Posted by Keith Tan in Creative on September 23rd, 2008
While doing some research for a client project, I recently visited the National Geographic website. I had come across it some time back when I read some news about it being revamped, but never had the opportunity to really take a look at it.
Nat Geo is probably one of the world’s largest creators and publishers of nature-related content. Covering a spectrum of topics from prehistoric creatures to the construction of modern wonders of the world, and having its own channels and magazines, they must have accumulated a wealth of information throughout these years. Coupled that with having to deal with a wide range of visitor profiles (preschoolers, educators, researchers, coach potatoes, just to name a few), revamping the website must have been one helluva mammoth task. And just to add to that, Nat Geo is one of my favourite cable channels too 
Well. I just thought I’d share 3 nice features that I like about the site.
Design Consistency
Despite having probably 1000s of webpages and multiple subject matter microsites, they have managed to achieve consistency of webpage layout and design throughout all of them. From the main homepage to the Green Guide microsite, you develop a sense of comfort as you journey through the pages. Gradually, you build familiarity with the website and navigation becomes a breeze. The web designers have also allowed the “personality†of each section to permeate subtlety. Notice the background design that appears before it loads. Very nice touch indeed!
The National Geographic website homepage
The Green Guide website homepage
Personalized background design for each microsite or section
Neat little navigation/search tools
In the “Animals†section, there is a nifty search tool on the right of the page. It allows visitors to find animals in an alphabetical order, or by providing keywords in the search bar. Like all good search tools these days, it displays matching results as you type in your keywords. Move your mouse over each name and a little thumbnail of the animal appears. Now, that is what I call a great use of real estate that promotes great surfing efficiency!
Nifty search tool tucked in the top corner
Search list of animals alphabetically
Search by keyword. Thumbnail of animal appears upon mouseover!
Sample views for E-newsletters
Despite the popularity of content syndication tools such as RSS and widgets, e-newsletters are still pretty much part of any organization’s e-marketing arsenal. As a website, you want your visitors to subscribe to your newsletters. Not only does it provide a means of site updated, its can also be a source of revenue by sticking  banner ads in them. However, we’ve all gone through the process of signing up for enewsletters that we found had little value later on. Some of us take the time to unsubscribe, while others (like me) choose to delete on first sight or block them subsequently. In other words, people are getting jaded from such subscriptions.
Nat Geo has added a small, but smart touch to its signup forms. It provides users to view a sample of their past e-newsletters. This way, users get to see upfront what they will be receiving in their mailboxes, and can make an informed decision on whether they wanna subscribe to it. It would be interesting to find out the impact of introducing such links, such as how it affects the subscription, open and clickthrough rates. (As I write this article, I noticed that Cnet.com has also implemented something similar however Discovery Channel has not.)
View sample of the enewsletter before subscribing
Keith Tan |
Creative |
Posted by Keith Tan in Marketing, Measurement on September 19th, 2008
According to research firm eMarketer, search-ad spending will reach $10.4 billion this year, doubling what will be spent on display ads.
This means that Google, who currently control more than 70% of the U.S search market, would retain its dominancy, as search represents 42% of all ad spending. Display ads currently account for half that figure.
So yes. This must obviously mean that those plain text ads are the safest and most cost effective way of spending your marketing budget.
Well…not really. In fact, search and display ads do not have to be mutually exclusive.
Atlas Solutions’ latest report findings showed that “When marketers supplement search with display impressions, they get a significant lift in conversions. Unfortunately, most advertisers that run both search and display are unaware of this…†The study demonstrated that “users exposed to both search and display ads convert at a higher rate: an average of 22 percent better than search alone and 400 percent better than display only.”
Now did those stats make you do a double take? But hey why not, it does make sense.
Display ads are great for driving brand awareness while search ads, being contextual in nature, have always provided better clickthroughs and conversions. Combine them both and you’ll stand a higher chance to closing that sale.
“The study, entitled “Close the Loop: Understanding Search and Display Synergy,†found that when combined, search and display advertising deliver profoundly better results than when used independently. The study showed a significant lift in onsite engagement and an increase in online and offline purchasing by consumers who are exposed to integrated campaigns that employ both types of online advertising.”
And from Google…or formerly Google
“Grant MacFarlane, head of search at Havas agency Media Contacts and previously head of client services at Google, agrees. “Search often takes the glory for the purchase, as a lot of agencies can’t track back to see where someone saw a banner ad that got them searching in the first place,” he says. “We’ve seen a 15% or 20% uplift when you run display and search in tandem.”
There are tools that help clients track how their different ad types are performing in relation to one another. Yahoo provides an online advertising tracking solution called “Full Analytics†that measures how that display ad was driving additional conversions to your other ad channels.
So the next time you’re planning your online ad campaign, try to do a mix of both. Measure your ROIs and see whether two, is better than one.
Keith Tan |
Marketing, Measurement |
Posted by Gul Khan in Measurement on September 13th, 2008
In the past, as a general rule, I have always suggested that the form labels be right aligned. There were 2 main reasons for this recommendation:
- We noticed that, with the left-aligned labels, some of the users ended up entering the data in the wrong input field (e.g. the input field one line below) due to the long distance between the label and the input field.
- From what we observed, forms with right-align labels were perceived to be visually less cluttered (this was great for forms that would only be used once or very infrequently).
However, recently I have come across some excellent work done by Luke Wroblewski and Matteo Penzo that took my understanding of label alignment to another level. Here’s a summary of what they have reported:
LEFT-ALIGNED LABELS
- Easy to scan through the labels. This is especially useful if the form is long and it is likely to be filled by users unfamiliar with the form (they are more likely to scan through the form to determine what information is required of them).
- Long forms, with many optional input fields, can possibly benefit from left-aligned labels, because users can easily scan what is required to be filled.
- Requires less vertical space.
- Slowest completion rates (this may or may not be a bad thing…it really depends on your objectives).
- Poor association (i.e. long distance) between the label and its corresponding field. This can result in data entry errors. The effect is worsened when some labels are very long.
- Not flexible enough to deal with large changes in label lengths.
RIGHT-ALIGNED LABELS
- Good association between the label and the corresponding field. Among other things, the short distance tends to result in reduced number of data entry errors.
- Requires less vertical space.
- Fast completion times (but still slower than top aligned forms).
- Reduced readability of labels, especially with long forms. This becomes an issue for new users who are unfamiliar with the form. The left rag of the text makes it difficult to scan though the labels to find out what is required of them to complete the form. However, short forms like the one on Facebook, are unlikely to suffer from this problem. Yahoo also shows how to overcome this problem by breaking up the form into clear sections.
- Not flexible enough to deal with large changes in label lengths.
TOP ALIGNED LABELS
- Fastest completion times (because users could capture both the label and the input field with a single eye movement).
- Works well when people are familiar with the data being collected.
- Good for localization. Works well if the form is being translated simply because of the space it allows for variations in label lengths (e.g. German and French words can be twice as long as English).
- Requires the most vertical space.
- Requires sufficient spacing in-between lines.
Which is the best format? Well, that depends on the context.
- How familiar are your users with the form or the individual labels?
- Is the form going to be used frequently? If ‘yes’ then efficiency becomes an important factor. In that case, a top-aligned form could be the way to go. If it is a registration form, which your users will probably only fill in once, then you could consider left-aligned labels (if it is a long form) but personally, I feel a better option would be to use right-aligned labels and break it up into very visually clear sections.
- If localization is an issue and you need to translate the form into many different languages, then top aligned labels gives you the most flexibility.
- Have you got vertical space limitations? Then you may want to avoid top aligned forms.
The best advice I can give is to understand your context and weigh your options. The points above will give a sense of what will work. Use the information to try out different designs. The next step would be to test out different design version by conducting AB Split Testing, Multivariate Testing or Taguchi Testing methods. Of course there are many other testing methods out there. In my opinion, however, these tests are simplest to execute. It is always a good idea to get actual usage data to back up your design ideas. Many times, the results can surprise and give you new insights about what design works best for your users.
Gul Khan |
Measurement |
Posted by Gul Khan in Measurement on September 4th, 2008
Handling customer requirements for web projects can be a very daunting task. How do we break down your customer needs into a meaningful implementation roadmap? What are the basic features and functions that we must have? What are the “wow” factors? On top of that, how do we reconcile customer needs with business requirements?
I’ve been using the KANO model for some time now with great effect for several of our web development projects. So far, it has worked better than all expectations. Basically, it helps us to break down the customer requirements (derived by conducting various types user research) into the Basic, Performance and “Wow” components and allows us to adopt a tactical approach to website re-design roadmaps. To those who are familiar with the KANO model will immediately understand what I’m driving at. To the rest who are not familiar with this model, here’s a quick explanation:
The KANO model essentially breaks features into three separate categories:
- The “must have” features (i.e. the basic requirements)
- The “performance” features
- And lastly, the “excitement” or “wow” features
How do these three different types of features affect customer satisfaction?
- Basic: Customers get pretty annoyed when this type of feature is missing but they are neutral when it is available. For example, a hotel room with no toilet paper.
- Performance: Customer satisfaction increases as this type of feature is better implemented; example the fuel efficiency of a car.
- Excitement or Wow features: Customers won’t be too disappointed if these are missing but having these features can result in great customer satisfaction and it can differentiate you from your competitors.
If you want to learn more, then c2c Solutions have a great 8-Minute KANO Model Tutorial. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about this model.
Read the rest of this entry »
Gul Khan |
Measurement |
