Scott Brinker who writes a blog for Search Engine Land declared in January that optimizing customer conversions is the new SEO. In his blog, he stresses the importance of post-click marketing in reaching a broader audience and enhancing customer relationships. Further reinforcing Brinker’s statement, Chris Golec notes that 98 percent of Web traffice goes unrealized, with the majority of visitors moving from search engine to search engine or site to site, without actually taking any action (Golec, 2010). So the importance of web optimization, site testing and design are more important than ever.
I am a self-proclaimed news junkie, and so you will find me checking CNN two to three times a day (sometimes more, depending on the day). The site receives more than 1.7 billion views per month and 100 million video views (Lardinois, 2009). It is a major news source for fans and visitors. In October of last year, the organization rolled out a newly designed site. Basically the major change was moving the headlines (or breaking news) to the left site, older stories below and a larger photo header with story links. The “other” stories are divided into categories and were moved to the bottom (something I’m not really crazy about…I hate scrolling to find what I’m looking for). Additionally, the organization added a “News Pulse” section that allows users to organize information by correspondent, key word or subject, essentially creating a very personalized site for users.
The main goal of the redesign was to focus on more content to get people moving beyond the home page. To do this, the organization has incorporated more video, added personalized features (like News Pulse and the visitor’s local weather on the right) and enhanced the ad space on the top and sides of the site.
While I like the site, there are features that I am not 100 percent sold on. As one blogger noted, the organization seems to have moved toward more feature stories and user-generated content vs. an actual news site. Yes, there is still the basic news and breaking news, but it definitely has changed the scope of the site, but in the new age of digital media, this was probably a necessary transition.
In looking at the site, there are areas I would certainly run tests on. As part of the redesign, I would have included the A/B testing with two different home pages to determine which page seemed to garner the most visitors. CNN may have determined that they had created a page that works, but by incorporating a simple A/B test, they would have real data would help them evaluate the site and ensure they were going down the right path with their design (and maybe they did incorporate such tests).
Additionally, I would look at incorporating multivariate testing on the home page to gauge how the combination of the links/parts of the page get users to different sources of the page. This testing could also provide information on the “News Pulse” site, particularly if data shows that visitors are taking an interest in this particular segment of the site. I also think using the test on the home page to organize the various pieces of information in different ways (moving the news segments/ads around, using different headers, and incorporating various designs) would provide the organization with very specific data. Through the use of the multivariate test, CNN can determine if the layout/design is encouraging users to visit the site and move to other parts of the site, or determine if a certain combination of elements encourages the visitor to react in a certain way or if the combination enhances conversion rates. Additionally, as organizations continue to take steps to encourage and promote social networking and user generated content, the concept of this type of testing on CNN’s site will also help to improve the interaction among visitors/users. I think using multivariate testing on a regular basis can really help organizations improve site performance by gaining a better understanding of how to “mix” certain elements to elicit a response.
Testing and retesting your site is extremely important. As those who are close to our Web sites, we sometimes think we have it all right, when in reality, we may be missing the target entirely. It is easy to rely on our “experts” in and around the organization to direct the path of our site, but relying on that information isn’t always going to get the job done. By using tests such as the A/B test and multivariate testing, we can really feel out our visitors to determine what is working and what is not. As Booth noted in his presentation on Google’s Website Optimizer, it is extremely important for organizations to test and re-test their sites to continually enhance and improve our sites (Booth). By incorporating the right testing and the right team, organizations can gain valuable information that will build better site and enhance the overall experience for customers.
References:
Booth, D. Planning and running your first successful experiment using Google Website Opitmizer. Retrieved March 6, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPtsrCqUKL8
Brinker, S. (2010, Jan. 27). Search Engine Land. Conversion optimization is the new SEO. Retrieved March 6, 2010, from http://searchengineland.com/conversion-optimization-is-the-new-seo-32839
Golec, C. (2008, Dec. 31). Retrieved March 6, 2010, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=97580
Lardinois, F. (2009, Oct. 29). CNN.com gets radical redesign. ReadWriteWeb. Retrieved March 7, 2010, from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/cnn_redesigns_its_homepage.php
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