Conversion Rate Optimization

Edmonton Real Estate Marketing Strategy

Posted by Landon Poburan on November 6th, 2012

Edmonton Real Estate Marketing

At CategoryCode we do quite a bit of real estate marketing and we have begun to build a proven process by which we’ve achieved great success. Because of this we love seeing new stats regarding this local niche.

On October 30, Top Draw Inc. posted an infographic on there blog called Alberta Searches 2012. In their infographic they display what Albertans are searching for most on Google. They did an absolute fantastic job and we were happy to see some stats on real estate. If you browse to the section “Home Sweet Home” you will see some great stats.

We always educate our real estate clients at how competitive this market is. It takes work to penetrate, but it can be done with a strategic plan in place. Finding statistics like those of Top Draw’s really help when planning your marketing strategy.

The #1 searched term for real estate is mls followed by rent. Some of the more long-tail terms are homes for sale and mls edmonton.

These are great and now let’s start to think of a marketing strategy.

Inbound Marketing

Firstly let’s look at traffic generation. You want to get your website in front of the people looking for your services. This is called Inbound Marketing. Well, these statistics show that some of the most searched terms in Alberta are “mls”, “rent”, “homes for sale” and “mls edmonton”.

Let’s set the ‘rent’ keyword aside for a second. The majority of these terms are buying-centric. This helps us take our strategy a step further. There are more people on Google looking to buy than looking to sell. This is demonstrated by none of the top 10 keywords being “selling a home” or “free home evaluations” or related to selling.

So as we setup of marketing strategy we can see some solid keywords we can target to capture some internet traffic. Now trying to optimize for “mls” alone will be difficult, so you can start to look at long tail versions of this keyword and use it as a root to build from. Taking it one step further would be “mls edmonton”. You can continue to build from there. Using a term like “mls edmonton” will still have weight for “mls” in organic seo and you can target both when using pay-per-click advertising.

The next section of the infographic is important as well. You can see that when it comes to branded terms, “Remax” is the most searched term. Followed by “comfree”, “vrbo” and “century 21″. This is also fantastic information. If you happen to be a RE/MAX REALTOR® then you definitely should do some work with that keyword as it is highly searched for. Since RE/MAX has spent that much time and effort on there brand recognition, take advantage of it!

Now if you aren’t with a RE/MAX brokerage, then we can still use this to our advantage in a different way. Another form of traffic generation we use is per-per-click advertising with Google Adwords. We classify the above mentioned keywords as competitor keywords. If people are searching for your competitors, you can still advertise to them! If your with a different organization, there is still a large amount of people searching for “Remax” so let’s put your business in front of them and see if we can’t sway them by the benefits of working with you.

Conversion Rate Optimization

Inbound Marketing is highly important. If you do not have people coming to your website then having the best website in the world will not do you much good. On the other side of the coin, if you have thousands of visitors but a poor website, that is money down the drain as well.

Conversion Rate Optimization is the other piece of the Real Estate Marketing puzzle.

Essentially CRO is building and designing a website that will turn your website visitors into leads and/or customers.

When we begin working on this part of the strategy these statistics play a very important role. To create a highly effective webpage you want the message of webpage to match what the visitors are looking for when they come to it. We call this continuity.

For example, if you follow our tips from above and are targeting “mls edmonton”. People searching for this are looking for MLS real estate listings in Edmonton. This means they are looking to buy (in most cases). But, if they click through to your website and the first thing they see your marketing is focuses on promoting Free Home Evaluations there is a very good chance they will leave.

To create the highest converting pages you need continuity to match what the visitor is looking for. If they are looking to buy then your page should be built with this in mind. You can still have information about Free Home Evaluations but it shouldn’t be the focus.

Extending and Building on the Strategy

What we have discussed is a foundation for a solid strategy. However, this can be extended and scaled to be even more effective. Here is one of many ways you can extend your strategy.

Multiple Landing Pages

Having multiple landing pages is a very effective way to increase your conversion rate. Since your in real estate, you help people with both buying and selling. So you don’t want to only focus on one. A tip however is to create multiple landing pages for different types of visitors. If you have Google Adwords running and you have some keywords targeted towards buyers and some targeted towards sellers, give them what they want!

If someone comes to your website from searching “mls edmonton” it would be best to have them land on a page about buying.

If someone comes to your website from search “free home evaluations it would be best to have them land on a page about selling and free home evaluations.

Always Track, Test and Measure

With everything you do, you need to track and measure the results. We have provided an overview of the foundation of our marketing strategy, but we track, measure and test everything.

In-depth keyword research is needed to determine the best and most useful keywords to target. Targeting “mls” may bring the most visitors, but targeting “edmonton mls listings” may bring more leads. These are things you must always test and measure.

Likewise, we are always testing the best landing page to display to our website visitors. If they are looking to buy we are always testing different elements to try and generate the most leads by identifying what they truly want and what triggers them to convert. You can only discover this through testing.

The key to constant improvement is testing new ideas and tracking the performance.

Overview

We have gone over a lot here. Here are some important take away points:

Use inbound marketing to put yourself in front of the people already looking for you
Make sure the message on your website matches what the visitor is looking for
You can always scale things up or down
Always track, test and measure performance to continually improve

As always there are many exceptions to the rule. This is an overview and a foundation of how we build our real estate marketing strategy. We have an in-depth process and extensive tool-set which allows us to bring targeted users to targeted landing pages and convert them into hot leads. However, this is only done by continuous market research and testing. Marketing is an ever-evolving and on-going process and it is never complete. You must always test new ideas, new strategies to continuously improve!

View Top Draws full Alberta Searches 2012 infographic.

Interested in Real Estate Marketing? Contact us today.

Split Testing with WordPress Themes

Posted by Landon Poburan on October 29th, 2012

As many of you know, we love conversion rate optimization and split testing at CategoryCode. We have a great set of tools that allows us to setup and track our A/B tests to constantly increase performance on our landing pages and marketing campaigns.

This past year we found a new tool, rather a WordPress plugin, that we have added to our tool set. The plugin is SES Split Testing Plugin. We found this plugin when we were required to run a split test on a WordPress website. Our client had a completely built website and we were making modifications to the design which we wanted test. We created a new template which contained a number of our changes such as revised header and navigation, and much more.

The SES Split Testing Plugin allowed us to run an A/B Split Test in combination with Google Analytics and Custom Segments!

How to Setup a Split Test with WordPress and SES

Create 2 or more WordPress themes you’d like to test
Install the Plugin
Select themes you’d like to test in plugin settings
Define custom segments in Google Analytics
Track performance in Google Analytics
Declare winner!

Note; You will need Google Analytics setup and installed on your WordPress website.

In Google Analytics you will need to setup the custom segments. Custom Segments are ways of categorizing and tracking website visitors. You will base them on a “User Defined Value”, the value will be the name of each theme folder. The SES Split Testing Plugin is very handy in that when a specific theme is being used it tags that visitor with the value of the theme name.

Once you have the segments configured in analytics it will start tracking data (may take a day to show). You can now view all of your Google Analytics data and see important stats such as Goal Completions and compare your themes.

Once your have collected ample amount of data, you can declare a winner, deactivate the plugin, then use the winning theme!

Update: Interested in more split testing tools? Look into Google Content Experiments.

» Looking to increase your ROI with Split Testing? Contact us today to find out how we can help!

RIP Google Website Optimizer

Posted by Landon Poburan on June 27th, 2012

This month we wrote a guest post on a local Edmonton Real Estate Blog on the recent announcement of Google retiring Google Website Optimizer. This will be happening on August 1st, 2012. Since we are avid Split Testers, we wanted to review the change to move GWO into Google Analytics under the name Google Content Experiments.

You can read our full guest post to see how Google Content Experiments stacks up against the soon to be gone Google Website Optimizer.

Here is a little teaser:

Earlier this month, Google announced that it is retiring Google Website Optimizer as of August 1^st 2012. For avid split testers, this wasn’t a surprising move by Google. Google Website Optimizer hasn’t evolved quite the same way as google analytics, and was at times tricky to work with as it required a technical knowledge to run.

For myself, saying goodbye to Google Website Optimizer is like parting with an old friend. Being a graphic designer who eventually worked his way into online marketing, I got my first taste into how powerful graphic design can be with Google Website Optimizer. I tested different identity systems against each other, and the results helped me to become who I am today.

All hope isn’t lost however. Google announced that it is replacing Google Website Optimizer with the launch of Content Experiments, a split-testing feature within Google Analytics. So what does this mean for marketers? How do the tools compare?

Read our full guest post: RIP Google Website Optimizer.

Split Testing – The Perfect Solution

Posted by Landon Poburan on June 13th, 2012

Split Testing is the perfect solution to most discussions on website changes!

I had a very interesting conversation last night (June 12, 2012) with a client. This conversation falls in line with what we preach to our clients, “Only a test will show!”

Our client is looking for a simple WordPress template that can be recycled and re-purposed for a number of small projects they are working on. The template will be simple, clean, responsive and provide them the ability to modify the background color/image and banner image.

The client did have a concern:

“My existing template has rounded corners, but it uses CSS3, so they do not show up in IE8. I would like to use images so they show up in all browsers.”

I understood where he was coming from. I then explained we can definitely use images if he wished but explained our standpoint. We prefer to use CSS3 and HTML5 where we can to keep our work as current and future proof as possibly.

With this in mind, I explained we try and use these techniques for things like rounded corners, gradients, shadows, etc. These techniques degrade nicely. If their browser does not support rounded corners the website still functions (it is not broken). They just see a square corner and they don’t know any different.

We then got started to discuss if this would have an impact on lead generation. The consensus?

“Let’s test it!”

So once our template is done, we will run a split test to see if the rounded corners vs. no rounded corners have an impact on lead generation and conversions. At the end of the day, everything but data is speculation. Raw data tells the truth.

If you ever have ideas, questions, thoughts, or theories … Test them! It is the only way to truly know. Sometimes you change something from Blue to Red because Bob in Accounting thought it would Look better, therefore it should generate more clicks. There’s no need to tell Bob no or to blindly make the change not knowing the potential impact. You can simply test it! Let the data tell you what works better.

If your not testing, your not improving! Always be testing.

CRO Tips Part 3: Don’t Be Afraid to Show a Related Face or Emotion Behind the Company

Posted by Hal Stephenson on May 1st, 2012

The Problem

I often see clients who have perfected their sales pitch when discussing it one-on-one. They can dazzle, impress and have you begging to buy their product. Their terrific sales people, but their expertise is lost online. Some may argue this may be the difference between sales and marketing, but I believe it’s a message being lost in translation across two mediums.

Check out our post on Face to Face Marketing.

It’s true, a conversation on a website is much more one sided than a conversation in person. When planning websites, clients will focus on developing their message, and sales points, but don’t take into consideration of showing the face behind their company. The one-on-one personal contact is lost. Sales points and persuasion mean nothing when I’m looking, at best, a smiling stock photo that people have seen 1000 times prior.

Finding a Solution

How do you combat this problem and display who you are to your audience? It’s difficult to create that connection online the same way you can in person. There are several in the box methods of using graphic design to cheaply integrate a human element, but they typically lack in performance.

The first is by adding features such as twitter feeds, and requests to “like a company on facebook”, but users are usually bombarded with these messages on a daily basis that they’re often ignored.
Second is posting staff photo or adding a message from the president to a site. This seems to be obvious solution, however users usually respond with “who’s the suit, and why should I care to read what he’s saying”.
Third, I’ve seen an implementation of live chat features which can create an instant conversation, but once again relies on the user to be curious enough to ask questions.

A Great Example

The campaign created by DDB Canada for Knorr is a perfect example of how a company created a character that we can all appeal too. Watch the video below to learn about the campaign:

Although many small clients may not have the budgets for large campaigns as Knorr, it’s a perfect example of how they created an emotional connection, something unique rather than a simple “Like Us on Facebook” button.

From a graphic design standpoint, you may be thinking that these elements should be handled by a marketing department, and you may only have as much freedom as deciding which photos to use. But as creative types, don’t be afraid to push the envelope.

For small brick and mortar businesses, don’t be afraid to use that as a launching point. Simple ideas such as changing a call to action to “Let’s us buy you a coffee and talk about engagement” or “Talk to Richard about your indoor plumbing” might just open the door to dialogue in a 1 on 1 meeting. Taking advantage of videos may be a great way to introduce a client to your company and help establish credibility and trust.

How We’ve Achieved Success

At CategoryCode, we ran a similar test for and Edmonton-based real estate team – Robert F. McLeod Realty. Their existing landing page had no images of faces, or even who Robert McLeod was. To make matters worse, the images on the page were facing away from the users or headline.

The owner of the company – Robert McLeod, was the brand. We needed to showcase this, establish a connection with users, similar to the one he’d create in person.

With a few images and graphic design tweaks we were able to develop a new landing page that better showcased the company and most of all who Robert McLeod was.

The Result

The results were a grand slam for conversions. Without any copy changes, we were able to produce a 304% increase in quality leads.

If you are interested in learning more about what we did for the Robert F. McLeod Realty Team, please view our Case Study.

CRO Tips Part 2: 5 Ways to Gain Control of Your Eye path

Posted by Hal Stephenson on March 8th, 2012

Most graphic designers already have a working knowledge on how to control an eye path. It’s taught as foundational principle in many design schools. One problem however is that there are several schools of thought on organizing the eye path. I’ve read about some experts who think the best approach is to keep your eye path as straight as possible. Others tend to think that having a ‘z’ eye path (similar to how we read) is the more natural and eye friendly approach.

From my experience with graphic design optimization, I find that keeping it in a simple straight line is works, however it’s not always the best. An eyepath can be controlled using several elements, and if you focus intensity on an item, the eye will be drawn towards it. It’s all a matter of understanding your eye path and using elements to control it.

How to analyze your existing eye path

To begin optimizing a page’s eye path, treat the existing page as a subconscious map. Try replacing your copy with lorem ipsum. Without having to think or search, you should successfully be able to navigate through the page, without missing any key details or sections. Headlines, column headings, lists and even info graphics should be able to explain why a user should commit their time on the site or pay attention to a section of content. If you don’t see important selling points, you should re-evaluate your page.

5 Ways to gain control of your eye path

To gain control of your eye path, it’s key to understand the following 5 key principles to draw attention.

Size

In relation to other elements on the page, larger items dominate the eyepath compared to smaller items.

Color & Contrast

Increasing the amount of contrast of an element can raise the attention brought to that element.

Shape

Adjusting the shape of an object or a section can bring attention.

Position in relation to whitespace

By isolating an element or using whitespace you can transform it into a focal point.

Motion/Video

Adding motion is one the strongest way to grab your user’s attention. This can be done by incorporating a YouTube video, or possibly using jquery to building rotating images.

Tracking Google Website Optimizer Conversions Using AJAX Forms

Posted by Landon Poburan on February 20th, 2012

We recently ran into an issue with tracking Google Website Optimizer Conversions when using a form that submits using AJAX with no page refresh. Typically you place Google Website Optimizer’s conversion code on your “Thank you” page but we needed a solution that worked when using AJAX.

We found the solution and we hope it provides you some help to!

The Issue – Tracking conversions using AJAX and no conversion page

If you have used Google Website Optimizer you are aware that you need a page that is the “Control Page” then you need a “Conversion Page”. Now we were doing Landing Page Optimization and we were testing out headlines on a lead form. However we processed the form with AJAX so upon successful submission the user was simply presented with a thank you message rather than being directed to a thank you page.

We were using AJAX to submit the form using the following process:

Javascript validates form upon submission
Posts to PHP file
PHP file returns if message was sent or not
If successful, display thank you message

Note: our process is more in depth but this is an overview.

Now this all happens with the user never leaving the page, never going to a stand-alone “Conversion Page” so we were left without the ability to track conversions for our test.

Typical GWO (Google Website Optimizer) Conversion Code

<script type="text/javascript">
      var _gaq = _gaq || [];
      _gaq.push(['gwo._setAccount', 'UA-XXXXXXXX-X']);
      _gaq.push(['gwo._trackPageview', '/XXXXXXXXXX/goal']);
      (function() {
        var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
        ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
        var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
      })();
    </script>

Replace the X’s with the information from your tracking code.

The Solution

Now, we can make 2 calls from the javascript file to make this all work. In our script.js file we check the response from the php file, if it was successful we display the thank you message. Now you can also add the Conversion code as follows:

_gaq.push(['gwo._setAccount', 'UA-XXXXXXXX-X']);
_gaq.push(['gwo._trackPageview', '/XXXXXXXXXX/goal']);

Replace the X’s with the information from your tracking code.

Adding those 2 lines from the Conversion code is all that is needed. If you review the rest of the code, you will notice it is all included in the standard Google Analytics Tracking Code so you do not need to repeat it.

Once you add that to your javascript, upon successful submission it triggers the “__gaq.push” javascript and tracks the Goals in Google Website Optimizer. Tried, Tested and True!

CRO Tips Part 1: Don’t over clutter the area Above the Fold

Posted by Hal Stephenson on February 6th, 2012

Graphic designers often have a bad reputation when it comes to conversions. One of my favourite quotes to demonstrate this point is from Tim Ash. Tim claims one of the easiest ways to improve conversions is to “Shoot your graphic designer in the head”.

As a graphic designer, this quote is the reason I lock my door at night. But as a web marketer, I completely understand this frustration. Graphic designers tend to consider themselves as creative, and tend to go overboard to make their work standout, and reflect who their personality. Plus, it’s more entertaining than just “production work” .

As a result, I’ve created a list of graphic design rules for conversions that I will be featuring. I will be posting them one at a time to give you time to adjust your page, and test out these rules one at a time to get a result.

It’s important to remember that like every other graphic design rule, take it with a grain of salt. Websites are delicate, and although these rules may work for some elements, it may conflict with others or may mess what’s working on your page right now. Keep in mind that you should always split test any changes to your site and that you’re only limited by your imagination.

Part 1: Don’t over clutter the area Above the Fold

As a graphic designer, we all have horror stories of bad clients. My horror story has to deal with a stubborn client who wanted to keep “everything above the fold”.

This included:

A money-back guarantee
Free shipping notice
Headline
Unique sales proposition
Video
5 selling points
Savings calculator
Contact form
Warranty information
Incentive to buy
Navigation bar
and a live chat button

Despite my attempts to rationalize with the client, the amount of information they wanted above the fold started a competition for eye traffic. Some users saw the savings calculator, while others saw the video, but none grasped all the elements, or the complete story of the company. Even worse, the headline had to be shrunk so small, that nobody saw the unique value proposition.

Consider your above the fold as a 5 second movie trailer to your company. On a good landing page, your above the fold should clearly answer three things within 5 seconds:

“where am I”
“what can I do here”
and “why should I do it?”

2 of these points (where am I, and why should I do) can be answered within a strong headline that states the value proposition. For Example “With over 32,000 international moves a year, XYZ moving company is your destination for large scale moves. Who being XYZ moving, and why, because of their experience.

The 3rd third point (what can I do here) I typically place on a call to action above the fold, as it typically solves what you can do on the site, and typically sums up the metric of a conversion. “Click here to book your move” or “Click here to download your ebook” as an example.

Summary

The website nightmare I faced could have been easily fixed by establishing an eyepath that encouraged the user down the page, where the rest of the information could have been placed. Although having a promising product, sadly the company’s online sales were less than expected.