Transcription
INCREASE YOUR LANDING PAGECONVERSION RATE 10-30%DATA VALIDATION: THE SECRET TO LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATIONwww.strikeiron.com info@strikeiron.com 1 919.467.4545
INCREASE YOUR LANDING PAGE CONVERSION RATE 10-30%INTRODUCTION:When it comes to landing page optimization, we often focus our attention on page layout, compelling call-to-actions, andmotivating copy. All of these elements are extremely important, but they are meaningless without accurate data. If usersenter bad data on landing pages or forms then no amount of split A/B testing can compensate.A lead has no value if they are unreachable. If you have no way of contacting the prospect then the lead quickly goes cold.Many of our customers see invalid contact data for 10% to 30% of their leads.Fortunately, there is an easy solution to this problem. Data validation is a critical, often times neglected, step in landingpage optimization. It is an effective way to drastically improve the contactability of your conversions.WHAT IS DATA VALIDATION?Data validation ensures that the user enters valid information into form fields. It is an optimization technique that is oftentimes overlooked, but it can have a significant impact on real conversion rate. This can range from ensuring a user simplyenters a form field, or as complete as making sure that the user has entered information that is valid. Contact informationthat can be validated includes email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and more.Performing data validation in real-time is better than cleaning a database, since you can prompt the user to enter correctinformation. If the contact information is corrected in real-time then you can recover the lead. Once a user has left a landingpage, an uncontactable lead will have to be thrown away or you will need to correct it with an append solution.Landing page validation is the best way to salvage bad leads and prevent errors from occurring at the source.There are two types of validation: client side and server side. Both will help you retain lead value and overcome thecontactability problem.CLIENT SIDE VALIDATIONClient side validation is executed in the user’s browser, typically on the page through JavaScript.The advantage of client side validation is that it is interactive (i.e. while a user is typing).The main disadvantages are tied to the fact that this validation technique is dependent upon JavaScript, a limitedprogramming language. According to a Yahoo! study, 1-2% of visitors have disabled JavaScript. Similarly, there are certainbrowsers that do not fully support JavaScript. Moreover, client side validation source code is exposed, so anyone can seevalidation algorithms. It can be susceptible to hacking, since this technique is vulnerable to robots.www.strikeiron.com info@strikeiron.com 1 919.467.45452
INCREASE YOUR LANDING PAGE CONVERSION RATESERVER SIDE VALIDATIONServer side validation is executed on the server that processes the form submission. It is a flexible and powerfultechnique.The advantages of server side validation are that it can still validate even if the user has JavaScript disabled; it has nobrowser dependencies; and the code cannot be viewed by people or robots.The main disadvantage is that it is not as interactive since it is performed after the form is submitted.We recommend a combination of both data validation techniques. This will ensure the highest value lift off ofconversions. Use client side JavaScript to validate that required fields are completed while the user is filling out the formand server side to perform a more thorough validation.PRESENTING VALIDATION RESULTS TO USERFirst and foremost, you should always make sure your landing pages clearly indicate what you are expecting from users.This ensures your audience understands which fields in your form are required and the allowable values. If the user hasentered invalid information then they need to be prompted on what is incorrect and needs to be fixed.In most cases, you will want to get the user to correct the invalid data without moving forward. The most common andeffective way to do this is to flag the pieces of data that are invalid.For example, say you have a form where you are collecting name, phone, and email address. If the user enters an invalidemail address then you should clearly flag it in the form itself and set expectations on what the user needs to do to makeit right.Twitter has an excellent, simple and clear registration form that does just that. The screenshot below shows how thesocial network indicates invalid form information. Each incorrect field is flagged with a red “X” and clear instructions onhow to fix it.www.strikeiron.com info@strikeiron.com 1 919.467.45453
INCREASE YOUR LANDING PAGE CONVERSION RATE 10-30%The presentation for correcting the data is an ideal candidate for Split A/B testing. This will reveal which graphicaltreatment and copy perform best in driving users to correct the invalid information.WHAT IT TAKES TO IMPLEMENT SERVERSIDE VALIDATIONIt is very simple to add server side validation to your landing page or form.For example, the following code snippet is from a Google AppEngine Python landing page example that calls StrikeIron’sEmail Verification service.1) First, create the REST call to StrikeIron - note the strikeironuserid and strikeironpassword must be replaced with yourStrikeIron credientials. You can signup for a free trial here: stcall eredUser.UserID rd strikeironpassword&VerifyEmail.Email %s&VerifyEmail.Timeout 90” % self.request.get(‘emailAddr’)result urlfetch.fetch(restcall)2) Next we check that the HTTP request and response was successful and use minidom to parse the XML response.if result.status code 200:dom extElement 0]statusNumberElement ddressElement nElement sNumber getText(statusNumberElement.childNodes)domainPart getText(emailDomainElement.childNodes)3) Based on the return codes, we determine if we are going to display an error or prompt the user to correct. StrikeIronoffers granular data on why the email address was invalid, so we will simplify this to a binary of valid or invalid.# Check the return codes to if the email is validif statusNumber ‘200’: #Email validemailValid Trueelif statusNumber ‘203’: #Email validemailValid Trueelif statusNumber ‘202’ and domainPart ! ‘yahoo.com’: # Flag MX Will Accept Yahoo as bademailValid Trueelse:emailValid Falsewww.strikeiron.com info@strikeiron.com 1 919.467.45454
INCREASE YOUR LANDING PAGE CONVERSION RATE 10-30%4) Lastly, we either direct the user to the thank you page if the email is valid or ask them to resubmit if it is invalid.if emailValid True:template values {‘emailAddr’: ’ : self.request.get(“name”),‘url’: ‘/’}path os.path.join(os.path.dirname( file ), te.render(path, template values))else: # emailValid False, print and error message and retrytemplate values {‘emailInvalid’: True}path os.path.join(os.path.dirname( file ), render(path, template values))It is easy to integrate real-time server side validation through a Web service to ensure your prospects are entering validlead data on landing pages.It is simple to implement server side validation in any other web development environment including Ruby, PHP, Perl,Java, etc.DO’S AND DON’TSwww.strikeiron.com info@strikeiron.com 1 919.467.45455
INCREASE YOUR LANDING PAGE CONVERSION RATE 10-30%CONCLUSION:Most landing page optimization books, blogs, webinars and whitepapers focus on the content and visual aspectsof getting a user to convert. We encourage you to continue to improve these critical elements, but you should alsoincorporate data validation techniques.Data quality is the foundation for effective lead generation web forms and landing pages. Do not be complacent byignoring the simple and effective safeguards available to prevent users from entering invalid contact information.Dive deeper into your conversion rate, which may not account for the fact that users both knowingly and accidentallyenter invalid information. By using simple server or client side validation, you will be able to increase your “real”conversion rate.www.strikeiron.com info@strikeiron.com 1 919.467.45456
ABOUT STRIKEIRON:StrikeIron is the cloud leader with the most mature and reliable Data-as-a-Service (DaaS)platform on the market. We are passionate about innovation in data quality and datacommunications. We empower retailers and other businesses by providing access to valid,accurate, and actionable data – when and where they need it. StrikeIron’s cloud services alsoenable businesses to communicate with consumers in the medium of their choice. StrikeIron’ssolutions are delivered as SOAP and REST Web Services that can be easily integrated into pointof-sale systems, web forms, CRM systems, websites, and other business applications.www.strikeiron.com info@strikeiron.com 1 919.467.45457
For example, the following code snippet is from a Google AppEngine Python landing page example that calls StrikeIron’s Email Verification service. 1) First, create the REST call to StrikeIron - note the strikeironuserid and strikeironpassword must be rep
