Nor is anything else you do in online marketing. Website experience is where this understanding starts.
Twice in my professional life have I heard a client use this term. I had to politely decline further involvement with the business.
Why make a song and dance about this baby?
Because if does you no good to blind yourself to your business. Some might say that to see a website as a baby shows passion about the project.
It does. I agree with that.
What I disagree with is the fact that you miss much when you are blinded by a passion.
Websites – Who makes them?
Well you put in the money don’t you. It’s your idea. It’s your vision. You employ developers and designers to make it happen. So, it’s yours because you put up the money? Yes.
But a website is made by your visitors and your customers. Ask them. Work with them. Involve them to give them, the people, your customers / clients what they need. Not what they want necessarily.
How to Go About People Websites?
There are so many great User Experience agencies who will have a way of working that is going to help enormously.
There are many tools to help understand what people are doing. Google Analytics for example but they are not telling you the why.
That is why there is such a proliferation of other tools that ask website visitors for feedback. You do need a lot of data to base any changes. You can use agencies that use eye tracking software, you can set up surveys. All very costly and if you have the budget.
When you don’t, what do you do?
People Conversion
Ask everyone you can think of to give you feedback on your website or social profiles. It is anecdotal but it’s a start. It can send you down some blind alleys and of course you’ll be feeding your own prejudice (as we all do).
People Panel
Known as Panel Data, the recruitment of your own panel of people to experience your web presence is the way to go.
Ideally you want 8 – 15 people you can tap into on a regular basis. You’ll want to go back to them to try your amendments.
Break them into manageable groups. Invite them to a pleasant space. Give them tasks to do and film them.
Another ideal here is to have people in your panel who match your segmentation and even perhaps represent the persona you are marketing to.
Build Feedback Loops
Join up your marketing with your panel data, people you network with, feedback questions on your website and social platforms and, if you have them feedback form your sales and customer care people.
Report weekly on what you are learning, make the changes when you think they are bold enough to make a difference and measure.
Make your website a ‘people’s darling’ not a baby.
Try our Digital Marketing Jargon Buster
Check out the Government’s User Experience Basics page
About Conversion Detectives
Conversion Detectives is a full service digital marketing agency.
We find the best quality traffic for your website and convert more of that traffic into sales or sales leads.
We’re a full mix digital agency based in Hertfordshire.
Photo credit: Mitchfeatherston [CC0]