June 4, 2022 – 6 minute read
What is On-Site Optimization?
Digital Marketing, Thought Leadership
On-site optimization is a mix of qualitative and quantitative research used to identify problem areas on a website in order to give actionable insights for improvement. Quantitative research is done by diving into the numbers to figure out what is happening on the site. Metrics such as Bounce & Exit Rates, Conversion Rates, Engagement Time, and others like these allow us to form a picture of how users interact with each page.
Quantitative research makes up only half of the picture, however; qualitative research makes up the rest. Qualitative research deals with investigating the website front-end to conclude why users are acting the way they are. Using quantitative data as the basis for qualitative research lets us pinpoint problem areas and make data-driven decisions for improvement.
It is important to note that on-site optimization is different than search engine optimization (SEO). While SEO is used to gain new organic search traffic, on-site optimization is intended to increase site conversion and user engagement for existing traffic. Certain activities from on-site optimization can organically improve SEO and vice versa, but on-site optimization and SEO are not equivalent.
For example, activities like ensuring a page has helpful content and clear calls-to-action, reducing page load time, and preventing bounces and bad exits have all been shown to improve SEO. On the other hand, these are also effective strategies for increasing conversion for existing users. Choosing between an on-site optimization or a search engine optimization exercise can be as simple as deciding if the target is new or existing traffic.
For on-site optimization, we focus on optimizing the experience for existing site traffic. Especially in eCommerce, getting traffic to your site is one thing, but it’s most important to get that traffic to convert to sales for your business. With Silk’s on-site optimization package, we deliver data-driven recommendations that help you improve the on-site experience for existing traffic, which in turn can help you grow new traffic from there.
Through on-site optimization, gain meaningful and actionable insights to:
1. Increase site conversion and revenue
- Find and relieve barriers that are preventing site transactions. This can include points of friction or potential pain points faced by customers in areas throughout the site such as the shopping cart and checkout.
2. Increase customer engagement
- Find reasons for and prevent unnecessary bounces while moving traffic into a conversion funnel. Take steps to encourage users to act when they visit your site.
3. Better allocate funds for marketing activities
- Get insights into what marketing activities are and aren’t working and receive recommendations on how to improve them. Have a clear strategy and plan in place to maximize use of your marketing dollars.
Keep in mind, any optimization activities should always be paired with testing for continuous improvement. On-site optimization gives insights into the “what” and the “why,” but these insights need to be validated with implementation and testing. Using methods like A/B and multivariate testing will shed light on which insights provide the most value. Ensuring that your insights and results are both being driven by quantitative and qualitative data will set your website up for success.