Brands: Why you need to test websites, not just campaigns

Why test website pages, in addition to email or banner campaigns?

"Customers can get frustrate and often convert poorly when brands deliver a 'bait and switch' experience that invites them to a webpage that isn't relevant to the original email or search ad they clicked on," said Blair Lyon, Vice President of Marketing, Monetate. "You need to deliver consistency across customer touchpoints and implement a rigorous testing process to make sure that you're optimizing message, creative and call-to-action wherever possible. Over time, you learn that being relevant often outperforms offers and promotions, which in the end increases conversions and maximizes profits."

More brands are testing website landing pages; Monetate estimates that about 66% of companies are testing landing pages to build a better customer experience.

"The underlying principle for brands is to provide the customer with a better and more relevant online experience through the entire session. When the customer experience is enhanced, they will be more likely to make a purchase in the near-term and also become brand loyalists in the longer-term," said Lyon.

Which pages are the most important to test? Monetate suggests testing in-bound pages - pages that are pointed to by email or search campaigns - as well as home pages, product/category pages and product detail pages. Meanwhile, they suggest the most important aspects of a page to test include call-to-action buttons, page layouts, navigation and website copy.

Tags: content testing, landing pages, Monetate, online content