Small Business Trends Results
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Actual Test Results:The talking avatar boosted email opt-ins by 131% compared to the (silent) headshot. Visitors were mainly small business owners. Note: we’ve seen very different results for other sites depending on their brand and demographic so don’t implement this without testing it first. Anita Campbell, Owner, Small Business Trends, tested a static photo of herself vs. a look-alike avatar on her homepage using Google Website Optimizer, with avatar creation from SitePal. The avatar’s 20-30 second audio message asking visitors to sign up for email launched automatically as soon as visitors entered the site. “I think it appeals to a lot of different people,” said Campbell. “My recommendation would be to explore extensively any new technology you are using. With the avatar I set aside time to really explore the full potential of what the technology could do for my business.” The avatar is no longer on Campbell’s homepage because the focus of the site has shifted from being single-personality driven small consultancy to the central knowledge base of more than 70 contributors. Campbell thinks the avatar could still work for her site, but it would require more tweaking and testing. WhichTestWon.com is sponsored by: WiderFunnel Conversion Optimization, the A/B and multivariate testing firm that guarantees your ROI. Click here for info on improving your site’s results — risk free – today! | ||
Since photos are all over the net I assumed the avatar more unique. The thinking used to be that the photo personalized the site, but that wouldn’t be as much of a draw anymore.
Curses! I hate talking anything in sites!
While my instincts were right, this test required more info, namely WHAT THE AVATAR SAID, to come to a more informed conclusion. (A poor message could have been a total turn off.)
That aside, it’s an involvement device and helps keep the reader engaged.
It also bridges the gap between a static “dead” page and adds some warmth and personality, albeit cartooned. A “walk-on” (“live”) actor may have been even more effective, paralleling the increased effectiveness often shown for photographs over illustrations.
Keep the tests rolling, Anne!
Drew Eric Whitman, D.R.S.
Direct Response Surgeon(tm)
http://www.Cashvertising.com
Author of:
“CA$HVERTISING:
How to Use More Than 100 Secrets
of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make
Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone”
I don’t mind a brief comment or whatever similar to the Sitepal avatars. I hate entering a site and being blasted by music or the “cool” flash video the CEO loved.
I had the opposite effect in a test of video with the same audio and the avatar – the video killed the avatar. Always Be Testing.
Can you provide us with the dates in regards to this case’s data? Sounds very old if this website is now 70 people instead of one…
So true… there’s no faster way to get me to click away from a website than to auto-start a talking head (or talking anything) the instant I arrive at a website. I appreciate the courtesy when a website allows me to press “play” if I want to hear it.
I usually scramble for the “stop” button when talking avatars and ads start up (if I even have the volume turned on). However, when a person (Michael) walked onto my computer screen recently, it got my attention in a positive way. I’ve only seen it once (http://bluepenguindevelopment.com/). Perhaps a split test with this vs. the avatar?
Sure, Mike. The test was conducted about a year and a half ago. The site had some contributors then, so it’s not as if the 70 contributors appeared overnight. Hope this helps! Thanks for your interest!
Natalie
Senior Reporter
WhichTestWon.com
This really surprised me because I hate avatars… however I wonder what would happen if you use the exact same audio message in a video of the real person instead.
So instead of static picture vs. avatar video… we test live person video vs. avatar video.