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Widerfunnel CEO Chris Goward on the Pitfalls of Being Tool-centric and His Take on SOPA and PIPA
Editor’s Note: With Conversion Conference 2012 San Francisco just around the corner, we thought it’s about time you learn a bit more from each of our speakers. So we put on our journalist/paparazzi hat and placed each speaker on the proverbial hot seat by asking four questions, including one which can be considered a burning issue for digital marketers and other professionals in the internet industry: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). From this day until the conference, we’ll be featuring a speaker and their answers to the questions so be sure to check out our blog regularly.
But wait, there’s more! You can join in and do some pre-conference engagement with our speakers by sending in your own questions through email, Twitter, or our Facebook Wall. We’ll make sure your questions get the attention they deserve and even feature them here.
Next on our list is Widerfunnel Marketing Optimization Co-founder and CEO Chris Goward. Widerfunnel is a full-service conversion optimization agency and is best known for developing industry-breaking process innovations, the Kaizen Method™ for continuous conversion rate improvement as well as the LIFT Model™ framework for identifying test hypotheses. Chris is one of the most in-demand speakers around and he also writes for the Widerfunnel Blog.
1) What do you think is the hottest trend in optimization or conversion for 2012?
Aiming for marketing insights. Organizations are finally tapping into the power of Conversion Optimization testing to learn what works and inform their strategy. In the past, many organizations were focused on conversion optimization tips & tricks and “best practices” to tweak their landing pages. They’re now beginning to tap into this huge source of free knowledge to gain marketing insights that can influence their overall marketing and business strategy.
2) What would you say is the biggest mistake people (still) make when it comes to optimization?
Focusing on tools over human intelligence. The promise of testing & targeting tools and platforms to automate your optimization is alluring, but misguided. I’ve seen many examples of people getting much more dramatic revenue improvements using free or low cost tools while those paying through the nose for over-complex systems let them rot in a corner with nobody to fully utilize their features. Start with the right people, strategy and process and hold off on tools until you’ve proven the need for them.
3) What’s your take on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA)?
I’ve encouraged people to sign petitions against them.
4) What’s your favorite place to hang out in San Francisco (that one place you just have to drop by/visit when you’re in the city)?
Conversion Conference!
We swear we didn’t put Chris up to that last answer – but we have to admit, we’re flattered 😉
Got a question for Chris that can’t wait till March? Post it on the comments section below, tweet it to us, or post it on our wall and we’ll make sure he gets it.
More About Chris
Chris Goward is a leading expert in Marketing Optimization. His methods have helped clients improve their website lead generation and sales rates by up to 290% for clients such as Ebay, Epson, BabyAge.com, ColonialCandle.com, SAP, Alfresco, Outrigger Hotels, Google and many more. His WiderFunnel LIFT Model is taught at the Unversity of Eastern Michigan Conversion Optimization program.
Chris is Co-Founder and CEO of WiderFunnel Marketing Optimization and is a regular speaker at conferences like PubCon, SMX, and IMC. Chris was the “highest rated speaker” at SMX Search Analytics and IMC workshops. His work has been published in Marketing Sherpa, Search Engine Watch, the Google blog, Search Engine Marketing Journal and DM News.
See Chris Live!
Join Chris at his session on “Case Study Compilation: The How, What and Why of Conversion Testing” at Conversion Conference West 2012 in San Francisco, California. See the full agenda and read more about this session.
Want to save on your Conversion Conference Registration? Follow him on Twitter and request a discount code.
