Mobile Beat - July 2008

I always enjoy getting my copy of Mobile Beat Magazine, Ryan Burger's magazine for the mobile entertainment industry. It's always got a great cover. The stuff inside is good too!

Todd Donald's article "Can You Really Afford Your Web Advertising?" is right on.

Bottom line: if you're not running a PROFITABLE business you're not in business - all the advertising in the world won't change that - so you have to be careful advertising online because it can add up fast.

He talks about website conversion of 1% to 2%. Sadly, he's quite accurate.

Website conversion is when someone who visits your website actually does something you want them to, like fill in an inquiry form or call you on the phone.

He goes on to say that this miseable conversion (miserable, being my word) is a factor of 24/7/365 access by anyone anywhere in the world - and that's partially true.

The Internet makes it really easy to just waste time clicking around because you're bored and you've already seen The Matrix about 1000 times on cable... who hasn't mindlessly browsed the web for hours?

But also another reason, and the #1 reason for miserable conversion, is:

LOUSY WEB SITES

Lousy websites, websites that don't present a company well, that probably have one of my "10 Reasons A Bride Will Leave Your Website" problems, that don't give a bride/groom the information they came looking for - fast, and deliver a poor "what's in it for me" message and poor "unique value proposition" are THE NUMBER ONE reason conversion is 1% to 2% at most websites.

At some, it's even worse.

Another factor, in calculating conversion, which I've been saying for years; THROW HALF OF YOUR VISITOR SESSION TRAFFIC OUT.

You're not counting "hits" right? If you are we need to talk.

Half of your traffic is no good. Visitor sessions, that is. It is not from real people looking to buy your services. It is search engine spiders, spam-bots collecting/searching for email addreses, people in the Phillipines hired for $100/week to find web-forms and fill them out with SPAM, your own staff updating the website, your mother, your mother's friends (because she's telling everyone you have a website!), and these people are not people who are qualified or interested in buying your services/products - so of course, they don't make inquiries.

As a result, one of your conversion variables, "total visitor sessions" is skewed from the start.

Try this instead: Take half your visitor sessions and throw them out!

1000 visitor sessions last month
divded by 2

=500 visitor sessions

50 inquiries = 10% conversion
25 inquiries = 5% conversion

Frankly, if you have anything less than 5% there is something wrong with your website and your marketing to brides online strategy.

Keep up the good work over there at Mobile Beat guys!

Why Isn't My Website Working? (1)

I get asked this question a lot:

Q: Why isn't my website working?

Today I'll start a series of posts that answer that question. As you might guess, there are many reasons a bride might leave your website. I call it "bail-out" and Google calls it a bounce (if she leaves in less than 60 seconds or doesn't click on another link at your website).

#1 Give A Bride What She Came For

You can have all the traffic in the world but if you don't give brides what they came for - they just leave.

A bride wants to know five things:

* What you do?

* What you will do for her?

* Why you are different than the last five websites she's visited (unique value proposition)?

* What you have done for others (testimonials)?

* How to contact you?

Believe it or not, you have about 8 seconds to deliver this information on your home page. You do this with WORDS (your marketing copy) and PICTURES( that support and re-emphasize the message in your marketing copy).

If I visited your home page today, would I be able to tell what you do, where you do it, what you'll do for me, why you are different than your competition (because I was just at their website too)? Do you show me happy customers (pictures and testimonials) and do you give me at least six options on every page to contact you or get to your contact form?

Successfully marketing to brides online takes careful planning and optimized execution. Nine out of ten brides are using the Internet for their wedding planning. If you're not getting the results you expected from your website drop me a line.

Distraction Points Quickly and Adversely Impact Conversion

Marketing to brides online is more competitive than ever before.

The brides are out there on the Internet and everyone in the wedding industry knows it. It's hard enough to get quality traffic to your website these days, the last thing you want to do is lose a bride once she finds your site.

There are a handful of things that very quickly turn a bride who finds your website into a "bounce" (she stays less than 60 seconds or hits her browser's BACK button).

When I review a website I look for what I call "distraction points" and here is my list of the most common ones...

More Sales

Everyone wants more sales.

That's what marketing to brides is all about, right?

One way to get more sales is to get more inquiries. That's what websites are supposed to do - generate inquiries from brides.

One way to get more inquiries is to make it easier for brides to make inquiries.

I know... that sounds so obvious, but I visit too many websites that make it too difficult to find the contact option or a phone number?

One of my client's recently thought it was a good idea to remove their phone number from the top of her website (we had to have a little talk...).

Why in the world are you making brides LOOK FOR your phone number or even click a link (or button) to find your contact form?

Want more sales?

Then focus on getting more inquiries!

Here are a few ideas:

(1) Add your phone number to the top and bottom of every page. I like to see a phone number at the top right of a page - that's where I think most people's eyes go. I've seen this simple change increase inquiries 30%.

(2) Add your inquiry form to the bottom of your home page. If people aren't ready to make an inquiry after reading your home page you've got a problem. I'm not saying they all will, but I'm saying they should be ready to make an inquiry. 95% of the people who visit your home page should want to, and be ready to, make an inquiry after reading it.

(3) Add a "Bookmark This Site" option to your home page. Not every bride will be ready to make an inquiry on her first visit to your website. Her boss is probably coming back from lunch any minute now and... she'll have to visit later! Adding a simple "Bookmark" this site option is a simple and effective way to build repeat traffic and get more inquiries.

Simple stuff here folks... that can make a big difference.

Here's another way to increase your company's exposure, get more inquiries, and book more weddings!

Website Stats (aka Analytics)

Marketing to brides, especially online, is much more sophisticated than just 12 months ago. Without regularly reviewing your web analytics, and knowing what they say, the success of any online marketing strategy is quickly and adversely impacted. And if you think you're getting good or great results from your website now, and as a result think "I don't need to look at my analytics" then... here's some news: YOU'RE WASTING A TON OF MONEY.

Most of the Wedding Professionals I speak with don't know how to get to their website stats. Yes, you read that right. Most don't know HOW to get to their website stats. "My webmaster never gave me that information" is the answer I get to "have you looked at your analytics lately?"

Usually, if they DO know how, they take one look and they get dizzy and never look again. Actually, that part I can understand.

But reviewing your website stats, or "analytics" (i.e. all the data about your website, visitors, and advertising campaigns), is very important.

Analytics tell you things like:

How many people visited your website (for any given period of time)
How they found it
How they are using it
Are they going where you want them to go
Are there pages not loading properly
Where your traffic is coming from
If Google is crawling your website regularly
How many pages are they looking at (before they leave)
If they're finding your inquiry form

.... and a lot more.

So, what do you do? The answer is easy. Either dive in or get someone to do it for you. A professional who monitors and reports your website activity on a monthly basis will give you information that is worth gold. If you pay a professional to review your stats, provide a report with recommendations, on a monthly basis, and pay them $75-$150 - you'll find it an investment that has a very good return-on-investment.


Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
http://www.bookmoreweddings.com