Silent Killer of Customer Conversion

Your goal for website visitors is to make a purchase, complete a lead form, sign-up for an email list, make a phone call, or conduct another measure of engagement.

Your web marketing efforts, no matter how effective at drawing visitors, will struggle endlessly if your website is not effective in converting visitors to your desired goals.

Research suggests “hidden friction” is lethal to website conversion.

What is web marketing conversion?

Simply, website conversion means visitors are clicking where you want them to click and reading what you want them to read.

Friction is interference in the conversion process and often undetected. Marketing Experiments highlights seven website conversion killers. We’ll look at three of them.

1. A Misguided Eye-Path
   A Web page’s eye-path is the natural way in which a visitor’s eyes move through a Web page.
   
   

   A Misguided Eye-Path

2. Under-Emphasized Calls to Action
   Does your site drop the ball when it comes to designing a simple button?
   

   If a button’s primary goal is to elicit a click, it should be emphasized using size, shape, and color, in the main eye-path, and most importantly, look clickable.

3. Difficult Color Combinations
   Make sure you select high-contrasting colors. Choose dark text on light backgrounds.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Good web design goes beyond creative logos and clever categories. We must develop our websites from the viewpoint of our visitors.

Ready to dig deeper into understanding how to increase the conversion rate on your website?

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Learn how to use WordPress plugins, widgets, and themes to customize your site

You will learn how to create relevant content, build an audience, and turn your website into whatever you want it to be — a business development tool, your very own online publication, a community hub, a multimedia journal and more. We’ll chat about what you want to accomplish with your website and tailor the session to fit your specific needs.

There will be lots of time for Q&A and one-on-one attention, so bring your laptops and as many questions as you want.

When you leave this session, you’ll know how to get your WordPress website set up the way you want it to be, and why you want it that way.

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Did you catch this insight?

“Blogging on a real estate related web site makes sense to me nowadays, though I questioned the efficacy in 2010.”

Lot’s of other folks in the real estate industry are embracing blogging and dipping their toes into social media. (Okay, maybe they are diving head first into Facebook.) Many of my new clients are Realtors who recognize stale, static websites and third-party template sites are no longer effective business tools.

Real estate agents are eager to learn social media and WordPress.

Where do they start? My suggestion is to read, read and read more. Here are blogs I think are helpful to agents just getting started.

Not a real estate agent? Don’t skip out just yet. You’ll find the majority of the suggested blogs helpful, too.

NOTE: All URL addresses are ready to paste into your favorite feed reader. Click the blog title to review online.

Keep Up With Facebook Changes

• All Facebook – http://feedproxy.google.com/allfacebook
• Inside Facebook – http://feeds.feedburner.com/InsideFacebook
• Wildfire – http://feeds.feedburner.com/wildfireapp

New to Social Media?

• Duct Tape Marketing – http://feeds.feedburner.com/ducttapemarketing/nRUD
• Social Media Examiner – http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/feed/

Real Estate Specific

• 1000 Watt Blog – http://www.1000wattblog.com/1000_watt/atom.xml
• Amy Chorew – http://feeds.feedburner.com/TechnologyStrategiesForRealEstate
• Are We Connected? – http://feeds2.feedburner.com/areweconnectedcom
• GeekEstate – http://www.geekestateblog.com/feed/
• Mortgage: Dan Green – http://www.themortgagereports.com/index.rdf
• REtech South – http://www.retechsouth.com/feed/
• Social Media Marketing Institute – http://www.smminstitute.com/blog/rss.xml

Real Estate Bloggers

• Denver: Kristal Kraft, Realtor – http://www.kristalsellsdenver.com/denverdwellings/feed/
• Nashville: Brian Copeland, Realtor – http://feeds.feedburner.com/nashvilleandbeyond
• Pasadena: Irina Natchaev, Realtor – http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/RSS
• Phoenix: Jay Thompson, Realtor – http://feeds.feedburner.com/JaysArizonaRealEstateBlog
• San Diego: Kris Berg, Realtor – http://sandiegohomeblog.com/feed/
• St. Paul: Teresa Boardman, Realtor – http://feeds.feedburner.com/typepad/TLoY

Gadgets, Geeks and More

• Dan Zarella, Social Media Research – http://feeds2.feedburner.com/DanZarrella
• Dropbox (a must have free application) – file sync that works!
• Evernote (another must have free application) – http://blog.evernote.com/feed/
• Matt Cutts; Gadgets, Google and SEO – http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/feed/
• WordPress for Beginners – http://www.wpbeginner.com/feed/

What blogs do you recommend for someone ready, willing and eager to learn social media and blogging? Add your suggestion in the comments.

Yes, it’s okay to recommend your blog. I reserve right to remove the link if the self-promotion is deemed less than helpful.

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Tumblr is a blogging platform with micro-blogging features. On a Tumblr dashboard, you can see the content of each and every person you follow – much easier than visiting the websites of each of those people – IF you are following a “manageable” number of people.

Mark Coatney, former senior editor at Newsweek is credited with building Newsweek’s Tumblr presence. Newsweek‘s Tumblr sent about 1,000 readers a day to the magazine’s website, while Newsweek‘s Twitter feed and Facebook page sent 200,000 to 300,000 monthly. Coatney said that the engagement of the Tumblr community is more valuable than the number of followers, “Newsweek has 100x the numbers of followers on Twitter as it does on Tumblr, but was getting 10x more engagement from those Tumblr followers. That’s a significant number, I think.” (via Social Media Today)

Okay, I get it. The size of the listening audience heightens the value of engagement; not the tool. Anyone who has ever tried to have a meaningful conversation during a SXSW tweetup – or a child’s birthday party at Chickie Cheese – gets it.

Filtering noise is the solution.

The more people you get “connected with” the higher the noise level. Content becomes useless if not filtered. Examples of filtering from Brian Solis, Chris Brogan, and Dave Winer can be seen here, here and here.

If you want substance, you need useful inputs. Not volume. Not style. Not popularity. Those have their places, just not in your face when you’re looking for useful and interesting stuff. ~ Doc Searls, Linux Journal

Being useful is the solution.

It’s natural to want to lump technologies and practices together into categories that bear Greater Significance. But for some reason we still drag along the limiting concepts that the new stuff should help us escape, no matter what we call it.

For example, this paragraph:

The way we consume and share information will only continue to change until it completely transforms from one-to-many to many-to-many.

I don’t think of my what I do here as production of “information” that others “consume”. Nor do I think of it as “one-to-many” or “many-to-many”. I think of it as writing that will hopefully inform readers.

Informing is not the same as delivering information. Inform is derived from the verb to form. When you inform me, you form me. You enlarge that which makes me most human: what I know. I am, to some degree, authored by you.

The human need to increase what we know, and to help each other do the same, is what the Net at its best is all about. Yeah, it’s about other things. But it needs to be respected as an accessory to our humanity. ~ Doc Searls

In other words, the bright shiny tools are not the solution. Anyway, soon it will be time to start over, again.

Oh, by the way… Tumblr is down.

Related articles

• Present and Future themes – 2011 Predictions
• Tumblr DOWN For 13 Hours And Counting
• Why Getting Attention Won’t Make You Rich

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Last night  Becky McCray and chat originator, Mack Collier, co-hosted #blogchat—a weekly Twitter chat focused on blogging tips.

Becky shares a wealth of information on Small Biz Survival and speaks on rural entrepreneurship,  small towns and small business.

You can read all of the favorite tips from the chat here. I’ve included a few I like:

RT @DanGordon: if you sell you fail, if you share you win #favtip

December 5, 2010 9:21 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@VictorCanada

Victor Canada

@MackCollier LOVED the Brag Basket idea by @BeckyMcCray ---- Just Plain Smart #favtip #blogchat

December 5, 2010 10:10 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@BobbyRettew

BobbyRettew

@MackCollier My #favtip was actually one of @BeckyMcCray's first: keep a list of cust Qs as source for blog topics. #blogchat

December 5, 2010 10:10 pm via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@tamadear

Tamsen McMahon

#favtip 1 Brag Basket = Once a week on her blog, @beckymccray creates a post where readers can share links/accomplishments #Blogchat

December 5, 2010 10:08 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@NetworkingWeb

Networking Web

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There are three things that good keyword research will help you uncover:

• Who is your target audience?
• What are your customers interested in?
• How will you answer their needs and problems?

Some people are looking for ideas, some for information, and still others may be looking to build up their education.

Start your research using free keyword research tools found here and here.

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UPDATE: Dec. 12, 2011
These instructions were originally published in Feb 2009. Facebook has made multiple changes since then, so the information here is no longer applicable.

UPDATE: Dec. 1, 2010
Thanks to Hal’s comment for pointing out recent menu changes have shifted the location of Applications to the left navigation menu of your Home page. The “How To Sync Your Blog To Facebook Using Notes” below instructions are updated.

This post (originally published in Feb 2009) is the most frequently visited on my site. Facebook changes warrant an update.

In addition to using the  Notes application to sync your rss feed to Facebook (directions below), there are other 3rd party applications you can use:

• NetworkedBlogs manages publishing your posts to your Facebook profile, fan pages, and your Twitter accounts.
• Social RSS allows you to add your blog/favorite RSS feeds to your wall or a dedicated tab on your profile or Facebook Page. It updates automatically and lets your readers subscribe to the feeds if they wish!
• RSS Graffiti allows you to publish multiple RSS/ATOM feeds on your Facebook profile’s & pages’ walls and automatically pushes them to the news-feeds (Facebook homepage) of your friends & fans.

How To Sync Your Blog To Facebook Using Notes

1. Login and Open up your Facebook Profile Page.
2. Click on Account > Application Settings Applications are now located in the left navigation menu of your Home page. Scroll down to Notes, then click to edit. Browse Notes will appear under your image.
3. Choose My Notes, then click Edit import settings.
4. Enter the url for your blog’s rss feed (or your regular blog url – it will detect the rss feed!) in the “Web URL” Box, and check that you agree to their terms.
5. Click “Start Importing”
6. Verify it’s importing correctly, and click “Confirm Import” in the upper-right corner.
7. Voila! Every entry on your blog is now being imported into Facebook!

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This morning I shared in our Team Meeting, “reading is a great inspiration for blogging.”

• A catchy headline here.
• A top 10 list there.
• Perhaps a sign on a butcher shop.
• Thumbing through magazines in the checkout line.
• Bumper stickers during your commute.

Inspiration is free floating. We need only become aware.

Tonight, after everyone else went home; when the chaos and hubbub of the day was washed away by quiet solitude, I read.

A blog post by Chris Garrett caught my attention. The post explored the personas and pseudonyms we often create when developing online connections for the first time. There are certainly good reasons to maintain privacy, and yet blogging demands your writing to be real.

By being an authentic you there is much more potential for creating real connections with people, and through these connections opportunities and friendships. If you are faking it then you will either be found out at worst, or at best be unable to have great face to face meetings and successful joint projects.

Real people rock. If anything, I would always rather meet an imperfect human being than a fake robot. Be proud to be you, mistakes and all.

It is our “realness” that forms bridges between people.

What do you think? Do you feel you have to hold back on your personality? Does comparing yourself to others hold you back? Please share your thoughts… I’m listening.

Photo Credit: Tiago Ribeiro

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The post struck a chord with me tonight as I reflect on our day, our week and my new journey in Community Sherpa.

I share it with you as an example of a good blog post:

• A strong headline draws me in with an open-ended question
• A compelling story evokes emotion and triggers personal memories
• An image supports the compelling headline
• A call to action invites me to try something new

I think the lesson is to remember that you sometimes need to lower the bar to encourage interaction.  It could be on your blog, your community site, Twitter, where ever. Believe it or not, there really ARE people out there that have never left a comment on a blog.  AND some of them are a bit intimidated at the idea. Read the full story…

Are you moving the bar?

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WordCamp is a conference type of event that focuses squarely on everything WordPress. Everyone from casual end users all the way up to core developers show up to these events.

Presentations at WordCamp Atlanta covered design, development and content for beginner, intermediate and advanced WordPress users.

Several people I met at WordCamp Atlanta are not yet using WordPress. They have creative ideas and stories to share, and are attracted to the open source platform — the support of the WordPress community.

It’s easy to install WordPress and dive into blogging. Install and write. Easy-peasy.

Now, some of us are stepping back to consider more strategic questions.

Who am I? Where am I going? Why?

Seth proposed a list of questions we need to answer before we spend money on a website. WordPress is free, so we get started first, ask questions later. To be successful we must answer these strategic questions:

1. What is the goal of the site? In other words, when it’s working great, what specific outcomes will occur?
2. Who are we trying to please? If it’s the boss, what does she want? Is impressing a certain kind of person important? Which kind?
3. How many people on your team have to be involved? At what level? Who are they?
4. Who are we trying to reach? Is it everyone? Our customers? A certain kind of prospect?
5. What are the sites this group has demonstrated they enjoy interacting with?
6. Are we trying to close sales? Are we earning permission to follow up?
7. Are we telling a story?
8. Are we hoping people will watch or learn?
9. Do we need people to spread the word using various social media tools?
10. Are we building a tribe of people who will use the site to connect with each other?
11. Do people find the site via word of mouth? Are they looking to answer a specific question?
12. Is there ongoing news and updates that need to be presented to people?
13. Is the site part of a larger suite of places online where people can find out about us, or is this our one sign post?
14. Do we want people to call us?
15. How many times a month would we like people to come by? For how long?
16. Who needs to update this site? How often?
17. Does showing up in the search engines matter? If so, for what terms? At what cost? Will we be willing to compromise any of the things above in order to achieve this goal?
18. Will the site need to be universally accessible? Do issues of disability or language or browser come into it?
19. How much money do we have to spend? How much time?
20. Do we  understand ‘everything’ is not an option?

What’s your experience? Did you dive in and start writing? Is your site a strategic decision? Let’s talk about it in the comments.

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