Website Marketing Optimization Benchmark Summary Report

Transcription

1 Website Marketing Optimization Benchmark Summary Report The most challenging obstacles to website marketing optimization success in the year ahead and how marketers plan to overcome them. Ascend2 Research Conducted in Partnership with Leading Marketing Solution Providers. Client Connection Research conducted by Ascend2 and [Research Partner]

2 Website Marketing Optimization Benchmark Summary Report Ascend2 Research Conducted in Partnership with Leading Marketing Solution Providers. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. You may adapt, copy, distribute and transmit this work. However, you must attribute the work as produced by Ascend2 and its Research Partners but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. 2

3 Table of Contents Website marketing optimization improves performance 4 Most important website marketing optimization objectives 5 Rating the success of website marketing optimization 6 Most challenging obstacles to website optimization success 7 Website pages and processes optimized 8 Page elements with the most impact on performance 9 Adoption of website personalization practices 10 How website personalization is performed 11 Testing performed on website pages 12 Resources used to execute website optimization 13 Research methodology and survey demographics 15 About Ascend2 17 3

4 Website marketing optimization improves performance A website is an essential channel for attracting, engaging and converting customers. Website Marketing Optimization is the continuous improvement of this channel to successfully achieve your marketing objectives. But what will be the most challenging obstacles to Website Marketing Optimization success in the year ahead and how will marketers overcome them? To find out, Ascend2 and our Research Partners fielded the Website Optimization Benchmark Survey and completed interviews with 336 marketing and sales professionals from around the world. We thank them for sharing their valuable insights with you. The charts in this edition of our study, titled the Website Marketing Optimization Benchmark Summary Report, represent the average of all market segments responding to the survey. Specific market segments are reported on exclusively by our Research Partners. This research has been produced for your use. Put it to work in your own marketing strategy planning and presentation materials. Clip the charts and write about them in your blog or post them on social media. Please share this research credited as published. Sergio Balegno Chief Strategy Officer 4

5 Increasing lead generation and traffic volume are the top objectives for websites in the year ahead. Keeping website visitors engaged is also an important goal. 5

6 Even though websites are an essential channel for attracting, engaging and converting customers, only 8% rate their website very successful. 6

7 A limited website budget is the most challenging obstacle to success. Without appropriate funding for website improvement, objectives are difficult to achieve. 7

8 Homepages and product or solution pages are getting the most attention. However, pages used to execute the top objective lead generation are lower priorities. 8

9 Motivating a prospect or customer to act is always a challenge. As a result, optimizing the call-to-action on a page will have the most impact on website performance. 9

10 Personalization practices have been adopted by nearly a quarter (23%) of all companies. Adoption will increase as personalization automation becomes more prevalent. 10

11 Of those who use personalization, 36% have transitioned from manual to automated practices that dynamically generate pages based on IP, behavioral and other data. 11

12 Testing website pages is more of a science than an art. Yet, nearly half (47%) of companies are performing tests on their website pages for optimization purposes. 12

13 49% of companies outsource all or part of their website optimization program, gaining access to the specialized skills required to improve website performance. 13

14 Notes 14

15 Research methodology Ascend2 Research Surveys are conducted online from a panel of more than 50,000 US and international marketing and sales decision-makers and practitioners representing a range of contact roles, company types, sizes and geographic regions. The questionnaire used is standardized to incorporate these methodologies across all studies while maintaining our proven 3-Minute Survey format. Survey findings are examined in a quantitative context by experienced analysts and reported objectively. 15

16 Survey demographics 16

17 About Ascend2 Research-Based Demand Generation for Marketing Solution Providers Marketing agencies, marketing software and data companies partner with Ascend2 to reliably generate new business opportunities. Our integrated research, content creation and demand generation process is transparent putting the spotlight on your brand and the interests of your audience. Learn more at 17

18 Marketing agencies, software and data companies partner with Ascend2 to generate demand and supplement content. White label research reports contain pages of research that features your brand and the interests of your target market. To become a partner, all you do is: 1. Choose the topics of interest to your target market: Content Marketing Marketing Video Marketing Organic Search (SEO) Mobile Marketing Brand Marketing Website Optimization Inbound Marketing Paid Search (PPC) Lead Generation Social Media Marketing Database 2. Choose an exclusive research segment for each marketing topic: Benchmarks for Success [A comparison of Very Successful and Not Successful segments] Benchmarks by Channel [A comparison by or targeting of B2B and/or B2C segments] Benchmarks by Company Size [A comparison by or targeting of SMB and/or Large Enterprises] Agency Benchmarks [The Agency perspective based on a wide-range of client experience] Benchmarks by Resources [A comparison of Outsourced and In-house campaign segments] Benchmarks for Europe [The European perspective on marketing practices and performance] Benchmarks by Revenue Attainment [A comparison of performance by Revenue Targets Attained] Benchmarks for other research segments may be available and specific to individual Topics 18