8 PPC Spring Paid Search Audits

If you’ve just started running paid ads, or if even if you’ve been doing it for a while, there are always improvements that can be made: more keywords to target, bids to be changed, landing pages to be optimized. To help you get a fresh start on your account this spring, I’ve put together the most frequent recommendations I give during paid search audits.

Geotargeting

We pair this with our Structure & Settings section, but really it could be an entire section all on its own because it’s so important. Here’s where to find your campaign split out by geographic location.

Let’s pretend this is your account. You are spending quite a bit of money in California, Florida, and Illinois.
There are a few options we recommend you take:
a. You can restrict your advertising from these areas to save the money if you aren’t seeing strong returns within 30 days or even through analytics.
b. If you are getting impressive returns for these states, you should consider restricting them from this campaign and create new campaigns for each state with state specific keywords and adverts

Ad Extensions

Enabling all possible ad extensions: Phone number, site links, products, G+, location, and even a mobile app ad extension. These are some of the things that make your ad stand out. Do you not have a product feed or mobile app? No problem. There’s still no reason to not use the other 3.
Opinion: Thirty or more Google maps reviews per location add ratings for non-eCommerce businesses. No one in paid search discusses brick & mortar star ratings (as far as I’m aware). I’ve seen some adverts with seller ratings extensions, and when I click on the stars they take me to the Places page with reviews. Just one more reason to pimp out your Google Places account and link it up with AdWords. This is where your mailing list and followers on Facebook and Twitter come in handy!

AdGroup Structure

One adgroup should contain one search intent so the advert is as closely targeted as possible. If you have 300 keywords and 25 adgroups, we recommend you separate your keywords by similar intent then expand your keyword list, segment by device and location, and label your adgroups and campaigns so you can easily filter data. This will help you quickly and easily review how different parts of the account are working.

A/B Testing AdText

With the latest update from Google being 30 day max rotation, A/B testing for the long tail/low impression keywords is probably going to be on the out. However, if you’ve been paying attention to your ads, you’ll see that Google has been favoring certain ads anyway when the setting ‘rotate’ was selected.

After you’ve created new ads for your adgroups, the least time consuming way to change over your rotation settings are to select ALL campaigns and go to the Settings tab.
If you’ve already done A/B testing and you have selected the best ads by statistical significance and you are seeing more than 15 conversions in 30 days, you should select ‘Optimize for conversions’ as Google will help you target people who are actually going to convert.

Search Query Report

If you don’t know what it is, you could be suffering from low Click Through Rates (CTRs), higher Cost Per Click (CPCs), decreased time on site, and wasted opportunity.
The search query report shows you the true search queries that are matched to your keywords. Broad and modified broad types throw the widest net (not always the best idea); phrase match connects your phrase “white boats” to “buy white boats” “white boat shoes for men” and many more; exact match pairs your ad with anyone who only searches for [white boats]. The modified broad match and search query report are now available in AdCenter as well. Make good use of them.

Pausing Quality Scores Below 3

If you just reacted negatively to this, let’s talk about it for a minute. You are probably receiving the majority of your traffic from broad match keywords with a QS of 3 or below, but any keyword with a 1 or 2 is barely showing anyway. You are only weighing down the adgroups and accounts by allowing these keywords to remain active. You need to do a few things:
a. Make better adgroups. I’ve seen keywords go from 6s to 10s when they were pulled out and regrouped with more closely associated terms. If you could increase QS just by restructuring, you need to do it.
b. You’re paying several times more than people who have higher QSs. People aren’t beating you because they are paying more, they are beating you because they have more relevant keyword groupings, ads, and landing pages (even though Google says landing pages don’t make or break QSs).
c. Your ads aren’t showing the way you think they are. Even if you’ve enabled all extensions, you are probably showing without them more frequently than not. Google won’t reward you if they think you aren’t good for [their] business, and CTR is the way they determine how amazing you are.
If you weren’t put off by pausing lower QS keywords, then you should:
a. Pause low-traffic, low QS keywords
b. Create tighter themed adgroups (potentially split by match type)
c. Pause low QS, higher-than-you-will-every-pay CPC keywords
d. Pause any low CTR ads.
If you take a massive traffic hit after pausing or deleting these low quality keywords, we would prefer you use broad match with higher QS keywords to supplement your traffic.

Segmenting by Network

It is now well known that we don’t mix display and search into one campaign. However, we always need to be cautious about the search partners network.
To see your campaign data by network, go to the Segment dropdown and select Network (with search partners).

This campaign shows exactly why we recommend eliminating the search partners.

a. CPA is much higher than that of just Google Search. If the CPA was lower, we would have kept the search partners network because it does not affect keyword quality score.
b. Google search network is more rewarding by $10+/conversion.

If you aren’t getting strong data from the search partners, go to the settings tab for that campaign and disable your ads from showing there. Remember to hit Save before leaving this page.

Segmenting by Device

This recommendation is very similar to the Network and Geotargeting advice we’ve already gone over.
If you either decide (based on data) that you should be targeting devices individually, go to the campaign settings to make your changes.

If you know your website is not mobile or tablet friendly (graphic heavy, small text, gray text & gray background, requires serious attention, etc), then create a duplicate campaign only targeted at tablet and mobile traffic, choose Wi-Fi traffic, and your time on site will probably increase substantially.
If you are already low on budget and have high CPCs, you should stop advertising on devices that aren’t providing comparable, strong return.

There’s Always More

Segmenting by Device and Network is always a necessity, but don’t forget about the other ways to segment. Back in August I wrote about Top v Side, which is a great segment that allows you to bid more effectively. If you aren’t already familiar with all the available segments, you should spend some time reviewing them!
If you think your paid search account is so good it can’t be improved, you should start expanding to AdCenter, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Distilled can help you with your paid search agenda.
If you aren’t too sure about your account, we offer paid search audits to businesses looking to switch from their current agency or find their first agency. Our audits provide an in depth analysis of your AdWords and AdCenter accounts.
We review:

• account structure and settings
• keyphrase selection and match types
• search query report
• quality scores
• adverts
• CRO potential
• and display advertising.

We’ve recently started providing feedback on paid video ads as YouTube Advertising has recently been transferred to the AdWords interface.

Author : Jasmine Aye

Source : Distilled.net/Blog

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Google Adwords New Exact & Phrase Matching Behavior

In a world where lots of search marketers are still reluctant to use broad match type due to its lack of relevance and control, Google has released two features to have more advertisers show their ads on all those very long tail queries:

The broad modifier feature was rolled out in July 2010 in the U.S and was mostly aimed at scaling up those accounts not already using regular broad match type. Search marketers have to then build new broad keywords using “+” signs to effectively unlock the broad modifier feature.

Because it requires some time and effort, not all advertisers have actually implemented this feature – particularly those advertisers already using broad match type. Some of our clients reluctant to use standard broad match type did test broad modifier, and it turned out that it performed surprisingly well – with an incremental revenue volume up to 15% while maintaining efficiency on target.

The new matching behavior for exact and phrase match types announced on April 17th  (and just rolled out last week) is going one step further since it potentially impacts all advertisers by automatically updating the default matching behavior from standard exact and phrase matching to a more lenient matching behavior including plurals, misspellings, and other close variants.

In that sense, it can be seen as a logical sequel to the broad modifier feature. Advertisers have the option to opt out – however, most of them will allow the update to occur.

There has been a lot of speculation and skepticism about the latter one, as it seems it is just another way for Google to generate more ad revenue. Hence the question: what are the first takeaways a couple of days after the new matching behavior roll-out?

Where Can I See The Impact In AdWords?

While I couldn’t find any details in AdWords about those incremental queries corresponding to “plurals, misspellings and other close variants” in AdWords, you can now see that the “Other search terms” section shows impressions and clicks even for exact keywords:

In this particular case (a strong trademark keyword in exact match), we have measured an impressive 18% lift in impressions at a stable CTR. Conversions did follow with a slightly higher conversion rate and a slightly lower cost per order – not significantly though.

Overall Impact On Traffic & Conversion Volume

In this section, I will attempt to answer two questions: what is the average impact on traffic? And what is the average impact on conversion volume?

According to Google: “on average, the new matching behavior increased AdWords search clicks by 3%, with comparable CPCs”. Looking at 15 top brands managed through eSearchVision’s proprietary search query report, early findings show that clicks from queries not containing the actual keywords actually increased by 3.5/4.5% on average with comparable CPCs.

More specifically, the below graph shows that the percentage of clicks generated through exact and phrase without close variants has slightly decreased, while the percentage of “All Other Queries”, i.e. when the keyword is not included in the query, has increased from 23% on average the week before the roll-out up to roughly 26-29% the week after.

In the meantime, conversions have increased by 2.0/3.0% on average. However we can expect this number to go slightly up over time due to the post-click effect – since users who clicked over the last couple of days are likely to convert in the next couple of days or even weeks.

Main Takeaway

The new exact and phrase matching behavior seems relatively promising so far. As expected (and even a bit more than expected) we’re seeing more impressions and clicks at a stable CPC, as well as incremental conversions, even though conversions are not following as fast as the clicks for the time being.

As a result, search marketers no longer need to create additional keywords using the broad modifier feature. The new matching behavior seems to be doing pretty much the same job with no effort. Just keep an eye on search query performance and maybe add more negative exact and phrase keywords if you identify any poor performing or irrelevant queries since this roll-out.

About The Author: Benjamin Vigneron is Director of Analytics & Automation for eSearchVision

Source : http://searchengineland.com

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Great PPC Ad Copy Basics

Here are some tips on how to write compelling ad copy so alluring one has to click!

Great PPC ad copy basics

• Use tried and tested phrases such as ‘official site’ (only when you are) and ‘ free delivery’
• Think about what makes your business unique and reflect this in your ad copy.
• Make sure your keywords are mentioned in the ad text or title (you can try dynamic text).
• This one may sound odd: do use language that can turn people away. If (for example) you are selling insurance to drivers over a certain age mention this in your add so that you don’t pay for clicks from people that would not qualify to buy from you anyway.
• Match the language of your ads to your products. There is a book full of words and phrases that sell on my desk that is great for writing ads with matching words. If you sell soft throws think of using words such as comfy, luxurious, soft. Offering legal advice? Use words such as trust worthy, acclaimed, accredited etc. If in doubt tweet us for inspiration @adCenter!
• Be aware of who is competing with you in bidding on your most important keywords. Think about how you can differentiate yourself from those competitors.

The seven searchers

The more you understand your potential customer the more likely you are to be able to target them effectively with your ads. According to Pamela Olson, marketing manager at Kings Schools, there are different kinds of buyers that can be seduced and reassured in different ways.

1. The survivalist buyer: they like to see a basic need fulfilled. Be factual and informative with your copy.
2. The scarcity buyer: this buyer is worried that there may not be endless quantities of what he wants. Create a sense of urgency in your ad copy.
3. The convenience buyer: the shopper that wants to save time. Emphasize ease of use, free and fast delivery etc.
4. The prestige buyer: we saw a scare crow in the weekend wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt and Levi’s jeans. Really. Changes are the owners are prestige buyers. Emphasize uniqueness, style & quality.
5. The social buyer: these people want to be part of a community. Vespa ‘engage in the Vespa lifestyle’ is given as an example; make them feel part of something.
6. The value buyer: what can we say, they want things cheap, value for money. Let them know you’re the cheapest or the best price/quality buy.
7. The fearful buyer: don’t we all know someone who endlessly researches everything before they commit to buy? Reassure them they are making the right choice, offer the info they are likely to be looking for.

Source : http://community.microsoftadvertising.com

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Tips to Protect Your Google Analytics From Getting Hacked

Within 15 minutes, anyone with a decent amount of traffic to their own site can completely CORRUPT your Google Analytics data. It’s easy, simple, and once the data is corrupted, you can’t fix the data that’s already been collected.

I’m going to show you exactly how to hack Google Analytics. Then I’m going to tell you how to protect yourself.

And as a super secret bonus, I’ll show you how to get the attention of a fellow marketer if you’re applying for a job, trying to close a deal, or just want to show off your Google Analytics chops.

First, let’s dive into how someone can corrupt your data.

How To Corrupt Google Analytics Data

First, we need a quick overview on how the Google Analytics Tracking Code works. Here’s the tracking code:

This code is on every page of your site (at least it’s supposed to be). Each time a page loads, it executes this JavaScript and records a pageview along with other relevant data. Unless you customize the code yourself, it looks exactly the same on every site.

Google Analytics needs a way to keep track of which data comes from which site. To do this, it uses a Property ID (also called a Tracking ID). It’s completely unique to each Google Analytics account. It also gives you complete control of where your data goes.

The red box above shows you where to find this delicious little nugget.

For example, if you want data from multiple sites to go to the same account, use the same Property ID on each. Google Analytics will then track everything as if it’s a single site. Be careful though, I don’t recommend doing this unless you really know what you’re doing. In order to tell what is happening on a specific site, you’ll need to separate your data back out with filters or tell the Google Analytics Tracking Code to send data to multiple accounts. Both options are fairly advanced and not for the faint of heart.

As long as we have the Google Analytics Property ID, we can send data to ANY Google Analytics account we want.

So if someone gets a hold of your Property ID and wants to corrupt your data with their data, it’s very easy to do so.

Corrupting Data: Step-by-Step

Let’s say you REALLY hate me because I ate all your gummy bears. You’re SO angry about not getting your gummy bears that you want to ruin all of my Google Analytics data. I have a site at LarsLofgren.comthat’ll be perfect for exacting your vengeance.

First, you’ll go to my site, right click, and choose “view page source.”

This gives you the code for my home page.

Now, you want to find my Google Analytics Tracking Code (where you’ll find my Property ID). To find it, hit control+F or command+F and search for “ga.js”. This is the Google Analytics file that does all the analytics grunt work and will bring you right to my Property ID.

This is what you’ll find:

And BAM, you now have my Property ID which is UA-23929748-1. If you plug this Property ID into any other site, my data will become a mess and I won’t be able to use any of it.

Go to your Google Analytics Tracking Code, trade your Property ID for mine, and the Google Analytics servers will take care of the rest. Your revenge will be complete and I’ll feel appropriately sorry for eating your gummy bears.

Is There a Way to Fix the Data Once it’s Corrupted?

Nope. Google Analytics collects raw data all day. At the end of the day, they run your raw data through filters, goals, and profiles to get the final report. That’s what you see when you log into Google Analytics. Once the data is compiled, there’s no going back. So if two sites are sending data to the same account, there’s no way to separate the data once it’s in your reports.

Your only option is to protect yourself and keep all of your future data clean.

How to Protect Yourself

All you need is a simple filter. It will only include traffic on your domain, protecting yourself from any data corruption when people hijack your Google Analytics Property ID.

To find your filters:

1. Go to your Google Analytics standard reports
2. Click on the “Admin” button in the top right
3. Click on “Filters”
4. Click “+ New Filter”

Then use these settings for your filter:

• Select “Create New filter for Profile”
• Name your filter with something snazzy like “Hacking Defense”
• Select “Custom Filter”
• Select “Include”
• For the Filter Field, select “Hostname”
• If your site is LarsLofgren.com, you would define the filter pattern as “larslofgren\.com” and make sure to include a “\” before any “.”
• Pick “No” for case-sensitive

You’ll get a filter that looks like this:

Hit the save button and you’re all set. Your Google Analytics profile will now be hacker proof.

WARNING: Make sure you test this filter on your Test Profile (One of the 8 Google Analytics Features Every Site MUST Have Enabled). If you don’t set everything up correctly, you could delete all of your data while the filter is active. So apply it to your Test Profile first, make sure everything works, then add it to your main profile.

Including Multiple Domains on Purpose

Some of you will be collecting data from multiple domains intentionally. A common example is merging data from different country domains. Let’s say that I include traffic from LarsLofgren.com and LarsLofgren.co.uk in the same Google Analytics profile. If I use the filter above, I’ll only see traffic on LarsLofgren.com.

With a little regular expression magic, I can include both. Instead of defining the filter pattern as “larslofgren\.com”, I’ll use “larslofgren.com\.com|larslofgren\.co\.uk”. Since the “|” acts as an “and” symbol, this tells Google Analytics to include traffic from both these domains.

All the other settings are exactly the same. My new filter would look like this:

The filter pattern is set to “larslofgren\.com|larslofgren\.co\.uk” even though you can’t quite see it in the screenshot.

Why Would Someone Want to Hack You?

I’ve seen hacking occur for two reasons:

Evildoers Want to Corrupt Your Data: If you pissed the wrong person off, they may want to make your life as miserable as possible. And with a large enough site, they could inject all their traffic data into yours. This will make it impossible for you to learn anything about your customers and traffic.

Spammers Driving Traffic: You’re more likely to see situations where spammers inject data into your reports. Their goal is to perk your curiosity and get you to come to their site, resulting in more traffic for them. I think this is a terribly inefficient for building traffic (even for spammers) but people do it.

How to Hack a Campaign Report and Get Noticed By Other Marketers

This hacking method isn’t nearly as nefarious as the first. While we’re going to inject our own data into someone’s report, we’ll only mess with the campaign data. The rest of their data will remain untouched.

If you’re classy about it, you can get a custom message into someone else’s campaign reports. Say you’re trying to close a client, land a job, or make a connection. This method is perfect for getting the attention of another internet marketer.

Let’s back up for a moment. Google Analytics allows us to track our marketing campaigns by adding UTM parameters to our links. Basically, you define a few variables (the name of your campaign, where the link is located, etc.) and you can see which links drove traffic and conversions to your site. So if you have an email campaign, banner ads, and Facebook ads for a marketing campaign, you can see which ones are actually working.

But there’s nothing stopping me from creating campaign URLs for someone else. All I have to do is create the link, send traffic through it, and I can insert any message I want into someone else’s campaign reports.

Here’s how it works:

1. Confirm that the site is using Google Analytics. Just like the last hacking method, go to their site, view page source, and search for ga.js. All you need to do is confirm that they’re using Google Analytics, you don’t need to grab anything like the Property ID. If the site doesn’t use Google Analytics, this won’t work.

2. Build Your URL. Go to the Google Analytics URL Builder and setup your link. Enter in the homepage of the URL that you’ll be sending traffic to, and then insert a message in the Campaign Name field. The Campaign Name is displayed first in the campaign reports and also comes up in the traffic source reports. By putting your message here, you’ll have the best chance to get noticed. For Campaign Source, put your name so they can easily connect the dots. You’ll also need to fill in the Campaign Medium field since it’s required. Avoid all punctuation and symbols in all fields. Once you’re ready to go, click “Generate URL.”

3. Send Traffic. Place your URL in a location where it will get plenty of clicks. If you have a large email list, blog, or Twitter following, spread the link to your audience. Success depends entirely on the size of the site that you’re sending traffic to. The larger the site, the more traffic you’ll have to pass through the link for it to get noticed.

Once the link is live and your minions have clicked on it, Google Analytics will now report visits from the campaign that you’ve set up. Queue maniacal laughter.

Rapid Fire Recap

Anyone can populate your Google Analytics reports with their own data. Since you can’t separate the data back out, it’ll prevent you from learning anything about your visitors.

To protect yourself, set up a quick filter that only includes data from the domains you want to track. Make sure to apply this filter to your Test Profile first to make sure you set it up correctly.

If you want to get someone’s attention, insert a message into their campaign reports using the Google Analytics URL Builder. Link to a page on their site, add a message to the end of the URL via the UTM parameters, and drive traffic through the link. The more people that use the link, the better the chance you have of someone noticing it.

So set up your filters and protect yourself from Google Analytics evildoers!

Seriously, go set up your filter right now. This is probably the most important filter you’ll set up on your site.

About the Author: Lars Lofgren is the KISSmetrics Marketing Analyst and has his Google Analytics Individual Qualification (he’s certified). Learn how to grow your business at his marketing blog or follow him on Twitter @larslofgren.

Source :  KISSmetrics 

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Overlooked Page Elements That Drive Online Sales

The product page may be the most important page on your website. It’s the point at which the user decides whether they’re buying or walking. And while the shopping cart gauntlet looms beyond, the product page is where the magic of an ecommerce sale begins. The thing with product pages, however, is they’re part basics and part nuance. More importantly, it’s often these nuances that are overlooked, and can kill the conversion rate of your product page.

In this post we look at eleven often overlooked page elements that can be the secret heroes of your conversion success story. Forget these eleven, and you can forget about a website that really drives revenue.

Element #1 – Clear, Differentiated Pricing Information

Have you ever checked out a product online and been unsure what the difference between the Silver and Gold plans were? Did Pro seem a little too much like Basic? Without pricing tables or pages that create a clear difference in value between product options you’re not going to sell much of either.

So how does one go about differentiating their product SKUs and service tiers? The most effective methods can be boiled down to a simple philosophy – focus on the benefits, instead of features, and highlight the differences. The best pricing tables allow you to quickly ascertain the value you’ll personally get out of each option, and discern the differences between each, rather than get bogged down squinting at row upon row of checkmarks.

A great example of clear pricing information can be seen at Launchlist – each tier of the service has its own personality, and it’s easy to see the differences between the feature set of each package.

Element #2 – Customer Confidence

Despite the fact that so many transactions are carried out online, the lack of personal interaction in this medium means that even the smallest thing that’s out of place on your ecommerce pages can rapidly erode customers’ trust in your product and business.

There are many ways to build this trust though, and almost all are fairly easy to implement. For instance, if you use an SSL certificate to secure your transactions (and you really, really should be if you’re processing credit card info), show it! Many consumers know to check for secure web pages when proceeding with a purchase, so they’ll be looking for that all-important padlock icon.

Clearly articulate your refund policy upfront, so your customers can buy knowing that they have recourse if things don’t go according to plan. List an actual phone number and address. Or even offer live chat on your site, to help address pre-sales questions one-on-one.

Finally, set expectations as to when and how customers will hear back from you. It’s a simple thing to communicate, but goes a long way towards preventing people from feeling like they’ve been left hanging, not knowing whether their questions have been received.

Element #3 – Unconventional Social Proof

It’s no secret that social proof helps drive conversions and sales, but it often takes the form of TechCrunch logos and endorsements from celebs or, *gasp*, web-celebs.

Take the road less-travelled with your social proof: use real people in your testimonials and images, skip the logo pond and share one key case study or client anecdote.

Incorporating social proof into your product pages is a way to complement and reinforce the positive influences on your visitors for a given product. It can take many forms, ranging from customer testimonials, to star ratings, to simply exposing the number of units of that particular product left in your inventory.

Netflix is famous for their movie ratings algorithm, which crowdsources members’ ratings as a whole, and uses it to predict a personalized rating for each subscriber. There’s something undeniably compelling about knowing that a particular movie is likely to be one you really enjoy, based not only on previous movies you’ve personally watched, but also because other members with tastes similar to your own loved it too.

Element #4 – Tell Me And Show Me

Too many product pages provide too little insight into what the customer is actually buying. This is particularly true of software product pages – if you’re selling a piece of software, show it in action via a demo. The most exemplary cases of this are often seen “eating their own dog food,” i.e. use the function of the product to sell itself.

Take a look at the wonderful product tour for Joyride – a plugin meant for building product tours. Immediately, they’ve communicated the core benefit of their product by using the product’s function itself to demonstrate just how well it helps to guide users through a tour.

Element #5 – Get Ready For Your Close-Up

Sure, most product pages have a nice big image of the item in question. But what if you want to see the back of it? The underside? What if the detailed stitching pattern is what’s important to me as a customer? Ask yourself, “How can I get close up and personal with the product to really experience it before I buy?”

Offering a good selection of images for tangible products allows your visitors to get as close to touching and getting familiar with a product as digitally possible. Best-in-class online retailers like Park & Bond, and Fab.com take this philosophy a step further, allowing visitors to zoom in super-close on each of a variety of artfully-shot high-res images for each product.

Element #6 – Choices, Choices, Choices!

Similar to the point about showing multiple product images, an element that’s often neglected is showcasing variations of a product. For example, is there a version of the product with a special attachment? Do some models come with a telescoping arm, or are there different materials and finishes available to choose from?

Remember that the image(s) you put on your product page are all the customer has to go on when making their decision, so if they can’t view the exact item they’re looking to get, they may have some trepidation in going through with the transaction.

Zappos understands this point well, so they make sure not only to show lots of images of the products (from almost every conceivable angle), but they also show every available color combination for each pair of shoes. They even allow you to sign up for a notification email if you don’t see a particular color combination that you’re looking for – that way, even if they don’t get the sale now, they can at least contact you if they do eventually stock those fabulous neon pink Chucks that you have your heart set on.

Element #7 – Invest In The Writing

One staple of the typical product page is the features and details section. Often, most stores will simply list off points in a clutch of bullet points and call it a day. Yawn.

Rote listings put the burden on the visitor to determine what the actual benefits are of the product in question. You end up making them do the heavy intellectual lifting as the responsibility falls to them to compare and contrast the feature sets of your product with your competitors’.

Honing in on the true benefits of your product is more helpful, as it addresses the most important question in the visitors’ mind: why should I buy this? This is accomplished with good copywriting on the product page. A well-written blurb of copy can help make a product stand out, as well as even entertain your visitors.

Don’t believe that the copy is worth investing in? Groupon, with its brain-meltingly huge IPO last year, distinguishes its offers by hiring teams of aspiring comedians to write the copy. Thinkgeek also takes care to infuse each and every product listing with spirited copy that entertains its discerning target audience.

Element #8 – Page Loading Speed

Funny enough, one element that frequently gets overlooked in the design of product pages isn’t even on the page – at least, not visibly. The speed with which a page loads can be a critical determining factor as to whether your visitor lays down their credit card, or decides to bail completely. This means it pays to keep load speed in mind when designing your product pages, especially if you’re planning to have a lot of large images, rich interactivity or other media.

According to a recent study, users make up their minds about a website in less than 3 seconds, which means that the longer you make them wait for the page to load, the less of a chance they’ll likely give you to capture their attention. Don’t keep them waiting too long!

The big daddy of online retailers, Amazon, has product pages that load incredibly fast – an absolute must, when a delay of even a couple of seconds means thousands of lost potential customers.

Element #9 – A Clear Next Step

This should be the biggest no-brainer in the history of the Internet, but too many product pages clutter up their pages with excessive calls to action. View customer photos, view pricing, view our knowledgebase, get customer support, talk to a representative, read reviews. Without good design, these calls to action all blend into a confusing mess, and make your user feel like they’ve just been blindfolded and spun around. Now, which way to that pinata?

While it may be tempting to utilize your product page with many actionable next steps as possible, remember that focus and clarity is the key to truly guiding your user to your main conversion goal. Typical methods for designing a good call to action include using high-contrast buttons, treatments or callouts that are unique to the overall design of the page, as well as giving the actionable elements plenty of breathing room to make them stand out.

Element #10 – The Soft Sell

Is your product all or nothing? If you’re selling software or a service without a soft sell opportunity you’re missing out on conversions. Can you give away a free trial? A free month of service? Can visitors set up a free account, download the software for free and activate later, or play with a demo version (also sometimes known as a sandbox)?

Often times, users might not be willing to make the commitment in buying your product right away. Therefore, you need to get them hooked with a smaller sell that takes little commitment on their part. By creating steps that extend the relationship and get the user to commit to a smaller action (even if it’s not the ultimate commitment), you’re building the bridge to the ultimate sale.

Element #11 – Wayfinding

Quick, how many steps lie between your product page, and your transaction confirmation page? If you don’t know, then it’s probably too many. A convoluted and laborious funnel is a sure-fire way to kill conversion.

If the customer is on the checkout page, then get them to their final purchase as quickly and efficiently as possible. Don’t make their purchasing effort seem like an arduous journey that can leave them second guessing their purchasing decision along the way.

The Dollar Shave Club has an easy purchase funnel that, once you hit the “select” button to purchase their product, immediately signs you into your account and jumps you to their one page checkout screen. No annoying registration confirmations, no five-step checkouts, just a simple log in and checkout process.

On another note, resist the temptation to distract your users with anything that’ll take them away from your purchasing funnel. Don’t shuttle them off to an obscure part of your site just because they happened to click on one of your recommended similar items. Don’t interrupt them with a link to your latest blog post. You’ve worked hard to get your visitors to this stage, so let them finish the transaction before you take them anywhere else.

Conclusion

Product pages can be a delicate dance, where one misstep can cost you the trust of your dance partners, a.k.a. your visitors. Take the time to nail all of these elements though and it’s highly likely you’ll be reaping significantly higher conversion rates as well as enjoying a better bottom line.

What have we missed? Are there any other product page elements you feel don’t get enough attention on most ecommerce sites? Let us know in the comments!

About the Author: Jason Amunwa is the Director of Products at digital-telepathy, a user-experience design studio that created SlideDeck, the WordPress slider plugin that lets you create awesome content sliders in minutes with no code, as well as Hello Bar and Impress.

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