Conversion Testing using Actionable Page Copy
Apr 15, 2008 Webmaster Tips
Everyone running online marketing campaigns can tell you that conversion testing is important, especially when fine tuning landing page content. However, there is a far more valuable use to conversion testing: finding out what works relatively better than your stock page content for natural results, and finding those answers quickly using pay-per-click. One hotly debated element of site tuning is actionable page copy and interactivity. Think the text on your buttons, form fields, shopping cart, and post-sales communication.
My theory on this subject is, using actionable page copy that hints at urgency and drives conversion may detract from pre-qualifying the buyer, driving high quality lead generation down an uncertain path. Whereas the good old ‘web 1.0′ verbiage and page elements may urge visitors to read the fine print first, thereby giving you less leads but higher quality prospects.
Actionable vs. Default
Actionable copy is typically more creative, can be a bit edgy, calls for visitor urgency, and may do a better job of describing the process of interacting with a website. Default copy that is found in most content management systems, and the stuff developers will code automatically is more mundane but typically better recognized.
| Actionable | versus | Default | ||
| Get started | vs. | Sign up | ||
| (RSS option) | vs. | Subscribe | ||
| Choose ‘X’ | vs. | Add to Cart | ||
| Send Message | vs. | Submit | ||
| Get a quote | vs. | Submit | ||
| Buy now | vs. | Add to Cart |
As you can see, some actionable copy may actually confuse visitors, such as “Buy Now” versus “Add to Cart”. The customer may be saying, if I click “Buy Now” will I be charged right away for my purchase without any follow-up questions? Most web-savvy visitors know to check whether they’re logged into a site to see whether it’s possible to buy immediately, but always be wary that some poorly coded sites may actually charge them immediately! On the other hand, less web-savvy visitors are likely to be put off by actionable copy because it can be noisy and brash.
If you were to classify a good rule of thumb of when to use actionable versus default text, a good starting point for your tests might be to measure and test against the following assumptions:
Actionable:
- Faster time till first purchase
- Theoretically higher conversion rates
- Lower lead quality
- Younger target demographic
Default:
- Slower time till first purchase
- Theoretically lower conversion rates
- Higher lead quality
- Older target demographic
- Possibly higher repeat visitation (maybe multiple PPC clicks!)
As always, testing these theories is key in conversion testing actionable page copy. Demographics and conversion rates will vary wildly between any two sites, even those in similar markets.
April 16th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
[...] Can you scare unqualified traffic with urgent calls-to-action? According to an article posted at PPC-Advice, this very well could be the case. Their hypothesis is that your audience may not be to be told [...]