Inbound Marketing Insights

Landing pages, calls-to-action, and pop-up forms are lead generation tools that must be tested to ensure you're using the right design, copy, and imagery to engage your audience. When you create landing pages, calls-to-action, and pop-up forms, you must ensure you have time before and during a campaign for optimization and further testing. This will allow you to see how your content is performing, how your lead generation tool is converting leads, and if there is anything you can do to improve your conversion rate. A proven way to do this is through A/B testing or multivariate testing.

The A/B testing method compares two versions of a page, call-to-action, form, or any content against each other to determine which version performs better. You can do this manually by creating two versions of a page with varying content. You can run one version of the page for a month and the other version of the page for another month. You will then compare the results. Software is also available that can automatically do this by varying the content when someone views your website. The software will automatically pick the best version based on the highest conversion rate. Elements to consider when testing include:

• Color of your call-to-action button:
  Different colors will resonate with different brands and audiences. There is not one color that works best across all different content types. Test a few different options to see which color buttons generate the most clicks and conversions. You can then use that data to make better-informed future marketing decisions (and even branding strategy decisions).
• How many form fields to use:
  We have seen that 4 - 7 form fields is ideal for optimizing conversion. The fewer number of fields, the better, but you do need to have enough information to make the lead viable for your sales team. Test different field types, including drop-downs, write-in text, multi-select, and more, to see what leads to higher conversion. You can then use this data on your future forms to optimize your entire approach to lead generation.
• What kind of imagery is on the page:
  Imagery is essential to engaging your audience. If you are promoting an eBook or a content offer, you should consider using the cover image of that content piece. Or you can find stock imagery that can help to further get your message across visually through the image on the landing page or even your pop-up form.
• How much content to display:
  The amount of content on a landing page or form is critical. The more content, the lower the conversion. I have seen too often that companies make their landing pages incredibly long and wonder why their conversion lowers. The shorter the page, the higher the conversion.

A/B testing provides you with data on the type of content, imagery, color of a button, language, the number of form fields, and more data points that work best to convert your specific audience. This very important step in the process will give you data you can then use to build future campaigns. Remember that you only want to test one change at a time. For example, if you’re testing a landing page, only change the content and test the landing page against the other content version. Then, in a separate test, you may want to look at the imagery. Avoid testing two or more elements simultaneously because you won’t know what changes led to an increase or decrease in conversions.

Are you looking for ways to optimize your inbound strategy? The"book "Mastering Inbound Marketing: Your Complete Guide to Building a Results-Driven Inbound Strategy," written by Elyse Flynn Meyer, Owner & Founder of Prism Global Marketing Solutions, covers every aspect of the inbound marketing methodology, including the revenue generation trifecta of marketing, sales, and the customer experience. Check out the book to see how to most efficiently and effectively develop, implement, and maintain your inbound strategy.