the site’s pay-per-click advertising. PPC advertising on Amazon is set up and run similarly to other paid search engine advertising and requires the same research and keyword-based approach.

Amazon Sellers Must Maintain Appropriate Inventory Levels

Another important fact to note is that Amazon dislikes it when sellers constantly run out of inventory and post “back-ordered” notices on their pages.

Why? Because it’s frustrating to customers, and frustrated customers shop elsewhere, which takes them off of the Amazon website and over to competitor websites like Walmart, eBay, and the many other internet shopping options available.

Since the pandemic increased demand in almost all product categories, Amazon has been quick to warn or even temporarily delist companies that fail to maintain adequate and steady inventory levels. Therefore, if you plan to become an Amazon Seller and maximize your Seller presence, you must have a plan to maintain steady inventory levels, even during the holiday season when product demand could be at its peak.

Plan to Space Out Shipments

Amazon also prefers that Sellers space out their shipments instead of sending all of their inventory at once to a distribution center. Although Amazon continues to build new warehouses and distribution centers nationwide, the unprecedented demand has strained their resources. By requiring third party Sellers to space out shipments, the company is hoping to take some of the strain off of their centers.

Late with Shipments? Be Careful

Lastly, if you’re constantly late with shipments to your customers or Amazon for distribution, be careful. The company takes late shipping seriously and prefers to have a steady pipeline of products to offer their customers. Failing to adhere to this system may get you removed from the site.

Amazon Seller Central – We Have a Solution!

As you can see, there’s enormous potential for revenue growth, and looming pitfalls, for those wishing to sell through Amazon. Amazon Seller Central can be challenging to navigate and use. Maximizing product listings and maintaining inventory levels takes skill and experience.

Fortunately, Dashboard Interactive Marketing has a solution. We are now offering experienced Amazon Seller Central consulting that can enhance and improve your Seller presence on Amazon. Our consultants review your Amazon Seller Central presence to maximize revenues. The results: improvements that lead to higher sales, enhanced Seller reputation, and repeat customers.

If you are interested in speaking with a Dashboard Interactive Marketing, Amazon Seller Central Consultant, give us a call at 763-242-2454.

I would like to use this blog post to honor and thank Roy Larson. Roy was not only a client, but a friend and one of our biggest cheerleaders. He was a family man who was appreciative of what he’d been given and would beam when he talked about his wife and kids. Roy was a man of true character and faith and always acknowledged God as the source of his blessings.

I was introduced to Roy by a mutual friend who mentioned that he thought that my company might be able to assist Roy’s former company (entero LLC), which was later purchased by BCforward.

We shared a common vision and we were fortunate to be able to work closely with Roy and his team. He talked about the importance of integrity and truly walked the talk. Roy’s values were integrated into the company and he managed a team of very talented people who were like-minded and it was an honor to be able to support them. He cared deeply about his employees and considered us to be extended members of his team.

Roy and I stayed in contact after entero was sold and he often made introductions on our behalf. He was appreciative of our work and wanted others to know. He was a vocal cheerleader and encourager and I will forever be thankful. I’ll always remember our lunches and how much he cared for members of my team. At the beginning of each meeting or call he would ask how’s Robyn doing? How’s Jeanne doing? And how’s Jenny doing? He truly cared and wanted to know.

I am thankful for having had the opportunity to get to know Roy and for his support and friendship. Our team is thankful as well. His passing was difficult and unexpected and I am a better person because of Roy. Roy was a ray of sunshine and he will be missed. The world is a better place because of Roy Larson.

With great respect,

Duane Coleman
Dashboard Interactive Marketing

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) or Conversion Optimization offers a focused and detailed approach to website optimization and the optimization of other digital properties. Instead of guessing what makes customers take action on a page, CRO uses scientific testing and analytics to guide web page and other revisions. By testing, analyzing, and implementing the results over time, you can boost the response rate among your existing website visitors.

The Benefits of Conversion Rate Optimization
Companies can achieve many benefits by using conversation rate optimization. These benefits include:

• Leveraging existing analytics and other tracking data to increase response rates
• Improving sales without increasing overall traffic
• Testing changes that can be rolled out to other web pages
• Making decisions on web page changes based on data rather than guesswork
• Providing a better customer experience by discovering what’s distracting people from finding what they need

How Companies Use CRO

Companies use conversion rate optimization in a variety of ways. We’ve seen companies use CRO to decrease bounce rates, increase email subscriptions, sell more products, and improve their lead capture pages. Below are a couple of real-world examples that demonstrate the power of conversion optimization to increase new sales leads and sell more product online.

Email List Opt-In for a Plastic Surgeon’s Office

This plastic surgery office and “med spa” provides both traditional plastic surgery procedures and medical aesthetic treatments (such as Botox injections to reduce wrinkles). The practice manager who was in charge of marketing for the office knew that once people signed up for their email list, they were likely making an appointment for a procedure.

As part of her marketing strategy, she built a landing page with an email list opt-in form. The doctor’s office offered a free e-book on treatments to reverse the signs of sun-damaged skin as part of the enticement for people to sign up for the email list.

The practice manager began an inbound acquisition campaign to drive traffic to the landing page. The numbers were impressive, but the conversion rate of visitors to email subscribers was low. Only about 1% of visitors opted in to receive the free book. She knew in her heart that something was discouraging people from signing up, but what?

Conversion rate optimization held the answer. The practice manager changed the headline of the landing page from “Options to Treat Sun-Damaged Skin – Free Book” to “In One Hour, You Can Look 10 Years Younger!”

The response rate improved from 1% to 4%, a noticeable increase. New data from the digital marketing team convinced her to remove a navigation bar at the top of the page. She thought that customers might want to review the office’s credentials and other services. Still, when the team examined the data, they found that if people clicked on the navigation buttons to learn more about the doctor, the office, or the services, they never returned to the opt-in page. They left without taking action.

After changing the headline of the landing page and the e-book, and removing the navigation bar at the top of the page, the page’s conversion rate of visitors to opt-ins soared to 11%. She is still making changes to the site but always uses data to back her decisions. Data, the practice manager has found, is her new best friend when making marketing decisions!

An e-Commerce Site Improves Visitor to Sales Conversion Ratio

Our second company is an online children’s toy store – with a twist. This store specializes in hand-crafted wooden toys made by the Amish and Mennonite communities in Ohio. Children’s blocks, wooden rocking horses, beautifully carved farm animals, wheeled trucks and toys, and similar hand-made toys offer children countless hours of fun.

The company’s e-commerce site does well, but after reviewing their product categories, they realized that one page, in particular, lagged in sales. Wooden rocking horses were a popular search term and generated thousands of visits per month to the site, but those visits rarely resulted in a sale. Why didn’t customers purchase a wooden rocking horse when they were looking for one in their search patterns?

The company worked with a CRO team and discovered that customers left the site after reaching a particular spot on the page. It took several tests to determine what was causing people to suddenly leave the page – the shipping charges. Because wooden rocking horses are large and heavy, they require higher shipping fees.

The company decided to raise the price of the wooden rocking horses slightly but offer free shipping and handling. They tested the change and saw a slight increase in sales. Emboldened by this decision, they now tried a large, brightly colored banner across the top of the page promising free delivery. Sales soared. With additional testing, they rolled out a new, free shipping policy across their website. Sales nearly doubled within two months of the test. By wrapping shipping costs into the cost of the item itself instead of tacking on an additional fee, they were able to improve sales significantly.

CRO: Put the Science to Work for Your Web Pages

No two companies use CRO in precisely the same way, but many companies can benefit from implementing a conversation rate optimization program on an existing website. By leveraging the analytics from your existing pages and making alterations based on test data, you can make incremental improvements for lasting increases in conversion rates.

Dashboard Interactive Marketing offers conversion rate optimization and a full complement of digital marketing services. Our team includes digital marketing strategists, CRO specialists, social media experts, skilled writers, videographers and graphic designers, and others to scale your marketing for optimal results. Call us today at 763-242-2454 for a consultation.