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2016 Digital Marketing Research Report:What makes a good website?
Table of Contents
Welcome 3
Key Findings 4
Search Engine Optimization 5
Website Content 6
Website Elements 7
Mobile-friendliness 8
Web Accessibility 9
Online Lead Generation 11
Email Marketing 12
Conclusions 13
Respondent Demographics 14
Research Methodology 15
Survey Engagement Findings 17
References 19
WELCOME TO THE 2016 DIGITAL MARKETING RESEARCH REPORT: WHAT MAKES A GOOD WEBSITE?
A special thank-you to our survey respondents. Your insights were invaluable and have made this research report possible!
AboutThis joint research venture was initiated by Marketing CoPilot Inc. in conjunction with the Georgian College Centre for Applied Research and Innovation and the National Research Council of Canada.
Not all websites are created equal.Some websites make it simple and straightforward for visitors. Other websites make the buying process confusing, complex and/or difficult causing visitors to search for another site where they can inquire about or buy a product or service more easily.
The purpose of this research was twofold:• To help business owners build more effective websites that simplify the buying process and generate more business.• To understand the most important components of a website to help business owners build sites that cater to the needs of buyers.
Approach• Ask buyers what they think makes a good website• Ask sellers what they think makes a good website
Desired Outcomes• Identify the gaps between what sellers vs. buyers think makes a good website• Provide recommendations on how to bridge those gaps
• If your site isn’t on the first page of search results, most buyers won’t find your site via search engines.
• It’s not just your product or service offering that buyers are looking for on your site. About Us, Value Proposition (why buy from you?) and Testimonials are crucial in the buying process.
• Website elements you should have on your website: product images/videos, simple navigation like dropdown or side menus, and pricing.
• A great mobile device user experience is just as important as the desktop experience. A website needs to be truly mobile-friendly.
• Web accessibility enables all users - especially people with auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical, speech, and visual impairments - to access information and utilize the functionality on your website. The last thing you want is for someone to abandon your site because they can’t access the content.
• The buyer journey often starts in social media, so social media messaging needs to do a good job of pushing traffic to your site.
• Email marketing is not dead and is a great tool for nurturing leads. You need good email marketing in conjunction with a good website to continue to enhance the buyer journey.
KEY FINDINGSBuyers have too much choice but too little time.
Buyers have too much choice but too little time.
SEARCH ENGINEOPTIMIZATION (SEO)
only look at the first 5 search results
will look at the next 5 to 10 search results
will finish looking at search results on
the 1st page
SEARCH RESULTS GREATLY AFFECT THE BUYER JOURNEY
27.66% 27.66% 10.42% 27.08% 27.08%27.66% 27.66% 10.42% 27.08% 27.08%27.66% 27.66% 10.42% 27.08% 27.08%
How many buyers don’t explore past the 1st page of search results?
64.58%
How do you get on the 1st page?
Develop a focused keyword and content strategy that:
1. Targets your ideal prospect.2. Utilizes keywords that have a high number of searches.3. Uses keywords that have a low amount of competition.
Conclusion: You need a well-optimized website - one that can be found.
Is a clear and well articulated value proposition a must-have?
79.37% of sellers say YES
WEBSITE CONTENT
What are the top website content must-haves?
Buyers and sellers agree that the three must-have website sections are:• Value Proposition i.e. why buy from this business • About Us• Testimonials
CONCLUSIONIt's essential that all of your website content resonates with your target audience, but pay very close attention to these three sections. Ask your best customers whether or not the content is meaningful, adjust accordingly and then test.
Understand your most visited pages.
ABOUT US
BLOG
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
EVENTS
FAQs
MISSION AND VISION STATEMENTS
NEWS
TESTIMONIALS
TOP MANAGEMENT INFORMATION
VALUE PROPOSITION BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
0 10 20 40 50 60 70 80 90 100%30
WEBSITE ELEMENTS
Buyers and sellers agree on the three most important website elements:
1. Product images/videos2. Dropdown menu3. Pricing
TIPS• Have your product images/videos produced by professionals.• Make sure that your site is easy to navigate and if you do choose to use a dropdown menu, do make the drop down menu label hyperlink to a landing page and don't feature more than three items. • If you don't want to display exact pricing because it truly warrants a one-on-one discussion, identify a price range instead and encourage visitors to contact you for more details.
WHICH WEBSITE ELEMENTS ARE IMPORTANT TO BUYERS?
DROPDOWN MENU
PRICING
PRODUCT IMAGES/VIDEOS
SINGLE PAGE WEBSITE
STICKY HEADERS
OPEN UP LINKS IN NEW TABS
VIDEO ON HOMEPAGE
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
0 10 20 40 50 60 70 80 90 100%30
Which website elements are important to buyers?
84.06% say product images/videos
8.99%20.22%
42.70%
26.97%
1.12%
AlwaysVery Often
OftenRarely
Never
MOBILE-FRIENDLINESS
How often do customers use mobile devices to access websites?
Buyers consider a site to be mobile-friendly if it:
• Loads quickly
• Resizes content to display properly on mobile
devices (mobile phones and tablets)
• Is easy to read
• Is easy to navigate
Mobile-friendly sites are not created equal
89.89%
63%
71%
89.89%
63%
71%
63% of buyers think
that most sites are not
mobile-friendly
71% of sellers think
that their sites
are mobile-friendly
OBVIOUS GAP
WEB ACCESSIBILITYWhy is web accessibility misunderstood?
Does your site use/comply with web accessibi l ity guidelines?
57.83%
13.25%
28.92%
WHAT IS WEB ACCESSIBILITY ALL ABOUT?
It enables all users - especially people
with auditory, cognitive, neurological,
physical, speech, and visual impairments
- to access information and utilize the
functionality on websites.
Only
28.92% of sellers say their websites are accessible
NO
YESNOT SURE
WEB ACCESSIBILITY IS OFTEN MISUNDERSTOODHow is web accessibility utilized?
HOW TO START MAKING YOUR WEBSITE ACCESSIBLE: • Give visitors the option to resize text• Use unique, descriptive titles on each page• Display closed captioned videos• Ensure that text has ample space between letters, words and lines • Use descriptive captions for images
How many buyers use web accessibility features?
28.2% say they do
77.27% 72.73% 40.91%
77.27% 72.73% 40.91%
77.27% 72.73% 40.91%
USE TEXT RESIZING
USE DESCRIPTIVE PAGE TITLES
USE CLOSED CAPTION VIDEOS
OF THE RESPONDENTS WHO USE WEB ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES:
ONLINE LEAD GENERATIONWhat are the top three ways buyers initially find out about products/services?
Where does the buyer journey begin?
59.42% of buyers say Social Media
BUYERS BEGIN THE BUYER JOURNEY BY SOURCING INFO VIA:
1. Social Media2. Search Engines3. Online Review Forums4. Word of Mouth5. Online Media (blogs, ezines)
SELLERS SAY BUYERS BEGIN THEIR JOURNEY BY SOURCING INFO VIA:
1. Word of Mouth2. Trade Shows/Conferences3. Search Engines4. Social Media5. Networking
OBVIOUS GAPSellers misunderstand where the buyer journey actually begins.
SOCIAL MEDIA
NETWORKING
FLYERS
SEARCH ENGINES
NEWSPAPER ADS
TV/RADIO ADS
ONLINE REVIEW FORUMS
WORD OF MOUTH
ONLINE MEDIA
PRINT MEDIA
ONLINE ADS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
PRODUCT LABELS
TRADE SHOWS/CONFERENCES
OTHER
TELEPHONE
WIKIPEDIA
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
BUYERSSELLERS
0 10 20 40 50 60 70 80 90 100%30
EMAIL MARKETINGEmail marketing is NOT dead
HOW DO BUYERS PREFER TO RECEIVE IMPORTANT PRODUCT UPDATES?
70.89% of buyers prefer to receive important product updates by email.
CONCLUSIONEffective email marketing is a key component of any website strategy.
TIPS• Segment your email lists and customize email content according to buying stage i.e. current clients, previous clients, qualified prospects, unqualified prospects, influencers etc.• Provide subscribers with different content options i.e. product/service updates, newsletter, blog posts etc. • Enable subscribers to choose the frequency of email updates.• Test subject lines and content format.• Analyze email stats (especially subscriber activity). • Adjust subject lines and content based on your testing and email stat analysis.• Consider implementing drip campaigns/marketing automation.
11.39%
70.89%
5.06%
1.27%
5.06%
6.33%
SOCIAL MEDIA
TELEPHONE
OTHER
NONE
THE TEAM AT MARKETING COPILOT WAS NOT SURPRISED BY ANY OF THE FINDINGS OR CONCLUSIONS THAT PERCOLATED UP FROM THE RESEARCH STUDY.
BUYERS WANT:1. A clearly articulated value proposition from a seller.2. A site that is easily found.3. A site that is mobile user-friendly.4. A site that is accessible and easy-to-use.5. A site that is supported by other digital activities like video, reviews, social media and email marketing.
What we are surprised about is why companies are taking so long to comply. There is an obvious gap between what buyers want and what sellers want to provide.
When your website is not supporting the buyer journey, you are turning away business.
Canadian companies have a long way to go to improve engagement, sales and competitiveness through digital assets. Why are they not jumping on board?
Through the focus group respondents, survey participants and 100+ companies we have worked with to solve the website dilemma, we believe the uptake is slow for three reasons:
1. Business owners rarely see the world through the eyes of their customers. They don’t take the time to go through their digital strategy to determine what a customer is seeing and what it means to the customer from a buying perspective, not a product perspective.
2. Sellers of digital services are not tying process and tactics closely enough to sales and business goals. There is still considerable scepticism and mistrust in the digital services world.
3. Canadian businesses are underspending on developing digital properties because they are unsure of how to do it or what to spend. Therefore, they default to word of mouth and direct selling. This has to change.
Your buyer has too much choice but too little time. These survey results should help guide you in taking your next digital marketing steps.
MARIE WIESEPresident and FounderMarketing CoPilot Inc.
CONCLUSION
RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
RESPONDENT TYPE
83.09% 16.91% 41.46% 58.54%
83.09% 16.91% 41.46% 58.54%
CANADA
SELLERS
(incl. Australia, Afghanistan, Greece, UK)
REST OF WORLD
BUYERS
The 2016 Digital Marketing Research Report:
What makes a good website? was produced
by Marketing CoPilot and Georgian College
Centre for Applied Research and Innovation.
The results in this report were generated
from the first annual Digital Marketing
Survey, which was administered online
in late 2015.
Of the 246 survey respondents,
64% completed the entire survey.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
• What is the purpose of each component in the integrated digital dialogue that enhances the buying process and builds trust for a seller?• What website features and content are considered necessary in a good website by the buyers when they research online to purchase a product or service?
STEP 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
Our first step in this research study was to examine existing digital marketing data and insights pertain-ing to the research questions. Almost all of the documents we examined identified websites as being the hub of an organization's digital presence.
Websites are properties that are owned by the business or individual, whereas social media pages are rented properties that are typically more interactive in nature. There is consensus that digital content is critical. However, there are differences of opinion on what type of digital content is deemed critical and how placement of content affects the user experience.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
STEP 2: FOCUS GROUPS
In order to gain deeper insights into the subject matter, two focus groups were conducted.
One focus group had local business owners and entrepreneurs sharing their insights. The second focus group had millennials expressing their views about their online experiences with local and international businesses.
The learnings from the perceptions of the focus group participants were used to identify what they thought to be the essential ingredients of a good website. Based on the focus group findings, further research was needed to conclude whether or not these perceptions held true for a wider population.
STEP 3: ONLINE SURVEY
From the insights gained from the focus groups, an online survey was designed to answer the research questions, serve as the foundation for our research and was tailored to address the two key stakeholder groups, buyers and sellers.
A dedicated website was generated for the survey (digital-copilot.com). Survey participants were asked questions based on which category of stakeholder they identified themselves as: business owner who sells, customer who buys products or services for business use or customer who buys products or services for personal use.
SURVEY ENGAGEMENT FINDINGS
• Respondents who identified themselves as sellers of products or services took significantly more time, approximately 10 minutes more, on average in completing the survey compared to buyers.
• Approximately 18% of respondents with the intent to take the survey abandoned the survey because they were not in agreement with the Terms and Conditions. Did a clear description of what to expect from the survey discourage them from proceeding further? Or was there another reason? Further exploratory research into Terms and Conditions and its effect on survey engagement is required.
• We received feedback from several respondents regarding poor usability i.e. having to click, drag and/or rank responses in order was not intuitive.
When we developed the survey we thought that all of the question formats were intuitive, but this feedback indicates that this was not the case and likely was one of the causes for survey abandonment. What we have learned is that it makes more sense to provide questions and response choices in a simple, straightforward format.
To see a complete list of the survey questions, please click here.
SURVEY ENGAGEMENT FINDINGS
• Those who continued to take the survey beyond the initial 25% of questions, tended to complete the survey. • Sellers of products or services who were born in the 1960’s or before were the largest group of respondents who dropped out before or soon after agreeing to the Terms and Conditions.
The attempts were primarily initiated at three time periods of the day – between 08:00 to 09:00 hours, 12:30 to 13:30 hours and 15:30 to 16:30 hours.
Their interest in the subject did attract them to initiate, but was it the time of day, their generation, the amount of time they took that resulted in early drop-out? Possibly, the waiver discouraged the respondents.
In studies of response rates for business surveys, it has been observed that: “an authoritative sponsor and a legal mandate clearly produce higher response rates among businesses” and “university survey researchers appear to suffer from substantially higher nonresponse rates in business surveys than do government agencies” (Willimack et al., 2002).
This highlights an important issue on online user engagement strategies. Once you attract a prospect to visit your website, are you able to sustain their interest and prompt an appropriate action in that short window of opportunity?
REFERENCES
Daniel, Elizabeth M.; Grimshaw, David J. (2002): An exploratory comparison of electronic commerce adoption in large and small enterprises. Journal of Information Technology, 17, 133–147.
Daniel, Elizabeth; Wilson, Hugh; Myers, Andrew (2002): Adoption of E-Commerce by SMEs in the UK: Towards a Stage Model. International Small Business Journal, 20, 253-270.
DeMers, J. (2015). Forbes. Forbes.com. Retrieved 11 December 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/06/10/is-your-site-mobile-friendly-these-5-tools-will-tell-you/
Goode, Sigi; Stevens, Kenneth (2000). An analysis of the business characteristics of adopters and non-adopters of World Wide Web technology. Information Technology and Management, 1, 129–154.
Groves, Robert M.; Dillman, Don A.; Eltinge, John L.; Little, Roderick J.A. (eds.) (2002): Survey Nonresponse, New York, John Wiley and Sons.
Gummer, T., & Rossmann, J. (2014). Explaining Interview Duration in Web Surveys: A Multilevel Approach. Social Science Computer Review, 33(2), 217-234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0894439314533479.
Lynn, Peter (2008): The problem of nonresponse. 35-55 in de Leeuw (2008).
Palatnik, P. (2015). Forbes. Forbes.com. Retrieved 11 December 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2012/08/03/the-6-basic-components-of-a-strong-seo-strategy-for-online-retailers/
REFERENCES
Rogelberg, Steven G.; Stanton, Jeffrey M. (2007): Understanding and Dealing With Organization Survey Nonresponse. Organization Research Methods, 10(2), April, 195-209.
Spann, L. Owner’s guide to a small business website.
Startup Hub,. (2015). What Makes a Good Website? | Startup Hub. Retrieved 10 December 2015, from http://www.templatemonster.com/startup-hub/what-makes-a-good-website/
Tullis, T., & Albert, B. (2013). Measuring the user experience. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 150-165.
Weinschenk, S. (2009). Neuro web design. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 12-38.
Willimack, Diane K.; Nichols, Elizabeth; Sudman, Seymour (2002): Understanding Unit and Item Nonresponse in Business Surveys, 213-227.
W3.org,. (2015). Introduction to Web Accessibility. Retrieved 10 December 2015, from http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/accessibility.php
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