What makes optimizing different for a publisher then for example an ecommerce site. In this session Martijn from The Next Web will show you how they focus on CRO and SEO to have users engage more with their content and services. We'll go into learning how to create the best process on how to work on both of them at the same time to have maximum impact.
[Elite Camp 2016] Martijn Scheijbeler - Optimization for Content Sites
1. Optimization for Content Sites: Analytics, SEO, CRO
Martijn Scheijbeler / Director of Marketing / martijn@thenextweb.com / @MartijnSch
2.
3. @MartijnSch@MartijnSch
1
2
3
Optimization for Content Sites
Better tracking, better decisions
Better decisions, better results
“What you’re not tracking, you don’t know!”
“Implementing better tracking creates more insightful data”
“The better the data is the more insightful your decision will be”
“Your results get better by the decisions you make”
“Just as long as the decisions you make are better decisions”
Better results, reach your business goals
4. How to provide context
How to optimise context
@MartijnSch
WHAT YOU GET OUT OF THIS?
We’ll share the set-ups we use at The Next Web around Analytics, SEO, CRO.
9. @MartijnSch
1
2
Unique Users
Growing our unique user base will
increase the potential to reach Generation T.
2
3 3
Our metrics/KPIs for success;
User Engagement: PV/Session
A higher engagement with our user base will
increase the number of pageviews per session.
User Retention: Returning %
Increasing the percentage or returning users will
increase our brand awareness.
Newsletter Signups
To get a relationship with our users we’d like to
have their email address for the newsletter.
Social Shares
More shares will influence our reach amongst
new and returning users.
10. What we track &
How we do this?
@MartijnSch
ANALYTICS:
11. What makes it different:
Publishers v.s. E-commerce?
@MartijnSch
12. You need a plan! This is what our ‘Tracking Plan’ looked like.
14. • Send data to the dataLayer
• Able to create variables
• Use the data however you want
The DataLayer
15. • 57 Custom dimensions
• Examples:
• Author
• Adblocked
• A/B Testing
• Post ID
• Client ID
Custom
Dimensions
16. • 4 Custom Metrics
• Examples:
• Ads Loaded
• Comments
• Ads not Loaded
• Words
Custom Metrics
17. • 23 Calculated Metrics
• Examples:
• Customer Lifetime Value
• AVG Cost per Session
• Non Bounces
• Cost of Acquisition
Calculated
Metrics
18. Event Tracking
What is going on and why is that
happening? That’s what event
tracking helps with.
Examples:
• JavaScript Errors
• Ads Loaded or Not Loaded
• Share Buttons
• Contact Forms
• Integrations with Google DFP
19. Scroll Depth
Do you really know if people read
your content, you don’t, right?
20. Time on Page
Do you really know if
people read your content,
you don’t, right?
But on a high bounce rate
page it’s really hard for
web analytics tools to
calculate the perfect time
on page.
21. You want to know what
happens in the funnel of your
ecommerce shop, right?
But how does that work for a
publisher? We figured it out.
Enhanced
Ecommerce
@MartijnSch
22. Custom Data
Custom information:
Content, Metrics, Data
Engagement
What’s a user doing:
Scroll tracking, event tracking
Testing
What does(n’t) work:
Testing via Google Tag Manager
Enhanced Ecommerce
Improving Ecommerce:
More info on the transaction process
Filters
Excluding + Improving:
Page information + cleaning
Cost Data
Calculate your ROI:
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.
23. @MartijnSch@MartijnSch
1
2
3
4
We make most of this available!
Download via:
Github.com/TheNextWeb/GTM
Import the container in GTM
Configure what you (don’t) need
Download as ZIP, import the container in
Google Tag Manager to get started.
The documentation in Github will tell you what
to configure in Google Tag Manager.
Share the love!
You can import a container in Google Tag
Manager with a preconfigured set of tags,
variables, values to get started immediately.
Our GTM set-up is now available for you!
24. TLDR;
Web Analytics
@MartijnSch
1. You obviously know your business goals
2. For publishers it’s not all about money
3. Know your micro conversions inside out
4. Leverage all options in GA & GTM
5. Track the sh*t out of everything!
25. What we want to rank for &
How we do this?
@MartijnSch
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION:
26. What makes it different:
Publishers v.s. E-commerce?
@MartijnSch
29. It’s hard for Google to
understand the META
information. Definitely if
you don’t provide it the
right (structured) way.
Google is dumb!
@MartijnSch
30. TLDR;
Search Engine
Optimization
1. Competitive like hell!
2. Make sure you’re ‘different’ from others
3. Optimize whatever you can to the max
4. Schema.org is going to help you out!
5. It is all about scalability
@MartijnSch
31. What we optimise for &
How we do this?
@MartijnSch
CONVERSION RATE OPTIMIZATION:
32. Testing Figures
Data from 2015
2,5CRO Team in 2015
38.000.000Sessions with Tests
0CRO Team in 2014
5-7Tests per week
PricelessAmounts of fun
35%Traffic v.s. Tests
@MartijnSch
33. “If you double the number of
experiments you’re going to
double your inventiveness”
- Jeff Bezos
@MartijnSch
34. What makes it different:
Publishers v.s. E-commerce?
@MartijnSch
35. The opportunity is
350-400 tests a year. As
ROI per test is low we
need to run a lot to have
a positive return.
Efficiency <> Costs
@MartijnSch
37. We didn’t move to any ‘real’
CRO tool but decided to
iterate on our own: GTM <> JS.
Supporting: A/B/n & MVT.
GTM Testing
@MartijnSch
Download:
Github.com/TheNextWeb/CRO
40. Sharing brings in more loyalty,
more engagement and
hopefully more traffic.
Share buttons
41. • Variant increase clicks with 16%
• Had a significance + power level of > 99%
• We ran the test for 1x 7+ days
• Targetting over 200.000 users
Winner: Variant
Original:
Variant
44. • Variant increase clicks with 36%
• Had a significance + power level of > 99%
• We ran the test for 7+ days
• Targetting over 300.000 users
Winner: Variant
Original: Variant:
46. • Variant increase clicks with 36%
• Had a significance + power level of > 99%
• We ran the test for 2x 14+ days
• Targetting over 500.000 users
Winner: Variant
Original:Variant
47. So what if we remove the
whole sidebar, wouldn’t people
be more focused on the stuff
that is out there?
Big, bigger
48. • Variant decreased clicks with 17% + 14%
• Had a significance + power level of > 99%
• We ran the test for 14+ days
• Targetting over 420.000 users
Winner: Original
51. Currently measuring the scroll
depth and the engagement on
page is separated. Merging the
data will make sure the tracking
is improved and loadtimes will
decrease a tiny bit.
Content
Enagement V2.0
@MartijnSch
53. We want to make sure you have
the right experience from
wherever you come from.
Maintain testing on segments
“Personalisation”
@MartijnSch
54. @MartijnSch@MartijnSch
1
2
3
Optimization for Content Sites
Better tracking, better decisions
Better decisions, better results
“What you’re not tracking, you don’t know!”
“Implementing better tracking creates more insightful data”
Better results, reach your business goals
“The better the data is the more insightful your decision will be”
“Your results get better by the decisions you make”
“Just as long as the decisions you make are better decisions”
55. Take Aways:
1. Know your business goals!
2. Measure & Track micro conversions
3. Provide all information, make it smart
4. Know what the future looks like
5. Mostly have fun & keep iterating
@MartijnSch