MediaWhiz SVP Jeremy Leonard details conversion optimization for lead-gen paths. At a presentation given at Conversion Conference Oct. 9, 2012, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Leonard explains how digital and performance marketers can generate efficient and cost-effective conversions with an eye toward quality and sustainability.

1. The Tricks and Traps of
Lead-Gen Conversion
Jeremy W. Leonard
SVP Strategy & Operations
MediaWhiz
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

2. About MediaWhiz
Integrated digital media agency
Combine performance marketing,
technology and digital-media expertise
Help brands acquire customers more
profitably
Part of Hyper Marketing agency network
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

3. About MediaWhiz
ADVERTISING AGE
#11 U.S. Search
Marketing Agency
TOPSEOs.COM:
Top-10 Best U.S. SEO
Agencies
ADVERTISING AGE
#21 U.S. Digital Network
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

4. About MediaWhiz
SEARCH DISPLAY AFFILIATE
Efficiency. Growth. Efficiency and scale via top- Targeted, high-quality leads
Reputation. PPC, SEO, SEM, ranked ad network. >2 billion with top-ranked affiliate
ORM and link-building impressions per month. network MonetizeIt.
services.
SOCIAL MEDIA EMAIL DATA
Profitable consumer Targeted engagement and
engagement via measureable relevance for proven ROI.
ACQUISITION
social media marketing Targeted reach to 350M
campaigns. consumers.
TEXT LINK ADS
Increase organic search traffic
with link-building options.
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

5. Lead Gen Conversion Issues
• Call-to-action must be clear
• Short-form vs. long-form decisions
• Mobile options are essential
• Quality vs. quantity of consumer traffic must be considered
• Downstream client KPIs are essential
• Final quality feedback loop with client
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

6. Specific Challenges
• Lead gen provides financial incentives to drive fraudulent traffic to
sites
• How to create sites that convert well and separate good traffic from
bad traffic
• Understanding consumers’ mindset more critical than ever
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

7. Typical Verticals that Challenge Lead Gen
• Will be looking at:
o Education
o Payday
o Auto Insurance
o Navigation
o Client obstacles
o Proper mobile implementation of these instances
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

8. Education Specific Challenges
• Site leads must convert to student enrollment
o Education is a “considered” purchase
• Typical site traffic lead to enrollment KPI is 90 days
• Call centers become a critical component in lead qualification and
conversion
• Essential to stay on top of Call Center experience
o Ensures client doesn’t have 90 days of poor quality traffic in the
pipeline
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

9. Two Types of Form Field Navigation
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

10. Case Study: Liberty University
• Poorly laid out sight with “auto
advance” navigation
• Text heavy
• In spite of:
• Poor call-to-action
• Small video imbed
• Text heaviness
• Color scheme that
blends Action in with
frame
• Conversions were 63%
higher than with standard
form
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

11. Case Study: Liberty University
• Approached the site with
more engaging graphics
• Made “auto advance”
navigation a contrasting
color with rest of the site
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

12. Case Study: Liberty University
• Every time a selection is
made on navigation shield,
the graphics slide to the left
• The navigation advances one
further step
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

13. Case Study: Liberty University
• Better designed, better laid
out site
• Contrasting call-to-action
• User is “invested” by the
time she reaches final page
• Site performed 17% worse
than text-heavy version
• Currently testing with fewer
graphics that pull the eye
away from lead form
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

14. Case Study: Bryant & Stratton
• Nicely performing EDU
landing page
• Conversion to Call Center:
18.7%
• Focused on Criminal Justice
• Visuals match
consumer traffic
• Pre-selected degree
field
• Imbedded Video
• Regulatory issues prevent
stronger call-to-action
• How to “go mobile”?
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

15. Case Study: Bryant & Stratton
Mobile Options
• Code site so it auto sizes for screen size
• Pros:
• Prioritize elements to display in
any order
• Displays in long vertical rather
than horizontal scroll
• Captures some organic mobile
• Cons:
• Sacrifice strong visuals
• Poor navigation
• No need for dedicated mobile site
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

16. Case Study: Bryant & Stratton
Preferred Method: Code site so it looks
like an app
• Pros:
• Consumers prefer apps to mobile
websites
• Maximize smartphone navigation
• Integrate “Click to Call” feature
• Still capable of presenting rich
content in mobile site
• Conversions increased 517% over
basic mobile site
• Cons:
• Spend money on dedicated mobile
site
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

17. Case Study: Bryant & Stratton
Faux App Method
• Allows rich content to load in
background slower than foreground
load
• Fewer abandonments for load-time
issues
• Provides potential consumers with
easily controllable video endorsements
• Navigation remains consistent across all
pages
• “Click to Call” remains consistent across
all pages
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

18. Case Study: Bryant & Stratton
Additional Issues to Consider
• Pros:
• No flash or HTML 5 required
• Additional content easily created
as compared to app and app
upgrade
• After consumer leaves phone
number or presses “Click to Call”
SMS becomes valid method of
CRM
• Cons:
• Spend money on dedicated mobile
site
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

19. Long-Form Challenges
• Payday is one of the toughest “long-form” challenges
o 19 questions
o Highly sensitive information (SS#, bank account #, etc.)
o Lenders determine field values
o Form field validation is critical
o Multi-variant testing on fields is limited
• What worked best: 2 pages or 8 pages?
o Best practices: More pages with strong navigation feedback should convert
best
o Fewer pages with high number of questions would scare off consumers
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

20. Case Study: Rescue Cash
• Navigation
• Bread crumbs
• Macro level visibility
• Additional info easily
found
• Results
• First-page bounce rate:
48%
• Overall completion rate:
23%
• Abandonment after 1st
page — consistent
across remaining pages
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

21. Don’t forget that Google doesn’t like “auto-
chat” and may delist your site
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

22. Case Study: Rescue Cash
• Navigation
• No bread crumbs
• Macro level visibility
• Additional info not
easily found
• Results
• First-page bounce rate:
19%
• Overall completion rate:
47%
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

23. Case Study: Rescue Cash
• Conclusions that we drew:
• These consumers are highly
motivated – they want
money
• When they can see all of
the questions at a single
glance, they can collect the
necessary information for
form completion
• The likely optimal length is
probably between 2 & 8
pages. We are still testing.
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

24. Case Study: The Auto Insurance Scout
• How hard could a “zip submit”
be?
• Only two fields:
• Radio button: “Are you
currently insured?”
• Zip Code field
• Expected ~8% conversion rate
• 3% conversion rate
• Used “happy shiny people”
• Used “logos” of our insurance
lead buyers
• Put in the “three steps”
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

25. Case Study: The Auto Insurance Scout
• Substituted a car for people
• Put zip submit on left side of page
• Put logos on right side of page
• Added additional text around
process
• All to no avail ...
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

26. Case Study: The Auto Insurance Scout
• Then put zip field first with
cursor defaulting to field
• Auto-populated “insured”
question with a “yes”
• Conversion rates jumped by
275%
• Sometimes the answer is staring
you in the face
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

27. Case Study: Home Depot
• What to do when client’s legal
team designs landing page?
• Time for A/B testing with legal
approval
• Version 1 from legal team:
• Call-to-action is “request”
• No sense of urgency
• Covers everything from
repair to maintenance
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

28. Case Study: Home Depot
• “B” version included small
badge for “special financing
same as cash”
• This should be the real
sense of urgency
• Moved customer rating higher
on page
• Included names of top
manufacturers to lend further
credibility
• Conversions improved 61%
• Legal approved as Version “A”
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

29. Case Study: Home Depot
• Continued to A/B test with Legal
permission
• “Special financing for 12
months” is now clearer
• Not large enough, in our
opinion
• Introduced tag line that
referenced “deal”
• Call-to-action is now “Get A
FREE Consultation.”
• Included consumer information
around maintenance and
financial savings
• Conversions improved
#convcon additional 44% @MediaWhizLLC

30. Finally, always • Use automated tools to check
for obvious offenders
remember • Foreign traffic masked by U.S.
proxy servers
quality • Unusual spikes in traffic
o Always check referring URL
reports:
o Typically a sign of bot
traffic
• Make sure traffic comes from
expected source
o Search traffic is not actually
masked email traffic
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

31. Talk to Clients About KPIs
• Downstream KPIs
o Leads to call center conversions
o Call center conversions to information packets
o Info packets to “sales”
o Return rates
o Optimize sites and traffic around all of these KPIs
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

32. Questions?
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC

33. CONTACT
JEREMY LEONARD
SVP, STRATEGY & OPERATIONS
MEDIAWHIZ
@MediaWhizLLC
jleonard@mediawhiz.com
#convcon @MediaWhizLLC