Digital Marketing Insider (173): 7-12-24

Hello Digital Marketing Insiders!

Welcome back to another exciting installment of our newsletter, where we share the freshest, most innovative digital marketing strategies from our very own experts.

This week, we're thrilled to spotlight a remarkable new article on our blog. Walt Irby, our Director of Development, takes you behind the scenes in his blog post: "How Our Marketing-Minded Designers & Developers Build Websites That Convert".

Walt fills the blog with invaluable insights and hands-on tips that are sure to redefine your approach to website design and development.

Walt delves into the heart of marketing-minded design and development, a strategy that marries creativity, user experience, and conversion optimization. He unveils how this forward-thinking approach can supercharge your website's performance, engage your audience more effectively, and significantly increase your conversion rates.

Whether you're a web design newbie or a seasoned developer, Walt's guide provides practical strategies and advice that can transform your approach to website design and development. Don't miss this opportunity to gain a competitive edge in your field!

Stay tuned for more updates, insights, and expert guidance to power your digital marketing journey. Here's to unlocking new horizons together! 🚀

How Our Marketing-Minded Designers & Developers Build Websites That Convert 

It's not enough for websites to just look good—they need to perform. At WebMechanix, our designers and developers are not only super skilled in what they do, but they’re also marketing-minded, constantly strategizing on how to drive conversions and qualify leads for our clients. Whether it's boosting sales, generating leads, or increasing user engagement, our team is dedicated to crafting effective pathways that turn visitors into valuable customers.

What ‘marketing-minded’ means

“Marketing-minded” is a term we use to reinforce conversion-based thinking across our organization, so design, development, and digital marketing efforts are more completely aligned. 

From user path self-selectors and interactive solution showcases to wizards, calculators, multi-step forms, gated resources, and mega menus, our marketing-minded designers and developers specialize in building sophisticated conversion rate optimization (CRO) mechanisms tailored to meet the unique needs of each client. We understand that the journey to conversion is multifaceted, which is why we employ a variety of tools and techniques to capture and nurture leads effectively.

Welcome to the world of WebMechanix, where every mockup and line of code is created with conversion in mind!

Optimize Conversions with Easily Build Pop-ups, Banners, Slide-ins

Let’s jump right in with a simple CRO example. 

We’ve developed a WordPress plugin we call WMX Modals that replicates the robust features of [insert expensive pop-up service here], all within the familiar confines of WordPress.

WMX Modals is a native experience that allows us to offer unparalleled flexibility and control, ensuring that our clients have the best possible tools at their disposal to achieve their conversion goals.

WMX Modals enables marketers and clients alike to easily add their favorite conversion mechanisms, like banners, pop-ups, full-screen takeovers, notification/hello bars, or slide-in elements using intuitive-to-edit blocks and styling settings. The content displayed can include any other blocks available on the site– including buttons and even a form. 

These elements are great ways to post announcements or to prominently convey timely information about an event or resource; or just capture users’ attention and guide them to a particular point of conversion. 

They can be set to appear on all pages, configured to only show on select pages, and/or can be triggered to show after spending a certain amount of time on the page, after scrolling a certain depth, or even dynamically; like when the user moves their mouse towards the edge of the window, suggesting intent to leave the page. 

The best part? WMX Modal impressions, interactions, and conversions can be tracked and analyzed in Google Analytics. We also cookie user engagement to avoid unwanted nagging.

Mastering Form Optimization for Peak Conversion Rates

Forms are the most common and usually the most important points of conversion on websites. Believe it or not, our designers and developers are conscious about form length and layout, error styling, field ordering, etc. – all the tips and tricks that make forms more enticing, easier to submit, and even enjoyable (or at the very least non-frustrating) to interact with.

Too many fields stretched over too-tall of a form container is a common conversion inhibitor. Data shows it’s just more of an immediate turnoff to more users. Without marketers or the client having to ask us to address this, we look for ways to condense the form while still retaining the look and feel.

We’ve even turned such lengthy forms into multi-step funnels by breaking questions into multiple steps. Getting users to start filling out the form is the biggest initial hurdle, so we start with only one question and we make it one that users are more likely to fill out, such as, “What type of assistance do you need?” rather than “What’s your first and last name?” We save those required info-gathering fields for last–after the user’s already invested time filling out other fields. The initial questions should grab the user’s attention and identify or remind the user of the benefit they’re getting by filling out this form. Similarly, form headings and the text on form buttons should reiterate “what’s in it for them”– so, for example, instead of “Submit,” the button should indicate what will happen next, such as “Schedule a call.” Of course, this is all common sense to digital marketers who’ve simply thought twice about the success of forms. But when was the last time you worked with a web developer who also devoted strategy and efforts towards increasing conversion likelihood? Think of how much back and forth time that would save…

For our customers on HubSpot – a platform that surprisingly still lacks multi-step form functionality in 2024, we have developed a JavaScript plugin to enable “chaining” of multiple different HubSpot forms together into one multi-step form – including consolidated submission data. This way, we can extend the success we’ve seen with multi-step funnels to our customers on HubSpot.

Gating white papers and other valuable resources behind a lead-gen form is a common technique we employ on websites. The user wants access to a resource, and we want their info to be able to remarket to them–even trade. But let’s be honest: we all get frustrated when we go to read something, only to be blocked by an email-hungry form. We know giving up our email will only lead to more noise in our inbox. So we know the odds are already set against us. But the data doesn’t lie: gated resources is a technique that still works. Some users are enticed enough by the value of the resource to give up their email. So our goal is to make that resource more enticing to the users who hesitate or abandon. No- we do not rewrite your white paper to be more valuable. But we do find ways to improve the form to encourage more engagement and to make the resource’s value even more clear to the user.

Guiding Users with Intuitive Navigation and Personalization

For businesses offering a wide range of services or products, it can be challenging for users to find exactly what they need. 

Imagine landing on a website and immediately being presented with an intuitive, user-centric form that asks, "I am a _____ looking to _____." This simple yet powerful feature allows users to select from drop-down menus to fill in these blanks, tailoring their journey based on their specific needs and interests. Our UX team works with you and your content to define those options based on the most common personas on your website and their journeys towards conversion while on the site.

Zelis’s Solutions Showcase lets the user choose their own path: “I am a _____ looking to _____,” which then filters the list of relevant solutions.

In Zelis’s Solutions Showcase example, various solutions are instantly displayed–customized to the user’s selections. Instead of mapping the user’s entire journey across the site and ways to optimize it, we just let them choose their own adventure!

Ruffalonl.com’s homepage features this “madlib”-style user path self-selector: “I work in _____ and I need help with _____,” which then leads the user to the appropriate service line page.

We even take this to the next level of personalization by saving the user’s selections through cookies or local storage to then display alternate content in various spots across the site based on those saved preferences. Users find what they’re after faster and are more likely to engage on the site when we personalize their experience with more relevant content.

This self-service feature not only benefits users but also provides valuable insights for your business. By analyzing the selections users make, you can gain a deeper understanding of your audience's needs and preferences. This data can inform your marketing strategies, content creation, and even product development, ensuring you continually meet your audience's evolving demands.

Unlocking the Potential of Mega Menus for Streamlined Navigation

Mega menus have emerged as a powerful tool to enhance user navigation and improve overall website experience. By presenting a comprehensive and organized overview of a website's structure, mega menus guide users effortlessly to their desired destinations. This intuitive navigation system not only reduces the time and effort users spend searching for information, but also increases engagement and conversion rates by making it easier for visitors to discover relevant content and offerings.

To read the rest of this article and other great ones like it, go check out our WebMechanix Blog. See you there!

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