Audio Editions Test Results
| VERSION B | |
How site visitors voted:
VERSION A (78%)
VERSION B (22%)
|
Actual Test Results:
If you voted for Version A’s shorter form, you were almost right – it did 10 points better than Version B’s longer form. Further analysis proved the shorter form’s 41.7% increase in submissions weren’t as highly qualified leads as the longer form’s 32.4%. So, in the end, the longer form was the true winner for the bottom line. In the end, ROI is all that matters. We applaud optimization firm Blast Advanced Media, who ran these tests using Google Website Optimizer on behalf of their client Audio Editions, because Blast realized sometimes it’s not immediate conversions that matter. The real battle is not for more clicks or conversions — it’s for higher profitability. So, if you’re a lead generation marketer running registration form tests, make sure you’re measuring lead quality not just quantity.
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Interesting test! I guess being at this for 10+ years has its advantages, as I thought “A” would bring about quantity, while “B” would bring about quality. Plus, you have to love the fact that “B” gives you the email address (hopefully), which offers you many more low-cost bites at the apple.
this was deceiving – it didn’t say which metric, and one would assume it was submission rate.
Nothing surprising about this test. My gut tells me a shorter form would normally (but not always) produce more leads but lower quality leads.
But it wasn’t clear to me how it was determined the leads were higher quality. Conversion to sales? Lead grading criteria?
Also, any idea where their visitors came from and how many visitors made up the test?
Didn’t mean to deceive anyone, but rather get people to think through what they really mean when they say they are looking for a page that “works better”. I worry some marketers assume more page conversions = more ultimate sales, when that’s not always the case. It’s an easy trap to fall into – I know because I’ve done it myself
There was no way to decide accurately without knowing the exact conversion metric in advance. Was the conversion for a catalog only (no follow up email) or a way to get their email address to follow up later with (sales lead)?
I thought it was funny that the catalog is for audio products. I’d be curious to see how it converts for a target market of disabled persons or those who use audio in place of print due to ADD (and hate all forms.)
i’m with joe on this one
Good test, ROI is indeed what matters in the end
I always prefer the metric that shows us that if we spend $10 we get back, say, $40 or the like — the kind that shows scalable profitability, no excuses or explanations needed.
After all, we’ve all heard of free premium promotions where someone built a wonderful database of people who wanted a nice free thing, period. And we’ve all heard of websites, B2B mailings and pay-per-click campaigns that did wonderful jobs of bringing in lots and lots of weak inquiries that wasted the client’s time as they tried to “convert” “prospects” who had no interest in a certain price-point or quality level (high OR low). A client who says, “Hey, I’ll talk to anyone” probably has no understanding that good programs prequalify good prospects.
Very interesting!
@John Verba…
Terrifying thought! A list of useless names.
This definitely made me think… perhaps I need to be a little more careful in qualifying my leads.
Great blog.
Courtney James
The Obvious Writer
Nice test, and very interesting! The shorter registration would usually be the better choice, but the key of course is – exactly what elements would make the longer form successful?
I decided to choose B after seeing that the ability to provide an e-mail and subscribe to a newsletter would give the impression of a faster and more relevant response. Form A implies a postal fulfilment, which I suspect contributed to lower lead quality due to stale follow up.
Great test (for us as well as your study). Point well made!
I hope there eventually was a version C with a privacy policy link next to the email field.
You are right, but I think further testing is needed.
I think it depends on the kind of form. For instance if you are dealing with a clinic and want to increase conversions I would defenitly use a small form (name and email or phone).
PS: By the way there is something wrong with your aweber subscriptions.
Cheers
MM
Well – this is a little vague. Did the other site actually have a more sales or a higher conversion ratio or ROI on their ad spend. If they were buying leads on a CPA basis then it’s all about the back end conversion. If they bought CPM or CPC – it’s about maximizing the traffic. Interesting to keep in mind, the details are too vague for me.
Required information v. valuable (to who) information, that is the question. The value of the newsletter was the tipping point for me. Concur with the keen observatons of implied speed of response when asking for an email, and given privacy…a non obtrusion indicator of the sites concern would have been a plus.
I would just recommend saying “which test provided the highest ROI for the client?”. normally, the tests only talk about conversion rates in the results – and not ROI, lifetime value, or any other time of quality metric. that’s why i felt deceived.
Sorry, I am just obsessed with trying to nail every single one of these tests and am not happy about getting one wrong! The good news is that you have me hooked on these.