10 Great Myths of the Internet

High Performance Sales and Marketing for the Web

10 Great Myths of the

InternetAmy Africa, [email protected]

Sponsored by Merit Direct * October 4, 2007


Today’s Agenda… Shopping Carts Navigation Entry Pages E-mail (Thrust and Trigger) NCASE Web 2.0 Statistics and more…


Myth #1:A good shopping cart abandonment rate is 10% or less.


A good AR is about 60%.• If you don’t have about 60% – you aren’t selling hard enough• How do you get more of them?

Key metrics: • Unique visitors to carts• Cart to completed orders

• How to convert them: Clean, efficient checkout with temperature bar Limited distractions

• Capture E-mail Address (#1 technique)• Use aggressive converting techniques

Pop-ups E-mails Telemarketing


Myth #2:E-mail is free. You should mail everyone & everything every single time.


It’s all about deliverability.• Factors that are important in e-mail

Content Segmentation Deliverability Format – #2 most underestimated factor From address Personalization, including the “to”

address Subject line First two lines of your e-mail


Myth #3:It’s 2007. People know how to find stuff online.


Navigation is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Largest determinant of a site’s success. Period. What type of navigation?

C Navigation: Top/Left/Bottom Navigation Consider other types of navigation

Problem/Solution If something is important you need to showcase

it more than once Your navigation should be so solid that the user

never relies on text search


Myth #4:Text search is a good thing. Every site should have it.


Text search = abandons.

• Text search is a necessary evil…. Sometimes!• People search differently

Men Women

• If you have to do it – do it right: Get a good program If you do it yourself:

• Populate effective Thesaurus and Spelling options• Respond on failed searches

– Pop-ups– Emails– Live Chat

• Monitor results Track what people are looking for


Myth #5:Your home page is the most important page on your site.


Entry pages are the most important pages.• Develop strong pages for all major category,

product lines and products Supports all marketing programs

• PPC, Organics and Alternates• Email Marketing• Hubs

• It is the first page many people see – make a good impression so they bounce

• Not every page needs to be an entry page, in fact, most shouldn’t


Myth #6:Your site should change once a week, preferably on Monday.


Sites should change based on traffic patterns.• Look at repeat visitors

• Change only the things that will make a difference, don’t change just to change

• Do not change the C


Myth #7:When it comes to the web, aesthetics matter the most.


Aesthetics often matter the least…

• Contrary to popular belief, websites are all about functionality

• SEM doesn’t consider “pretty”

• Users see things on the web in visuals

• Search Engines see things in text

• Design for the view


Myth #8:You don’t need organics when you have PPC.


PPC is a right-hand column function

Organics convert better and they typically have higher LTP

Develop a program for alternates Use data feeds


Myth #9:Web 2.0 is THE killer application. If you aren’t using it, you’re an idiot.


Most companies aren’t even at web .05!

• Web 2.0 (in this context social networking) Very expensive Not masking the original problems of a site Adding community to your site may be the

kiss of death if you don't have good navigation and structure for your website.

• Do the basics very well – then you can move to next level


Myth #10:You need the latest and greatest technology to market on the web.


It’s all about the basics…• You should know what’s inside the box before

you think out of it.

Solid navigation Great product presentation Standard formatting Leading people to the sale Intuitive checkout Understanding of stats Email Capture Trigger and Thrust email programs


Myth #11:Offline is the major driver of online business.


The web is the main driver of incremental business…• Most companies are living in the offline

world – so it’s self-fulfilling

• Companies are not allocating the resources to the web Marketing dollars Manpower Technical innovation


Myth #12:Statistical packages are over 90% accurate and will help you make good, solid decisions.


Truth is, they’re about 55% accurate.

• What is important to look at? Unique Traffic -- New and Repeat and by Source AAUS – Active Average User Session Critical usage pages -- entry/exit/most popular pages

• Search Stats• Key Benchmarks

Unique visitors/Carts Carts/Completed Orders Checkout Funnel

• Email Sign-ups • Trends are more important than the stats


Thank You!

10 Great Myths of the Internet

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