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SiteTuners’ Brian Lewis Talks about the Hottest Conversion Trend, Biggest Optimization Mistake, and Irish Coffee in SF
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.
It’s our final week before Conversion Conference and you can bet we’re all set for SF! On top of packing, booking flights, and other activities for the conference, we also managed to do some killer remarketing strategies to get some of our speakers into giving us answers to our burning questions (well, you could also say we pestered them into doing it 😉 ). Today we have Brian Lewis, Director of Optimization for SiteTuners on the hot seat. SiteTuners is one of the first companies to focus on providing conversion rate optimization services to their clients. Here’s his take on the hottest conversion trend, the biggest optimization mistake, SOPA/PIPA, and his all-time fave coffee shop in San Francisco:
1) What do you think is the hottest trend in optimization or conversion for 2012?
The consistent growth in tablet and mobile eCommerce use among consumers is providing marketers new challenges and opportunities to create higher levels of usability, functionality and transaction-oriented experiences for multiple devices.
Users’ intents when using mobile apps and mobile sites are not necessarily the same as those for traditional web sites. Understanding the differences will help marketers create the best device-specific experience and capture greater market share.
2) What would you say is the biggest mistake people (still) make when it comes to optimization?
As home pages “age”, they tend to attract bloat trying to promote everything while losing focus on the main reasons the majority of visitors arrive on their site. There’s this philosophy that anything new about the company – products, offers, press, specials – needs to take up the most prominent portions of the home page.
Ultimately, you end up with a cluttered page that’s not focused on the needs of your visitors. Remember that the purpose of the home page is to:
1. Quickly communicate what it is you do
2. Guide the visitor to the page in your site that’s of interest to them
3) 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)?
Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe
Now who doesn’t love good company and old-skool Irish coffee? 😉 I’m sure we wouldn’t have to pester you for that!
Got a question for Brian 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 Brian
Noted author and speaker Brian Lewis brings over 20 years of both hands-on and strategic online marketing experience spanning a diverse range of industries. In addition to co-hosting the Internet radio show “Best Search Strategies” on WebMasterRadio, Brian has led panels at Search Engine Strategies (SES) Conferences, Search Marketing Expo, SMX Advanced, PPC Summit, Conversion Conference, Affiliate Conference, AdWords Advantage, Online Marketing Summit, and Online Marketing Institute. Brian’s articles have been referenced in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Target Marketing, eMarketer, Search Engine Watch, Website Magazine, SEM Journal, and DM News. He continues to be in demand for speaking engagements on PPC, SEO and conversion optimization around the world.
He earned his B.A. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego and his M.B.A. from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, graduating both schools with honors.
See Brian Live!
Brian will be presenting a session on “Persona-Driven Conversions – Walk A Mile In Your Visitors’ Shoes” 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 Brian on Twitter to say hello and request for a discount code!
P.S. Regular Pricing for Conversion Conference SF ends Friday, March 02, 2012. Don’t wait the last minute, REGISTER NOW to enjoy some savings while you still can.
