MadLibs Original Version

We all remember those rainy, boring days as kids, when finding something to do was impossible. Parents around the world cheered as they were thrown a life raft when the Mad Libs books came along. You remember, “The worlds best word game”. Fill in the blanks with words that made the most sense. It was just a mad ‘ol time.

Back in February 2010, those warm, fuzzy feelings we had as a kid all came back when Luke Wroblewski introduced the world to Mad Libs style landing pages. His post about his Mad Libs test generated quite a bit of buzz. By changing the style of the form on the landing page to a Mad Libs narrative type, it lifted conversions by 25%-40% across the board. Pretty impressive results right?

We thought so too.

One of our specialties is Targeted Lead Generation and we pride ourselves in the quality leads we generate for our clients. We’re constantly looking for ways to  improve conversion rates and keep our strategies on the cutting edge. When I came across this Mad Libs idea, I was dying for a chance to test this out on one of our landing pages. Today I’m going to show you what we did to implement this type of form test and share with you our results.

The Mad Lib Form Setup Process

When setting up the test, there are two areas that need to be focused on:

The Design & The Copy.

The whole point of the Mad Libs style form is to bring out the narrative element it offers. With the right copy and layout you can captivate your users. It gives the landing page a much more personal feeling and you can put more emphasis on your offer.

From a design standpoint, be sure to provide a good flow of the form layout and also enough padding so it doesn’t look like complete mess. The first field labled “TO:”, can add a nice touch if you add the logo of the company the user is sending the lead too. Also, in our case we could utilize and re-emphasize the phone number. This not only brings a more qualified/warm lead, it also gives the user trust in the business they’re giving their info to.

Take a look at the example we used below:

PLEASE NOTE: I’ve edited a few elements to the form for privacy reasons.

Landing Page Control Version

Mad Libs Form Style

The Results.

This is what everyone really cares about right? After a few weeks of testing our first landing page, we saw an overall conversion lift of 25%. Amazing.

Mad Libs Form Test Results

For every 100 leads, we are now generating an additional 15 leads above the control.

When you sit back and really look at what this kind of lift does to your bottom line, these are pretty exciting results.

To learn more about Net Media Group’s proven conversion testing services, give us a call at (801) 365-0057 today!

Below you’ll find a complete case study where we ran an A/B test within a shopping cart. We were testing the One Step Checkout Magento Extension against the standard Magento “One Page Checkout”. The results may surprise you

In the words of Bryan Eisenberg, “Always be Testing” is a big motto around here. No matter what we’re doing, we’re always looking to improve our sites conversion rates. With that being said, I wanted to take a quick second to share some results about an A/B test we ran on an eCommerce site using the OneStepCheckout Magento Extension. (Learn more about the extension here.)

One of the perks of using an open source platform like Magento, is it opens all types doors for developers to make the product that much better. Seeing that the eCommerce website that we were testing was using Magento, it allowed us to do some very creative and robust conversion testing.

Getting the A/B Test Setup

For starters, setting up the test was a lot easier than we originally planned. Simply install the Magento Extension, setup the configuration as you’d like and you’re ready to roll. From there, you need to setup the A/B test to track the results. Using Google Website Optimizer, we just setup an A/B test to get the test up quick and start gathering data right away.

TIP: When testing areas throughout your site try to have a method to the madness. In other words, don’t just test something because it looks cool or it’s a lucky guess. At NetMediaGroup, we utilize all of our analytics to make educated decisions on what to test.

The 2 Variations

STANDARD MAGENTO ONEPAGE CHECKOUT:

ONE STEP CHECKOUT MAGENTO EXTENSION:

The Results (Shocking)

To my surprise it was detrimental. It was a negative outcome (-26%). Ouch. Now, let me make it clear though. After seeing these results it DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULDN’T TRY this Magento extension. There are several variables that go into account. The demographics that use our site, the type of product, the price point, etc. This was a fantastic solution for a shopping cart. We’re currently rolling out to other sites to see if we can replicate the results or prove our point that it was just the particular site we tested it on.

In conclusion, this is why it’s always best to test everything and yet another reason why we’re consistently testing. There’s always room for improvement.

If you’ve used this extension, I’d love to hear what your results were…

While it makes good financial sense to have a high converting website, it’s surprising that not every merchant is conducting conversion testing to improve their conversion rates.

It’s surprising because it’s a relatively easy way to generate more sales; especially in the affiliate channel.

Plus, having a high converting site makes for a great recruiting tool to help attract and keep the best affiliates.

Why You Should Be Running Conversion Testing for Affiliates

Every day affiliates ask us about conversion rates and which programs run conversion testing.

They’re asking about it. They look for it. They expect it.

In short, the top affiliates do this on their sites; they expect you to do the same.

There are two basic methods of conversion testing:

1. A/B Testing – When you test one variable at a time.
2. Multivariable Testing – When you test multiple variables at the same time. This is often referred to as “MVT.”

Conversion testing can be done lumping all sources of traffic, or in its most advanced state, be conducted on each channel separately (PPC vs. SEO vs. Email vs. Affiliate vs. CPM).

Each channel converts differently. However, if an affiliate is going to invest and succeed in promoting your products long-term, your site needs to convert specifically in their channel.

If you have a high converting website, you can advertise your conversion rate to help attract affiliates and save them the step of asking.

I know plenty of affiliates who don’t ask, and expect you to advertise it. So, if you don’t know what it is, find out. If you know and it’s low, fix it!

Just as in your business, affiliates want to invest their time into the things that will bring in the most money.

After all, it is how they earn a living so return on investment is an important factor in their decision to join your affiliate program or not.

If you don’t have a good conversion rate, chances are slim that you’re going to attract the right affiliates. They will move on to another program that does convert.

The higher the conversion number, the more attractive your program will be. Not only that, it will also help you retain affiliates in your program because they will be earning higher commissions.

Everyone wins when you have a high converting website.

Your affiliates win because they earn more commissions. You win because they sell more products. And, it’s all done on a pay for performance basis.

Are you doing conversion testing for your affiliates?

To learn more about Net Media Group’s proven conversion testing methods, give us a call at (801) 365-0057 today!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mark Swaby
Net Media Group
Office: (801) 993-2222
Email address: mswaby@netmediagroup.com

Salt Lake City – October 19, 2008 – AffiliateCrew, an online marketing agency, has changed their name to NetMediaGroup. The name change was done in an effort to better reflect the company and all of its marketing capabilities.

“Our business is helping companies connect to customers online,” said Mark Swaby, Senior Vice President of Business Development at NetMediaGroup. “Over the years we have become the industry experts in doing this. While our affiliate business is essential to what we do, and we will continue to do it better than anyone else, it really is just one component in a very large, and successful solution for our customers. We are passionate about taking a customer’s online campaign from inception to successful implementation with all of the resources at our disposal. NetMediaGroup helps us convey that message to our customers.”

NetMediaGroup works with successful national companies, with established products and brands that are lacking an online retail or sales presence or looking to make an existing campaign better. Some of the tools used to do that include:

• Lead Generation
• Paid Search
• Search optimization strategies (SEO)
• Affiliate Programs
• Turnkey Website
• Multi-Variable Testing
• Social Media Services

Another way NetMediaGroup works to set itself apart from other online marketing agencies is by working on a performance-based business model. If clients don’t see a predetermined, desired action, they don’t pay. Only when their clients succeed does NetMediaGroup succeed. The company currently has a client roster filled with successful national companies including Little Giant Ladders, Rug Doctor, Register.com, Rockwell Tools, WORX, Lipozene, Bosley, Pro-Form, and Health Rider.

For more information about NetMediaGroup and their services visit  give us a call at (801) 365-0057 today!

About NetMediaGroup
Located in Salt Lake City, NetMediaGroup is an online marketing agency specializing in helping nationally known companies selling products or services via traditional media connect with the online component. This is done through groundbreaking strategies in lead generation, paid search, search optimization strategies (SEO), affiliate programs, turnkey website, multi-variable testing and social media services.