Recently, one of my sites had a sudden drop in visitors. I know no reason why this has happened and I am pretty sure its only temporary (lets hope!). It has happened before and has always recovered. Anyway instead of sulking about it I decided to do a bit of research into why this could be, and ways to improve conversions on the current traffic levels just in case it can’t be fixed.
I after a couple of hours of reading through other blogs and development websites I felt I was getting nowhere. I checked my statistics and looked for clues to what could be causing it. Nothing.
Later on I decided to log into my Google Adwords account. To my surprise I find a new tool called Google Website Optimizer. After watching the tutorial I was very impressed.
To put it simply, the new software (which is currently in beta version) enables web masters to make subtle design and content variations and monitor their impact on goals. For example, you could change the strap line on your page and a graphic which may have an impact on sales.
I have only just started my first experiment using this software, but I am very hopeful that it will help me learn more about the visitors to my sites. Typical Goggle Genius, such a simple idea!
I have been reading a great usability book titled “Don’t make me think†which has changed my views on web user behaviour. Instead of reading though a page content, most users are simply looking for something plausible to click: people don’t have time to read though pages of sales pitch before making a purchase or registering with a site.
Apparently they want to know what the site is, what’s in it for them and where to click.
Hopefully I will be able to test out this theory by using this new tool. I will post the results when I have them. In the meantime, give the software a look yourself. I would be interested to know how you get on!
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