If you’re not measuring your web marketing results, you’re wasting money.  Here’s how conversion optimization can stop the bleeding.

Last month, we launched a new conversion optimization project for a client of our web marketing firm.  He had been spending $500/month on online advertising and he didn’t know if his investment was bringing him customers.

After a 30-day project, we discovered that all of his customers were coming from free search engine traffic–and none of his customers were coming from his paid traffic.

Based on our conversion optimization data, we redesigned his website.

The results of our conversion optimization experiment were spectacular.

Overnight, we were able to use conversion optimization to:

• Increase monthly revenue by 415% ($1,300/month to $5,390/month)
• Eliminate $500 in wasteful monthly ad spend
• Increase conversion rate by 236% (1.4% to 3.3%)
• Increase traffic 6.7%
• Decrease bounce rate by 21%

Conversion optimization through a website redesign is fast, it is cost-effective, and it works.

Download the conversion optimization case study below to see how we did it, and how you can improve your web marketing results 50% or more with simple optimization strategies.

Download the case study »

You don’t need to spend a fortune to get results with web marketing.  Ask how our web marketing services can help your business grow through conversion optimization.

I’m a social media coach. There are a lot of people selling social media out there. Not many of us take the coaching approach yet, but it’s coming. I’ve learned a lot over the past few years of developing my core services, so here are some of the lessons I’ve learned the hard way since then.

I write this not to toot my own horn, but to educate. If you’re a social media pro, please take the time to learn from a few of these. If you’re looking to hire a social media coach, trainer, or speaker, be sure to match your prospects with these criteria.

1.) Listen first.

If you’re thinking about hiring a social media coach, you’re probably doing so because you know they have the experience and knowledge to help you be successful. We could try to dazzle you with our brilliance, but you just want to tell us about you. A good coach will stop yapping and listen to your story.

2.) Ask the right questions.

Listening can only take us so far. We’ll need some clarification before we can get to the steps that will help you be successful in social media. A good coach will ask the questions that will help get you to the real problem.

3.) Look beyond what you WANT and help you find what you NEED.

You’ll tell us that you want to use Twitter. You’ll tell us that you want to have 100,000 fans on your Facebook fan page. You’ll tell us that you want to be able to market to your list of 1,500 email subscribers. But maybe that’s not what you need. We’ll work through your specific goals to find the strategy that will reach them. Trust us; we’ve been around the block a time or two.

4.) Balance tactics with strategy.

Sure, tools like Facebook and Twitter are important. Sure, we could teach you about every feature of every platform on the face of the planet (if we learned them, first). But those tools aren’t everything. It’s our job to give you the strategy behind the tools. Remember: we’re having conversations with people, not shouting for a soap box.

5.) Serve as a resource for you, not as a crutch.

We’re here for you whenever you hit a roadblock, but sometimes, the best way to learn your way around a tool is to explore. We can guide you through the important parts, but we’ll want you to get comfortable with a tool on your own.

6.) Empower YOU to successfully manage your web presence as a part of your daily life.

Tying into number five, we’re here to support you, not manage your accounts for you. For the average small business owner, no one should manage your social media accounts for you (more on that later). To make that process easier, we’ll show you how to handle your social presence in a way that fits your schedule.

7.) Realize that it’s YOUR business.

No matter what steps we suggest you take, at the end of the day, it’s your business and you know best. If you get that gut feeling that something just isn’t right, we’ll take your word for it. We may explore another option, but a good social media coach won’t push you into implementing a strategy that you aren’t comfortable with.

What about you?

How could a social media coach best serve you? I’d like to better myself, so I’ve got a personal interest in your comments.

Also read: 8 Ways to Trainwreck Your Business with Social Media

Face it. If you’re not addressing how and why you plan to use social medial tools every time you sit down at the keyboard, chances are you’re going to derail your efforts. Here are a few ways to ensure you screw up.

1) Promote, promote, promote.

Don’t we all love the blatant promoters? You know who you are—you show up to a networking event with the only goal of passing out as many business cards as you can. I’ve literally had people throw cards at me. Don’t be that guy. Start a conversation and build a relationship.

2) Put all of your eggs in one basket.

Sure. Social tools are great. You know what? They’re not going to support your business alone. Your social media efforts need to be augmented by your traditional advertising. Plan for it in your strategy.

3) Sell a crappy product.

Have a crappy product? That’s your problem. Do you want people to talk about your brand? If they do, do you really think they’re going to say good things? Have a look at Walmart’s Facebook Fan Page. It’s turned into an employee complaint forum. That could be you if you’ve got a crappy product or service.

4) Outsource your accounts to your kid/neighbor/dog/whatever.

There are social media “pros” out there that will just manage your accounts for you. “Great!” you shout. “I don’t have time for this $#!% anyway!” Wrong. You know your brand best. What happens when a crisis arises? What happens when a customer asks a question that your “expert” doesn’t know the answer to? If you fall into this crowd, for Pete’s sake, get in touch. We’ll teach you how to use social media tools yourself on a schedule you can manage.

5) Automate it.

Go ahead. Go to Google. Find a tool that will automate your Twitter account. Send all of your tweets to Facebook. Let me know how that works out for you.

It’s called “SOCIAL Media,” not “Anti-Social Media.” You need to be there to participate in the community. Please do so.

6) Use it as though you were talking to your buddies at the bar vs. talking to your customers.

If you’re using social media for business, be professional… Comments like these have little place in a professional setting. Be advised, folks, that everyone can see your @replies. If you feel the need to use “colorful” nouns, take it to private messages.

7) Jump in with no plan.

Sometimes a road trip with no map or no place to go can be fun, but not when we’re talking about a brand’s reputation. Develop a strategy. Follow it. Don’t just wander aimlessly around the social landscape.

8) Don’t measure.

“Hey, we’ve got 1,034,285 followers!” Great, how is it affecting sales? “Umm… what?” Enough said. Establish a baseline, set goals, track your results.

There are dozens of ways to trainwreck your brand with social media. Anyone have a real-life example to share?

Need help with your social media campaign? Get in touch—we’ll take care of you.

I lost a potential client today.

For the sake of anonymity, I can’t tell you who he is, but I can tell you a little about the gentleman. As soon as I shook his hand, I had abandoned my sales pitch. The look in his eyes told me he didn’t need the hard sell—he just needed to know how we could help one another. We took the time to connect—I learned about his background and the business degree he didn’t bother using because of his passion for the culinary arts. I learned about his wife and the challenges they were having as business owners. I learned about how he started running the restaurant he loves so passionately and I learned how he’s throwing marketing dollars out the window on a contract he’s stuck with until March.

I left him two weeks ago with an overview of how I could help and the understanding I’d return this afternoon to follow up with him. Two weeks later, I met him at his venue, sat down, and heard his verdict.

Like I said, I lost a potential client today.

That didn’t bother me. If he could have afforded my services, I’d be his go-to guy for social media. If I could afford to work with another pro-bono client, I’d leap on his business in a heartbeat. Instead of finding a client, I found a kindred spirit.

He told me, though, that he had a referral for me. He had mentioned me to his Internet marketing company—who must also remain unnamed—and his marketing guys told him to pass their contact info along to me. He gave me the CEO’s card and I gave him a call this afternoon.

The conversation began pleasantly, but things quickly went awry. His tone became caustic, his position condescending. He threw numbers at me like, “150 clients” and “$2 million in yearly revenue.” He told me that he would “take me seriously” when I sent him a brochure.

“If you’re serious, I’d like to sit down with you and build a relationship,” I said.

“I don’t have time to sit down with people,” he said. “You can send me a packet of information.”

Really?

Most interestingly, I was told by this CEO of this Internet marketing firm that social media was too new a product—that they didn’t have plans to hire a social media specialist for several years. He told me that his client—my prospect—didn’t need social media work because “he already has a fan page.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I offer this not to admonish but to educate. Social media is not a fad, we just haven’t yet learned to tap its full potential. For thousands of years, “marketing” has relied on relationships. For thousands of years, man has shared value with fellow man and for thousands of years, the core pillars of business relationships involved trust, value, and transparency.

Sixty years ago, this phenomenon called “advertising” found its golden age. Sure, the ancient Egyptians had presented announcements on scrolls of papyrus. Sure, the ancient Romans “hark, harked” about the town square. But once this pesky invention known as radio reached popularity, commercial exploitation became commonplace. Eat Corn Flakes! Drink Coca-Cola! Marketing messages swiftly and relentlessly took over our everyday lives. Billboards went up across the nation, television perpetuated sleazy car dealerships, and the Internet bolstered the pornography industry from an under-the-mattress affair to one of the most booming economies in the world.

Today, consumers are getting sick of it all. The ads you see on television? Marketing agencies invest millions of dollars in getting them to you, just so you can TiVo past them. The print newpaper industry is crumbling because ad sales are at an all-time low.

At the same time, there are some bloggers out there who are absolutely making a killing on the Web. Small business owners are reaching consumers that traditional ads couldn’t even begin to touch. Brands like Best Buy and TGI Fridays are reaching out to consumers across the nation on a level more engaging and more personal than ever before possible and the technology that drives that engagement is 100% free of charge.

That technology is social media. Facebook. Twitter. YouTube. Brands are reaching their audiences and their audiences are reaching back. No longer are consumers settling for any old marketing message that gets spat at them—now consumers are telling the marketers what kind of content they want, where they’re going to choose to listen, and what they’re going to do with that message. Take heed, marketers. If you’re not embracing social media, you’re swiftly losing control.

So consider this, Mr. Successful Internet Marketing CEO Man, and mark my words. We are amidst a revolution—not to a new way of doing business, but back to an old way of doing business. The rules were changed once by the rise of your fancy search engine tactics and pay-per-click advertisements, but search engines can’t index personality. Search results are no substitute for honest referrals from trusted friends. Learn it, live it, and love it before you even consider listing “social media” as a marketing service that you offer.

Friends (Romans, Countrymen), I beseech thee not to give up your traditional web marketing, but to embrace the power of relationships like our ancestors did once upon a time. Reach out to your customers and clients and tune into their needs, not what you think is important. Most importantly, support small business. I may have lost a potential client today, but I educated a friend.