Ultimately, almost every website is about conversion rates. That blog design that you slaved over should eventually drive conversion rates where your prospects read, download, call or otherwise behave in a way that is beneficial to your company.
I know this first-hand, as my former company was a leader in conversion optimization in the early aughts. But now I’ve gotten soft and lazy. I’ve lost my way, and the blog that you are reading right now – Convince & Convert – doesn’t have the conversion rates I’d prefer.
To save the day, Derek Halpern from SocialTriggers.com (the authority on the uneasy, shotgun relationship between conversion optimization and blog design), sat down with me for a remarkable, comprehensive session where he analyzed every element of this site.
I learned as much in these 45 minutes that I ever have. You will too.
I can’t summarize it all here, and I certainly can’t transcribe it because it would be very long. But I really hope you’ll find the time to watch this, as I guarantee you’ll tire out your hand taking notes about blog design and how little tweaks impact conversion rates.
A Pixel-by-Pixel Conversion Optimization Analysis
Some of the topics we covered:
- The importance of navigation and how it impacts conversion rates
- The past, present, and future of RSS subscriptions
- Embedding forms on multiple pages to boost conversion optimization
- Whether categories and tags are necessary in modern blog design
- Whether having a giant “Buy Now” button next to your head shot is a good idea
- The gator-filled swamp that is the sidebar
I’ve got a whole bunch of irons in the fire right now, but in a few weeks I’ll be making many of the changes Derek recommended. His advice was incredibly sound, and one key takeaway for all of us should be that having fresh eyes on your work is always a positive.
So please take the time to watch the full conversion optimization analysis, you’ll be glad you did. While you’re at it, sign up for Derek’s newsletter. Mine too, if you haven’t, please.
This is part of a whole blog design improvement project, so what would YOU like to see me change here? The comments are yours, and the feedback is very much appreciated.