What is conversion optimization?

When answering the question “What is conversion optimization”, a definition is an excellent place to start.

Conversion optimization is defined as the method of creating an experience for an individual visiting a website with the goal of increasing the percentage of page visitors that convert into buyers, customers, or leads. It is often referred to as CRO, short for conversion rate optimization.

Does your website take action?

Conversion optimization is the art of creating a website layout that leads visitors to take the action that you want them to take. The reason that one would implement these tactics, is if said person desired people to interact with the site in a specific way. An example of this would be to lead people to sign up for an email list.

It’s All About Testing

When considering the question “what is conversion optimization” one must realize that to optimize their conversion rate they must find out why individuals do not convert, and then fill in the gaps. CRO requires a structured systematic approach when attempting to improve the conversion rates on your site. One must use insights, user feedback and analytics to track what individuals do on the site; Google analytics is an example of one of these tools. Crazy Egg is another one of our favorite testing tools. Your CRO strategy needs to work around your company website’s own specific goals, and move the visitor in the direction you wish them to go.

In the introduction, we briefly defined CRO as the method of using analytics and user feedback to improve the performance of your website. Here’s an even simpler definition: conversion rate optimization is finding why visitors aren’t converting and fixing it.

Simple, right?

So, what is the conversion optimization testing process all about?

A few important concepts regarding conversion rate optimization are the use of techniques such as calls to action, a/b split testing and multivariate testing.

  • call to action: a statement that invites the visitor to take an action. An example would be “Click here to buy now”.
  • A/B split testing: the act of taking one page, measuring the conversion rate, and then comparing it to the analytics of how another page attempting to accomplish the same action is faring.
  • Multivariate testing: the addition of more variables into your split test such as testing headings, images, and messaging.

If you are attempting to make the visitors to your site take some sort of action, then CRO is an important subject to look into.

What is conversion optimization? Longevity Graphics offers conversion optimization:

or Click here (this is one of those calls to action, did you notice?)
to contact us for your free consultation.

Michelle Longevity Grapics

Longevity Graphics would like to welcome Michelle to the team! She joined our team as a marketing assistant on November 12th, 2013 and is currently a third year student at Simon Fraser University studying Communications.

We asked her a few questions for this article: 

How are you liking your major?

I’m loving it so far! I’m taking different classes in the field and there are many areas that I’m interested in. It would be hard to pick just one.

Why are you interested in online marketing?

michelle Longevity Graphic

I’ve always been curious about the cyber world. Ever since middle school, I would come home from school, go on the computer, and try to teach myself HTML. I guess I was kind of an internet junkie. I eventually found myself blogging about things I’m interested in, such as fashion and beauty products. I don’t blog much anymore unfortunately due to work and school.

How do you balance work, school, family, and friends?

A lot of deep breathing. Whenever it gets too much for me I just take a second to sit down and inhale/exhale three deep breaths. It really calms my mind down, which helps me focus better.

What are your career goals?

As of right now, I’m not too sure about that yet. I’m still exploring my options and finding something that would suit me. Online marketing seemed like something I would enjoy so I decided to give it a go!

What are your hobbies and interests?

This might sound really generic, but I’m really interested in fashion. In my free time, I enjoy thinking of new outfit designs and sometimes drawing them out.

Describe your personality.

I’m very chilled and laid back. Even under stress, I always find a way to keep myself calm because I know I produce my best work when I’m not in panic mode.

We look forward to mentoring her and watching her grow professionally!

We Are Hiring a Marketing Assistant / SEO Specialist – Grow With Us

Who You Are

Are you an internet marketing professional with a passion for SEO?
Does your current job not provide you with opportunities to grow your skills?
Do you enjoy working collaboratively with a tight-knit team?
Do you value providing exceptional customer service and personal attention to clients?
If you answered yes to the above questions, you might be a good fit for this position.

Who We Are

We are a boutique internet marketing firm located in Port Coquitlam. Our clients are hardworking people who make an honest living working in the service industries. We use white-hat SEO and ethical marketing strategies to help our clients grow their businesses.

We are currently looking for a marketing assistant who specializes in SEO. We value real-time, face-to-face interaction between team members to create a more intimate, team-oriented work environment. Subcontractors will not be considered and telecommuting is not an option.

This is a full-time position with benefits.


Responsibilities will include:

– Developing search engine optimized content for blogs, press releases, and clients’ websites
– Research and analysis using tools such as Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools
– Implementing link-building campaigns for off-site SEO
– Data entry and reporting
– May include SEM
– Optimizing HTML elements of websites

Knowledge of HTML and experience with WordPress is an asset.

Training will be provided for the right candidate, but some knowledge of SEO is required.

This is an excellent opportunity to grow with our company. Please send your resume to [email protected].

Thanksgiving dinner is one of my favorite dinners of all time. I love the way the house smells when the turkey is cooking. I learned this really amazing sweet potato pie recipe from someone (I can’t remember who-sorry) and it is always a hit at any potluck turkey dinner that I go to. I would love to share it with you today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ingredients

2 large yams (or 5 medium)
pinch of salt
1 cup of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 bag of white mini marshmallows

Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

1. pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees
2. wash, peel and cut yams
3. place them in a pot of water with a pinch of salt
4. bring the yams to a boil, and simmer at medium until they are tender to the fork
5. drain the water
6. add butter, brown sugar, spices and mash until the yams are smooth
7. place the yam mixture into a baking dish and place them in the oven
8 back for 30 minutes
9. add marshmallows and broil for about a minute until the marshmallows are golden brown (keep an eye on the dish at this point so that the marshmallows do not burn)
10. serve and enjoy

Zoe, internet marketing and graphic design intern

As a student, I was extremely grateful to receive an internship at Longevity Graphics. Knowing that marketing and design are the fields I wish to work in, they gladly welcomed me. My first internship took place last summer, and I am happy to say that I have come back for the second year!

When I first came to Longevity Graphics, right away, I was accepted into their team. The atmosphere and the knowledge of the office made it easier to learn new things. Coming into the office, I was surely not as experienced as others. But soon enough, thanks to their help, I feel I have become much more knowledgeable about marketing and design.

Here are some of the things I have learned:

  1. While designing projects for customers, keep key ideas of what they suggested in mind. Your job is to create their visualization, not your own.
  2. Make tons of different drafts for the customer to choose from.
  3. While on the phone, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want.
  4. While making your first campaign on Google Ad words, make sure it is perfect. If it’s not perfect, you might mess up future campaigns.
  5. Save everything. Twice even.
  6. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Working at Longevity Graphics has been a great opportunity and I am very grateful for the experience.

Thank you Longevity, you guys are the best!

Facebook advertising has grown exponentially in the last few years, with the opening of several new offices to provide support staff to their brand/business pages. There are more options on how you promote on a Facebook page than ever before and even still being constantly changed, updated and upgraded.

If you are a company that is using a relatively low Facebook ad budget, a great option to grow your fans on Facebook is to connect with a Facebook account representative directly. Usually you would have to spend a higher amount, around $2000 to have access to this representative, but it is worth it in the long run. Here’s an outline of the main Facebook ads used by brands today.

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There are 4 main types of Facebook Ads:

1. Sponsored Likes:  Shows on friends of BRAND fans feed who don’t like BRAND: ‘Jennifer Like Brand’.

  • User has the option click on the brand profile picture- which takes them directly to the brand fanpage
  • Another option to ‘Like’ the page from the ad itself
  • CPC (Cost Per Click) on a simple sponsored ad is low and manageable. (Can go as low as $.30+)

Main Gain: It’s used to gain a large amount of likes over a shorter period of time.

2. Brand Promotion:  Promote a contest/giveaway through a Facebook application advertisement.

  •  User has the option click on the promotion picture- which takes them directly to the brand fanpage
  • Another option to ‘Like’ the page from the ad itself
  • CPC (Cost Per Click) is higher ($.95-1.6+)

Main Gain: Increase engagement and interaction for your Facebook promotion. Goal should be to get more clicks to the Facebook application- promotion/contest. Get the like, but get an entry etc..

3. Promote a Specific post on your page:   Promote a post through default of last posted or a specific post.

  • User has the option click on the post/picture– which takes them directly to the post
  • Another option to ‘Like’ the page from the ad itself
  • CPC (Cost Per Click) on a specific post ad is the low-medium. (Can go as low as $.37+)

Main Gain: Increase commenting, sharing, liking on a particular post. Get the like, but also get engagement.

Another way to promote a specific post with the goal of engagement is to promote them right on your fanpage.

4. Promote a Specific post- NewsFeed -promote a post directly onto fans newsfeed.

To set this up, go to a post on your Facebook page. Underneath the post on the bottom right-hand side you will see ‘Promote’- which drops down into a Facebook Ad promotion.

Choose between audiences:

  1. People who like your page
  2. People who like your page and their friends

– Duration is set: 3 days from when first posted

– Cost Options: $51 – $2.01K

– Estimated Reach: 9K – 646K

*Note: It will say ‘Sponsored Post’ at the bottom (Fans/Friends of fans will know it’s a paid for post)

Main Gain: Increase commenting, sharing, liking on a particular post from your existing fans.

Extra FYI: Facebook also shares success stories of brands that have had ‘success’ with a Facebook promotion. Yes, they are usually larger brands who have spent larger dollars on Facebook advertising and the like, but what you can do is take these ideas and scale them into a promotional option that suites your budget. Good luck!

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Written by: Cristina Pagnucco, Social Media Specialist, Longevity Graphics

Questions about this article? Email me [email protected]

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Today was a celebratory day! One of Longevity Graphics own, Nathan, has just turned a year older. How old you say? Well Nathan won’t share that information; age is a sensitive topic for him.

He’s a valuable member of our team and without him we wouldn’t be where we are now. Nathan is a great addition to our team and we couldn’t ask for more. He is always on top of his game, always willing to learn new things and is always there to save the day.

Lindsay decided to go out to Luscious Creations in Port Coquitlam and surprised Nathan with delicious cupcakes. I must say it was fun to tease and embarrass him on his birthday by singing him Happy Birthday. It was obvious he felt overjoyed, embarrassed but most of all enjoyed the delicious cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Nathan. Your one year younger =)

Today, Lindsay and I attended a convocation at Simon Fraser University to see our friend and coworker, Carolyn Dones, walk across the stage in the traditional silly gown and cap. At least it wasn’t as silly as what some of the people on stage were wearing. Now I wish I’d taken a picture of them, but I digress.

Seeing Carolyn earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Communications fills us with pride. We honestly count ourselves lucky to know such a hardworking and conscientious person. Since September 2011, Carolyn has been doing excellent work as internet marketing assistant as well as with content writing and handling social media for clients.

Carolyn, you are an invaluable member of our team and we wish you the best in all of your endeavours!

In the last post “Pinterest…Pin Your Interests” emphasized on the importance of being visually stimulated. Once again we are going to continue to emphasize how important images are to every business, because we all know we like being visually stimulated.

This time, I am calling out all Iphone and Android owners to download Instagram if you have not already. Instagram has over 27 million users and have been purchased for 1 billion from Facebook. Instagram is a downloadable app and a social network that allows the users to take pictures, edit photos with different filters, and share it through Instagram. You can also share your pictures through Facebook or Twitter. Instagram works similar to Twitter, where you can use hash tags (#) so people can find your photos. In order to create conversations with people you can always use the ‘@username’ to directly create a conversation with someone.

So what makes photos such an important tool for marketing? Photos can be utilized within story telling. Story telling is the foundational strategy to developing and strengthening your brand. If you can tell a great story about your business through text, you can also create a story through images. Since taking photos are easy and instant, it is easier to share it with many people. HubSpot simply states it as “a great way for people to experience brands in a different way, and it elicits emotions that may not have been experienced through text alone.” Some big companies that are using Instagram to build their brand are: Starbucks, RedBull, Marc Jacobs, Tiffany & Co etc. When the big companies are using it, you know there is value to Instagram.

Instagram may or may not be your desired way to market your business, but depending on your business it can be very handy.

Ways to Instagram your Business:

1.)    Day in the life of your company: Fans and customers are always curious what you do at work. They want to know what it’s like to work where you work.

2.)    Company News: You can promote and advertise new blog posts, services and events on Instagram by taking a pictures of your new blog, or already made campaigns.

3.)    Contests: There are fun ways to create contests on Instagram. You can always ask your fans to take a picture with your product and use a hash tag (#) on Instagram to get fans to participate in your contest.

4.)    Events: If you create a hash tag (#) with your event.  This can encourage people to take pictures and use that hash tag to spread the event pictures around.

So do some social media touch ups and use Instagram to strengthen your brand! Have fun Instagraming!

Maintaining your brand is important for every company. There are many social media platforms out there that give you the ability to connect with your target audience/customers. Your engagement is important to produce happy, stimulated, loyal and engaged customers.

When you begin to establish your social media presence, first thing first:

Community is important

  • Think about your community. Many big execs will always suggest keeping in touch with your community.
  • By knowing your community, you will know how to create an agenda that will be competitive and effective.
  • You can maintain your relationship with your customers by knowing what they want, what are the newest trends or what changes might be needed
  • Community is all about dialogue. Social media allows you to create dialogue through, sharing commenting, and discussing
  • A community needs authenticity. Social media users can notice inauthenticity. Create fun, meaningful conversations that will impact your customers

Second thing:

Content

  • Most important thing is to have fun and mean what you write. Don’t write something because you have to, but because you want to
  • Do not write something that isn’t relevant in your industry
  • Post relevant links. Readers are curious and always looking for new knowledge.
  • Incorporate fun contests that encourages participation

Some Social Media Sites to get your hands on:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
4Square
Instagram
Storify
Google +

There are other options, such as, SEO which will help expose your company, but imagine having both SEO and a strong social media presence together. Your brand and company will increasingly experience

For more check out: Check out 10 top Execs share their social media secrets