Tag Archives: websites

So a guy walks into an office and offers UX services…

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Doing a first-time UX consultation, I sometimes feel like an auto mechanic walking into a buggy shop circa 1905 and trying to tell the carriage maker that the horses will soon be outclassed. It’s hard to consult from a defensive position, even when the writing is on the wall that things are changing. The main issue is that the service I offer is often seen as either redundant to current efforts or entirely unnecessary… or even nonexistent.

Even with the prevalence of social media in our culture and the fact that customers are becoming extraordinarily sophisticated in their methods and ability to access online media, there still remains a level of disconnect. The old methodologies of dealing with customers is amazingly stuck in the past. It is often driven by the marketing department and utilizes communications techniques used in traditional advertising. The message is broadcast, the results are monitored and changes are made to correct any missed opportunities. Analytics suites and lead tracking software have added useful tools to find and collate information,  but the the overall method itself hasn’t changed in its basic philosophy. One thing that has changed is the speed with which a customer or user can change direction: one click and they are gone, usually for good.

This isn’t because businesses don’t want to change. The technology is everywhere… most people carry a computer in their pocket that is much  more powerful than the most expensive desktop machines of ten years ago. The relationship businesses hope to have with customers through these new devices is clear, but the method being used is, at its root, one-sided.

Brian Solis of Fast Company Magazine wrote in a recent article :

“Rather than examine the role new technologies and platforms can play in improving customer relationships and experiences, many businesses invest in “attendance” strategies where a brand is present in both trendy and established channels, but not defining meaningful experiences or outcomes. Simply stated, businesses are underestimating the significance of customer experiences.

…As smart and connected technology matures beyond a luxury into everyday commodities, consumer expectations only inflate. As a result, functionality, connectedness, and experiences emerge as the lures for attention. For brands to compete for attention now takes something greater than mere presences in the right channels or support for the most popular devices. User experience (UX) is now becoming a critical point in customer engagement in order to compete for attention now and in the future. For without thoughtful UX, consumers meander without direction, reward, or utility. And their attention, and ultimately loyalty, follows. “

It comes back to the simple questions that businesses need to be asking:

  • Who are your customers?
  • Why do they like you?
  • How do they buy from you?

One problem is that marketing departments often believe they know the answers to these questions, but when pressed will admit that there is little empirical evidence to support their beliefs. Creative campaigns are often based on clever concepts, but don’t incorporate engaging experience design. Sometimes this can pay off and a campaign will be incredibly successful, but sometimes it can bomb. It need not be random because a clever idea can be paired with an engaging experience every time…  but only if  it is designed that way from the start.


Analytics methodology

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This is an analytics methodology and task list I have found to be successful for a wide variety of applications.

  1. Have a clear understanding of the client’s business, website objectives, and organization structure

  2. Evaluate, recommend, install and configure  the web analytics tools

  3. Collect pertinent data

  4. Analyze data to make continuing recommendations for adjustment

Some clients have assigned staff and management to handle Web analytics, so this methodology must be flexible enough to accommodate the existing workflow. Everyone needs to row in the same direction.

The first is to understand the client and how the client would measure the success of  the website. Communicating with key stakeholders in the organization is crucial to both get an overall understanding and make sure they understand what is being done… and why. The also helps determine the types and frequency of reports that will be most useful for the client. For example, there may need to be granular daily reports that go to the account contact, while less-frequent high level reports are prepared for the executives. This makes sure proper communication and accountability are established.

Choosing the proper tool can have profound impact on the entire project. In certain cases, the client may have  already invested in a specific tool,  so we would need to get up to speed on the tool and make sure that the ball was kept rolling. Fortunately, most of the successful tools work pretty much the same; it is largely a matter of learning the interface. Often, the tool determination is left to us, so we can make a recommendation based on a review of requirements, budget and desired results.

Data collection  and data auditing work in tandem to weed out irrelevant traffic and make sure the ROI is maintained. Since some traffic to websites is irrelevant, frequent audits can help maintain the integrity of the data. When necessary, filters can be employed and adjusted to further increase efficiency.

As the data is acquired, we begin the reporting, analysis and recommendations process. Reports can be generated as needed and in varying degrees of detail. The reporting process is accompanied by recommendations and plans of action to maintain ROI.

Ad Words Best Practices

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Best Practices for AdWords

(Reprinted from Launch Marketing)

Google processed 11.8 billion search queries in January 2012 and is projected to receive nearly 80% of all online search advertising revenue in 2012. Paid clicks on Google increased over 30% from Q4 2010 to Q4 2011. Certainly advertising on Google is a smart choice for many companies, and while it is easy to set up a campaign, maintaining a successful campaign requires a great deal of time and patience (and a bit of trial and error). Here are a few tips we have for a successful AdWords campaign:

Think like a customer. Ask yourself, “If I was looking for this product, what terms would I search for?” After you’ve created an ad, think “Would I click on this ad if I was searching for this term?” Remember that those searching on Google may not know anything else about your brand besides what they see in your ad and that most ads are only looked at for about a quarter of a second.

Be specific, but not too specific. Especially when beginning an AdWords campaign, be sure to select keywords that are specific enough so that you aren’t spending a large amount of money competing with several other companies. However, don’t be so specific that only a few people will ever search for that term. Using the various match types in AdWords can help.

Google provides several tools that help make this process easier. The Traffic Estimator Tool shows the amount of traffic you can expect to receive with a specific keyword. The Keyword Tool is also very useful. Simply type in a few of your keywords and it will produce ideas for related terms as well as the approximate cost per click you would pay. Export this list to Excel for an easy way to select terms that you want to add to your campaign.

Don’t create it and leave it. AdWords accounts require continuous monitoring in order to be successful as things can change daily. While you can set up custom alerts that can email you if that action occurs, you should still log in to your account at least once each day (even if it’s for a few minutes) to make sure your campaign is performing correctly. Be on the lookout for anything that seems out of the ordinary and fix it as soon as possible.

If it’s not working, change it. Don’t get so attached to your work that you refuse to change it if it isn’t working. Also, don’t wait for an ad to suddenly start getting a higher click through rate. If people aren’t clicking on it, find out why and change it. Possible solutions could include changing the copy or finding a better keyword.

Be sure that you are testing several variations of your ads. This way you aren’t spending all of your money on an ad that may not be very successful. Track the metrics and stop any ads that aren’t performing up to par in order to concentrate your resources on those that are performing well.