December 19th, 2011 | by Tim Bray | published in Google Android, Uncategorized
[This post is by Jesse Wilson from the Dalvik team. —Tim Bray]Using XmlPullParser is an efficient and maintainable way to parse XML on Android. Historically Android has had two implementations of this interface:KXmlParser, via XmlPullParserFactory.ne…
December 19th, 2011 | by Shane Cassells | published in Google Conversions
This is the first part of a three part guest post by one of our GACP partners, Conversion Rate Experts.
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Many marketers start their Conversion Rate Optimization process by going straight into creating a list of things to test. Conversion Rate Experts (one of our Website Optimizer Authorized Consultants), however, advise you to resist the urge at this stage. Here are two good reasons why:
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You don’t know why people aren’t converting yet.
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You need to experience your business as a customer rather than a marketer.
Conversion Rate Optimization isn’t about tweaking a particular type of page element or simply setting up new tests. Instead it’s a well-defined, systematic process — a list of things you need to do. In this article series we will take you through the Conversion Rate Experts methodology so that you will have a full process to follow.
CRE Methodology Mind Map
First, in this article, we will cover some preparation steps:
Step 1: Define your strategy, long-term goals, and how you’ll measure success
First decide the strategy and vision for your business. You need to define the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will ensure you meet your goals. Next, it is important to have customer empathy and to understand the thought processes your visitors are going through, so become a customer of your own site. Discover what the actual visitor experience is really like. The insights gleaned from these activities will give you a better guide for what you need to work on.
Step 2: Understand (and tune) your traffic sources
It’s impossible to critique a website without knowing where its visitors are coming from, which landing pages they arrive on, and how they navigate around the site.
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Seek to understand your entire conversion funnel
- Aim to work on the areas of your business that will have the biggest impact on your goals.
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Also prioritize your efforts on parts of your business that are easiest to make changes to.
Discover blockages and missing pieces in your funnel with web analytics tools.
Search for any aspects that are under-performing and any required parts of your conversion funnel that have not yet been created. For example:
- Turning a one-step sale into a multi-step sale
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- Adding a well-placed refer-a-friend program
- Adding an effective email autoresponder sequence
- Adding a series of post-sale offers
- Growing a customer community
- Rolling out successes into other media
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Step 3: Understand your visitors (particularly the non-converting ones)
Your key question to answer at this stage is, “Why is the visitor not converting?”. The answer typically comes from research in these core areas:
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Understanding different visitor types and intentions
- Identifying user experience problems.
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Gathering and understanding visitors’ objections.
There is a list of 15 tools here that will help you with your visitor research.
Summary for Part 1
By the end of this part of the process you should have a great idea of the priority areas that you need to work on, both from a funnel and an end-user experience point of view. In the next article we will look at further refining your strategy so that you get the best possible outcome from your efforts. If you would like to see more about how to implement the CRE Methodology we have been outlining here, check out this case study which describes how sunshine.co.uk used the process to almost double their revenue.
Posted By Shane Cassells, Google Conversion Team
December 19th, 2011 | by The App Engine Team | published in Google App Engine, Uncategorized
Since we added SQL support to App Engine in the form of Google Cloud SQL, the Google Plugin for Eclipse (GPE) team has been working hard on improving the developer experience for developing App Engine apps that can use a Cloud SQL instance as the bac…
December 19th, 2011 | by The Gmail Team | published in Gmail (Google Mail), Uncategorized
Posted by Donna Dupuis, Software EngineerFrom prehistoric humans etching in caves to the modern-day thinker sketching a stroke of genius on a napkin, scribbling is a natural form of human expression. Not constrained by formatting or font styles, scribb…
December 19th, 2011 | by Inside AdWords crew | published in Google Adwords, Uncategorized
Last month we introduced Google+ Pages to provide a new way for you to build a public identity on Google+. We’ve been listening closely to your feedback and today we’re introducing several new tools and controls to help you better manage your page…
December 19th, 2011 | by Inside AdSense Team | published in Google Adsense
As you may know, we periodically send out emails with tips for increasing your earnings, updates on the latest product improvements, and information regarding your account. In your AdSense account settings you can select which type of messages you’re…
5 New Year’s Resolutions for Display Advertisers
December 19th, 2011 | by Pamela Eng | published in Google DoubleClick, Uncategorized
(Cross posted from the AdWords Agency Blog)Google’s Dan Taylor presents at Digiday Agency event Dec. 12, 2011It’s that time of year again, the time to reflect on 2011 and think about resolutions for the new year. We may not be able to help you lose…
December 19th, 2011 | by A Googler | published in Google Blog, Uncategorized
Last week we unveiled this year’s Zeitgeist, including the fastest rising searches in 2011. Those of us on the Google Green team were pleased that the search trends include several popular searches related to the environment (as you can see from the …
December 19th, 2011 | by A Googler | published in Google Blog, Uncategorized
Today we’re pleased to announce a goodie basket full of Google+ features and functionality for you to unpack and enjoy over the holidays. Some of these were on nearly everyone’s wishlist… and some we hope will be welcome surprises. These features…
December 19th, 2011 | by Google Students | published in Google Student Blog
Introduction: We are relaunching the Googlers Beta Series, which brings you the unique stories and experiences of Google interns. Though most interns spend their time working at Google offices over the summer, these interns are putting in their time du…
Ho-ho-hold the phone: Santa’s on the line
December 16th, 2011 | by The Gmail Team | published in Gmail (Google Mail), Uncategorized
Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Product Marketing ManagerLast year, Santa got his very own Google Voice number, and people around the U.S. received a special personalized holiday phone call from Santa Claus.This year, Santa wants you to reach out to him (a…
Ho-ho-hold the phone: Santa’s on the line
December 16th, 2011 | by A Googler | published in Google Blog, Uncategorized
Last year, Santa got his very own Google Voice number, and people around the U.S. received a special personalized holiday phone call from Santa Claus.This year, Santa wants you to reach out to him (after all, reindeer are only so-so conversationalists)…
December 16th, 2011 | by YouTube Staff | published in Uncategorized, Youtube API
YouTube Direct, our open source platform for obtaining and moderating user-generated videos (and photos!), was first announced over two years ago. Since that time, the project has continued to grow, and we’re happy to announce the latest round of add…
December 16th, 2011 | by A Googler | published in Google Blog, Uncategorized
This is part of a regular series of Google Apps updates that we post every couple of weeks. Look for the label “Google Apps highlights” and subscribe to the series. – Ed.The elves got an early jump on the holidays this year by leaving us some surpris…
December 16th, 2011 | by Ashley | published in Google Enterprise, Uncategorized
Posted by Scott Lawson, director of IT architecture, QADEditors note: Today’s guest blogger is Scott Lawson, director of IT architecture for QAD, a 1,300-employee company that delivers supply chain collaboration software to 5,500 manufacturers in 93 …