Insights Archives – Page 2 of 2

18th of August — 2017

Why Growth-Driven Design is Critical to the User Experience

Chris Risner

Most dread when the time comes to redesign their website. They know that a fresh and more productive look is overdue, but they are horrified of the long and costly process that lies ahead of them. As such businesses weigh their options and continue to procrastinate redesigning their website, they repeatedly incur losses and slower growth due to the poor user experience on their current website.

Growth-driven design (GDD) is the answer to the frustrations of such businesses. Simply put, GDD is the process through which websites are structured in a manner that optimizes traffic, focuses on the user experience, and results in the growth of the business. With growth-driven design, businesses can prioritize on the implementation of the highest impact changes to their website, allowing them to avoid wasting time and resources on designing an entire website that does not lead to growth opportunities for the business.

Traditionally, businesses would redesign their entire website during a one-time period that was costly and lengthy to implement (anywhere from 3 months to 2 years). Such a strategy involved heavy investment in a project that contained high levels of risk and unpredictable results. The new website would be built almost entirely on assumptions, and with no strategy for continuous improvement.

How Growth-Driven Design impacts the user experience

The growth-driven design gives rise to a scalable and more adaptive website that is based on actual user engagement in order to provide opportunities for continuous improvement.

There are several critical components that define the internet users of today. These characteristics represent the pain-points of these users and how growth-driven design can be used to implement more engaging user experiences.

Short attention spans and Attractive visuals

With all the information that is out there today, the attention span of most internet users has been reduced to less than that of a gold fish. To put a number on it, most users have an attention span of less than 8 seconds before their minds wander to the next thing on the list. Therefore, the challenge for designers and web developers is to get their message across in the shortest time possible.

One of the best ways to do this is through creating attractive visuals. Hubspot has uncovered that a message along with a relevant image attracts 98% more views. Through growth-driven design, a business can begin to strategically tailor its message around strong visuals that align with the brand and the messaging technique. They can then use the user response and engagement to continuously improve this messaging design.

Adapting to Mobile

More internet users are relying on mobile devices to browse the internet. In fact, slightly over 52% of people worldwide are using smartphones and tablets (over desktops) as their main devices for surfing the web. Growth-driven design, therefore, aims at optimizing websites for easy viewing on mobile devices.

A best practice for growth-driven design is to develop a website for mobile before scaling up to larger screens. In this way, challenges with mobile viewing can be appropriately addressed before taking the next step. And because mobile devices may not have steady and reliable internet connections, the website is designed to be responsive even to poor environments of connectivity in order to minimally interrupt the user experience.

Attractive Content

One of the main concepts of growth-driven design involves engaging users with attractive and relevant content. A website that is structured around such layers of material draws traffic and immerses users into the overall experience. Creating powerful content requires deep audience engagement and user research in order to develop personas and to understand what the customers need.

With growth-driven design, businesses can develop and continuously improve their content based on actual user engagement. They can also optimize material for specific groups of users, based on responsiveness, quality, tone, and style.

Easy Navigation

Today’s internet users are impatient. They desire smooth customer experiences that have minimal interruptions. If a business’s website is choppy and has many layers of sub-pages that make the overall browsing experience slow and disruptive, users will tend to engage less with the website. The message will also be lost upon the users.

Growth-driven design emphasizes a single page layouts, where parallax scrolling allows developers to fit more content onto a single page without disrupting the customer experience. With parallax scrolling, an illusion of depth is created on the page through a blend of background and foreground images.

As the user browses across content, each segment that the person highlights is shown in the front, while background content is slightly blurred out. Different sections of material are highlighted as the user navigates the page. The end result is an immersive user experience where customers are exposed to more content and attractive visuals.

Key Components of Growth Driven Design

Developing a Strategy

In line with tailoring growth-driven design efforts to suit the user experience, businesses need to develop a strategy that incorporates the goals of the business and the personas that the company wants to interact with. The first step is therefore to develop a “wish list” of what the company would want to achieve when users come to their site. This can serve as the foundation for the website because the initial version will contain the must haves, i.e. the most important website components.

When developing a growth strategy, understanding the needs of customers will be key towards designing the user experience. Businesses should dive into the customer’s world and try to understand how they can solve the problems that users experience when navigating websites.

A business will be quickly on the path towards launching a new and improved website if they have a clear strategy. The decisions that should guide strategy include clear objectives that will reduce the need for constantly revising the website in its early stages, focus on customer needs and pain-points in order to develop an immersive user experience, and executable plans that turn wish lists into actionable ideas that can be implemented to achieve tangible results.

Designing the Launch Pad

In growth-driven design, a launch pad refers to the foundation upon which a business can build a website that is geared towards performance improvement and continuous growth. The launch pad is not the final product, but a solid foundation upon which users can begin to engage with the new business outlook. The company can begin to collect real user data that it can analyze and draw results from.

With a launch pad website, businesses can get a product up and running in 2-3 months. They can also save on costs by following a more targeted data-driven approach. This low-risk option is optimized for driving results because every decision that is made is done with the user experience in mind.

In addition, the budget for the new website can be optimized for continuous improvement, as opposed to taking the risk of building a finished product without considering the rapidly evolving needs of customers.

The launch pad website should contain the following key components:

Page plans: all the key pages are first laid out and the purpose and content for each page is outlined. Strategies for SEO are also put in place for each page.
Prototypes: After creating page plans and content outlines, prototypes for the website can be explored. These prototypes should echo the page outlines and desired content, making content easier to find.
Designing and Finishing: commonly referred to as the design sprint and the finish sprint, design involves implementing the chosen prototype and gathering feedback in order to develop the final design. The finish sprint involves coding, inserting links, metadata and testing the browser.
Emphasize on quality over speed: while the launch-pad is meant to be up and running in a short-amount of time, the process should not be rushed and quality should not be compromised.

Improving on the Design

After the launch-pad goes live, the business can start collecting data about the user experience. They can also identify critical actions that they can take in order to improve this experience and grow the business. Websites that are able to obtain maximum-performance and immersive user experiences are not built overnight. They have to be constantly tweaked according to the insights that data provides. These websites are both responsive and adaptive to the user experience, allowing them to attain high levels of productivity.

When seeking continuous-improvement, the secret lies in having key areas of focus where performance can be tracked and analyzed. Start with a focus metric that is important to improve the business. Ideas that highly impact the focus metric and lead to measurable results should be prioritized and implemented on a specified-timeline. In a nutshell, the basic-principle is to build, learn and adapt.

With having worked with multiple companies like HockeyShot, Rather Outdoors, Scoperta and many more, BlueBolt is uniquely positioned to help your company engage your users and fuel your growth. Please connect with us, so that we can best help you.

16th of August — 2017

Why a Headless CMS is Important

Chris Risner

O ne of the latest trends in the world of content management is known as a headless CMS. Also referred to as decoupled CMS, the content management system provides valuable benefits not obtained from the singular access point CMS application.

The utilization of a content management system (CMS) has proven vital in the continued development of data management for everything from Web developers to enterprise networks. Typically, a CMS managed the data through a single portal, where data is displayed through a very specific means. Using the software application, a user searches for information and recalls data through a linear approach. This requires the individual to go through the head of the CMS before navigating further into the content management system. However, one of the latest trends in the world of content management is known as a headless CMS. Also referred to as decoupled CMS, the content management system provides valuable benefits not obtained from the singular access point CMS application. Due to this, understanding why a headless CMS is important should prove enlightening for everyone from the IT department to the senior officers of an enterprise.

The Problem with a Traditional CMS

The age old saying of “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” may seem to apply itself to a traditional content management system. With the right management application in place it can prove especially helpful in monitoring and maintaining data within an enterprise network. However, there are several substantial downfalls connected with the standard CMS.

Both traditional and headless CMS provide a way to store data and a CRUD UI. However, the standard CMS provides a way to display data while the headless option offers an API to the data. In essence, the data in a traditional CMS can only be viewed in one way. A user performs a create, read, update and delete (CRUD) command when connected with the API, which then sends the information to the database. The database then sends the created, read, updated or deleted information back to the API, which is then displayed in a uniformed manor, regardless of the device accessing the information or the data in general. This singular method of viewing data significantly limits not only users within the network, but customers and clients attempting to access information. With the growing number of devices capable of accessing information from the API database, this singular viewership portal reduced functionality and the end-user experience.

What is Headless CMS?

Whether referred to as decoupled CMS or headless CMS, the architecture behind this form of content management system has grown in popularity over the last several years due to the improved flexibility it provides not only designers but the end user. A traditional CMS uses a monolithic design, in which the information is tied tightly into the design itself. A headless CMS removes this connection between viewing and accessing the information, which opens up the content management system to a world of new potential.

A headless CMS allows for several different presentation methods. It also makes information accessible through a Web based API and not just a network API. By utilizing this opportunity, users no longer need to remain connected to the internal network of an enterprise but can instead access the CMS through any Internet connection (this also opens it up to usability with cloud services).

One of the main reasons why an IT department should consider migrating to a headless CMS is due to the viewership potential. While a traditional CMS regulates how the information is viewed, a decoupled CMS allows for disability through a wide range of devices and methods, including widgets, native applications, a website, mobile website, syndication partners and even digital billboards. Essentially, the information can be viewed anywhere and everywhere on nearly any device (CSS Tricks, 2016).

The Importance of Varying Viewership Opportunities

Up until 2007, nearly all Internet activity took place through a desktop or laptop computer. Outside of a handful of operating systems and a few Internet browsers, most information more or less appeared the same on every device. Due to this, having an individual display method did not prove all to detrimental. Outside of some basic scrolling of the mouse, everything would appear on every computer screen in a similar manor.

With the release of the Apple iPhone in 2007, everything changed. Although it took a few years to catch up, nearly all major mobile technology developer had its own smartphone on the market. Even with a handful of mobile operating systems, each OS used a slightly different Internet browser, plug-ins and display tactics to connect users with the Internet. In 2017, most mobile users are on either iOS or Android, but there are varying screen sizes, Internet browsers and OS versions in play, each of which requires a slightly different methods for displaying information. A headless CMS makes producing content, accessing and viewing the information easier as it isn’t handcuffed to a specified formatting, but instead the flexible API allows for viewing through applications, smart devices and computers (BizTech, 2016).

Why Should An Enterprise Consider a Decoupled CMS?

Moving from one content management system doesn’t happen overnight. The migration process can prove time consuming, not to mention there is an initial upfront cost to making this kind of a migration. However, even with the initial time and cost connected with it, an enterprise should consider taking advantage of a headless CMS.

For starters, moving to a headless CMS helps to future proof a company’s website implementation. With the continued development of smart devices and more mobile designers entering the market on a regular basis, the need for open viewership is essential. As a traditional CMS does not provide this, the decoupled CMS becomes far more beneficial.

The frontend developers within the network no longer need to spend a good portion of their time working on eliminating problems and connecting the structural elements with the backend. Instead, frontend developers can spend the majority of their time creating specific application tools in order to improve the experience of users on the website.

By cutting out the frontend element associated with a traditional CMS, a user receives a more interactive experience. This is because the end user interacts with the backend system in real time, instead if through a delay as the user waits for the information to pass into the frontend. The removal of the frontend allows for more creativity within the website design while also streamlining the design process. Shredding the bulk of the frontend also helps boost load speed and connectivity, which is essential in preventing Web users from backing out of the website due to a slow load time.

With the implementation of a decoupled CMS, an enterprise will likely see an increase in its generated profits and bottomline off of the website, all thanks to the faster responding website and the improvement on the user’s experience. All of these are issues a traditional CMS is not able to correct (Hackernoon, 2017).

Future proofing a content management system has the ability to cut expenses, improve productivity and make locating stored data faster and more effective. With the shift to headless CMS, all of this is possible. While a traditional content management still provides viable assistance in the right setting, growing companies with expansive networks should consider making the switch to a headless CMS. While it may take some careful planning and transitioning into the new management system, it will pay dividends for years to come. Please connect with us if our team can answer any questions about going headless.

14th of August — 2017

The Difference Between Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Chris Risner

W hen performing an Internet search on artificial intelligence or machine learning, the two terms are often used interchangeably. However, while the two are similar in nature and cross paths more than just a few times, there are major differences between machine learning and A.I.

As the industry continues to progress and both are utilized more and more, understanding the difference becomes necessary, both for the average consumer and for corporations looking to implement the technology within the business itself.

In the Early Days

The best way to dive into the difference between machine learning and artificial intelligence is to dive back into the early days of AI. Now, the concept of artificial intelligence and machine learning has been around for hundreds of years. References to AI can be seen in literature dating back beyond the even earliest conception of a computer. However, the implemented idea of artificial intelligence didn’t truly begin to take shape until the 1950s.

In 1956, the Dartmouth Conference brought computer scientists from around the world together. Computers remained in the earliest of infancy, yet the idea and drive to create artificial intelligence proved to be a major topic of interest throughout the conference. Of course, the technology necessary to create artificial intelligence lacked significantly and, up until recently, very little in way of AI had occurred. Real change didn’t truly take place in the industry until around 2012 (Nvidia, 2016).

The Divergence of Artificial Intelligence

Before diving into the differences of A.I. and computer learning, it is necessary to understand the divergence of artificial intelligence. In the early days of conceptualized A.I., computerized devices could take on the exact same characteristics and intelligence of a human. They might have a primary function or skill, but in general, the computer would act human. The best example of this in modern pop culture is the droid C-3PO from the Star Wars series. While the droid had a primary function (of being fluent in over six millions forms of communication), it could still perform many, if not most of the same tasks as a human. This form of artificial intelligence is known as “General A.I.”

Of course, while this form of artificial intelligence continues to develop, it isn’t the most commonly utilized form of A.I. The form of artificial intelligence primarily used in both the consumer and commercial levels is known as “Narrow A.I” (in some circles, this is also referred to as weak artificial intelligence while the other is known as strong artificial intelligence). This kind of technology is used for a specific reason or task. Typically, when the narrow A.I. is utilized, it is because it can perform the given task faster, or more accurately, than a human (Forbes, 2016).

Narrow artificial intelligence is any kind of technology used to perform a specific task. One of the most used forms of narrow A.I. is the spam filter for any email account. It is used to identify undesirable emails and separate it from the rest of incoming messages. Other forms of narrow A.I. includes the newsfeed on user’s Facebook account, self-driving cars using GPS, navigational technology and sensors to drive safety, and, among other technological forms, machine learning (Tech Target, 2016).

Machine Learning: An Offshoot of Artificial Intelligence

Machine learning does in fact fall under a category of narrow A.I. However, simply suggesting machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence is a narrow sided and inaccurate assessment. Machine learning does technically fall under the category of narrow A.I., but in reality it is so much more than a spam folder or Facebook newsfeed. With these other forms of narrow A.I., an algorithm is input, allowing the computer system to analyze information in order to perform a very specific task. In the form of machine learning though, the system uses the input algorithms to learn from the data it receives, in order to make a possible prediction or educated assumption on the interactive world around it.

For example, with a spam folder (at least the standard spam folder used in most email services), the narrow A.I. is used to identify potential spam. From time to time it may miss a spam message, or flag a certain sender as spam. If a user identifies a file as spam, the spam folder will add this to the list of accounts to block (or, on the reverse side, remove the email from the spam list if the content is not spam). Although a user can add or remove information from the spam folder, it does not learn from the addition or subjection. It does not analyze the information included within the message, sender email address and title and use it to improve its spam filter ability. If it did, it would use computer learning (Forbes, 2016).

Examples of Computer Learning

There are many examples of computer learning, both large and small. One of the most popular currently is the digital assistant (Amazon’s Alexa/Echo, and Google Home are the two most advanced and widely used). These devices not only provide information, but learn on the fly in order to offer more specific results to each user.

The Blending of Machine Learning and AI

It is possible many confuse the term of artificial intelligence and machine learning because, in many cases, artificial intelligence used in technology has transitioned into machine learning. A prime example of this rests in a search engine’s performance. Google’s search results early on relied on keyword input. A user would input keywords and the search engine would utilize its specially crafted algorithm to provide results. However, if one user in Michigan and another in Nevada typed in the same basic keywords, they would receive the results. The search would use artificial intelligence to crawl through millions of data points to provide results, but it would not take into account the individual making the search request.

Eventually, search engines such as Google began to implement machine learning into search. This way, the search engine could not only provide desirable results based on the input algorithm, but it could learn from user interaction and adapt to these requests. In a way, Google Search is the poster child of narrow A.I.’s evolution into machine learning (Wired, 2016).

The Push for General AI

The quest for general A.I., such as the Star Wars droids, continues to be a major goal in artificial intelligence research. However, to reach these goals, computer learning will play a major role, as the computerized device must be able to learn and adapt to its environment. In this way, artificial intelligence will lead to the development of computerized learning, which leads to the continued development of A.I. So, while computer learning does stem from narrow A.I., it is in itself an evolved, elevated version of it.

While often subtle, the differences between machine learning and artificial intelligence can prove vast. Understanding this difference is necessary for an enterprise considering the implementation of such technology in current or future product releases or within the corporate network itself. As the industry progresses, the two technologies will continue to develop new traits, differentiating the two even further. However, for earlier adopters of the technology, in-depth knowledge of the two is a must.

If our team can help you harness the benefits of AI and Machine learning, please connect with us.

11th of August — 2017

How Big Data is Influencing the World All Around Us

Chris Risner

D ata is everywhere and the rate of growth is spectacular. Most estimates show that the data in the digital universe doubles every 2 years. Part of that digital universe includes human and machine created data, such as the data generated from Internet of Things (IoT).

The growth of human and machine created data is growing 10x faster than traditional business data. It can be found around every corner, within every Internet search and, in reality, on every street corner. Consumers take advantage of data to buy anything from their next vehicle to the “healthiest” fast-food burger. Small businesses take advantage of website analytics to customize local marketing approaches and identify key demographics, while a corporate enterprise implements big data into computer learning applications and identifying future products to manufacturer. In essence, data makes the world go round. Having the latest and most in-depth information has changed the tides of military conflicts throughout world civilization and allowed for space travel. Of course, with the advancement of computer technology, more data can be analyzed, identified, sourced and streamed in a shorter period of time. Big data is influencing in every corner of the globe. Here are just a handful of ways the utilization of big data continues to improve lives and drive business into the future.

Financial Trading

The understanding and analyzing of financial information has long driven the world of financial trading. All it takes is one look at a mutual fund to understand the importance of big data. While it still takes skilled financial advisors to read and identify shifts in the market and emerging trends, applications designed to crawl through financial information with a fine tooth (digital) comb makes all of this easier. In fact, more and more equity firms are implementing high-end data algorithms in order to stay ahead of the curve and identify upcoming trends further in advance. It is advantageous for investment firms to locate these monetary possibilities early on in order to maximize return on investment. This may be a more specialized field for those with the means of future investing, but big not only influences the world of finances, it is starting to drive it.

Traffic Optimization

The utilization of technology within major cities and traffic routes is nothing new. The use of analytical data to identify busy times and most used stations has been used to improve public transportation for decades. However, this information is now used to bolster the flow of automotive traffic as well. The ability to analyze traffic in real time and adjust stop lights, the length of a light and sync both public and private transportation together has grown into a major business. However, this real time big data analyst is just the beginning.

In the United States, Pittsburgh currently used traffic signals with artificial intelligence, designed to not only improve the flow of traffic but cut down on idling and braking (which in turn reduces the amount of released greenhouse gases into the atmosphere). Since the implementation of these A.I. traffic signals within Pittsburgh, idling is down over 40 percent, with automotive breaking down by around 30 percent (Paste Magazine, 2017).

In the future, technological designers are looking at allowing vehicles to share input rout information with the computerized learning traffic lights, allowing the lights to process information and adjust when lights change in order to improve traffic flow and predict when and where traffic congestion may take place (and reduce it accordingly).

Automotive Performance

Automobiles have contained computers, in some shape or form, for decades. These computerized systems have gone from controlling basic performance features within a vehicle to monitoring the entire car, providing mechanics (and anyone with the capability of reading displayed codes) with insights into issues within the vehicle and what needs work. In recent years, cars have seen the installation of self-parking, lane detection and merging features, all of which are designed to inform a driver as to if other vehicles are present and to help avoid accidents. Some current vehicles, technology developers and automakers have taken this several steps further.

Google Maps is the most used GPS system within the United States. Through the company’s continual effort to map out every roadway in the U.S. (while doing the same for much of the world), the application has the ability to provide not only directions, but update drivers on accidents on route and help divert the driver along an alternative path in real time. Google has continued with this research into self-driving cars, capable of not only using the GPS mapped system, but to communicate with other nearby vehicles, in order to reduce human error and boost driving safety. As of September, 2016, Google’s fleet of self-driving cars had covered over two million miles, and the handful of accidents the vehicles had been a part of were all human error on the part of another driver. While these vehicles are not yet able to completely account for the human element, with the help of computerized learning and A.I., these accidents are likely to become less frequent in the future, even when human drivers are involved in other, non-computerized driving vehicles (The Guardian, 2016).

Sports Performance

For non-athletes, what actually goes into training for the sporting event remains a bit of a mystery. Outside of some snippets and behind the scenes coverage at half-time or between innings, the average sports fan likely does not know the kind of technology and big data analytics that goes into modern training. It is now possible for trainers to monitor how an athlete lifts weight, and based on data points, identify weaker muscles used during the lift and how to better train the weaker muscles in order to improve performance and boost muscle growth. Other tests allow athletes to go against teams through virtual reality, which is directly taken from analyzing each player on a team in order to help determine how the other team is most likely to respond to specific plays or actions. Beyond this, many top teams also track everything from sleep and nutrition in order to identify ways to improve nutritional absorption, boost oxygen flow throughout the body and convert nutrients within the blood flow to energy (Recode, 2017).

Improving Healthcare

Much in the same way technology is used to monitor pro athletes in order to boost performance, technology is used to monitor patients in order to identify better ways to administer treatment. By analyzing dozens of data points given off by a patient (ranging anywhere from brain ways to heart beat and the kinds of nutrients consumed during a day) a medical staff can take the data analysis and use this information to shift treatments and provide a tailor made way of administering the necessary healthcare to a patient. On top of this, healthcare professionals are using big data in order to predict and prevent possible disease outbreaks and epidemics. This technology is used not only in major metropolitan areas but also third world countries. Researchers even monitor social media to see postings regarding sickness and identify problem areas within a community (Science Daily, 2017).

As the ability to analyze big data continues to improve, informational sourcing will become more and more a tentpole in just about everything in the developed world. From companies using big data to optimize the marketing process to improving healthcare and device performance, the age of big data is here for good. These are just a handful of the ways analytical data can and will continue to influence the world in nearly every corner of technological society. If our BlueBolt team can help your team harness your data and make sense of it, please connect with us.

7th of August — 2017

Why A/B Testing is Critical for Website Optimization

Chris Risner

W hen the multiple versions are compared, random, and statistical analysis is used to decide which version is more effective at achieving the conversion goals that are specified by the business.

As every business strives towards achieving increased conversion rates, various testing methods that are both objective and data driven typically are implemented in order to attain this goal. A/B testing is one of the methods used by businesses to test different versions of a website in order to determine which version performs better. It is a side-by-side comparison between 2 different webpages so as to draw insights that are provided by each version of the webpage.

How A/B Testing Works

A typical A/B test involves taking a webpage or app screen and modifying it to create a second version of the original page. The change that is carried out can involve either changing a headline or button or completely redesigning the page. Typically, marketers like to make small changes with each test to make sure that they understand what is causing the difference in behavior and can be confident in their decisions moving forward. If too many changes are made at the same time, it will confuse the results and it will be difficult to know what changes influenced the visitor. After the adequate modification is carried out, a portion (maybe as much as half, or more) of the website traffic is directed towards the original version of the page (this is the control page), and another percentage of the traffic is directed towards the new version of the page (the variant/variation).

Customer interactions with each version of the page are carefully tracked and the results are collected and analyzed using analytical tools. Many different performance indicators can be tracked, such as incoming traffic, click-through rates, time spent on specific webpages, among others. The data collected is then analyzed via statistical engines and other appropriate tools, after which results can be interpreted. The business can determine if the different experience had a net positive or negative effect.

Measuring Conversion Rates

The key performance indicator that is normally used for A/B testing is the conversion rate. The goal of any business is to get its prospects to engage more with its products and services. They aspire to gain more from their visitors than just visits and a few clicks here and there. Therefore, the rate at which website visitors can be converted from simply being visitors to something else is called the “conversion rate”. The webpage version that yields higher conversion rates is essentially the one that the business will choose to implement.

Your business will have different criteria for measuring conversion rates, depending on the nature of your business. eCommerce sites can use product sales as a means of measuring conversion rates, SaaS sites can use trial or subscription rates to their applications, and news and media sites can use click rates in ads or the number of paid subscriptions as a result of the website change.

Steps Involved in A/B Testing

Before a business dives into an A/B testing framework, it should clearly define its goals and develop a detailed and strategic plan that will make the testing process proceed objectively. A successful A/B testing process typically involves the following steps:

Problem Identification

Every business should have a reason for wanting to test a new version of a specific webpage. It could be that the current webpage design is unattractive, certain links are not being clicked on enough, or the redirect pages as a result of those clicks are not relevant to incoming traffic.

The business should specifically identify the problem that they want to address even before they begin to contemplate on possible solutions.

Research and Brainstorming

The next step involves conducting research into the problem that is being experienced and brainstorming possible solutions. For example, if a certain webpage layout is not yielding the desired outcome, the business can carry out research into different designs that they can incorporate, and the likely results that these new designs are likely to yield.

Therefore, rather than a random process of trying out solutions, research allows the company to try out specific solutions that have been proven to work for other similar situations.

A Clearly Defined Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a possible explanation for why something occurs the way it does. In the case of A/B testing, a possible hypothesis statement can be “a webpage with more detailed product pictures yields higher purchase rates.” Another possible hypothesis could be “a contact us button on the top right corner leads to higher subscription rates by customers”. The hypothesis should be specific, clearly defined and easy to understand/measure.

Testing

Now it is time to launch the two different versions of the webpage. The version that incoming traffic experience can be varied based on time, customer behavior, or through the use of different URLs. As long as the testing process is truly randomized, accurate results can be collected.

Data Analysis and Reporting of Results

Once the desired threshold of data has been collected, it can be analyzed through statistical tools that are relevant and objective to the data. Tools that generate visual data such as graphs, pie charts and other distributions are the best to use so that decision makers can get a clear glance of the trends that are signified by the data.

Importance of A/B Testing for Website Optimization

Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is an important component of website optimization. In order for a company’s website to be effective at driving traffic and converting leads, it needs to slowly adapt to visitor behavior and the trends of the industry surrounding the business.

As small changes (driven by objective data) are implemented to specific components of webpages, the final product is a summation of all the individual changes that yields an improved and optimized website. This in turn leads to increased conversion rates for the business because the new webpage will attract more traffic.

Increased Conversion Rates

A/B testing is critical for website optimization because it leads to increased conversion rates. One of the main objectives of carrying out an A/B test is to determine which webpage version is more effective at converting traffic.

Therefore, the comparisons end up yielding results that show which particular webpage version drives more traffic than the other. The business can implement this more effective version and reap the fruits of increased conversion rates.

Better Understanding of Your Target Audience

A/B testing is a great way of gaining a better understanding of your target audience. As a business takes the time to identify the problems that it is currently facing with its website, as well as brainstorming possible solutions, the company ends up gaining a deeper knowledge of the needs that its customers desire.

In addition, by researching possible solutions to current website challenges, testing those solutions and obtaining objective results; the business can optimize its webpages by implementing changes that are backed by data and are guaranteed to yield results. This is a much more efficient process of solving problems that are facing the business.

Test Multiple Components of a Webpage

A/B testing allows a business to sequentially test all the components that are included on their webpages in order to determine the most effective option for each component. For example, a business can begin by testing headlines, text, links and images, after which it can proceed to test CTAs, testimonials and even text within the webpages.

Such a thorough and comprehensive testing model allows the business to optimize its webpages in a manner that attracts and converts traffic. Each component will have been tested in order to determine the most appropriate and effective design for the business.

If you need help increasing your conversions, please connect with us.

28th of July — 2017

How Personalization is Changing Content Marketing

Chris Risner

T he business world remains in constant motion and marketing is no different. With new marketing technologies and means of connecting with customers, companies need to remain in constant state of change and optimization in their quest to improve its products, productivity and production.

In recent years, the use of personalization strategies and technology as a means for staying ahead of the competition has significantly influenced the way businesses market and grow branding efforts. Because of this, content marketing has been shifting in the last few years. Content personalization has grabbed the market’s attention as widespread adoption of the personalization technologies and techniques occur. To stay competitive and achieve a higher return on investment in marketing expenses, it is becoming more and more critical to use personalization as one of the main tactics within an overall content marketing strategy. Failure to do so will likely be a mistake for any business in the long run.

What is Personalization?

A more detailed overview on personalization, what it is and how to implement it is available in a previous post located here. As well as a discussion of how CMS personalization can help convert more leads. However, as a general overview, personalization is when a website provides a customized, unique experience for each visitor to the site. So, instead of providing a universal website with the same displays and highlighted content, the unique experience is tailor made to better serve the specific visitor. By improving services and connectivity to the visitor, the likelihood of a sale or website conversion increases dramatically (Optimizely, 2017).

The Personalized Experience

The idea of a personalized experience is nothing new. In fact, offering unique shopping and purchasing experiences to consumers has been around for centuries. From monogrammed bath robes to customized sneakers, personalized experiences are offered by companies for two reasons. The first is to provide a premium service, above and beyond the average purchase. A personalized set of wine glasses gives a unique, one-of-a-kind feet to it, all while the produce sells for more. The second is to stand out from the competition and attract in customers.

With more and more companies now providing personalized services, it has become more of the norm than the exception. Major corporations such as Nike allowed customers to personalize just about everything purchased from the company, while Coca-Cola offers what it refers to as a “Freestyle” machine, which gives patrons access to 100s of flavor combinations. However, customization does not simply begin with a consumer coming into a facility to purchase goods or visiting a website in search of products. The personalization designed for new leads or prospects must begin at the first contact or first interaction. This is when a consumer or visitor is first made aware of the company and the services and products it offers. In other words, through an advertisement or other marketing effort (Forbes, 2016).

How to Personalize Content Marketing

Whenever a company interacts with a potential customer, there is the opportunity to make a sale or, at the very least, develop a lead. This interaction should leave a desirable impression on the consumer, and the most powerful tool to do this is to personalize content. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Lux Research (2017), consumers are willing to pay more money for a personalized experience.

Google and Amazon are two pioneers of personalization. The head of Amazon famously said early on in the existence of the website, if the company had a million customers he’d rather have one million versions of Amazon instead of one. As personalization has become more expected than anything else though, simply providing product recommendations on a store front no longer cuts it. Sending a customer discounts off of similar items they purchased monthly in the mail isn’t enough either. These are all staples of companies that have already connected with a consumer. Content marketing personalization is about connecting with a consumer the business has not yet sold to. Thankfully, personalizing content marketing doesn’t need to be overtly complex.

There are three easy steps to personalizing content marketing. For starters, the marketing material should not be bogged down with unnecessary information. It is always best to keep it simple over attempting to put too much information in. Providing recommendations based on both history and interest helps catch the customer’s attention.

The second step is to customize the marketing message to fit the need of the customer. Not all customers have the same needs, so the best way to connect with a potential client is to create a unique message. By taking into account the customer’s age, location, history and other data collected off of the customer’s IP address, it becomes easier to tailor forge a unique message.

Lastly, the content needs to be current. Not all customers want to be trend setters, but a vast majority want to go with what is new. Outdated marketing material, including images and other forms of media, can turn off a perspective customer. This is true not only for content produced several years ago but for a different season entirely (One Spot, 2017).

By taking into account these three steps and the information collected on the consumer, it becomes far easier to create advertisements with a personalized touch to it. The personalization should carry on through the marketing approach all the way through the website. For businesses not currently utilizing personalization in its marketing approach, it doesn’t take much additional effort to customize the company’s outreach potential. Despite this, there are businesses throughout the United States failing to incorporate these three simple steps in producing their personalized marketing and consumer outreach.

Why Some Marketers Don’t Use Personalization

Despite the proven benefit of content marketing personalization, many companies still turn a blind eye to the potential personalizing their content. Growing sales and increasing customer engagement through the use personalization can provide improved forms of communication and perceived value to customers and website visitors. Why do some marketers skip out on almost a sure fire way of boosting sales? According to a survey conducted by Demand Metric, 59% of marketers stated a lack of technology. In addition, many claimed that they did not have the necessary resources as one of the main reasons for failure to properly adopt personalization techniques.

Not taking advantage of content marketing personalization due to a lack of resources or technology simply is no longer a viable option, however. The risk of falling behind is too great and the advantages too enticing for marketing departments to wait to explore personalization options. Gartner published a study in 2015 indicating companies utilizing personalized elements within its content marketing would outsell those companies not using the marketing approach by at least 20% in 2018. As 2018 stands right around the corner, dropping by a 20% sales amount to the competition simply because of a “lack of technology” will fall more and more flat as an excuse. It also may be the reason why some companiesvstruggles to survive or even go out of business. Businesses with the available technology and resources will not take it easy on the competition. With the value of personalized content marketing increasing by the day, there are no more excuses. For a company to reach its fullest sales and growth potential, it must take advantage of personalized content marketing.

Customers have come to expect a personalized shopping experience. Convenience isn’t the only reason more consumers purchase goods through online retailers than in-person. The ability to receive a personalized service while visiting a website makes the entire visit to a website more beneficial and desirable for the consumer, which keeps them coming back. With the implementation of personalization, content marketing will never be the same, and businesses dragging their feet to bring about such advertising changes will suffer from the lack of customer connectivity. For any business serious about customer growth and providing the best shopping experience possible, personalizing content market is a must. Delaying any longer is simply no longer an option.

If our BlueBolt team can help your team increase personalization to engage your customers, please connect with us.

19th of July — 2017

Landing Page Optimization – The Art and Science of Conversions

Chris Risner

I deally, all visitors convert to leads and eventually to customers, but on the Internet, as is the case with any brick and mortar store or facility, not all window shoppers end up making a purchase.

A corporate website typically serves as the one of the critical steps of an online marketing strategy and sales tool. After welcoming a customer to the digital presence (retailers would probably call this their digital storefront), potential clients have the ability to make a purchase, sign up for a service, engage with the brand by signing up for content, contacting sales directly for questions or determine they are not interested and leave. This is where landing pages come in. Landing pages can help reel in visitors at a fraction of the cost of a full-fledged website. Knowing how to take advantage of landing pages, how to properly optimize the stand alone page, and convert a visit into a lead is often what separates successful online businesses and those that fail.

What is a Landing Page?

There are many varying definitions of a landing page floating around out there, so clearly outlining a landing page is necessary. Realistically, any page someone arrives on after clicking an external link can be referred to as a “landing page.” So in this sense, clicking on a product link and landing on the product’s page on a website can, technically, be referred to as a landing page. However, in terms of marketing and obtaining leads, the term landing page refers to something a bit more specific (HubSpot, 2010).

In the world of marketing, a landing page is a page that helps a company obtain visitor information. This may be an email address, phone number, mailing address or other contact insights. For some companies, the main page on their website may serve as a landing page. However, for larger companies with an expansive marketing presence, a landing page often is a stand alone page, designed to work specifically within an advertising campaign. The stand alone page then directs visitors to the company website, product page or other designed site. It may also serve the purpose of only obtaining visitor information through a filled out form without any additional links (although taking advantage of generated backlinks can help the company’s main page with SEO purposes).

The Importance of Targeted Landing Pages

Marketing should never revolve around a one-size-fits-all approach. Even when advertising a singular product or service, different demographics will identify with the product. Varying demographics have different core values and are likely attracted to the product for different reasons. Using the same marketing pitch for each undermines the entire process of connecting with these customers and results in a loss of potential leads. Instead, marketing should implement a level of variance. What works for one demographic may not work for another, which is perfectly fine. The marketing needs to mold to the needs of a consumer, not the other way around. This is also why landing page optimization begins and ends with customization (Leadpages Network, 2015).

Creating a unique website for each demographic does not pertain well to success. It splits visitors and hinders search engine results. The company website should stand as a singular entity. However, landing pages should target each demographic and each unique marketing campaign. Landing pages, as a singular page with information tailored towards the recipient, is much easier to quickly manufacturer. The page’s main purpose is to then obtain lead generating information from the visitor, typically through the aid of a fill-in form (such as a request for an email account). The landing page then can direct traffic to the main website.

By meeting the needs of a marketing campaign, landing page optimization is easier to perform. The content on the page can be demographic geared. If visitors to the specific landing page are of retirement age, the imagery can focus on individuals just like them, while the information, text and other content can also target the demographic. A landing page should serve as an additional layer of personalization for a visitor. Once they provide the lead creating information, the visitor has demonstrated clear interest, so converting them into potential customers becomes that much easier (Sales Hub, 2016).

Landing Page Optimization

Once identifying the need to create individualized landing pages for unique marketing campaigns and different demographics, it is possible to fully optimize the page. Landing page optimization is similar to that of optimizing any of a company’s marketing content, whether it is a social media post, an advertisement or a website in general. However, landing page optimization comes in two forms as a company not only needs to optimize the content placed on the page but also the individuals sent to the page. This is because there likely will be multiple landing pages up and running at the same time, so ensuring the right target audience makes it to the specified landing page is a must.

For proper landing page optimization, identifying a specific demographic to correlate with the page is necessary. If a page is to receive primarily retired aged individuals living in the Pacific Northwest of the United States of a higher income level, it needs to reflect this while another landing page receiving traffic from college aged individuals in the Southeastern United States should reflect this as well. This optimization remains no different from that of a marketing campaign. Ensuring traffic reaches the set landing pages is the next most important step (Hubspot, 2014).

Directing Traffic to the Right Landing Page

A landing page is successful in obtaining contact information, which allows an increased conversion rate as long as the right visitors make it to the page (due to the highly optimized aspect of the landing page). Visitors arrive at a landing page through a designated link. The link can be attached to an email or through personalized marketing. This is where creating individualized email marketing lists is important. Email, pay-per-click and social media marketing should not be a one-size-fits-all approach. Each needs to be directed towards individual demographics. With the marketing directed at different key demographics and fit into different marketing campaigns, links for the specific landing pages can then be attached. As long as everything is corrected connected, the optimized marketing will send interested demographic towards an optimized landing page. The optimized landing page then has the ability to collect visitor information, which in turn helps increase the chance of converting traffic into an eventual sale (Forbes, 2016).

Landing pages are valuable additions to any company’s online marketing approach. However, like any other part of advertising a company, it needs appropriate landing page optimization. By following through with these tips, it is possible to boost a landing page’s presence online, which in turn helps boost conversion rates and traffic sent to the corporate website itself. Converting visitors to leads and possibly customers further down the line is part art and part science due to the ever changing nature of the Internet. By continually editing and evolving an online marketing approach, it is possible to reach new potential customers while improving upon the advertising’s return on investment.

If our team can help you drive conversions and increase ROI, please connect with us.

5th of July — 2017

Use CMS Personalization to Convert More Website Leads

Chris Risner

I n the world of marketing, establishing a connection with the key demographic and the individual is essential. Without a connection, clients have no reason to feel anything and need to a company. Instead they may turn to the competition, taking their business with them.

While marketing through traditional means does require some element of a wider generalization when reaching specific audiences, website personalization allows companies to tailor each visitor’s experience to better fit their own needs. This goes a long way in establishing a connection with the potential customer, increasing the chance of the visitor turning into a customer or, at the very least, a new potential lead. This is exactly why all business owners need to implement CMS personalization into their website.

What is a CMS?

More than likely, an enterprise is already going to run a CMS, but for those who don’t or those who are unsure of the system in place, CMS stands for content management system. It is a software application used to assist in the management and creation of digital content. While not exclusively for, a CMS is most commonly used at the enterprise level for managing the massive amount of information coming in and leaving a website (at the enterprise level it may also be referred to as Enterprise Content Management, or ECM). A CMS is essentially software for organizing and delivering the website to the world.

When an individual visits a website, they leave a trail of all sorts of useful information. From previous websites that they visited to the pages they access on the corporate page and how long they stay on a specific page, a considerable amount of data gets captured. With the help of a content management system, it is possible to collect all of this user data in one place. Having all data on hand in one location makes analyzing visitor information easier and more accurate (Tech Target, 2014). It also allows for easy access to the information to customize the experience. One simple example is using the geographic information of where the visitor is located to show relevant promotions for local events on the site rather than an event 1000 miles away.

Important Features of a CMS

There are dozens of service providers offering a content management system at the enterprise level. Each service provider does bring specific benefits and features to the table. However, nearly all CMS software does come with a handful of features. Some of the most important features available in a CMS includes:

Indexing
Format Management
Revision Features
Publishing

Indexing, searching and retrieving information in real time is important for any business. The ability to recall files and other information in real time makes performing edits and upgrades to a website to better fit the needs of a customer easier.

Websites may not include a host of different format types. While the majority of pages are written in an HTML document for Internet viewing, others are uploaded as PDF documents for easy downloading.

There are times when a website edit may not provide the desired results. A quality CMS provides revision features that allows Website admins to revert back to a previous release of the website. This way, even if new changes are made to the site, if these changes do not prove beneficial everything can be restored without issue.

Along with revisions, a quality CMS should provide publishing features, ranging from templates all the way to tools designed to help a website designer gain valuable methods to modify the website whenever necessary (HubSpot, 2011).

Personalization of the Internet

Personalization is not something that simply happened over night. While it may have seemed to come about relatively suddenly, services such as Google and Amazon have been experimenting with providing a unique, customized experience to visitors for nearly a decade. According to Search Engine Land (2009), Google released new personalized search services on a large scale in 2009 (although Google had been releasing gradual updates providing semi-personalized searches for several years prior).

Companies such as Google and Amazon have the ability to profit a considerable amount off of personalized searches. By showcasing similar search results based on a user’s past search history, stores such as Amazon can make sure visitors not only identify what they logged online for with less effort, but they may find additional products they originally had no interest in buying, but end up buying anyway, all due to website personalization. By implementing CMS personalization into a website, businesses around the world have the ability to offer a customized, unique visitor experience, which in turn boosts sales and helps convert more website leads.

What Can CMS Personalization Do for Your Team?

The bread crumb trail of data website visitors leave when searching a particular page can paint an in-depth picture of the individual. It not only indicates how they arrived on the page (Google, Facebook, direct link or so on), the device they are using, their geographical location, how long they visit and potentially more specific information. All of this information can then be used by the CMS to create a personalized, custom experience for the visitor. If a company provides services in a half-dozen different states, the information obtained through the user’s IP address can notify the website of their location, which in turn loads the correct information. This way, a user in Michigan may see visuals of the Great Lakes while someone in San Diego may see the Pacific Ocean. The localized personalization is just one way to produce a unique website experience.

As an individual interacts with the website, the site itself grows smarter and can produce a finer-tuned image of what the visitor might want. This may inform the website to recommend a specific product, or highlight a service the individual already clicked on. By showcasing what a visitor wants, CMS personalization has the ability to dramatically transform a company’s e-commerce presence (CMS Wire, 2017).

The True Benefits of Personalization

The fact of the matter is customers want a personalized experience. In a recent report published by Accenture, 75 percent of all consumers said they are more likely to purchase products and services through an e-commerce website that knows their name and can provide desirable recommendations based off of previous purchases. Additionally, 63 percent of consumers in the survey said they hold a specific company to a higher level and think more positively of the company by recognizing them upon visiting the site. Beyond all of it, one of the most telling statistics is nearly 80 percent of all consumers will only engage with a website that provides personalization and 77 percent of shoppers said they made purchases based specifically on recommendations from a service that recognized them (Accenture, 2016).

Nearly every study done on the subject points towards the importance of website personalization. At the enterprise level, additional assistance is required in order to implement these personalization elements. With the help of CMS personalization, any business can boost exposure and increase both sales and potential leads.

In the modern day of Internet browsers, users now experience a certain level of personalization. Due to more and more customized experiences while surfing the Internet, the need for instant customer gratification becomes much more vital in turning a website visitor into a potential customer or lead. With the help of CMS personalization, a website offers more information and content of interest to every single person who visits the page. So by taking advantage of the powerful connective aspects of CMS personalization, the business will grows its e-commerce department while converting more website leads at the same time.

If our talented, senior-level team can help you deliver on your next CMS project, please connect with us.

28th of June — 2017

What is Website Personalization and Why Is It Important?

Chris Risner

C onnecting with customers is the top priority of all marketing material to come out of a business. A company website, when utilized properly, provides a variety of benefits, ranging from e-commerce store and point of sale to literature and media on services provided.

Marketing and customer outreach are two additional aspects of the website. When a client arrives on site, a well designed website works as all quality advertising does. It connects with the customer, highlighting how it can improve their lives or businesses. The most most successful marketing campaigns are finely tuned to meet the personality of a company’s key demographics. That is exactly what website personalization is and why it should be implemented into any business site.

What Exactly is Website Personalization?

Regardless of the form of marketing, a blanket approach attempts to cover all demographics, yet fails to target any. These advertising approaches typically stem from businesses with either an inferior marketing department or a company that does not understand its own target demographic. Instead of going after everyone, a business with proper understanding of its clients should personalize all marketing and outreach methods, to better meet the needs of its customers. Website personalization takes the same approach. It offers a customized experience for visitors, dedicated to meet their individual needs. Personalization highlights products, services, or content that a particular customer might like while connecting to them on a more personal level. By establishing this connection, a potential client becomes more inclined to not only shop or use the website, but return to the site for future needs (Hubspot, 2014).

The Development of Website Personalization

Jeff Bezos, the creator of Amazon and its nearly $100 billion empire, started from the ground up in the late 1990s. Even in the early infancy of the consumer driven Internet, Mr. Bezos understood the importance of creating a unique experience for all visitors. In 1998, he told the Washington Post the goal of Amazon was not to have one store. Instead, he said “…if we have 4.5 million customers, we shouldn’t have one store. We should have 4.5 million stores.” Jeff’s vision took years for technology to catch up to, but now, every individual who visits Amazon has a slightly different user experience. They see product recommendations based not only on previous product searches within Amazon, but on searches performed outside of the service.

The major problem with creating a single website for all customers is major corporations likely spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, annually to identify their target audience, understand what they like and determine what sells a product and what doesn’t. All of this information is vital to the development of varying marketing campaigns. Despite all of this, with a static, single website, all of the money spent and valuable knowledge obtained goes right out the window. Instead, with website personalization, a company has the ability to take this valuable data and implement it into the website. This way, much like Amazon and other major online retailers, it becomes possible to provide a unique visitor experience while on the site.

Nothing is (or Should Be) One Size Fits All

Even when a company’s key demographic is universally the same, individual clients and customers are not. They may shop for slightly different items or have different buying habits. This is where individualized personalization really comes into play. While it does not change the aesthetics of a website for every visitor, it does alter what products are showcased. For no retail outlets, the website can provide regionalized weather information, news reports, travel insights based on season and so on. Everything is designed to meet the needs of the individual.

Customer outreach has greatly shifted over the past decade. Individuals now expect a personalized experience, dedicated to providing information more akin to their preferences. With the ability to ask digital assistants (such as services offered through Amazon, Google and Apple) questions and receive instantaneous responses to verbally informing a television what kind of program they are interested in, a customized response is more important now than ever before as it is what customers now expect. Offering this personalized experience through website personalization is what all companies, from small to the enterprise level, should strive for.

How is a Website Personalized?

Data is the friend of any website. Data mined from a visitors can provide valuable insights not only into the key demographics of a site, what advertisements are working and how inbound marketing campaigns are working. Real time data analysis makes it possible to directly affect the way a user experiences a website. The first time a visitor comes to a site the company will not have any information based on the user yet. However, that changes nearly instantaneously. When arriving at a cite, the user’s unique IP address provides them with a unique identity. As they click on different images, display listings or other interact with videos, all of this information is sourced and logged. If a visitor is spending time looking at outdoor lighting on a landscape company’s page, highlighted information on the website can target additional recommendations based on the outdoor lighting the visitor looked at. By taking in and continually analyzing real time data, it becomes possible to offer on-the-fly website personalization for every visitor.

As the same IP address returns to a website, additional information is obtained, which allows fine tuning of the personalization. However, real time data analysis is not the only element when it comes to website personalization. Personalization doesn’t matter much if it doesn’t increase sales. To ensure not only an improved personalized experience but to improve lead generation and sales, additional planning and continual improvements need to take place on the site. Planning for visitors comes from a greater knowledge of a company’s key demographic. By understanding what a visitor is likely to look for or why they are on the site, the entire layout of the website can be altered to better fit the target consumer’s needs.

Lastly, understanding how certain website personalization works and continuously making improvements allows a website to identify what is working and what isn’t. Not all personalization will lead to a potential client purchasing services from the website. If part of the website personalization continually underperforms and does not connect with the customer, it is necessary to adjust, remove or implement other personalization changes to correct the lack of sales generation. All of this becomes possible with the help of continually monitoring website analytics and data (Search Engine Watch, 2014).

The moment a visitor arrives, a website needs to connect with their personal needs, wants and desires. By understanding key demographics, it is possible for a company to setup its website to prove more attractive and beneficial to customers. This acts as a welcome mat, waving the customer in. As the individual spends time on the site, continual data analysis allows for a personalized, custom experience, unique to them and them alone. By taking advantage of website personalization, companies not only connect directly with a potential client, but increase the chance of the customer both making a purchase and returning for future purchases. Due to this, implementing website personalization is a must for all businesses.

If our team can help deliver on your website and personalization projects, please connect with us.

21st of June — 2017

How Personalizing The Enterprise Search Experience Can Increase Performance

Chris Risner

T he need to search large amounts of data in a short amount of time has existed for decades. Code breakers during the Second World War developed warehouse sized mechanical computers to decipher incoming enemy intelligence, all in order to sort through varying algorithms before breaking the codes.

Mechanical systems are able to sift through hundreds of potential entries an hour. In modern business, an enterprise network likely has thousands, if not millions of data entry points, all of which need may need to be identified. While the complexity of search and identification has drastically increased over the decades, so too has search methods. Search personalization is one of the latest methods for improving search results. Now used within search engines, it is a tool companies need to implement in order to boost productivity by reducing search times while providing higher quality results.

Search Engines and the Development of Search Personalization

During wartime, it took massive computer machines to perform even the most basic data analysis searches. By the 1970s, computers had become an important tool inside the office. This lead to the development of inner office networks, which could connect all computer systems together. These networks formed the basic idea of the Internet. Simplistic search protocols were available with basic search fields. By the time the Internet became available to the general public in the early 90s and search engines started to emerge i the mid 90s, basic search features remained similar to that of the inner network systems of the 70s: almost exclusively keyword based (Net History, 2004).

Google did vary its search algorithms from other search engines, which in turn helped make it the most popular search engine. During the mid 2000s, Google started to look into varying ways to improve search results. In 2005, the search engine released its personalized search feature. Personalized search results were based off of varying elements, including past searches, selected results, growing patterns and location. While the company has tailored the search field since then, personalized search has become the basis of almost all Internet searches over the past decade (Tentacle Inbound, 2017).

Search Personalization at the Enterprise Level

Search personalization is not simply search engine specific. Individuals and workstations within a company network should take advantage of the search method as well. Different individuals holding varying job titles within an enterprise will likely need different kinds of information. Someone in the accounting department is more likely to need financial information while sales may need client based information. Additionally, each individual will likely need slightly different information based on their personal clients, who they work with and documentation they have input into the system. With a personalized search at the enterprise level, the time it takes to locate needed files is greatly reduced, which in turn boosts productivity and slashes employee downtime.

Search personalization is more than just a tool used by Google. It is a powerful search method designed to improve productivity within an enterprise network while providing higher quality search results.

If our team can help you leverage personalization and search results, please connect with us.

26th of May — 2017

Common Myths of Content Marketing

Chris Risner

C ontent marketing is growing in popularity as an essential strategy for driving traffic and generating leads. It is also a great way to promote your brand and establish meaningful relationships with your potential customers.

As more businesses begin to design content marketing strategies, it is important for them to be aware of common myths and misconceptions that surround content marketing. This article will highlight some of those myths and why they stand not to be true.

It Won’t Work for Your Audience

A common misconception of content marketing is that it won’t work for the type of audience that you appeal to. This is however not the case. In fact, 70% of consumers prefer to relate with a brand through their content (such as articles, videos and blogs) as opposed to being blasted with ads that are trying to get them to buy something.

Consumers want to feel a connection with your brand and to develop a relationship with it. Once you have built up that trust with your audience, they feel more comfortable purchasing your products. This situation holds true across many different audiences.

It is Too Expensive

Many companies feel that a content marketing strategy is out of their reach financially. When you look at it more closely, however, traditional methods of advertising can be much more expensive.

It is indeed true that content marketing comes at a cost (such as creating the right content, hiring writers and paying for social media ads) but these costs, when properly incurred, are actually less burdensome than other marketing strategies. This is particularly true for many advertising marketing plans such as Google and Linkedin.

It Comes At No Cost

Another common misconception is that content marketing is a cheap way to get the job done. Some businesses think that by simply putting out content, the rest will work itself out and they will automatically drive traffic to their site. This is however not true.

Businesses need to invest in the right strategies in order to create attractive and relevant content for their customers and drive those customers to their website. Such strategies involve paid social media advertising in order to give your content a boost, developing content around keywords through SEO in order to drive traffic, and re-designing your website in order to have the right landing pages. In fact, effective B2B marketers spend 39% of their budget on content marketing. It is the right channel to invest in.

It is Difficult to Measure ROI

The ROI on your content marketing strategy can be measured. You can track incoming traffic and where it is originating from, and the number of leads that you have generated through the response rate to your call to action posts on your website.

You can also measure how many “contact us” forms have been filled out or how many people have subscribed to your newsletters in order to determine how many leads you have generated. Content marketing provides many methods through which you can continuously track and measure your results.

Quantity is Better than Quality

You would think that the more content you put up, the better. However sacrificing quality for quantity can have the opposite effect on your content marketing strategy. Customers want more of what is relevant to them, not just more.

It is better to have one blog post that reaches many more people than multiple posts that are read by fewer people. When beginning your content marketing strategy, start slow, focus on quality and have a plan that outlines the goals of each piece of content you put up.

Results Come Quickly

Many businesses new to content marketing always expect quick and easy results as soon as they put up their material. Content marketing takes time and a lot of trial and error. It requires a deep understanding of your audience and the ability to create content that they find attractive and relevant.

In addition, you have to promote this content to your customers. All this takes both time and effort and it should be an on-going process, not an overnight activity.

All Content Should be on Your Website

It comes naturally that businesses would want all the content they have worked so hard to create, to be on their website. There are however advantages to diversifying where your content is located online.

Republishing your content on other platforms helps increase outreach and draw traffic to the originator of the material. Other platforms also probably have a larger audience than you may have at the moment, therefore it helps your business when you attempt to put your content on these larger brands.

The More Views, the More Success

Just because your video or blog post has been shared thousands of times does not mean that it will automatically drive traffic and generate leads. While outreach is an important first step towards successful content marketing, it is important to turn that outreach into leads for nurturing.

Your content should contain a call to action and other drivers of traffic that enables you to grab the attention of more potential customers.

It is Difficult to Compete with Other Businesses

Smaller companies or those that are new to content marketing may feel intimidated by larger established corporations which have a lot of web traffic and are dominant online. It is, however, possible to be competitive. If you strive to be unique and valuable in the content that you create, you can stand out in the face of all the material that is out there.

Implement SEO strategies that use keywords that are unique, yet popular in how often they are searched. As potential customers search online for solutions to their problems, having unique and valuable content that is SEO optimized can draw them to your site.

Content Will Speak for Itself

Sometimes content marketers create quality content and think everyone will want to read it. Quality content is not enough for effective marketing. This is because every minute there are a thousand tweets, a thousand videos uploaded on YouTube and a thousand photos shared on Facebook among other sites. Marketers need to work hard so that their content will stand out in a sea of information overload. They need content that is different and unique. Content marketers need to find what their customers want and give it to them effectively than their competitors. A business needs to consider factors like online traffic, page views, engagement and number of clicks. They also need to use customers’ feedback to analyze how well they are serving the customers’ needs. Once they have this data, they can come up with strategies that will better target their customer base.

Content Marketing Won’t Work in a Specific Business

A common myth is that content marketing belongs to some industries rather than others but this doesn’t mean that content marketing won’t work for them. Shipping companies are using content marketing to raise brand awareness. Research shows that content marketing will work effectively in the least likely industries.

Social Media isn’t an Effective Way of Content Marketing

Businesses need to be active on social media and use it as an actual publishing platform. They can build better relationships with their clients by encouraging them to follow their social media sites and interacting with them. Too many brands neglect social media maybe because they believe their customers aren’t tech-savvy or active on these sites. Almost everyone is on social media in this age of technology and failing to use it as a resource could be crippling to the business. Social media shouldn’t be ignored as a unique marketing channel. It provides multiple channels on which content can be distributed i.e. YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr. A strategy needs to be defined in order to determine how efficiently social media will be used to enhance a company’s brand and maximize user experience. The better the content the more readily it will be received by customers.

Creating Content is an Easy Process

Creating content marketing with no experience is not easy. A number of processes can be used including; using social aggregators to schedule social media posts, tailoring newsletters and emails to promote content and using analytics to predict customer behavior towards the content. However, automation should not be used completely as the end result will be impersonal and not connect with the customers. Content creation should not be automated. There are software companies that can use to streamline the process of content marketing. Businesses’ need to know that creating efficient content marketing strategies is going to require a lot of investment in time and resources so they will need to hire professionals or dedicate the time to create the content themselves.

It is Easy to Find Great Writers

Companies that are focusing on expanding the blog section of their websites and other text-heavy areas may opt to go for cheaper writers and other low-cost solutions when generating content. Simply writing something for a blog post and generating top-tier content are two different things.

Companies should invest in obtaining quality writers that are knowledgeable of the subject matter, the target audience, and can relate to the overall marketing strategy of the business. Creating professional content that your customers’ value is an important skill that should be given the necessary attention and resources.

There are Better Marketing Strategies

Content marketing is increasingly becoming one of the top marketing strategies being adopted by businesses. In fact, 72% of marketing professionals believe that branded content is more valuable than ads placed in magazines. Many of them also view content marketing as superior to direct mail and other traditional marketing strategies.

Typical ads that “interrupt” and are placed in between TV programs, magazines and other media outlets are increasingly becoming less effective at generating sales. Content marketing is more effective marketing strategy and, when done properly, will continue to provide benefits for the foreseeable future.

If our team can help you harness your content into a streamlined content and CMS strategy, please contact us.

3rd of May — 2017

Top Signs that It is Time for a New Web Content Management System

Chris Risner

I n the modern day, a successful enterprise relies heavily on the flow of digital media. A responsive and high-quality website makes a great first impression on potential customers. Likewise, company employees rely on systems to get relevant data as quickly as possible. An efficient content management system (CMS) is able to juggle both of these realms in order to keep a company running at its best.

Content management systems index and store all of a company’s data so that it can be quickly and easily retrieved by the people who have access to it. An effective CMS is capable of enterprise content management (ECM) as well as web content management (WCM). ECM is primarily concerned with the flow of data between members of a company. WCM on the other hand focuses on the flow of data between an enterprise and potential customers. Both forms of content management need to be as efficient as possible in order for an enterprise to be successful.

However, like all software, sometime a content management system simply needs to be replaced. But how does an enterprise know when it needs to purchase a new content management system?

It All Comes Down to Time

The needs of an enterprise change very rapidly. That is not to say that a new CMS should be purchased every time the needs of the enterprise shift. It does, however, mean that an enterprise needs to keep a watchful eye on their content management system for signs of a degrading service.

When considering to replace a content management system an enterprise should be asking the following questions:

How much has the enterprise grown since the CMS was first installed?
How does the enterprise needs to present itself to potential customers?
Are there any significant flaws in how the current CMS is operating?
Does the current CMS update frequently?

Growth of the Enterprise

The most simple answer for whether or not a company should invest in a new CMS is: Yes. Over time, any successful enterprise will outgrow the systems that worked for it in the beginning. This is because when an enterprise first starts out, it most likely invests in an affordable (i.e cheap) content management system. At this lower level, a cheap content management system fits the need of the enterprise just fine because it has a very low workload. However, as the company grows this cheap CMS can be strained by the sheer amount of data it has to manage.

Naturally, the larger a company grows, the more content it has to archive: transactions, payrolls, et cetera. This content is vital to the operation of the company. If the enterprise grows very rapidly, so too will this backlog of information. If there is too much content for the current CMS to operate it may no longer work as well as it used to.

All of this data inevitably piles up. As an enterprise grows it continuously needs larger and more powerful systems to keep it all in check. Record keeping is crucial to the health of an enterprise – one never knows when a year-old payroll may be needed. As such, this kind of data can not simply be deleted to make room for new data.

Changing a CMS may be more hassle than deleting old data, however in the long run it becomes an impractical and temporary solution. Eventually an enterprise has to upgrade its content management system if it wants to continue to grow. The sooner an enterprise can make the switch, the better off it will be in the long run.

Perception of the Enterprise

Functionality of the CMS

A major sign that a content management system needs replacing is if employees or customers report persistent issues while trying to access the content that the system manages. If content is frequently unavailable or if there is considerable lag while trying to access it then the CMS is likely due for an upgrade.

On the consumer side, longer wait times or frequent errors may be a result of a CMS that is desperately in need a replacement. If too many customers are complaining about long wait times they may decide to take their business elsewhere. So investing in a stronger CMS is a move that not only keeps customers happy – but it keeps the enterprise healthy.

On an employee’s end, a faulty content management system may often lose content or it may take too long for content to be retrieved. The slower the content management system operates, the slower the employee works. To keep employees working at their most efficient an updated CMS is key.

Updates for the CMS

Like all software, a content management system can be updated to improve its functionality. If the developers of the CMS are not updating it, odds are the content management system will become rapidly outdated. Content management is a rapidly changing environment and if updates are nowhere to be found an enterprise could be lagging behind.

Updating the CMS is always a preferable step to purchasing a brand new system. It will save money and hassle that come with changing the content management system altogether. However, if an update does not improve the functionality of the CMS or if there simply is no update then it is time to start looking for a new system.

If our team can help you with your CMS, WCM or DXP, please connect with us.

6th of December — 2016

What to Look for When Evaluating an Enterprise Search Solution – Key Criteria

Chris Risner

C hoosing an enterprise search solution can be daunting and time-consuming. There are many factors to consider and it can be very confusing

This blog post is meant to help guide that decision by providing the key criteria for evaluating the best enterprise search solution. These criteria include vision, various technology considerations, licensing model(s), frequency of updates/support, employee resource(s) needed, flexibility, and security.

Base Technology and Fit

The first area to understand is to dig into the base or underlying technology of the solution. This includes the following areas:

What technology stack is the search solution built on, and what programming languages would be used to implement and extend it? Is this the same as the technology used within your organization?
Where is data stored? What technology used for storing data?
Is any or all part of the solution open source? Or is it completely proprietary? Some mix of the two?
Does it fit and work within the Content Management Solution or the application that will be exposing the search?
What parts of the solution are essentially “off limits” vs. what is customizable if necessary
What skills are necessary to do customization?

Evaluating the base technology behind the solution is important to understand how much it will take to run and support the solution, including what would happen if the organization decides to “go it alone” and support the solution with internal resources. While open source solutions could provide licensing advantages (more on licensing below) and also possibly provide access to the source code (if necessary), it also could lead to support considerations that an organization is not ready for. For instance, choosing a entirely open source option without a real business behind it and then building a solution in-house would mean that the organization is signing up to be a software developer that is essentially competing with the existing enterprise search software vendors out there already. This is still possible and may be the right decision in some situations, presumably in circumstances that cause for extreme customization anyway. But, the constant software development process, testing, implementation, and support necessary to keep up with the changes in the market may not make sense for organizations that just want a product and solution that works and is a truly cloud-based environment (which would be difficult to make happen in-house as well). Choosing a solution that meets the organization’s current technology stack is an important consideration.

Connectors

Connectors are pre-built code to integrate systems together. Many are built for such things as Content Management Systems and CRM systems, but they could be any environment that the enterprise search solution provider felt was necessary or would provide them a marketing advantage. Commercial applications typically would have a stronger eye toward marketing and would naturally provide more of connectors, while open source solutions would tend to give the tools necessary for developers to create their own connectors. These connectors need to be evaluated according to the following questions to assess the appropriateness:

How many connectors are currently available?
Are the necessary connectors available for the organization’s immediate needs? What about for growth?
If a particular connector is not available, is it possible to create a custom connector? How difficult is this process?
How deep do the connectors go? Do they provide the right level of integration to be effective or just brush the surface to check a marketing box off that they have the connector? If incomplete in some way, how difficult is it to shore it up to get what is needed?
Does the provider seem dedicated to continual development of additional connectors?

Vision and Architecture Philosophy

Understanding what the enterprise search solution was created for and where it is headed in the future is important. Some solutions were created and optimized for specific systems, applications, or use cases such as CRM or customer service or knowledge bases. While it may not be important to know how a particular vendor is going to handle predictive analytics or machine learning in detail, for instance, it might be important to an organization to consider a particular solution where the provider is working on artificial intelligence capabilities for automating taxonomy management. This could show show that the vendor is thinking about the future and has the same vision of where the organization wants to go.

Other considerations of vision and philosophy include how data is extracted from the source systems. Then how the search engine solution processes that data and merges data from all of the sources together, commonly called federation. It is important to understand how data is joined from different data sources and normalized to create a common structure, such as one data source having full name in one field while another source has first and last name in different fields. There are many ways to do this, and being on the same page is critical. In addition, the way that a system handles taxonomy is important. Taxonomy is the categorization capabilities or methods of creating context to the data and structuring the data such including creating filters, facets, and other user interface features. All of these different areas can affect the evaluation of a search engine solution.

Scalability

Most search engines today need to be able to handle very large databases and index sizeable quantities of data, sometimes into the millions and even billions of records. This also means the system needs to be built in order to provide response times to queries in an efficient manner With the amount of data that needs to be processed, the search engine solution needs to process data in order to not frustrate users that are accustomed to Google-like response times. Areas to consider under scalability include the following:

Number of data sources
Number of records within each data source? What is the expected growth of data?
Frequency of updates and how much of the data needs to be updated with each update
How many queries will be performed? What is the expected growth?

Indexing

Indexing is the method for gathering the data. It describes whether (and how) a crawler is used, how often data is captured (time between indexes), how fast the actual indexing process takes, and whether some or all fields need secondary processing for creating metadata in order to use the data. All of these are important to consider because if the system is down while the indexing occurs because of how long the process takes or the way that the system is built. If the system is unavailable during this time or slow from the user’s perspective, it is a concern. It is also an issue if the data is very old (stale) because of the time between indexing. Often the processing can be handled offline with a separate server such as a staging server and and intelligent means of data capture can be maintained such as only getting the data has changed rather than the entire data set from every data source. All of these architecture decisions should be evaluated when making a selection of a search engine solution.

Search Features and User Experience

The core query functionality of the system is critical to look at. At this point within the search industry, there are quite a few search features that should be expected in a modern search solution. The features and functionality that should be in most systems including sorting, filtering, faceting, stemming, keyword searches, boolean searches, the use of wildcards, field searches, range searches, synonyms, “did you mean” type features, auto-suggesting and auto completion. If any of these are missing, it should be cause for concern.

The search solution needs to also provide flexibility to allow for providing the means to create a world-class user interface and experience. In many ways, the user experience is just as important, or more important, than the back-end functionality. The system should have the ability to create modern user interface components such as responsive designs (mobile), filters, facets, keyword highlighting, etc. Establishing the user interface can be expensive and care should be taken to make sure to understand how easy it is to make changes if the requirements change.

Search Relevancy

Search relevancy is the process for determining which search results end up at the top of any particular results list based on how relevant the data is to the search that was performed. Search relevancy is a constant process of optimization of the search algorithm to the needs of the individual system and the ability of the system to determine the user intent. Indexing and architecture can heavily influence search relevancy and how data is processed. The search engine solution should be graded on how easy and flexible it can be tuned to the needs of the organization, how search scoring is handled and its accuracy and ability to tweak, as well as the system’s ability to boost relevancy either manually by an administrator or by additional criteria that is added to the algorithm.

Measurement of search relevance should include aggregation and analysis of search logs, keyword information, results logs, click information, abandon statistics, and possibly even conversion statistics if they are available, particularly if they can be tracked back to the search data. All of this information will help get a more clear picture of the user’s needs and intent with the goal of continual tuning. Eventually, it could lead to personalization of each search that is perform to each individual user that is performing the search. In order to get to this ultimate goal of complete understanding of the user and their intent, it is appropriate to use big data techniques and tools, machine learning methodologies and technologies, as well as predictive analytics to help improve the relevancy scores and continual improvement of the search results.

Licensing Models and Cost

How the license for the solutions works and pricing works is an important criteria in deciding on the right application for an organization. Licensing can be very complex and have many components. These components may not be linear either, with potential hidden costs that aren’t immediately obvious. For instance, although a purely open source solution could look inexpensive with no direct license expense, the on-going support and additional development expense could end up being cost-prohibitive, particularly if the organization doesn’t have the skills to manage an open source solution properly. Some questions to ask on pricing include the following:

Is the solution SaaS? On-premise? Hybrid?
If on-premise, how would hosting be handled? Is there a flat fee or tiered pricing? Is there maintenance costs? Is the license price contingent upon the number of servers or processors?
If SaaS or some type of hybrid is there a base cost? Is it per month? Is there some additional volume-based expense per month (most commonly based on the number of queries)? Is there additional pricing based per person?
How is support handled? Is this an extra expense? Are there maintenance expense for additional years?
How is training handled? What training expenses are necessary?

Security and Authentication

Protection of data continues to be one of the biggest challenges for modern organizations. Sensitive and proprietary documents needed to be secured from individuals and systems that should not have access. Some areas to consider on security include the following:

How is authorization provided?
Is a single sign-on available?
Can the system provide document-level security?
What other security capabilities does the system provide?

Administration and Skills Necessary

Modern enterprise search solutions provide reporting and administrative capabilities to employees in order to understand more about how the system is operating and allowing optimization of search results. An evaluation of the reporting as well as gaining some understanding of what options are available to tune the results is necessary to understand the breadth of the solution. Some considerations for administration include:

Are there tools for synonyms? Is there an administrative interface to manage synonyms?
How are misspellings handled? Is there an automated system to detect misspellings?
What skills or employees are necessary to administer the system?
Is there a way to boost favored content within the search results?

Conclusion

While selecting a enterprise search solution can be complex and take quite a bit of time, using a methodical process of evaluation can ensure that the right decisions can be made. Rushing the decision for such an important portion of an enterprise network could cause problems and issues with the customer experience for years. On the other hand, choosing the proper solution could provide the right technology to provide accurate access to the information and a superior user experience.

If our team can help recommend the best enterprise search solution for you, please connect with us.

10th of October — 2016

Using Product Information Management (PIM) to Optimize Enterprise Search

Chris Risner

O ne major way that organizations can help enterprise search is to proper implement a product information management (PIM) solution.

Marketers are increasingly discovering that having an effective enterprise and site search is critical to customer engagement and customer satisfaction. In fact, in a recent study, Jupiter Media Matrix reports that 80% of visitors abandon sites if the search is functionality is poor. In addition, Marketing Sherpa reports that 43% of site visitors go directly to the search box when visiting a website. Because of this, the marketing department is constantly looking for ways to improve their enterprise search. This blog post discusses how a PIM solution can help optimize the enterprise search for an organization.

Centralize Product Data and Information

One of the main benefits of implementing a PIM is to centralize product data and information into one location and allows the marketing department to go to one location when they need to add new products or make modifications or updates. Enterprise search then benefits from this configuration by allowing integration to one data source for product information (the PIM) and ensuring that the PIM source continues to have access to the most recent content. Search then is always up-to-date and minimizing data inaccuracies.

Enforce Base Product Data with Workflow

Proper implementation of a PIM provides the team to establish a minimum amount of data that is required in order for a product to be released or launched. In addition, the PIM will create a workflow that enforces all the products conform to this for consistency across all products. All new products will fall under the same workflow rules ensuring that the base data is maintainted. This allows enterprise search to expect a base amount of data in the system and prevent null results and blank data points in search functions such as filters.

Create Common Taxonomy Language

A product information management (PIM) project will typically include an exercise to discuss the organization of the data including a common language for the data. This taxonomy includes product types (such as sensors or software solutions), categories, and attributes. This work to understand the structure of the data will allow enterprise search to have the data necessary for features such as parametric search functionality and filter capabilities.

Conclusion

As marketing departments look for new ways to improve the customer experience, they are looking to improve the enterprise search functionality. One main way to provide a better enterprise search is to properly implement a product information management (PIM) solution. A project focused on getting a modern PIM up and running can help enterprise search in multiple ways. Marketing teams would be wise to evaluate whether it makes sense to utilize a product information management (PIM) solution within their company. The direct benefit of the proper use of a PIM on enterprise search could provide a very lucrative return on investment.

Our team is one of the leading minds in enterprise search and smart product recommendations. If we can help you, please reach out and connect with us.