Further to our Video Testimonial with Google, are very own Account Director, Ian Howie, has been interviewed by Google for their Best Practise Case Study series. In the interview he talks about our experiences using Google’s Website Optimiser and Google’s CPA bid management solution.

Website Optimiser allows you test multiple variations of a page and measure which combinations of elements (Headline, Images, Copy, etc…) converts visitors best, as well as allowing you to do traditional A/B testing. At 1upSearch towers we’ve been busy using this great tool to increase conversion rates for a number of our clients with great success. Remember PCC is 50% getting people to the Landing Page and 50% what they do next when they get there.

We have also been using Google’s CPA (Cost per Conversion) Bid management Solution. We have tested it against other products on the market and found that the Google tool beats them all. It really does save you money - because it works out the best position to put you in - rather than just keep you in the more expensive slot on the page.

Why is Google doing all of this? Over at Mountain View they are smart enough to know that as soon as anything better comes along we are all going to up and leave. So it is in Google’s best interests to give us PPC people the best tools to do the job and get a good R.O.I.. Look at what happened to Overture, once the Kings of PPC, they was scrapped because of a little upstart called Google AdWords.

Microsoft are also working are on CPA and conversion tools - it is going to an interesting battle.

- Read The Full Case Study as a downloadable PDF file.

- Check Out Ian’s Twitter Feed.

As we’ve mentioned before bespoke landing page can really improve conversion.

Everything that the visitor needs should be on the page so..

Ideally you should then use Google AdWords Website Optimiser to try many different variations to find the best combinations. Its certainly worth doing and a a real insight into which copy and images work best in converting your visitors.

Some examples of landing pages we’re currently testing ..

http://jobs.justit.co.uk - testing 36 different versions

http://www.sign-up.to/html/landing/emailguide/index.php - Testing 20+ combinations.

Also here are some other Landing pages we’ve created..

Ours - www.1upsearch.co.uk/googleadwords

MyRuby - www.myruby.co.uk/landing

We’re currently waiting on our new landing page system that will allow to quickly create landing pages in a very cost effective way. We’ll post all the info as soon as it’s launched..

When designing a web page many decisions need to be made. One of the most important thing to get right is how your visitors are going to get in contact with you. This is particularly important if your looking to obtain sales enquires from your website. Many web developers may say that having a contact us page with a phone number and an e-mail address will do the job just fine. However in my experience this rarely works.

I’d thought I’d post my tips based on my experience.

1) Most People prefer filling forms than writing e-mails.

2) If your web developer tells you its difficult to do a form or that forms aren’t necessary - get a new developer.

3) E-mail addresses posted on websites are harvested for spammers, by spammers.

4) Long forms are a complete turn-off. Thing how much info do I need from this person. Most of the time a Name and Phone number will be enough. All other information can be collected on the follow up call.

5) Ask your visitors to contact you. Use a call to action like “contact us NOW for you FREE quote on 0800 555 888 or online”

6) Put forms and contact information on every page - not just the contact us page

7) Use a free phone number. More people respond to free phone numbers than any other type of number - FACT!.

8) Offer something for FREE. FREE things could be include an assessment of their current situation or a custom report just for them. Of course these can be part of your sales proposal.

9) Put your phone number clearly on every page - top right corner works well.

10) Follow up all your enquiries as quickly as possible. Leads go cold very quickly.

Please contact us if you’d like assistance with marketing of your site.

Original post on alexdigital.com.