Omniture Articles

Geotargeting – EHarmony Finds The Right Match For Canadians And US
The dating site eHarmony illustrated perfectly the importance of why testing is valuable, and why testing specific types of users is critical. The results were stunning in their clarity. The company took a simple test with a clear answer, then ran the same test to a different geography, and got the opposite answer. In the online world, we've all heard that adding too much navigation to landing pages or to registration pages is a mistake -- we've heard, time after time, that it distracts from our goal of getting users to complete the specific task we have assigned to them, such as filling out a form or moving further into the sales funnel. But is it really a distraction? Or could it be a valuable way of answering customer objections to eliminate dropping out of the funnel? That was the theory we tested with eHarmony. We helped them run a direct marketing campaign in which the campaign landing page either included or did not include tabbed navigation. And we discovered that, true to accepted best-practices, adding tabbed navigation on a registration page did, indeed, distract from the task at hand. That is, it reduced registration page completions. Except when it increased them.

To Marketers, Holiday Lockdown Is No Longer Relevant
There's an old saying that no battle plan survives once the first bullet has been fired. And I would argue that no holiday season merchandising plan, no matter how well-informed, survives once the first product has been purchased. So why would you firm up a plan in advance, without ever knowing, for sure, just what will happen once the "battle" commences? Marketers are already beginning to gear up for the holiday buying season, and for many, that means they're putting into place a merchandising calendar: We're planning which promotions we'll offer. We're deciding on what date we'll stop offering free shipping. And we're nailing it all down now, because we know that, come November 1, lockdown begins and we will not be allowed to make any unplanned changes to the site. Instead of planning testing and targeting tactics that will maximize conversions and purchases, tactics that will take advantage of the special buying behavior consumers exhibit just prior to Christmas, we're preparing to hunker down and hope for the best. I'm going to let you in on a secret: Those of us who plan their holiday season this way are taking an enormous risk. We are potentially leaving countless dollars on the table by forcing our customers into a game plan that may not even work. And we're doing it during a season of utmost potential.

GooglePages – Can Google’s Brand Sell Your Products Better Than Yours?
This year, Google ranked number one in a survey of brand professionals. These folks estimated that the Google brand had the most influence worldwide – more than Apple, Toyota, or any other. Now Honda is demonstrating the potential impact of that lead position by headlining its own site with the Google brand. Go ahead, search for “Honda Used Cars�? on Google. You will see a geographically targeted mash-up of a local map with pins on it representing available cars in your area, paired with a list of those cars. Give it a try.

4 Ways To Boost Sales, Without Buying More Media
Four major approaches to optimization: testing, targeting, predictive modeling and social.

Top 10 Tips To Boost Holiday Sales
The holiday sales season is drawing near - a time when some marketers halt their testing process for fear of jeopardizing a boost in traffic. Giving in to fear and avoiding such a smash-hit tactic as testing, however, can be far more risky during the holidays than continuing to test. So rather than avoiding testing because of fear, take control of your site and your traffic by testing any or all of the following things.

Do This Now: Restate Your Offer On Every Page
Most advertisers drop the ad message at the exact place where a consumer enters a site. Stop doing that immediately. Here's how.

Do This Now: What Matters More: Trust Or Relevancy?
Relevancy is becoming religion. If a customer is searching for “yoga mat�?, then we are duty-bound to drop them on the “yoga mat�? page on our site. Or not.

7 Cross-sell Tips That Work
Cross-selling works -- so it is not a surprise that 80 percent of merchandisers offer some version, according to a 2004 Merchandising Survey conducted by the e-tailing group. But too often merchants are offering too much.

EMarketers: The Six P's
For the sake of online selling, we'd like to add two more essential "P's" to the marketing mix: Privacy and Process.

The Site Is Dead: Long Live The Campaign
Why the website is dying, and what you can do to live on.

FAQ: Can I Test The Pages That Come After The Landing Page?
You can and you must. Here's how.

But, What Should I Test??
Consumers shopping online most likely aren't taking in the delightful colors on the background of the home page or the pleasing combination of type fonts. Here, a list of testing ideas that will have real impact.

Sweating The Small Stuff
Testing three small things that can have a big impact as you search for the ROI pot of gold.

Missed Opportunities?
Understanding and acknowledging the nuances of your traffic in order to channel your visitors successfully into the persuasive architecture of your site.

FAQ: How Can I Incorporate Testing Into My Affiliate Program?
Using testing with your affiliate program makes as much sense, or more, as incorporating it into your paid search campaign. Here's why.

95% Of Your Ad Sucks
Great creative, perfect placement, your new interactive campaign is a slam-dunk. Except that from the customer's point of view, you copped out. Like countless others before you, you focused on perfecting the first click -- the ad impression -- and ignored the next 15-50 clicks that it takes to close the sale.

"Viewthroughs" Deserve Relevance, Too
Marketers agree that visitors clicking through to a site from an ad should be shown copy that reinforces the ad. But what about "viewthroughs" -- people who don’t click on the ad, but visit the site at a later date? Here, tactics on offering viewthrough visitors relevant landing pages.