How HubSpot Customers Grow: The Key Technologies Used by 19,000 Marketers
Here at HubSpot, we’ve been giving a lot of thought to the concept of a growth stack — the set of tools that marketers and sales teams use to drive growth. As you might imagine, we’re working to build our products to serve as a strong foundation for your growth stack. But what does that look like?
To dig deeper into what the typical growth stack looks like, we recently partnered with Datanyze, a platform that can track a large number of technology categories. Together, we set out to determine what technologies HubSpot customers have enabled on their websites.
In this post, we’ll break down our customer adoption, and show which of the more notable technologies are being used.
7 Key Technologies Used by HubSpot Customers
1) General Technologies
Among HubSpot customers, we saw a widespread adoption of technologies that, when it comes to marketing and sales, are pretty standard — things like analytics, email, social sharing, and CMS, to name a few.
2) Analytics Technologies
Under the analytics category, we can see that Google dominates the market, with 98% of all HubSpot customers leveraging Google Analytics — that’s great market share.
What we found to be even more interesting was the supplementary set of tools that our customers use to enhance and disseminate their content, which follow below.
(Note: The Leadin product has since been rolled into HubSpot Marketing Free.)
3) Video Platforms
Over half of our customers — 53% — have an online video platform enabled on their websites. We’ve seen from previous research that video is very popular among consumers, and demand for video-based content continues to grow. Video adoption by our customers indicates a recognition of that demand — They’re keeping up with changing content preferences.
The top-used video platform — by wide margin — is YouTube, followed by Vimeo and Wistia. Note: Many websites use multiple tools.
4) Ad Networks and Retargeting
A good number of customers — 29% — are also leveraging ad networks, and 26% are retargeting to reach a wider audience. True to our inbound philosophy, our customers are focusing mostly on unobtrusive search ads and social media ads.
Retargeting, meanwhile, allows our customers to re-engage with prospects who may have left items in a shopping cart, or viewed specific webpages. For those efforts, 71% of customers use Facebook, with Google Remarketing and Dynamic Remarketing rounding out the top three tools.
5) Support and Chat Technologies
To better serve customers and prospects, about one out of five of the websites we examined enable support and chat tools, in order to directly communicate with website visitors. There’s no obvious leader in the chat tooling space, with the majority of websites using lesser-known chat tools. In our sample, Zopim and LiveChat were the chat leaders.
We saw a more clear-cut leader in the support tool space, with 44% of customers using support technologies opting for Zendesk. As more customers expect on-demand service, businesses who hoping to leverage superior service as a differentiator will continue to invest in both support and chat technologies.
6) Payment and Ecommerce Tools
The last technologies crucial to growth are ecommerce and payment tools. Obviously, businesses and buyers alike always welcome a seamless way to collect payment.
Overall, payments and ecommerce show relatively low adoption, with just 4% and 2% of websites using each respective technologies.
For websites with payment collection capabilities, 33% use PayPal and 21% use Stripe. The rest of the market is scattered among smaller players.
WooCommerce is a leader in the ecommerce category, with 43% market share within our sample.
7) Other Observations Based on Demographics
Finally, we crunched the numbers and reviewed technology adoption based on our customer demographics. We found some interesting differences, and plan to follow this research with additional insights from our data set.
In the meantime, check out some of the more interesting figures we discovered:
34% of B2C companies use retargeting, compared to 24% of B2B companies — a 10% difference.
44% of larger companies (more than 1,000 employees) use advertising networks, versus 27% of small businesses (1 to 50 employees).
Our customers in France have the highest use of online video platforms (49%), while Brazil had the lowest (43%).
Brazilian customers had the highest use of retargeting software (41%). Only 12% of customer in the Netherlands had retargeting enabled.
Companies in the software industry have the highest use of support and feedback tools (21%).
ecommerce sites have the highest use of both retargeting tools (50%) and chat software (31%).
Non-profit and education sites have the highest use of online video platforms (68% and 66%, respectively).
What’s in Your Growth Stack?
The technology groupings identified in this data are powerful levers for rapid growth. By examining the use of video, ad networks, retargeting, support, chat, ecommerce, and payments, you might begin to see what a growth stack could look like for your business.
Do you agree? Let us know what your growth stack looks like in the comments.
High-speed Wi-Fi rolls into 100th railway station in India
Jaipur station in Rajasthan was among the first stations to be connected to Railwire Wi-Fi.
“I visit [Jaipur station] every 3 to 4 days to get fast access to the Internet. I stop there for a few minutes, download apps, update them and get things my daughter wants. She is in 10th grade and uses my smartphone in the evenings to fulfill her educational needs. She also teaches my wife, her mother, to read and write using my smartphone.”
This is the story of Bhagwan Sahay, whom our team met at Jaipur Railway station, one of the earliest stations to be connected to Railwire Wi-Fi this year. It’s one of the many stories we’ve heard from people across India who are using this Wi-Fi in many ways, big and small, that improve their daily lives.
With Railwire Wi-Fi rolling into Udhagamandalam (Ooty) today, we’ve now brought high-speed Internet to 100 of the busiest railway stations across India. That means the 10 million people (think the entire population of Sweden) who pass through these stations every day now have access to fast enough Internet to stream (or offline) an HD video, research their destination or download a new book or game for the journey ahead. And for 15,000 people, every day, these stations connect them to the Internet for the first time.
We’re really excited about how far we’ve come since announcing our partnership with Indian Railways and RailTel to provide Wi-Fi at 400 railway stations across India. But what has really inspired us are the stories of how people, like Bhagwan, are using this high-speed access to the full and open Internet to make their lives a little bit better.
Somesh Singh, an engineering graduate, has been using the Wi-Fi at Hazrat Nizamuddin station in Delhi to search the web for job opportunities and prepare for interviews. The high-speed connection helps him save money and time since he doesn’t have to wait for slow-loading pages or worry about the cost of browsing. Ajay Jain, a teacher, uses the Wi-Fi to get schoolwork done on his daily commute from Indore to Ujjain, so he can spend more time with his family once he gets home. And Sandesh Awasthi, an avid cricket fan, has been having a lot more fun while waiting at Churchgate station in Mumbai, since he can now stream his favorite games to his phone in HD.
A traveler calls home while waiting for his train in Pune
“I am migrant worker from Bihar and I travel to Rajasthan for work. Traveling usually means I won’t have a good connection. I got so excited when I saw free Wi-Fi here at the station. I just called my wife, and the voice and picture clarity were so good. I haven’t seen her face this clear in so long, whenever I talk the image is blurred because the network isn’t great. She also got so excited to see my call, she was very surprised to see me. I feel so good after speaking to her. I can’t stop smiling.” —Bholu
A look inside Churchgate station, one of Mumbai’s busiest, which came online in August.
A traveler checks train timetables online
A young boy keeps himself entertained using the station Wi-Fi while his family waits for their train in Jaipur.
Our team at Udhagamandalam (Ooty) station today. Ooty is also the terminus station of Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What’s next? In September we announced Google Station, which gives partners an easy set of tools to roll-out Wi-Fi hotspots in public places. With all the possibilities that our partnership with Indian Railways and RailTel have created for 10 million Indians passing through 100 stations every day, we look forward to the many more opportunities that Google Station will open up to every Indian and the stories we hope to hear from them.
Blogging for SEO: How to Write Blogs that Rank on Page One
Did you know that the search result in #1 position on Google gets 33% of search traffic? And that page 1 search engine results resulted in 92% of all traffic, dropping off by 95% for page 2?
Numbers don’t lie. If you want to climb to the top of search engine results pages (SERPs), well-written, engaging content alone won’t cut it. You also need to focus on writing SEO-driven, keyword-focused content that attracts not only website traffic, but the right kind of traffic. You might be thinking, “That sounds great, Courtney! But, how do I get started?”
We’re sharing 5 essential tips for creating SEO-friendly blog posts without sacrificing user experience and engagement, tips you can start using today:
1) Pick highly-effective keywords
Google handles over 40,000 search queries a second. Staggering, right? If you want to cut through search result clutter and outrank your competitors, you need to target the specific keywords and phrases your potential customers are searching. How else will they find your content and website?
To identify those hot keywords, head on over to the social platforms your target audience frequents and see what’s trending. Pay close attention to the exact phrases they use and monitor popular industry terms and topics.
Google Trends can also give you a feel for what keywords are popular at any given time. If you see searches are steadily declining over time for a specific keyword, you know that’s probably not the right keyword to target for your marketing and vice versa for increasing trends.
If you’re ever running low on keyword ideas, get inspiration from your competition. Use tools to see what keywords they’re currently ranking for — if these keywords are relevant to your business, consider using them too! SEMRush lets you enter a competitor and see the keywords they’re ranking for, their position in search results, traffic received for that keyword and other key metrics.
Keep in mind that the most obvious keywords aren’t always the best keywords. Searchers tend to use very specific “long-tail” keywords, keyword phrases and questions when they’re looking for something. Long-tail keywords comprise up to 70% of all search traffic and can unlock the door to successful SEO. When WPBeginner, the largest WordPress resource site for WordPress beginners, adopted a long-tail SEO strategy, they increased their organic search traffic by 20% in just two months!
Because you face fierce competition for shorter, more general keywords, you often have a better chance of ranking in the top results for long-tail keywords. And, long-tail keywords allow you to zero in on higher quality website traffic that often knows what they’re looking for and may be farther along in the buyer’s journey.
Once you’ve done your research and built a list of what you think are the most valuable, relevant keywords, plug them into a keyword research tool like Google’s Keyword Planner, Moz’s Keyword Explorer, Ubersuggest, Keyword Tool and so on. Many keyword research tools give you the monthly volume for any given keyword. Test out different keyword tools — marketers are drawn to different ones for different reasons.
Depending on your business or industry (or budget or bandwidth for SEO efforts), it may be important to rank for high competition, short tail keywords. Still, try to also optimize for a healthy dose of long-tail keywords that are high in search volume but low in competition. You may find it’s much easier to rank for these words.
Remember that your focus keywords will evolve over time as trends shift, terminology changes or your product/service line changes. Be sure to conduct keyword research periodically to ensure you’re still focusing on the right keywords for your target audience and not missing out on vital ranking opportunities.
2) Naturally integrate keywords throughout your posts
Once you’ve decided on a list of target keywords, it’s time to write a blog post focused on one of these keywords. Brainstorm blog topics with your team and decide on a topic that will entice and engage your target audience.
Keep your buyer personas, their motivations, challenges, interests, etc. in mind throughout the brainstorming process. Choose a topic that will emotionally resonate with your potential customers and their needs, desires or pains.
As you write your blog, your keyword and natural variations should be regularly interspersed throughout the post. Your primary keyword should appear in these key places:
Title
Headings and subheadings
URL if possible
Image alt text (search engines can’t read images)
Meta description
Throughout the content
Remember that you’re writing for humans, not search engines. Focus on engaging readers with a natural writing style that takes their needs and interests into account.
Be sure to avoid overusing any keyword (also known as “keyword stuffing”) at all costs. Keyword stuffing may lead to a website being penalized or banned in search engine results pages either temporarily or permanently. But even more importantly, if your keyword appears too often and feels forced, you sacrifice a reader’s experience, insult their intelligence and compromise the article’s quality. Don’t give readers any reason to hit the back button and turn to a competitor’s blog for answers.
3) Link to influencers
As you build out your blog post, don’t be afraid to link to other articles or blogs. Linking to applicable and reputable websites not only offers blog readers additional reading material to expand their knowledge, but it also shows Google and other search engines that you’ve done your research. And the blogger or writer may even return the favor and link to your site.
Nothing strengthens a blog post like hard-to-argue-with, research-backed statistics from influential websites. Compelling stats help you build a more convincing and concrete argument that will get your readers thinking (especially when they’re from trustworthy sites they know and love).
4) Aim for scannable, longer posts
In an age of short attention spans (average of 8 seconds for humans), you would think shorter blog posts are the way to go. But search engines actually prefer longer, in-depth blog posts.
The longer your blog post, the greater its chance of appearing in the top search engine results. SerpIQ found that the 10th position pages have 400 fewer words than 1st position pages. Longer posts will rank more easily for your target keyword.
Think about it: the more content on the page, the more clues search engines have to figure out what your blog is about. We recommend writing a minimum of 300 words per blog post. This length gives search engines plenty of keywords and text to crawl and helps them understand what your blog is about.
The downside to longer blogs is that they may scare off your readers. We live in a world of skimmers and scanners. In a heat map analysis, CoSchedule learned that only 10-20% of their readers were making it to the bottom of their posts. So, the million dollar question is, how can longer blog posts appeal to today’s online readers?
You can write scannable, readable blog posts that hook online readers by tightening up your sentences and paragraphs. Turn a long-winded sentence into two. Keep your paragraphs to 2-3 sentences max.
Also, take full advantage of bulleted lists and subheadings that grab reader’s attention. By following these tactics, you’ll create blogs that are easier to read (especially on a mobile device!) and less intimidating to the scanner’s eye.
5) Don’t forget internal links
Linking to other pages or blog posts on your website helps search engines crawl your website and create a more accurate sitemap. It also helps your audience discover more of your content and get to know you as a trustworthy, credible source of information. Internal links to other valuable content keep users on your site longer, reducing bounce rate and increasing your potential for a conversion (and isn’t that what it’s all about?).
When linking to any pages on your website, or even outside sources, use natural language for your anchor text. Avoid using spammy or generic text such as “top-rated cheap laptops” or “click here.” Instead, use descriptive keywords that give readers a sense of what they will find when they click on the hyperlink, such as a search engine optimization guide.
Never force feed links to your top webpages, featured products or discounted items. These types of links will only turn off readers and could lead to search engines penalizing your website.
A word of caution: don’t overdo your internal linking or any linking. We know it’s tempting to link to all of your blogs and webpages, but only choose the ones that best enhance the point or insight you’re writing about in any particular blog. Always think about whether or not these links naturally tie in with the subject matter and if they will offer significant value to your readers.
Bottom Line
If you want your blogs to rank at the top of page one (and why wouldn’t you?), your main focus should be on creating blogs that both users and search engines will love. By optimizing your blogs for both, you can earn higher rankings in SERPs, get more qualified web traffic and increase conversion rates. And wasn’t that the exact reason you started blogging to begin with?
What are your strategies for optimizing your blogs for SEO? Did we miss any? Share with us in the comments below.
How your startup should be using Google AdWords
If you’re just getting started with your business, figuring out who should manage your AdWords campaigns and what to do first can be a challenge. Columnist Brett Middleton offers tips to get you on the right path.
The post How your startup should be using Google AdWords appeared first on Search Engine Land.
Seven fascinating stats on ecommerce and cart abandonment
With the end of 2016 fast approaching, we list some of the best ecommerce and cart abandonment stats we’ve seen this year.
1: SMS Remarketing
This year we won at the MOMA Awards for our work with Firefly on SMS Remarketing. The stats below give an idea of just how effective SMS can be.
2: Which Days Have Most Abandonments?
Based on data from more than 1 billion abandoned carts, we know that Tuesday is the ‘worst’ day of the week for cart abandonment.
Fewest abandonments happen on a Saturday between 8 and 9pm, while abandonment is lowest around Christmas and similar sale periods, as people have less reason to delay purchases.
3: Add to Cart Rates by Device
Add to cart rates are highest on desktop and tablet devices (10.4% and 10.3% respectively). Overall conversion rates were 2.5% for Q3 2016.
4: Reasons for Cart Abandonment
Unexpected shipping costs, perhaps revealed late during checkout, are the number one reason cited for cart abandonment.
Other key issues include making customers register before they checkout, concerns about security, and confusing checkout design.
5: Cart Abandonment Rates by Sector
Abandonment rates vary by sector, with fashion retailers enjoying the lowest abandonment rates.
Relatively easy purchase processes and ease of return help here, and also explain why retail abandonment is lower in general.
Travel and finance abandonment is highest, partly due to the generally longer application processes, and perhaps the relative lack of digital maturity when compared to retail.
6: Sales by Hour on Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Using data from our clients, we had a look at sales and abandonments on Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2016.
The chart below shows sales patterns compare to a ‘normal’ shopping day, as well as the peak times for during the Black Friday weekend.
The peak period for completed sales was between 8 and 10am on Black Friday morning, while the second peak happened on Monday evening as the sales were coming to a close.
7: Why People Abandon Travel Bookings
Many travel bookings tend to be more considered purchases, with customers taking 45 days and visiting multiple sites before making a decision.
So the reasons for abandonment are different from retail. Indeed, the top two reasons are around research and price comparison while retail abandonment tends to be about checkout process issues.
This post originally appeared on the SaleCycle blog, and is reproduced with permission.
5 #GivingTuesday Campaigns That Won (and 3 That Lost)
Most people are familiar with Black Friday and Cyber Monday as some of the busiest shopping days of the year; businesses spend months preparing their holiday campaigns in order to make the most of these two days. But each year it seems that more and more companies are also taking advantage of #GivingTuesday by finding ways to entice their audience not only to purchase holiday gifts, but to donate and give back to charities and nonprofits.
In this article, we’ve analyzed 8 of these campaigns from 2016 to find out which ones have what it takes to engage readers and meet their fundraising goals, and which ones unfortunately fall flat. Read on to learn more about what makes a #GivingTuesday campaign a winner or a loser.
The Winners
#1 The San Diego American Marketing Association (AMA)
The San Diego AMA is a nonprofit, professional organization geared towards providing information, education, resources, and connections for those looking to further their career in marketing. They created this #GivingTuesday campaign in order to encourage people to donate to their 2 scholarship programs: The Social Impact Scholarship and the Diversity Leadership Scholarship. There are quite a few things they did right in this campaign, namely:
They explained briefly what #GivingTuesday is all about
They included their goal (to raise money for the scholarships) in the beginning of the email
They linked the 2 scholarships to pages that give more information about them
They included a plug for a future event the organization is hosting
They included a section dedicated to teaching readers about how to refuel their content strategy, which is essentially a preview of what the organization does for those who join.
Finally, they thanked the groups that sponsor them.
All in all, I consider this a winning #GivingTuesday campaign for the AMA because it was simple, eye-catching, and full of great content.
#2 The San Diego Fleet Week Foundation
The San Diego Fleet Week Foundation is a nonprofit group that supports Military Veterans by putting on entertaining events during Fleet Week. The event is held annually, and any proceeds raised that exceed the operating expenses for Fleet Week are donated to military charities.
We consider this #GivingTuesday campaign a win because:
They included pertinent facts about why Fleet Week is a necessity in San Diego (they have the largest military concentration in the world)
They explained their goal clearly and in the beginning of the campaign- to encourage people to donate $20 to provide lunch for a family of 4
They explained how this campaign has been a success in the past (they’ve provided over 1200 meals for service members and their families)
They included a button to donate right in the email, making it quick and easy to give money
They provided a link to their website for those looking to learn more
The email is colorful yet easy to read, and it contains real pictures of servicemen and women in the community who will benefit from the donations.
#3 PayPal
Most people are familiar with PayPal seeing as it’s one of the most popular ways to send money electronically. It only makes sense, then, that they would create a #GivingTuesday campaign devoted to sending money to those who are less fortunate. Their campaign is a little different; for one thing they’re not a nonprofit, and instead of supporting one group, charity, or organization, they let users choose the charity they wish to support. Here are some reasons why we consider this campaign a great one:
They created a campaign that compliments their business. PayPal is all about making it easy and simple to send money to others, and that’s the premise behind this fundraiser. They’ve made it easy and simple to donate to thousands of charities around the world.
Another major bonus is that they plan to add 1% to each donation made; this adds up to a pretty substantial number, and there aren’t many companies offering to do so.
They included 2 separate buttons for people to donate, truly making it quick and easy.
They explained the security of their donation process, which also emphasizes the security of PayPal in general.
They included a nice photo of a young girl to put a face on the donations.
They suggested several big-name charities that people have the option to support, and made it possible to click on their icons to learn more about the charity and as another way to quickly donate money.
Note: If you do choose to click on a charity icon, it directs you to a nice page that explains that 101% of your donation will go to the charity, PayPal will cover all the fees, and you’ll immediately receive a tax receipt.
Finally, they included a link at the bottom of the email encouraging users to go to their website to purchase a variety of gift cards to meet their holiday shopping needs- a plug we think they deserve considering their offering to add money to others’ donations.
#4 Illinois State University
The University in Normal, IL hosts a #GivingTuesday campaign every year with the purpose of raising money for various programs and projects across the campus. This campaign is successful because:
They are asking readers to break last year’s record of donations, which creates a sense of purpose and urgency in the campaign.
They state, in numbers, exactly how much money they’ve already raised and how much more they’d like to raise, making their goal transparent and easy to understand.
They provide a link for people to donate right in the email
They’ve also created their own special hashtag, #GivingTuesdayISU, to spread the word about their campaign on social media
The email is short and sweet but still contains all the pertinent information that readers need to know about the campaign
They send readers periodic updates on how the campaign is doing, and if you click on the “donate” link you’re taken to a page that shows exactly how much they still have left to raise.
#5 Workshops for Warriors
Workshops for Warriors is a nonprofit school that trains and certifies veterans into advanced manufacturing careers. Their #GivingTuesday is a great one- here’s why:
The headline clearly states the purpose of the organization- to support military veterans
Throughout the campaign they provide videos of veterans explaining why they need assistance and how Workshops for Warriors is able to provide the much-needed help. This gives a very personal touch to the fundraiser.
They also included a specific goal for the funds raised- to build a new building that can train 450 veterans as opposed to the current 120.
They include an easy-to-see donate button.
They use a pull quote to help break up the catch and keep interest
They link to social media at the end so you can share the campaign and also access more success stories from veterans.
A Few Campaigns That Could Use Some Work
#1 Pro Kids The First Tee of San Diego
Pro Kids is a sports program that teaches kids the game of golf while also teaching them life lessons and leadership skills. While the program seems to be full of positive attributes, unfortunately their #GivingTuesday campaign didn’t use this to their advantage. Note that this message did come into my inbox the day before Giving Tuesday, but there were still opportunities missed. They ended up on this list because:
The “Be ready to support Pro Kids” headline seems like they’re telling readers to donate as opposed to asking them.
Because of this poorly worded tagline, I almost missed the part where the board of directors have agreed to match all donations. This should be a huge part of the email, not just a small line tucked away at the top (still though, wonderful idea!).
There are no personal stories, photos, videos, etc. anywhere in the email. While it says you’ll be helping 100 underprivileged kids, I have no idea who these kids are. Where are their photos? Where are the success stories?
The email doesn’t say anything about what the Pro Kids organization is; I had to Google it myself in order to learn about their goals and mission statement.
One thing I will say though is that the colors are excellent in this campaign. The designer did a great job, it’s just the content and CTAs that need some improvements.
#2 Monarch School
The San Diego Monarch School is a K-12 program designed to help San Diego’s homeless youth receive an education. While their website provides a ton of information about the great work the program is doing, their #GivingTuesday campaign email unfortunately didn’t meet the mark. It’s on the list because:
It explains very little about what the Monarch program is, their purpose, and their goals. It also doesn’t link to their website, which fortunately does provide this important information.
It states that donations will help their literacy program, but it would be nice to have been provided some more information about exactly how the money will be spent- on more books, computers, a nicer building?
They came up with the GREAT idea to have a 3rd grade class take over Facebook and explain why reading is important, but we don’t see any of this in the email. Instead, all they provide is the Facebook logo and expect you to click on it and travel to another site. People most likely won’t do this unless they’re already hooked on this campaign. It would have been nice if they included a preview of what some of the students said (and their photos) in the initial email. Then readers might be more inclined to visit another web page to learn more.
#3 Kinship United
Kinship United is a group that works with underprivileged countries throughout the world, helping widows and orphans get the resources they need to survive through the church and rescue groups. While it certainly is a noble cause they are working for, and their hearts are in the right place, this #GivingTuesday campaign falls a little short. Mainly because:
They don’t give any information about the specific #GivingTuesday project they are launching- their goal(s), what group they are targeting, etc.
There are no photos or anything else to personalize the campaign.
The email is disorganized and hard to follow because it’s missing headings and subheadings. It appears that random phrases and sentences have been bolded without a lot of thought into why.
However, one thing this campaign did great is ask others to share, which is something none of the others on this list can say. A great tactic that simply gets overlooked.
Make sure to check out this article to learn how to make the most of your email marketing strategy. Do you know any more #GivingTuesday campaigns that make good examples? Comment in the section below!
Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer for HigherVisibility, a full service SEO agency, and a contributor to SEW. You can connect with Amanda on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Top 2 Reasons Shoppers Abandon Their Carts
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m an online retailer’s worst nightmare. On more occasions than I care to count, I’ve found myself browsing through page after page of online stores, adding items to my cart, and then abandoning it altogether come checkout time. While it isn’t always to the fault of the retailer, the problem of abandoned shopping carts is widely shared across e-commerce sites.
Sometimes it’s just the nature of the buyer, but in many cases, there’s a part of the user experience that deters them from completing the checkout process. The months between September and February are some of the most shopping-heavy points of the year, which means we’re currently knee deep in e-commerce season. If you’ve been noticing spikes in shopping cart abandonment, it may be one of these common issues.
Complicated check-out process.
Obviously, a complicated check-out process that requires users to jump through a bunch of hoops to make a purchase will result in shopping cart abandonment. But what many people don’t realize is that even the slightest deviation from simplicity can turn a customer off from fulfilling their purchase. Here’s an example of how this happens with me:
Me: Fills cart with items, clicks check out, begins filling in information fields (Name, address, etc.). Sees “Company Name” field. Immediately closes out of browser.
Don’t ask me why, but even the tiniest request for unnecessary information, specifically the “Company Name” field, makes me not want to put my personal information in. It sounds crazy, but studies have actually shown that the less information you require users to enter, the higher percentages of conversions you’ll see.
How to fix it: To ensure that you have a clean, simplified check-out process, start by making sure it’s broken up into bite sized chunks. Common steps include a section for entering information personal info (name, email address), a section for entering shipping information, and a section for payment-three simplified steps. In each section, make sure there aren’t any excess fields for users to fill in. Try and get them from purchasing to the confirmation page in as few clicks as possible.
Lack of incentive.
If you’re really trying to push users over the shopping cart abandonment hump, a little incentive goes a long way. Believe it or not, many customers actually factor incentivized deals into their decision making process when finalizing their purchase.
More and more, consumers have started looking at shipping costs as an additional tax. That’s why membership programs like Amazon Prime and Zappos Premium are so successful-because they eliminate several steps from the online buying process and often include shipping for free.
Another frequently seen problem is the “coupon code” field some check-out processes display. If the user doesn’t have a promo or coupon code, there’s a good chance they’ll start scanning the internet to find one, or abandon their shopping cart because they feel like they’re over paying.
How to fix it: Incentivize purchases however you can. You might even consider factoring shipping into the cost of the items you sell online, because people will see “free shipping” and conclude that it’s a more cost-effective purchase. Another possibility is to offer rewards or added incentives with every purchase. For example, if you do have the promo/coupon code field, but the user doesn’t have a coupon, maybe include a note underneath that says “10% off your next purchase if you order now” or “refer a friend to get $10 off this purchase.” The tiniest nudge can be all users need to get through that check out process.
BrightLocal opens its 2016 local SEO survey to see how the industry has changed over the last year
Survey questions cover everything from SEO agency size and revenue to services offered and retainer fees.
The post BrightLocal opens its 2016 local SEO survey to see how the industry has changed over the last year appeared first on Search Engine Land.
101 Quick & Actionable SEO Tips That Are HUGE by @annaleacrowe
Mobile-first everything? Check. Google Allo? You got it. And there are plenty more SEO ideas where those came from. But get a move on: SEO is changing every day!
The post 101 Quick & Actionable SEO Tips That Are HUGE by @annaleacrowe appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
High-speed Wi-Fi rolls into 100th railway station in India
Jaipur station in Rajasthan was among the first stations to be connected to Railwire Wi-Fi.
“I visit [Jaipur station] every 3 to 4 days to get fast access to the Internet. I stop there for a few minutes, download apps, update them and get things my daughter wants. She is in 10th grade and uses my smartphone in the evenings to fulfill her educational needs. She also teaches my wife, her mother, to read and write using my smartphone.”
This is the story of Bhagwan Sahay, whom our team met at Jaipur Railway station, one of the earliest stations to be connected to Railwire Wi-Fi. It’s also one of the many stories we’ve heard from people across India who are using the Wi-Fi in ways that improve their daily lives.
With Railwire Wi-Fi rolling into Udhagamandalam (Ooty) today, we’ve now brought high-speed Internet to 100 of the busiest railway stations across India. That means the 10 million people (think the entire population of Sweden) who pass through these stations every day now have access to fast enough Internet to stream (or offline) an HD video, research their destination or download a new book or game for the journey ahead. And for 15,000 people, every day, these stations connect them to the Internet for the first time, ever.
We’re really excited about how far we’ve come since we announced that we were partnering with Indian Railways and RailTel to provide Wi-Fi at 400 railway stations throughout the country. But what has really inspired us are the stories of how people, like Bhagwan, are using this high-speed access to the full and open Internet.
They’re using Railwire Wi-Fi to be more productive with their time and to get things done more efficiently. Somesh Singh in an engineering graduate who logs on at Hazrat Nizamuddin station in Delhi to search the web for job opportunities and prepare for interviews without having to wait for slow-loading pages or worry about the cost of browsing. Ajay Jain is a teacher who uses the Wi-Fi to get schoolwork done on his daily commute from Indore to Ujjain, so he can spend more time with his family once he gets home. And there’s Sandesh Awasthi, a cricket fan who no longer has to miss another game if he can stream matches live while waiting at Churchgate station in Mumbai.
And because it’s high-speed, quality Wi-Fi, travellers are now able to connect with their loved ones more regularly and can even see them using video calling apps.
A traveler calls home while waiting for his train in Pune
“I am migrant worker from Bihar and I travel to Rajasthan for work. Traveling usually means I won’t have a good connection. I got so excited when I saw free Wi-Fi here at the station. I just called my wife, and the voice and picture clarity were so good. I haven’t seen her face this clear in so long, whenever I talk the image is blurred because the network isn’t great. She also got so excited to see my call, she was very surprised to see me. I feel so good after speaking to her. I can’t stop smiling.” —Bholu
A look inside Churchgate station, one of Mumbai’s busiest, which came online in August.
A traveler checks train timetables online
A young boy keeps himself entertained using the station Wi-Fi while his family waits for their train in Jaipur.
Our team at Udhagamandalam (Ooty) station today. Ooty is also the terminus station of Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What’s next? In September we announced Google Station, which gives partners an easy set of tools to roll-out Wi-Fi hotspots in public places. With all the possibilities that our partnership with Indian Railways and Railtel have created for 10 million Indians passing through 100 stations every day, we look forward to the many more opportunities that Google Station will open up to every Indian and the stories we hope to hear from them.