AUDIENCE(40)

Website Optimization: The process of improving all aspects of site performance through continuous testing



Ultimately, your number one goal with all of these efforts is to convert SEEKERS to CUSTOMERS. However, in the new tradition of hybrid marketing, we’re also interested in converting them into other proprietary audiences through:

Comment forms (COMMENTER/AMPLIFIERS)

Email and SMS opt-in forms (SUBSCRIBERS)

Like and follow buttons (FANS and FOLLOWERS)

Comment, pin, tweet, and share buttons (AMPLIFIERS)



It is not enough to optimize your home page for Proprietary Audience Development. You must optimize every aspect of your site to encourage SEEKERS to amplify your messaging and join your audiences. None of this, however, should be done to the detriment of:

The ultimate sale

Your brand

Your existing proprietary audience relationships



In other words, if your brand is upscale, you may want to be far more discreet with the Proprietary Audience Development efforts on your website than a daily deal site where SEEKERS arrive with a clear understanding that an aggressive email opt-in request is par for the course. However, this not to say that brands shouldn’t experiment with new ideas. The real-time nature of social media presents tremendous opportunities to transform company websites from dusty site maps into living, breathing visualizations of proprietary audience engagement.

For example, take the fast food burger chain Wendy’s (@Wendys). As part of their 2013 brand refresh, they redesigned www.wendys.com so that its homepage features:

A responsive design that accommodates any desktop or mobile device

A clear CTA to join My Wendy’s, their email loyalty program

Constantly updated social posts from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

GPS-friendly store and job opportunity locators2



The net effect of Wendy’s new site is to project the brand and its restaurants as a place where something is always happening (Figure 8.1). SEEKERS not only find the information they need; they also find themselves intrigued by what Wendy’s offers to its SUBSCRIBER, FAN, and FOLLOWER audiences. And ultimately, that’s what every website should do: attract interested SEEKERS and give them every reason to become AMPLIFIERS and JOINERS as well.

FIGURE 8.1 A Sampling of the Social Elements on Wendys.com That Help Build Proprietary Audiences



Don’t Overlook Your Landing Pages

Landing pages are one of the more interesting creatures in our marketing bag of tricks, and according to landing page optimization expert Tim Ash (@Tim_Ash):

Landing page testing is the best accelerator available to your business.3

Marketers created landing pages to circumvent website development bottlenecks and support quick-turnaround advertising campaigns. Today, they remain an indispensable part of most companies’ online marketing efforts. Unfortunately, most landing pages are also a mess.

Unlike a website, which usually has a principal owner, landing pages are a virtual Wild West of branding, content, and ownership. As a result, they probably aren’t aiding your Proprietary Audience Development efforts as much as they could. Since you’re often using Paid Media to drive SEEKERS to your landing pages, the potential downside is twofold—lost advertising dollars and lost proprietary audiences.

Accordingly, as you look to optimize your website for Proprietary Audience Development, don’t forget to review your landing pages as well. Chances are that they could be helping to generate far more SEEKERS, AMPLIFIERS, and JOINERS with only modest effort.



SNAPSHOT: WEBSITE

FIRST WEBSITE: 19914

INTERNET USERS: Est. 2.56 billion (36.1% of world population)5

PROPRIETARY AUDIENCES: SEEKERS (SEARCHERS, READERS, VIEWERS, and VISITORS)

Also key driver of all types of SEEKER, AMPLIFIER, and JOINER growth via e-commerce, SEO, social sharing, and opt-in forms.

SKILLS REQUIRED: HTML and other code development, design, copywriting, ongoing management.

EFFORT REQUIRED: Moderate to high depending on website complexity, e-commerce integration, and content publishing requirements.

WHO OWNS THE DATA: Your company owns its website data; although, use of “free” analytics software (e.g., Google Analytics) or social widgets may grant third parties the ability to access or aggregate select data.

GATEKEEPERS: Your company controls its website content governed only by relevant, prevailing laws.

STRENGTHS: Instantaneous, worldwide distribution of content, design, and features that you control.

Websites, microsites, and landing pages provide ability to publish content that serves very specific organizational needs or campaigns.

Extraordinarily flexible medium (simple informational sites to sophisticated interaction and online retail operations).

Drives “free” traffic (SEARCHERS) through SEO.