Web Business Revisited: "From Traffic to Conversion

CONVERSION SUMMIT 2013 How did it happen that the topic of consistent conversion optimization in the web channel stopped at the Swiss border a few years ago?

The Conversion Summit took place on September 5 in Frankfurt.FROM CHRISTOPH OGGENFUSS*Talks with professional colleagues on 4th Conversion Summit in Frankfurt have made it clear that the topic of "conversion optimization" as part of digital marketing is approached much more rigorously and consistently outside of Switzerland. The quick answer would be that the Swiss market is just too small for investments in conversion optimization and testing. Of course, this is too short-sighted and is not the central question. It is much more a matter of developing awareness for the topic, educating people and creating successful examples of use - developing a common practice in Switzerland. At the same time, one can also argue that in Switzerland, Google AdWords, SEO, etc. are being used all over the country. That is also true. But the (international) speakers at the conference on September 5 in Frankfurt made it clear that the central challenge in website optimization is not to further increase traffic, but to increase conversion rates - it's about selling more! And this brings me to some key statements that I don't even want to comment on - they actually speak for themselves:- Website optimization must not follow the release cycle of the IT department, but must be a rolling and iterative process. Website testing is mandatory and often not sexy - but the optimized implementations are then the freestyle and bring results- In the charity sector, pictures of individuals are more conversion effective than group pictures- In website testing, observing and measuring is better than questioning- "Visualize more - write less" - most (landing) pages have too much text- "Design beats arguments" - goes in the same direction that our eyes only secondarily grasp the text- "If it's not motivation - it's friction!" - the web consumer must be led along the "motivation path" to completion. If one link in the chain is not motivating, it creates friction or the risk of abandonment.- "What sticks get picked" is especially important for sites with concrete offers - often the "stickyness" is reduced with too many offers on one site.- If there are three offers next to each other, the middle one is chosen most often.- "What sticks get picked" is important for sites with concrete offers - often the "stickyness" is reduced with too many offers on one site. Copywriting is a very challenging but also important feature - choosing a single word can increase conversion up to 30%!In summary, the conversion management issue still has significant potential for Swiss websites. Thus, the command is: "Open the floodgates for this relevant topic in Switzerland." So the watchword for us marketeers is: from traffic to conversion. I wish you every success. The "Conversion Summit 2013" conference was organized by www.web-arts.com organized.*Christoph Oggenfuss, Front Office Architect, www.markiting.ch