Embarking Upon My Site Redesign

I've procrastinated long enough! What example am I setting for my clients and colleagues, when my own site lies neglected? So this summer, I will embark upon my own site redesign.

I will start by interviewing myself, researching the competitive landscape (I'm looking at you, fellow Site Optimizers) and identifying my goals for the new site. I hope to use this space here to share my experience with you.

Being the visual thinker that I am, I couldn't resist diving into some sketches to generate ideas. These serve as an initial brain dump, nothing more. See below.







Stay tuned...

Friends from Social Network Pursuade Couple's Purchase

My wife and I regularly check-in to retail stores, restaurants and night spots via Foursquare and Facebook. This isn't normally newsworthy for me, but yesterday it proved to be influential on a large purchase we are planning.

Shortly after leaving the retail store of a specialty mattress manufacturer, I noticed that a few comments were left on my Facebook status (which I previously used to check-in) cautioning me to not proceed with the purchase. The comments ranged from tales of manufacturer defects, loopholes to their warranty, and suggestions for alternative mattress manufacturers.

It's funny, because I typically study and share research with my clients about consumer social networks influencing purchase decisions. Guess it's... validating, to experience something like this first-hand.

Thanks friends.

Top 5 Listening Tips from Jeffrey Gitomer

Some sound advice on "listening" from Jeffrey Gitomer which I find worth repeating for my readers, as well as my own reference:

1. 1. Listen with the intent to understand. A sermon. A movie. In a classroom.
2. 2. Listen with the intent to take action. Someone giving instructions.
3. 3. Listen with the intent to learn. A teacher. A trainer. A seminar leader.
4. 4. Listen with the intent to enjoy. Music. Sounds of nature. Waterfalls. A crackling fire.
5. 5. Listen with the intent to remember. Driving directions. A website address. A phone number.

This post can be found here in its entirety.

Things To Do in NYC

Had an out-of-town colleague visiting today, so I sent her a short list of destinations, activities and restaurants. Thought this would be worth sharing:

UCB Theatre – some of the best live comedy improv in the world! Shows are dirt cheap. Go dressed casual and comfortable. Check website for show listings, and reserve tix online.
http://newyork.ucbtheatre.com

MoMA – most gorgeous museum you’ve ever seen. And they’ve got the Tim Burton exhibit still going on. You can spend all day here, so reserve this for a rainy day.
http://www.moma.org/

Museum of Arts & Design – small museum is a nice spot either before or after dinner. Allow only 1-2 hours to soak it all up. Oh, and stroll around Columbus Circle – gorgeous.
http://www.madmuseum.org/

Terra Blues – great live jazz and blues way downtown. Check it out Wed / Thurs or Fri night. This place has been my favorite spot for years and years.
http://www.terrablues.com

Flavorpill Recommends – comprehensive list of trendy night spots.
http://flavorpill.com

The Red Cat – beautiful little restaurant tucked away in Chelsea. Intimate setting, great wine list, reasonably priced. My wife and I love this spot.
http://www.theredcat.com/

Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine – with a couple of locations in NYC, this is a great lunch spot. You get lots of delicious, authentic Cuban food for a good price. It gets crowded, so get there no later than noon sharp!
http://www.sophiescuban.com/

Shake Shack – this place must have been featured in every movie, sitcom and food review. Go here for snack or lunch. Make sure its not too cold or raining, because the line is loooooong.
http://www.shakeshack.com/

Bookmarks Lounge at Library Hotel – this lounge is on the hotel rooftop. Heat lamps and enclosures will keep you warm. Go on a clear night to get some memorable views. Dress professionally. Network with other NY media folks, who consist of 90% of the crowd.
http://www.libraryhotel.com

6 Examples of Data-Informed Site Changes that Increased Conversions

You're not one of those designers still resisting the use of data to inform site changes, are you?

If you are, I'll let you in on a little secret: I was too just a few short years ago. I would make prolific statements, like: "Who needs data? I'm a designer, dammit! I craft websites based on my intuition, design aesthetic and vast experience." Sound familiar?

In hindsight, I was not taking the time to understand site visitor behaviors, friction points they encountered or frustrations they harbored. I was far from being an advocate for the user. As a matter of fact, I didn't have a solid understanding of what was working and what wasn't, and certainly not 'why'. This resulted in a lopsided balance between user needs and business goals. The business almost always won.

Embracing Data
Fast forward to today: I'm growing my agency's client relationships and winning new business by evangelizing data-informed design. Of course, we don't let user data drive all of our design decisions. That could translate into emotionless, marketing-driven garble. But there is a happy place where a quantitative and qualitative approaches live harmoniously together! I've been there and have seen how it can result in delighted clients, satisfied users and an invigorated design team.

Success Stories
Let me share some quick examples of how we got to that happy place. Below are 6 challenges I faced with a few select clients. For each, I've listed the evidence we found within the analytics + survey data and the design changes that helped achieve dramatic increases in conversion:

Client Question #1: Are our visitors sufficiently motivated to start the checkout process?
Evidence: 10% of visitors abandoned before proceeding to checkout, although self-qualifying themselves as "ready to buy."
Result: Set expectations around checkout process length, as well as improving the visibility of shipping and return policy.

Client Question #2: Why is there a high abandonment rate so late in the checkout process?
Evidence: Nearly 20% of visitors never clicked "Checkout," but did click "Update Cart," possibly mistaking this button as a means of continuing.
Result: Designed clearer visual distinctions between calls-to-action.

Client Question #3: Within checkout, are visitors confused by our process?
Evidence: Multiple page views of billing and shipping pages, with a high rate of visitors clicking "Help" within them, then abandoning shortly thereafter.
Result: Improved error messaging and contextual instructional copy.

Client Question #4: Are we appropriately allocating page real estate to our features, such as gift card redemption?
Evidence: 90% of visitors never attempted to redeem a gift card during their session.
Result: Removed gift card feature and re-allocated page real estate to revenue-generating features.

Client Question #5: Why are our visitors making only single-item purchases?
Evidence: Only 30% of visitors scrolled down far enough on product pages to see cross-sell functionality. For those that did scroll to see the cross-sell functionality, less than 50% of them interacted with it.
Result: Moved the cross-selling functionality along the right rail and added explanation of why the products are "recommended."

Client Question #6: What are the optimal number of pages for our application process?
 Is our current long 1-page design optimal?
Evidence: A/B test showed that over 70% of visitors to the 1-page control application scrolled and then abandoned, without any other type of page interaction. The 2-page design showed higher interactivity and 10% higher conversions.
Result: Put 2-page application process in market and conducted further multivariate tests to lift conversions another 8%.

Summary
Of course I have to write the disclaimer: "your results may vary." We apply best practices to every site we build. But more often than not, we identify a multitude of distinct user behaviors that are specific to each of our clients. Hence the embracing of an iterative and data-informed design process.

(Note: this post was originally intended to run on Carsonified's Think Vitamin blog in the late summer. But since they procrastinated, I decided to post it here on my own blog.)

Adobe Buys Omniture = BIG DEAL

I've been asked by clients and colleagues alike to share my POV on Adobe's acquisition of Omniture. So why not share it with my readers?

First of all, Adobe knows how to do acquisitions better than anyone else. They turned a small WSYWG application called GoLive CyberStudio into an Adobe-branded, best-selling web developer app. And not long ago, Adobe made the game changing, industry consolidating move of acquiring Macromedia.

Bottom line – Adobe is a master of product development, marketing and integration. Remember, through their own (ahem, clumsy) acquisitions, Omniture also has testing, targeting, surveys and site personalization capabilities. That can make Adobe an even larger dominating force in web development. What's next, a content management system (I'm looking at you, ATG)?

In my opinion, there are huge changes ahead for the web design industry as a result of this acquisition.

8 Reasons Why Your New Site Isn't Performing

Tell me if this has happened to you. Client says: "I don't get it. We just spent tons of money redesigning our site. It looks so much better. How could online sales be down?"

And you say: "It's the economy, stupid."

Now hold your horses there, Junior. Let's not jump to conclusions. The economy can be blamed for plenty (see: Housing Collapse and Demise of Auto Industry). eMarketer forecasts that retail e-commerce sales (excluding travel) will likely be flat in 2009.

There could be many reasons why your shiny and new transaction-based site isn't performing so well. Sure, some will be healed over time. But the good news is that most can be overcome with better planning.

Here are 8 traffic and site-side client challenges that I've recently observed:

• 1. New site architecture can take weeks or months for your visitors to adjust
• 2. New SEO tactics could take weeks or months for organic traffic to pick up again
• 3. Login module was moved to new position on page and visitors can't find it
• 4. Primary call-to-action was moved to a new position
• 5. RSS feed was changed and now it's broken for past subscribers
• 6. New site is so different, that visitors immediately abandon because they think they're in the wrong place
• 7. Familiar past site functionality was removed (for better or for worse)
• 8. New site has either too hard or too soft of a selling approach in comparison to prior design

Flickr Image: kevindooley

How Shall I Share? Let Me Count The Ways...

Here's the scenario: I read an interesting story online and decide to share it with others. What distribution method should I choose?

Well, if it's an article on the NYTimes, I can "recommend" it within their proprietary network. And in most cases, I have plenty of other options to share my find. I may Tweet it, post it to Facebook or LinkedIn, bookmark it in Delicious, save to Read It Later, Digg it, email to friends or write about it on my blog.

Sure, solutions have come along to ease some of my pain — enter: TweetDeck, Feedly and FriendFeed. But none of these are really scalable across all platforms and reach the majority of my intended audience.

So you see my dilemma? I'm not sharing very efficiently. There must be a better way...

Why I Don't Blog, And 6 Reasons Why I Should

Q: Why do I write a blog? A: To share my opinions on digital advertising for the purpose of educating readers, stimulating conversation and... feeding my ego.

Q: So why has it been months since I wrote a post? A: Because I can accomplish my aforementioned objectives with Twitter and Facebook.

I'm not trying to make excuses here. Honestly, these social media destinations enable me to easily tweet, comment and share candid opines. I post via my iPhone apps and TweetDeck on my Mac/PC. It's never been easier for me to publish in such quick and easy ways with an engaged audience.

• Twitter's 140-character limit discourages full sentences (for better or for worse). Public conversation is enabled via responses, tagging and re-tweeting.
  
• Facebook is plugged into so many sites, that it's easy to post an article and add my own color commentary (natch'). Public conversation is enabled via commenting and wall postings.

So why blog? Here's 6 good reasons:

1. Not everyone uses Twitter and Facebook.
   
2. Blog postings are indexed by Google.
3. Blogs provide a certain permanence to posts that can easily be searched.
4. Blogs can stay focused on a single subject, positioning author as subject matter expert.
5. Blogs may generate revenue (Google AdWords).
6. Blogs contribute to building the brand You.

Data-Driven Design: Five Must-Haves for Online Retailers

During our economy's high times — oh yea, in case you forgot, that included careless consumer spending and huge credit card debt — online retailers neglected their websites' user experience. Heck, I might too if my site was generating hundreds of millions of dollars as-is!

It wasn't unusual for consumers to tolerate non-intuitive online product browsing, hunt for hidden calls-to-action, agonize over registration forms with too many or irrelevant questions, and endure shopping carts with more steps than the Philadelphia Museum of Art. But what I found interesting was that consumers were very often motivated to buy online, regardless of these faults. Eagerly spending on the latest cashmere sweater, cell phone or over-sized plasma tv, they only occasionally groaned about the user experience.

Consumers are now selectively spending every penny. Their tolerance for a poorly designed, untrustworthy, and "not-worth-the-hassle" online experience has completely diminished. Not to mention the still-lingering fears over site security and identity theft. Conversion rates have recently plummeted as much as 50-75% year over year for some of my clients. Suddenly, measurement and optimization are the topic of discussion, from board meetings to cocktail parties. Marketers are talking about web analytics tools like they're the latest Spring fashion that everyone's got to have! Organizations have hired - or are hiring - website analysts (go check the job boards if you don't believe me) to evaluate and maximize their online revenue. Well, at least that's the desired effect. The fact is that retailers are still lacking effective website optimization programs.

My prescription: Optimize your website right. Optimize now. And optimize often. While it's easy to look at an online retail experience and conclude that it needs work, without data that says so, it is particularly challenging to pinpoint the precise reasons that make it so bad. This in turn makes it difficult to embark upon site revisions.

What are the friction points within each page of your online shopping experience? A methodology needs to be in place that determines what is wrong, how to fix it and prioritize site changes. Studying actual visitor behavioral data is a crucial first step to understanding what is wrong with your website.

Interestingly enough, hardly retailers have access to within-page user behaviors. And sadly, most don't even have their web analytics tool installed properly. Regardless of what your vendor told you, professional installation is required (ie. this is not your IT team). I swear, I honestly see marketers staring at only high-level dashboards all day, just gleaning how users arrived and what page they droped-off from. Ahh yes, so very insightful.

To ensure future success, here are five must-haves for online retailers:

1) actionable within-page data
2) qualitative visitor attitudinal data
3) benchmarks that provide context to the data
4) best practices / design know-how
5) a method to easily test new page layouts and design elements

Once the above five tenets of data-informed design are mastered, consider targeting site content to visitors based on their geography. I also recommend huddling with your media team to match creative, messaging and offers featured in the campaigns that sent consumers to your site in the first place. Then, strategically plan and develop new site-side changes for each online and offline campaign throughout the year.

My rant is by no means a detailed instruction manual on how you should proceed. Putting together a custom-tailored website optimization program is not going to be easy. You may or may not even have all the right people on board to execute efficiently and effectively. If anything, I hope this is a wake-up call for retailers to take action.

Questionable Future For Printed News

Printed newspapers and magazines across the globe are in trouble. Big trouble. In-home subscriptions are rapidly declining and advertisers are avoiding them like the plague.

The NYTimes reports that the French government is providing a financial bailout for their country's newspaper industry. This frustrates me because the primary reason for the newspapers' woes are cited as a "decrease in advertiser revenue." So why does the French government think the solution is to purchase print ad space? Isn't that just a band-aid for a much bigger problem?

I recently attended the Gotham Media Ventures forum "The Future of News and Information." The panel included prominent leaders in digital publishing, including Martin Nisenholtz, SVP Digital Operations at the NYTimes. He described the frightening decline in his publication's new print subscriptions, but noted that the NYTimes still proudly claims tens of millions of existing print subscribers. Interestingly, Nisenholtz added that their data shows print subscribers rarely cancel their home subscription unless "they die or move out of NYTimes' distribution area."

That's pretty remarkable. Very few companies or products can claim that sort of brand loyalty. But that still paints a picture of a very bleak future for the NYTimes.

So how do newspapers and magazines restructure their business models? How do they respond to declining print subscriptions? What now, if brands don't want to advertise in print?

One solution was offered by another Gotham panelist; Financial Times' managing editor, Chrystia Freeland. She sees the future of print publications as a subscriber paid model for online news consumption. I should note that not one of the panel members or audience agreed with Freeland's solution, and eagerly challenged the notion, citing the failed subscriber-paid models of the NYTimes and WSJ.

Nisenholtz offered e-paper as another possible solution. He noted that the NYTimes has made recent investments in e-paper, but declined to share any specific details.

I'm concerned if a new medium like e-paper addresses the problem at hand. Today, readers are accustomed to using their computers and mobile devices as their medium for consuming content. These devices are readily available, making the consumption of content both easy and free to access. How would the introduction of yet another electronic device solve this problem?

Bottom line: advertisers no longer see value in print advertising, and readers are no longer interested in newspapers and magazines. As consumers of digital content, what is our obligation to publishers to continue providing their incredibly valuable service?

Disclaimers: For purposes of nostalgia, I currently subscribe to the NYTimes, Wired, Forbes, GQ, Time Out NY and Newsweek. My employer is a global digital advertising agency.

A Radio Station That's Really Trying

I rarely use this space to write about non-digital matters. But every once in a while I stumble upon a profound offline experience. In this case, analog (gasp!).

Let me make one thing clear: I don't listen to radio much any more. Why? Non-stop commercials, bubble-gum-crap, constant-loop-soundtracks are all that can be found on New York radio stations. And classic rock stations keep the same old songs on rotation all day. Even the so-called "rock stations" are often irrelevant. For these reasons, I haven't gone out of my way to stream any New York FM stations or tune into much more than NPR during my once-a-week drive in my car.

Then I found 101.9 RXP. Recently re-branded into "The New York Rock Experience," it's hard to imagine that this station formerly broadcast only smooth jazz. RXP plays very few commercials, which is either because they don't have advertisers yet, or they're incredibly considerate to their listeners. I'd like to think it's the latter. They found non-chatty DJ's (get out!), with veterans such as Matt Pinfield, whose familiar, raspy voice is still welcome.

After listening for hours today on this snowed-in, freezing cold Sunday, RXP managed to not repeat one song, delivering unique music from upcoming bands, current alt rock chart-toppers, and established classics. These aren't the hit songs that get regular radio play - they're B-sides from the likes of: Elvis Costello, AC/DC, Led Zep, Tom Petty, The Police, Kaiser Chiefs, Death Cab, Interpol, Killers and Kings Of Leon.

It's nice to see a radio station that's really trying.

Dailymile - My Personal Online Workout Coach

My attendance at the gym isn't as frequent as it once was. It used to be easy. But as my workouts became more of a burden, I found that my financial commitment (monthly gym dues) motivated me. When that failed, it was my personal trainer's threats to stop canceling sessions. Sure, marriage, late-nights-at-work and business travel are to blame for this decline. But not "making the time" to exercise is all my fault.

Enter Dailymile. I log each workout, which includes specifics around my workout type, length of time, how I felt (on a smile-o-meter) and tag accordingly. I can now track my progress day over day, week over week. Dailymile users are encouraged to "motivate friends" to achieve fitness goals. And emails remind me to get my butt to the gym. And posts are synced with my Twitter account, so my pursuit to achieve Herculean strength is shared with my entire social network.

The site caters to runners and cyclists, which I personally do only when chased or for leisure. But it serves its purpose for me to track my general training workouts. There's also a feature that allows users to find other Dailymile athletes in my neighborhood (not very useful: other than my wife, I'm a loner at the gym - just me and my iPod).

Over the past few weeks I've been a beta user. As of today, the big news is that they've gone public. Looking ahead, Kelly at Dailymile says they'll be adding some new features. This should include:

1. Routes — calculates distance ran or cycled and shares a map of the route with others;
   
2. Workout Import — imports workouts from Nike and Garmin devices;
3. Challenges — create exercise/workout challenges and invite friends to participate.

What would make Dailymile even more useful? Here's my wishlist to Kelly:

1. iPhone app — I'd like to easily log my workout while walking home from the gym;
2. Exercise Tips/Ideas — I'm always looking for new exercises to try out;
3. Diet Advice — currently, forums have a lot of content, but how about a dedicated section?
   

Trying Out Google Web History

I took Google's new Web History for a brief test drive this weekend, using it to save and browse my Google searches. Web History allows me to search my past Google searches chronologically; by topic; and view trends (nice!). Although I'm kind of weirded out that they can track back my past search behavior, both at home and at work.


The features can be expanded to track and display my entire web browsing history, but that gets really creepy.

Thinking ahead to the possibilities (insert evil laugh here), this new capability could allow Google users to opt-in to share their browsing history. In return, users might expect a cut of the revenue (ala Google AdSense), free hosting, free ISP services -- you name it -- giving marketers unheard of visibility into consumer search and browsing behaviors.

My POV on Site Testing Tools

Last week I was asked by a colleague to recommend a site testing solution for a friend's tech product review site. The following is my response (edited to protect our agency's exclusive relationships, pricing, etc.):

In recent months, Tier I players like Optimost and Omniture Test & Target have dramatically reduced their prices. 1-year technology contracts are now half of what they were a year ago. But don't be fooled - they try to make up for these steep markdowns by trying to charge for costly services models. These solutions are only great values if you have a skilled site optimization expert or agency partner operating these tools.

A Tier II player like Widemile or SiteSpect incur minimal monthly charges, without an annual contract. They make it easy to scoop up their tool for just a few months with a low learning curve, and are very eager to compete with their larger rivals. As a result, these players will tend to be flexible on price and provide plenty of free education and technical support. Widemile in particular has a pretty sweet, Flash-based user interface, suitable for even a novice. Definitely gets high marks. SiteSpect's big advantage is that no tags need to be implemented on the page. But be wary of implementation at a DNS level. Your larger organizations' IT teams will be shaking in their boots!

Ah, and of course Google’s Site Optimizer tool. Free, free, free. I don’t believe this is any less or more turnkey than Tier I or II solutions. Speaking from first-hand experience, this tool nicely complements Google Analytics' free solution, and is currently running live tests on my site. I've only just implemented this, so will update with my long-term satisfaction.

A general working knowledge of HTML is necessary for most of the above solutions. So in the context of this prospect -- a simple tech review site, supported by ads with no ecommerce or clear conversion…. then, err, free is a nice way to start. I think Avinash Kaushik's logic can be applied: a free analytics solution is practical for starters, if only to get your feet wet.

Disclaimer: We’re not talking about “big client” millions of media budget at stake in the above scenario, so I’m being very liberal with my recommendations. I think it takes a very careful evaluation of a business' goals, objectives, dedicated staff and technical limitations to make a consultative recommendation.

Plugging The Leaks in Your Website

My conversations with clients are usually focused on "plugging the leaks" within their websites. By "leaks," I mean the alarming rate of high visitor abandonment at various points within a website.

It's funny, but not long ago this sort of talk would have lead to "...as a result, we need to redesign the site." Hold your horses. Tough economy or not, why jump the gun and march right into a total site redesign? Do you know exactly what's so terribly wrong with the site that it's gotta get new paint job, or flat-out gut renovation? Do you even care about alienating users that might "love" the site's current aesthetic?

Make a small investment of time and budget to understand precisely what is wrong with your website and why it's causing visitors to bounce. Only then can we have a constructive conversation about changes to the website. By implementing a dozen or so data-driven tactical recommendations, your visitors can expect a more efficient, easier-to-use website that's actually achieving (let's even say exceeding) it's intended business goals!

Future of Web Design Conference in NYC

I'd like to attend the upcoming FOWD Conference in NYC, November 3-4. The absolute highlight for me is to hear Hillman Curtis speak about how he's continued to re-invent himself as an artist. Hillman Curtis was one of a few significant influences on my career as a graphic designer (others included Stephen Sagmeister and David Carson, although neither is currently scheduled to join Mr. Curtis as a speaker).

What stands between me and this conference, is funding. As the economy weakens, it is harder for my employer to approve expenses like this. In that case, I hope Louise at Carsonified can come through for me with a pass.

Why I'm In Advertising

It was the early 80's. Looking up in Times Square, I fixed my eyes on what must have been a Coca-Cola billboard. Amazed by the classic design, magnificent scale and masses of people exposed to it, it is my belief that at this moment I became mesmerized with the profession of advertising. Of course, at this prepubescent age I was also entertaining a few other careers: veterinarian, Disney animator or professional Corvette driver (the job description speaks for itself).

Looking back, it feels good to say that I've gone down one of my dream career paths. However, after zig-zagging a bit, and flexing my creative muscle, I'm not quite sure how I landed into this current role. I think it's a new found passion to make my clients wildly successful, in an all-new, quantifiable way.

Feedly Beautifully Delivers Content

I've tried Netvibes, iGoogle, Google Reader and numerous other RSS aggregators. For one reason or another, each failed to become part of my daily consumption of news and information.

Enter Feedly. The dashboard of all dashboards! Feedly is an extension for Firefox, incorporating my various email accounts, social networks, RSS feeds and bookmarks. Besides pulling everything into one place, one of the most attractive assets is Feedly's design and layout. All of my content can be formatted into customizable layouts, in which I can filter and search. I'm able to clip and send full articles or parts of articles, sharing them via my integrated email and social network accounts.

And personalization! An intelligent engine learns my reading habits, offering me relevant news based on my reading patterns and preferences. And articles that I've read within Feedly are refelected as 'read' in my Google Reader.

Groovey Digg Company Video

Here's a really smart, single-take, company video that Digg put together, set to the tune of Dee Lite's "Groove Is In The Heart." And get this – the normally dry Digg CEO Jay Adelson raps Q-Tip's solo! The whole office ("interns only," reports Valleywag) joins in by taking turns singing the lyrics. If you're wondering where Digg founder Kevin Rose is, stay tuned until the end.

Digg Dubb: Groove Is In The Heart