December 14, 2005
Driving Sales
Mohawk Mountain Ski Area in Cornwall CT, joined the web craze in 2002 – they asked a local teacher to build them a website so they could sell season ski passes on line as well as provide directions and ski conditions to potential visitors.
The original site was difficult to navigate and the online store was not prominent enough to warrant a single purchase in 2 years. The conditions page took so long to up date that often times the conditions changed before they could make the change to the site.
Intelihosts.com created a site that allowed the mountain management to change the conditions in minutes and even allowed for listings trails open and current snow making. Intelihost also made it possible for visitors to purchase season passes and promotional packages of lift tickets online and the management had complete control of the store.
We launched a new www.mohawkmtn.com web site on December 23rd 2004, by Christmas Eve Mohawk Mountain had sold 5 lift ticket packages and one season pass for an average order value of $200.00. In the spring of 2005 the mountain began to put some skis up for sale on the site…this quickly led to sales and the average order value increased to $450.00. This increased the sale of skis that the mountain typically sold at the end of the year by 100%, as once the mountain closed skis were no longer sold.
Typically season passes did not even begin to get sold till the leaves changed on the trees when weekenders and locals alike would visit the area and make their purchase IN PERSON. This summer beginning in June we saw activity on the site…from the middle of June to mid August website sales was at $20,000.00…to date season pass sales and web purchases are over $35K.
This shift in revenue will allow the mountain to make improvements in the pre-season and add to the advertising and marketing budget to increase sales "in-season".
Are these sales they would have made just earlier in the year? We don’t know. We do know that by January 1 they stop selling season passes. In January we will up date this case study and report incremental sales and will determine if ticket packages continue to sell throughout the season.
$0 to $35K in 8 Months!!!
The original site was difficult to navigate and the online store was not prominent enough to warrant a single purchase in 2 years. The conditions page took so long to up date that often times the conditions changed before they could make the change to the site.
Intelihosts.com created a site that allowed the mountain management to change the conditions in minutes and even allowed for listings trails open and current snow making. Intelihost also made it possible for visitors to purchase season passes and promotional packages of lift tickets online and the management had complete control of the store.
We launched a new www.mohawkmtn.com web site on December 23rd 2004, by Christmas Eve Mohawk Mountain had sold 5 lift ticket packages and one season pass for an average order value of $200.00. In the spring of 2005 the mountain began to put some skis up for sale on the site…this quickly led to sales and the average order value increased to $450.00. This increased the sale of skis that the mountain typically sold at the end of the year by 100%, as once the mountain closed skis were no longer sold.
Typically season passes did not even begin to get sold till the leaves changed on the trees when weekenders and locals alike would visit the area and make their purchase IN PERSON. This summer beginning in June we saw activity on the site…from the middle of June to mid August website sales was at $20,000.00…to date season pass sales and web purchases are over $35K.
This shift in revenue will allow the mountain to make improvements in the pre-season and add to the advertising and marketing budget to increase sales "in-season".
Are these sales they would have made just earlier in the year? We don’t know. We do know that by January 1 they stop selling season passes. In January we will up date this case study and report incremental sales and will determine if ticket packages continue to sell throughout the season.
$0 to $35K in 8 Months!!!
October 4, 2005
Really Great SEO
D&S Auto of Kent CT, built a website them selves in 2003 to showcase the used cars they often received when the owners decided not to repair the car but to sell it and get a new one.
No one used the site to find the cars the cars sold but that was due to people seeing them on the street outside the shop.
D&S Auto came to intelihosts.com asking us to optimize the site to improve traffic and to make it easier for them to put pictures of the used cars on the site (and take them off when they sold)
We re-designed the site http://www.dandsautosales.com/ using key words and phrases that spoke to persons who would be looking for used cars. In addition, we incorporated an optimized photo gallery; that allowed the search engines to pick up on words like car make and model from the gallery of cars for sale.
Now more than half of the cars that they sell are website referrals. The site is optimized effectively and they are selling cars to a wider audience. Recently a car was sold to a man in Ohio, who saw a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser on the D&S web site, took a bus to Connecticut and drove his new car back to Ohio!!!
Last month 4 out 4 cars sold were a direct result of the web site!! It is important to get found.
Small site BIG RESULTS!!!
No one used the site to find the cars the cars sold but that was due to people seeing them on the street outside the shop.
D&S Auto came to intelihosts.com asking us to optimize the site to improve traffic and to make it easier for them to put pictures of the used cars on the site (and take them off when they sold)
We re-designed the site http://www.dandsautosales.com/ using key words and phrases that spoke to persons who would be looking for used cars. In addition, we incorporated an optimized photo gallery; that allowed the search engines to pick up on words like car make and model from the gallery of cars for sale.
Now more than half of the cars that they sell are website referrals. The site is optimized effectively and they are selling cars to a wider audience. Recently a car was sold to a man in Ohio, who saw a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser on the D&S web site, took a bus to Connecticut and drove his new car back to Ohio!!!
Last month 4 out 4 cars sold were a direct result of the web site!! It is important to get found.
Small site BIG RESULTS!!!
Smart Ux
Usability Testing As easy as 1, 2, and 3:
When building interactive Web sites or software applications, the success of our work is not based solely on marketing strategy and design. The real challenge is providing Web customers with clarity, control and satisfaction. The only real way to ensure understanding and ease of use is to watch customers use your site otherwise known as usability testing, a one-on-one test during which you give participants tasks to perform on your site. As you observe them using the site, you gain understanding from their confusion. In most cases, I see usability testing being treated as a low priority. This usually happens due to either the high cost of formal usability testing in a lab or the time it takes to conduct the tests. So how does one perform usability testing without investing a large amount of time and expense into the project? That's where an Intelihosts.com Smart Ux solution comes in; now you can use Smart Ux and not cut corners, you can conduct your usability tests without the hassle and expense by using the Smart Ux solution and identify the major issues. To simplify the process, I am going to break it down into three areas:
1. Identify the tasks and location.
2. Determine the schedule and confirm participants.
3. Conduct the tests....GET RESULTS!!!
identifying the tasks and location:
Identify a specific task(s) that a user might accomplish on your site. Traditionally, this is a very long process involving user personas and task analysis. This could be a basic task such as finding specific information or an interactive process such as purchasing a product, or signing up for a contest or newsletter. Think about what goals or motivations people have when coming to your site, and make a list. From that list choose four or five main tasks that have the most impact on your site. Another means of determining what to test for is to review your customer service complaint logs for issues that customers calling in or e-mailing to you. If you have an e-commerce site, the list might include locating desired products, purchasing the products and viewing the order status and order confirmation. Once you select the tasks, we create a very basic outline script for the test. Each person we test individually will follow the same script. All that Smart Ux requires is an average computer in a comfortable environment. You could use a spare office where you setup a computer with a comfortable chair and desk. Professional office space is always best so keep that in mind when selecting the location. Once you have created a script and selected location it is time to find your participants.
Find your participants:
Traditionally, this stage involves in-depth user definitions and recruitment. In most cases, an outside recruitment firm is hired to find the participants. Once found, potential participants must be screened to target the desired audience. Your best recruitment is to ask current customers to help you improve your site. If you already have a site, you can randomly ask site visitors whether they want to come to your location to participate in your tests. If it is possible to easily find people close to your targeted demographic, then it will produce better results. Smart Ux can screen and recruit off your site for visitors or we can use our database to find the appropriate demographic. The participants should not be familiar with the material you will be testing. It is standard to offer each participant some compensation for their time. This is usually around $25-$30 or a comparable valued gift. Once we've identified your participants, we create a schedule and offer available time slots. Each test will take about 45 minutes, so we leave about an hour for each test. This allows flexibility if someone arrives late or if the test runs longer than expected. Because IH Smart Ux takes the lab to the respondent you can conduct the tests at your convenience a popular option is setting up time at trade shows and conventions and using Hotel office space that is often available to convention participants at no additional cost.
Conduct the test:
Conducting the test should be very casual and comfortable for both you and the participant. A traditional formal test would normally include an interviewer/moderator to conduct the test and a note-taker to record the findings. There would also be live video and audio recording equipment monitoring the computer screen and participant. In most cases, a few people would observe behind a one-way mirror. With Smart Ux by Intelihosts.com all you need is an IH technician with a laptop. The technician is the interviewer and the software allows him/her to take notes as the respondent navigates the site while the software records all the important keystroke, mouse clicks, time on task, facial expression picture of respondent, even URL changes etc. In addition our remote access viewer allows you to view in real time while the test is being conducted from the comfort of your office no more two way mirrors. Our new approach dramatically reduces the cost by $8-10K a session. Your IH technician will prepare the discussion guide, conduct the interviews and write the analysis. You get a complete written analysis along with a CD of highlights from the interviews that show first hand any obstacles visitors come across. The test should emulate a real-world example, as close as you can get it. If the participant encounters a complete dead-end and can't recover, it is OK to get him back on track. As the participant runs into problems, we note the findings in as much detail as possible. Review your findings An in-depth review, analysis and deliverable report are the result of a Smart Ux test. This would include a detailed report of the findings and possibly suggestions on how to improve the issues that were identified. All we need to know is what went wrong and where the participants ran into problems. This way, you have somewhere to start when revising your site. After all the tests have been completed, we combine the notes and create a document of all the problems that were found. With the IH Smart Ux solution we review each session while writing the analysis we see the respondent and each keystroke is timed so that time on task analysis can be done. Since usability testing only makes you aware of the problems, the next step is finding the proper solutions to fix the problem identified. When working on larger interactive Web sites, test multiple times after you have made adjustments. (But don't test too much!)
Usability testing may not be considered a mandatory stage in the design process, but without it you are releasing the product blindly. Usability testing is well known and widely used in traditional software and highly interactive Web sites. As more people understand the impact it has on producing results, it will become a standard step of the design process. Just remember that you don't need a large budget for simple usability testing call today to set up your Smart Ux test 866-238-9451
When building interactive Web sites or software applications, the success of our work is not based solely on marketing strategy and design. The real challenge is providing Web customers with clarity, control and satisfaction. The only real way to ensure understanding and ease of use is to watch customers use your site otherwise known as usability testing, a one-on-one test during which you give participants tasks to perform on your site. As you observe them using the site, you gain understanding from their confusion. In most cases, I see usability testing being treated as a low priority. This usually happens due to either the high cost of formal usability testing in a lab or the time it takes to conduct the tests. So how does one perform usability testing without investing a large amount of time and expense into the project? That's where an Intelihosts.com Smart Ux solution comes in; now you can use Smart Ux and not cut corners, you can conduct your usability tests without the hassle and expense by using the Smart Ux solution and identify the major issues. To simplify the process, I am going to break it down into three areas:
1. Identify the tasks and location.
2. Determine the schedule and confirm participants.
3. Conduct the tests....GET RESULTS!!!
identifying the tasks and location:
Identify a specific task(s) that a user might accomplish on your site. Traditionally, this is a very long process involving user personas and task analysis. This could be a basic task such as finding specific information or an interactive process such as purchasing a product, or signing up for a contest or newsletter. Think about what goals or motivations people have when coming to your site, and make a list. From that list choose four or five main tasks that have the most impact on your site. Another means of determining what to test for is to review your customer service complaint logs for issues that customers calling in or e-mailing to you. If you have an e-commerce site, the list might include locating desired products, purchasing the products and viewing the order status and order confirmation. Once you select the tasks, we create a very basic outline script for the test. Each person we test individually will follow the same script. All that Smart Ux requires is an average computer in a comfortable environment. You could use a spare office where you setup a computer with a comfortable chair and desk. Professional office space is always best so keep that in mind when selecting the location. Once you have created a script and selected location it is time to find your participants.
Find your participants:
Traditionally, this stage involves in-depth user definitions and recruitment. In most cases, an outside recruitment firm is hired to find the participants. Once found, potential participants must be screened to target the desired audience. Your best recruitment is to ask current customers to help you improve your site. If you already have a site, you can randomly ask site visitors whether they want to come to your location to participate in your tests. If it is possible to easily find people close to your targeted demographic, then it will produce better results. Smart Ux can screen and recruit off your site for visitors or we can use our database to find the appropriate demographic. The participants should not be familiar with the material you will be testing. It is standard to offer each participant some compensation for their time. This is usually around $25-$30 or a comparable valued gift. Once we've identified your participants, we create a schedule and offer available time slots. Each test will take about 45 minutes, so we leave about an hour for each test. This allows flexibility if someone arrives late or if the test runs longer than expected. Because IH Smart Ux takes the lab to the respondent you can conduct the tests at your convenience a popular option is setting up time at trade shows and conventions and using Hotel office space that is often available to convention participants at no additional cost.
Conduct the test:
Conducting the test should be very casual and comfortable for both you and the participant. A traditional formal test would normally include an interviewer/moderator to conduct the test and a note-taker to record the findings. There would also be live video and audio recording equipment monitoring the computer screen and participant. In most cases, a few people would observe behind a one-way mirror. With Smart Ux by Intelihosts.com all you need is an IH technician with a laptop. The technician is the interviewer and the software allows him/her to take notes as the respondent navigates the site while the software records all the important keystroke, mouse clicks, time on task, facial expression picture of respondent, even URL changes etc. In addition our remote access viewer allows you to view in real time while the test is being conducted from the comfort of your office no more two way mirrors. Our new approach dramatically reduces the cost by $8-10K a session. Your IH technician will prepare the discussion guide, conduct the interviews and write the analysis. You get a complete written analysis along with a CD of highlights from the interviews that show first hand any obstacles visitors come across. The test should emulate a real-world example, as close as you can get it. If the participant encounters a complete dead-end and can't recover, it is OK to get him back on track. As the participant runs into problems, we note the findings in as much detail as possible. Review your findings An in-depth review, analysis and deliverable report are the result of a Smart Ux test. This would include a detailed report of the findings and possibly suggestions on how to improve the issues that were identified. All we need to know is what went wrong and where the participants ran into problems. This way, you have somewhere to start when revising your site. After all the tests have been completed, we combine the notes and create a document of all the problems that were found. With the IH Smart Ux solution we review each session while writing the analysis we see the respondent and each keystroke is timed so that time on task analysis can be done. Since usability testing only makes you aware of the problems, the next step is finding the proper solutions to fix the problem identified. When working on larger interactive Web sites, test multiple times after you have made adjustments. (But don't test too much!)
Usability testing may not be considered a mandatory stage in the design process, but without it you are releasing the product blindly. Usability testing is well known and widely used in traditional software and highly interactive Web sites. As more people understand the impact it has on producing results, it will become a standard step of the design process. Just remember that you don't need a large budget for simple usability testing call today to set up your Smart Ux test 866-238-9451
April 7, 2005
Search Engine Optimization
We at Intelligent Business Solutions are old pros at the SEO game. The rules have changed significantly over the years and SEO continues to be a dynamic, moving target. The basic principles have not changed and we continue to use the following four-part process to achieve high rankings for our clients.
Positioning Analysis:
The first step in the web site positioning cycle is Positioning Analysis. The goal of a positioning analysis project is to provide the client and or design team with a clear understanding of their site's current search engine/directory position, how competitive the market place is, and what steps can be taken to maximize the site's position.
The most important factor in an SEO project is being able to "think like your customer". What search phases are your prospective customers likely to use? Are they more likely to find you through a search or via another site or directory? Once you have these answers you can determine your current ranking and then developed a plan to improve it.
Optimization:
Optimization is the process of implementing procedures developed from the positioning analysis to improve search engine position. Options may include but are not limited to such techniques as re-designing or improving the current site, providing optimization suggestions to the design team, acquiring additional domain names, and creating offsite or reciprocal links. Because different search engines and directories utilize widely varied algorithms for determining a site's importance we may target specific sites or site elements to a particular engine or directory where improvement is desired.
Submission:
Once a site has been optimized it is submitted to engines and directories for possible ranking or inclusion. This is an important and delicate procedure. We do not take the "shot gun" approach utilized by so many "fly by night" outfits. Most submissions are done manually on a one by one basis. Just as the optimization process often targets a particular search engine or directory for improvement, the submission process must follow through so as to improve rankings where desired without having a negative effect on the non-targeted directories.
Review:
The Intelligent Business Solutions staff will review the positioning status and effectiveness of the positional services on a regular basis. The review may include a keyword positioning report, trend analysis, traffic analysis, a popularity report and options for further optimization.
We all see the "submit your site to 7,000 search engines" and "guaranteed #1 ranking " email "come on's" that flood our inboxes and I caution you. If you are serious about SEO make sure you do it right.
April 3, 2005
~ April 29th Stamford, CT
The Intelihosts.com team will be presenting at the:
Contact Advocates ConnectME conference.
April 29th Westin Hotel, Stamford, CT
http://www.contactadvocate.com/connectme/index.html
Come and join us!
Contact Advocates ConnectME conference.
April 29th Westin Hotel, Stamford, CT
http://www.contactadvocate.com/connectme/index.html
Come and join us!
