This week we wanted to share how Marie Curie improved its website performance using Website Optimiser and saw a 14% increase in donations on the site!

Marie Curie felt its 'Make a donation' page could be improved to increase conversion rates.



The organisation's web team had some ideas on changes that might result in more donations:

• a simplified donation form
• removing unnecessary information from the page
• making the purpose of the page clearer
  

In order to see if their hypotheses were correct they decided to use Google Website Optimiser. Marie Curie ran a straightforward A/B test, and within a few weeks saw that the new layout had already increased donations by 14%.

Original 'donate' page

New 'donate' page

Marie Curie's web manager, Victoria Ludlow describes the results:

"our hypothesis was correct, the new page did improve our donations. However we never expected to improve them by that much. We are absolutely delighted with the results".


What can you do next?

Think about how you could improve the performance of your website's conversion page and test a new variation. Analytics data will help you identify which pages to test, for example, you may want to test different versions of the pages that have the highest exit rates.




Could you simplify your lead/contact form?

Do you provide all necessary information on your product pages so that it's easier for customers to make their purchase decision?

To see examples of what you could test on your new variation, read our 'Make your website work' ebook and check out this previous Conversion Room blog post.

Once you know what to test, you can set up an A/B test using Google Website Optimiser by following these steps. When your test has been running for at least two weeks, you can see check your reports to see which of the variations performs best.

You can then implement these changes, monitor your conversions and look for other pages or page elements to test next!

Marie Curie are just one of a number of Google Website Optimiser users that have shared their conversion improvement success stories with us. You can read more about others companies in the 'Learn' tab above.You can also read more about our Google Conversion Professionals programme in the 'Expert Help' tab and see how they could help you improve your site's profitability.


Posted by Faustina Clifford, Google Team.

Image ads are a great way to raise the profile of your business on relevant websites on the Google Content Network.

The holiday season is on the way and online businesses and retailers are looking for ways to make the most out of the upcoming opportunity. To help you reach more of your potential customers and take advantage of this opportunity, you can now create festive themed, animated image ads with Display Ad Builder for free within your AdWords account.

To access the Display Ad Builder, follow these simple steps:

1. Log in to your AdWords account at www.adwords.google.com
2. Select the campaign and the ad group in which you would like to build your image ads
3. On the 'Ad Variations' tab, click on the 'New Ad' button, then select the 'Display Ad Builder' option.
   

All you have to do to create your own image ads is select a design template from within your account. You write your own message just like with your text ads, change the fonts and colours if needed, and upload an image that represents your business - our tool does the rest.

As well as these seasonal specific themes you can also choose from over 150 different templates to find a format that suits your message and business.

Based on your choice, Display Ad Builder will generate up to 6 image ad versions with the standard sizes (120 x 600; 160 x 600; 468 x 60; 300 x 250; 728 x 90; 336 x 280 pixels) for you. Now your own animated image ads are ready to show on the Content Network. To make sure you're opted in into the Content Network, in you AdWords account go to the 'Campaign settings' page and look for the section called 'Networks, devices, and extensions'.

To learn more about creating and running display ads, please visit the Display Ads 101 tutorial.

If you are using Conversion Tracking, you could also check out the new View Through Conversion Tracking reports. With View Through Conversion reports you can see when a user looked at your image ad, did not immediately click, but later came back to your site and reached the conversion page.

Log into your AdWords account today to get started!



Posted by Zoli Stekkelpak, Google AdWords team

Last week, our colleagues in the US posted on some changes which have been made to the AdWords interface. If you use AdWords Conversion Tracking, you may have already noticed that the interface for this tool has been redesigned so that it's easier for you to troubleshoot issues and monitor your results. If you are not already using Conversion Tracking, it's now easier than ever to implement! We wanted to discuss these changes on the Conversion Room too, just in case you missed them.

There are now 3 easy-to-use tabs - Conversions, Webpages, and Code - that help you manage your conversion data. Let's take a closer look at each of them:

Conversions: This is where you see information about the conversion actions you're tracking.

• The "Tracking Status" column lets you know whether a conversion action is tracking properly. It shows you if a conversion has ever been recorded, if it has recently stopped recording, or if it's working just fine.
• The "Value" column shows the accumulated value of the conversions you've received based on the value you've assigned to each action.
• The "New Conversion" button allows you to easily create new conversion actions or import them from a linked Google Analytics account. (Note: In order to import Google Analytics goals, you'll first need to follow a few steps.

Webpages: Here, you'll see which pages on your site are getting conversions. You can also see a breakdown of the number of conversions per page on your site. This is useful for troubleshooting, as you can make sure conversions are coming from the pages you expect and identify pages that are not reporting conversion activity.

Code: This is where you get the tracking code for each conversion action. You can also change the value of an action, which helps you calculate ROI.

Custom Alerts*: You can now create custom alerts to monitor shifts in conversion volume, conversion rate, and cost per conversion. By setting alerts for your conversion data, you can make sure that you're quickly notified about fluctuations in your key metrics.

*Please note that we're still working to bring custom alerts to all linked accounts for My Client Center (MCC) users. In the meantime, you can still set custom alerts for your individual accounts if you're able to log into them directly.

Once you have set up Conversion Tracking you may then become eligible to use Conversion Optimiser. This is a free AdWords feature which uses Conversion Tracking data to get you more conversions at a lower cost-per-acquisition. You can find more Conversion Room blog posts on Conversion Optimser here.

We hope you enjoy the new Conversion Tracking interface!


Posted by Faustina Clifford, Google AdWords Team.

• Want to use Google Analytics data to improve your website and marketing?

• Ready to boost your ROI and drive more business to your site?

Whether you're new to online marketing or a seasoned veteran, Seminars for Success can help you meet your goals. Led by independent and unbiased industry professionals, these full-day, in-person seminars will help you learn how to make the most out of the time and money you invest in AdWords, Analytics and Website Optimiser.

Sign up now for any seminar and we'll also give you a £50 credit to spend on AdWords advertising. Find out more about this free advertising credit, and how to register, by visiting our website today:

Seminars for Success

Posted by Alan Wrafter, Programme Manager

We recently released the Make Your Website Work e-book to show common pitfalls of website design and show steps that can be taken to improve your website conversions. Today we'd like to delve further into the checkout process on websites, and give some suggestions on areas to test and ways to improve your conversion path.


Many e-commerce websites suffer from low conversion rates. We have compiled a list of e-commerce checkout tips that you may like to test on your own site.


Think about testing the following...

Product Images and Location

1. As a rule of thumb, the more expensive an online purchase is, the more detailed your product shots and information should be.
   
2. Place product images above the page fold (don't require users to scroll your pages).
3. Be creative. Make effective use of existing technologies (ajax, flash, video etc..)
   

Example above demonstrates that when a user mouses over part of the product image they can see the texture of the jacket in close detail. This is known as a "javascript image zoom" effect.

Buy Buttons

Also known as 'add to cart' buttons, these are possibly the most important call to action on your website.

1. Colour / Contrast - Eye catching use a different colour to the rest of your page.
   
2. Text - Make it large and easy to read (no fancy typography).
   
3. Icons - Icons aid usability (+ Add to Cart)
   
4. Position - Users expect to find your 'add to cart' button on the right hand side of your product image.
   
5. Make them BIGGER* - Large buttons grab attention, but also accommodate more users.
6. Long product descriptions? Try using 2 add to cart buttons (1 above the fold, 1 below)

*Large buttons accommodate users who may have poor motor movement. See Fitts Law.

Checkout Without Registration

1. Don't require customers to register before checkout.
2. Forms should only ask for essential information.
3. Tell customers why you need information. Especially personal details.
   

Form above clearly displays that you can login if you are a member already or checkout without registering.

Yes we ask for your email address, but here's why.

Progress Indicators

One of the most overlooked elements on many E-commerce websites is a progress indicator. This is the online equivalent of the shopping centre "You are here!". It also instantly answers:

1. Where am I?
2. How many more steps till I finish?
   
3. What can I expect next?
4. Do I get a chance to review my order?
   

You can easily see where you are in relation to completion of the task.

Forms Should Be Easy

So many forms on E-commerce websites are difficult to use and don't provide meaningful feedback to users. Believe it or not you can make forms a fun, rewarding customer experience.

The outcome can be amazing as your customers know exactly what information they need to provide to complete the purchase.

Here are some other form tips you could test

1. Provide clear labelling free from industry jargon / terms
2. Use a checkbox / radio button to reveal optional additional info you may require.
   
1. Eg: Different billing address / shipping address.
   
3. Avoid popup errors. Instead use inline errors that highlight the problem area.
4. Don't reset form data if an error occurs or the customer doesn't fill out the form the way you expect them to. Customers don't like repeating themselves. Allow them to correct their error but preserve already entered details.
   

Answer Customer Questions

There are often many unanswered questions a customer has before they complete a transaction. How well does your website answer the following?

1. Can I return this item within x amount of days?
2. Can I review my order before I confirm the purchase?
3. Can I easily contact support or customer service if something goes wrong?
4. If I hit the next button, will I be billed?
5. If I hit the next button, will I be able to make a revision still?
   
6. What is the total price with shipping to my address?
7. How many days before I get my item delivered?
8. Is this site secure, can I trust you with my credit card details?
9. What payment types other than credit card do you accept?
10. If I'm only making a booking, how much is due now and how much is due later?
    
11. What is your privacy policy?

Useful tip: If you don't want to include all the text necessary to answer questions like those above, link to relevant sections of your site that explain the details or show(+) / hide(-) the content with javascript or similar technology.

This example shows a javascript 'accordian' interface where clicking on the question, hides / shows the relevant answer. Great for use in compact spaces so it won't clutter your interface and it's user intuitive.

Permission Marketing

Many E-commerce websites ask for customers to opt-in to special promotional emails before checkout, but have you ever tested removing this step from your conversion process?

You can always politely ask them to sign up to your newsletter:

1. After checkout (on your receipt page)
2. Via email order confirmation (mail out)
3. After the item has been posted to the customer
   

Another popular question on E-commerce checkout pages is 'Where did you hear about us?'

If you are not already, you should start using Google Analytics to help you identify the best conversion sources on your website, thus eliminating the need to ask the customer how they found you. Not to mention that some users don't know the difference between a 'search engine' and a 'browser'. So you may find the data you collect from asking this question is not that useful anyway.

You can always test to see if removing this question improves your conversion rate using Google Website Optimiser

Trust Indicators

Trust indicators are badges, qualifications, affiliations or security assurances that can help customers feel at ease on your website. Some common trust indicators are:

1. Secure payment gateway badges
2. Brand names you sell
3. Places you have been seen or mentioned in the media (eg: As Seen on TV)
   
4. Money back guarantee
5. Industry standards / rating / qualification
6. Demonstrating your site is secure (highlight the secure symbol)
   

Where you place your trust indicators will depend on the context of your trust indicator itself.

For example: credit card payments, any secure payment gateway certificate or seal should be placed in close context to your credit card details form.

The padlock in the bottom of a users browser is a trust indicator, but you may sometimes want to point it out as this graphic does.

Certain payment gateway providers will give you trust indicators to work with. Google checkout provides several.

Test and Confirm

Still not sure if the tips above will help improve your checkout conversion rates?

Remember you should always test and confirm changes to your site with Google Website Optimiser. Website Optimiser is absolutely free to use, to learn more check out our previous Conversion Room post about testing with Google Website Optimiser.



Posted By Gavin Doolan, Google Analytics Team