I’m loving this blog post at the Get Elastic blog that comments on a You Tube case study where the guru in the video suggests that one buy button design always works the best.  Folks, please don’t be tricked into thinking that there is one button style that works on all web sites.  It simply isn’t true.

Read the commentary in the Get Elastic blog post and I think you’ll agree.  My personal experience from testing hundreds of sites proves that there’s not one “magic” buy button, page layout, or product display.  All businesses and sites are different (thus keeping me employed and working on new projects).

The video, though, does bring one point to light, and the point is that you can’t improve your results if you don’t test.  Spilt testing can reveal better design that helps you sell your products more effectively.

Despite the economic slowdown, e-commerce and online business has remained strong.  This prompted an article in the E-commerce Times this morning asking if this is just a fluke and if the e-commerce industry is just lucky.

The conclusion from the article is that since e-commerce businesses focus more on relationship building activities and customer loyalty than brick-and-mortar retailers, the e-commerce model thrives.

I’d have to agree with this.  E-commerce businesses have so much more data at their disposal since business happens electronically.  They can learn which offers and online marketing channels drive the most business, and testing offers and creative on the web is, well, easy.  Not so offline.  Try asking a brick-and-mortar retailer how much business their TV or radio ad drove, and you’d get nothing more than an educated guess.

Read the article at the E-commerce Times

I was reading Seth Godin’s blog post a few days ago about “the magic of low-hanging fruit” and was reminded of the power of fixing low-hanging fruit when redesigning your web site.

You see, when we perform web site assessments, the first thing we look for is low-hanging fruit.  Often, fixing these small, easily identifiable issues requires little effort and produces a big return.

If you think your web site is fully-optimized, think again.  I’ve yet to work on a site that doesn’t have some small issues that can be easily fixed.  Understandably, some companies are reluctant to make changes.  I’m currently working with a client whose site won some major awards in the early 2000’s (”back in the day”).  They conducted rudimentary usability research and had a great site, but they haven’t changed anything but content since.

Now, years later, they’ve hired me to do a web site assessment.  They are understandably reluctant to totally overhaul their once award-winning web site.  In addition to needing some design updates, this site could beenfit from fixing some low-hanging fruit to significantly improve their bottom line.

The most dramatic example I have of fixing low-hanging fruit is an e-commerce client I had about 2 years ago.  The product images on his product pages were so large that they took up a normal customer’s entire screen.  By shrinking the image and moving all pricing information near his add-to-cart button — all of which took 2 hours to change — site revenue improved over 60%.

I encourage you to contact us — we can identify what changes should be made to your site.

I’ve had quite a few clients and prospective clients call and ask, “What is a good conversion rate?” and “What is a good shopping cart abandonment rate?”

While the Fireclick Index can give you the average conversion rate and shopping cart abandonment rate for your general industry, many web sites have intricacies that make them different from the “average” site. Additionally, many smaller web sites process e-commerce transactions through “canned” e-commerce systems (like Miva Merchant, Yahoo Merchant Services, osCommerce and others) and either can’t or don’t customize the checkout process.

My answer to the question of a “good” cart abandonment rate or conversion rate is to re-frame the question. Rather than asking what a conversion rate or cart abandonment rate should be, the question you should ask is “What can I do to my web site to improve the conversion rate and cart abandonment rate?”

I tell clients to use the Fireclick Index to get a general rule of what their e-commerce conversion rate should be, then compare it to their actual conversion rate. Is it close to “average,” or is it not in line with the average for your industry?

Once you answer that question, the real question is how you improve your conversion rate. We answer the question of how a site can improve by performing a web site assessment, which is an exhaustive analysis using qualitative and quantitative data, including testing a site with real customers. This helps uncover issues with web sites that make them easier to use, improving conversion rates.

So rather than asking “What should my conversion rate be?” or “What should my shopping cart abandonment rate be?” ask instead what you can do to improve it.

A Harris Interactive study found that online retailers become more deal-conscious during a recession, and one in three people say that they will use coupons and discount codes more frequently.

People are equally as likely to search for deals online as they are in-store, so promoting coupon codes on an online store’s homepage or as a private sale via e-mail could be very effective if sales start to slump.

Read the full study at RetailMeNot.com

The State of Retailing Online 2008, the annual Shop.org study conducted by Forrester Research, suggested that online retail sales will be a bright spot in the overall retail landscape, with online retail sales expected to climb 17% this year.

Online retailers are struggling to balance acquisition activities with retention activities, and search engine marketing remains the most effective way for online retailers to connect with new customers.

Online retailers are also starting to take notice of social media — over half will focus on promoting in social media spaces in 2008. Social media efforts have been effective in promoting branding online, but less effective at driving revenue and sales.

For more, read the study at the Shop.org web site