The key to strong conversion rates? Squiggly lines. That's right: squiggly lines must help with conversions... otherwise they wouldn't appear on every imaginable registration / new-user page. Right?
Here are examples from Evernote, Highrise, Rockmelt, and Springpad. And that too just a moment to come up with:
If your ad units dedicate 60% of their real estate to text AND still have auto-scrolling enabled... conversion *might* suffer:
As we head into 2010 winds up and we head into 2011, there is a lot of terrific news coming out of Dogpatch Labs. Here is a sampling from just the last couple weeks in Dogpatch Labs San Francisco. Of course, I have missed several exciting updates... and I apologize! We look forward to a terrific 2011! There are several great new companies and entrepreneurs joining in January. Dogpatch Labs New York is currently taking applications (apply here) and you can always drop me a note for San Francisco here.
- Movity was acquired by Trulia earlier in the week (Movity is also a Polaris company). Read more...
- Instagram hit 1,000,000 users. Read more...
- Curated shopping site Everlane soft launched this week
- Trazzler launched a deal platform specifically for travel
- ChompOn launched a couple killer partners. Read more....
- Cardpool released a new marketplace version yesterday. Read more...
- Stickybits released a totally new iphone version to great brand feedback (Note: a Polaris company). Read more...
- Frid.ge released an enhanced version of http://frid.ge, including full email integration (Note: a Polaris company)
- AllTrails has the #1 noteworthy iphone app in travel. Download here...
- Fanvibe released a new iphone version and NBA integration. Read more...
- Yardsellr and Formspring recently closed follow on rounds of funding. (Note: Formspring is a Polaris company) Read more here and here...
Apple is preparing its users for Christmas with an onslaught of App promotions. I received the lengthy email this morning (as did millions of others) and its a monstrous, editorialized list of applications (favorites, starter kit, promotions, etc). Why today? Because for most developers, Christmas represents the largest day for app downloads. People are given iPods, iPhones, iPads, and iTunes gift cards - and that results in the year's most active day of app downloads... by far.
While running InGameNow (which did 500,000+ app downloads), nothing came close to Christmas day (measured by downloads). It was larger than any other day by multiples!
So this is Apple's attempt to help folks download great applications (and lots of them) on their new devices. And it is yet another indication that the apps are the marketing channel for these devices.
I have written several times about Facebook's continued promotion of the Friend Finder tool ... which one attempt by Facebook to encourage user invites. Here is the latest Friend Finder 'widget' which sits on the right column of your newsfeed (underneath the Events and above Sponsored unit). Two things are worth noting:
First - and most noticeably - there is no call out for particular services (like AOL, GMail, Skype, etc). It appears to be a universal login. This is bold, creative and mildly confusing. I am not sure that I would know what credentials to login with... and I *am* sure that, if I found a similar widget' on off-Facebook.com, I would absolutely not enter anything (particularly true if on Gawker!).
Second, I really like the creative. The social content makes it hyper-targeted: "Friend XYZ found you and N more friends using the friend finder." I love how it tells you which friend(s) connected specifically with you via the tool. Ahh... the power of social ads and targeting.
I have been playing with several Chrome extensions and applications... and while several are great utilities / efficiency improvements, one in particular has made me rethink web experience: Facebook Photo Zoom. It's function is simple: hover over any photo on Facebook and the high resolution version instantly appears:
It is very intuitive: turn the extension on and no other configuration is needed. And from there, the interaction is natural, lightweight and fast.
It is responsive: some sites have tried to integrate big visuals but the interaction is sluggish and therefore painful to use. Perhaps because of its simplicity or perhaps because it is built on Chrome, Facebook Photo Zoom moves as quickly as Facebook.
It prevents distractions: rather than having to visit a new page for every photo, the expansion occurs within the feed.
And it is fun: bigger, higher resolution imagery improves the feed experience and still allows for serendipitous browsing.
I have caught myself on e-commerce sites wondering why this experience isn't duplicated (even in less-bold ways). For product browsing and education, something along these lines makes sense.
To see more of my 2011 tech predictions - click here
Google Chrome and Android are both fast growing: Chrome now has 120m users and Android continues its march towards mobile OS leadership.
Google's clear goal - and it's working! - is to power the web. Android with mobile and Chrome now with the web browser, machine (laptops) and desktop (apps and extensions). And Google's TV strategy is in motion as well... Our day-to-day computing activity occurs in the browser, in the cloud and on the go (mobile and laptop).... Google Apps (Calendar, Docs, Gmail) represent that shift.
The point was driven home in MG Siegler's recent review of the new Chrome OS CR-48 laptop:
I know that personally, roughly 95 percent of what I do on a computer these days is in the web browser. Of the other 5 percent, 4 percent of it could probably be done in the browser too (light image editing, taking notes, etc). The other one percent is more difficult but those are mainly things (iTunes media management, Photoshop) that I only need to do some of the time and can use a desktop machine for.
And based on Android's growth and strategy (cross device / hardware), there is little reason to believe that Chrome will not follow... and probably at a faster growth rate. For developers, Chrome represents a distribution opportunity via the browser and app store. And we have seen that hardware folks are open to new operating systems (albeit slow) if it represents a new price, new marketing angle, etc.
Thus far, I have not been impressed with Google's Chrome Web Store. Thus far, the applications aren't entirely different than specialized webpages. But the concept is powerful and the quality of content will improve as developers move towards the platform and a couple winning applications emerge.... sound like the early days of Android? It should... and that's why Google will find similar success here.
So if 2011 is the year of Chrome and Android - Apple and Microsoft have something to worry about.
To see more of my 2011 tech predictions - click here This will be the year where the internet finally makes it's way into the living room... and I don't mean as a laptop or iPad as you watch television. For many homes, the TV is already the focal point of the living room and it's been a matter of time before the web and the television hook up in an intelligent, simple way. To date, this has mostly been accomplished by bulky solutions geared towards techies: ie connecting a Mac Mini to the television. But all the trends point towards 2011 being the year that the living room begins to go digital in a more mainstream way: - Television prices have gone way down. You can now buy gorgeous, large TVs for under $1,000 (less than many laptops). Those TVs have numerous inputs are are plug-and-play for other connected devices.
- You can spend more and get an internet connected television... which comes equipped with widgets, apps, etc.
- The content is there: Netflix and Pandora and beloved by millions. Along with a growing number of other great apps and content sources (ie: ESPN3, Hulu, Xfinity.tv, etc) - the web plays an important role in your media consumption. This trend will continue in a massive way (which is why folks like Comcast and ESPN are racing to address it).
- External devices are readily available, relatively inexpensive and are easily integrated: Google TV, Boxee, Apple TV, etc.
- The web now runs in the air. Think about most of your daily computing needs (certainly those that would run on the TV): email, browsing, search, light documents, Facebook, etc. All of this can be done from a browser and does not require a fancy machine... thus enabling lightweight 'computers' like the Google TV to be super effective.
- Someone(s) will figure out more compelling ways to watch TV... which is becoming a passive activity (our TV is frequently on but I am rarely ever fully engaged). Google TV is close: the screen-in-screen approach is compelling. The solution may be appearance related (ie Google TV) or perhaps activity (ie GetGlue, Facebook integration, etc). Whatever it looks like - there is lots of opportunity for innovation... and our TV-watching habits encourage it.
Two years ago (somehow it's been that long), I gave 20 predictions for digital media & e-commerce in 2009. This year, I am going to do it slightly differently and write individual posts about various themes / predictions in 2011. You can follow them at the tag "predictions". Today's is simple: it's all about personalization. I was reminded this yesterday while spending the day at the-very-exciting ShoeDazzle (note: Polaris is an investor, and you can see more about ShoeDazzle on TechCrunch TV). ShoeDazzle has built a business in part on great product, in part on a great & differentiated shopping experience, and also in part on the power of personalized & social shopping.
And I was reminded again this morning by an email from Gilt Group which looks different than their ordinary daily emails. Rather than a list of today's deals, the email noted items available for my specific shoe size (based on a Gilt purchase months ago). Among a slew of unread emails (some important, some not; some shopping, some personal) - Gilt's stood out because it spoke directly to me.
And as folks' like Gilt look for ways to resonate with their customers, drive conversion efficiency and optimize everything from the experience to search results to the pixel's creating an ad unit... personalization will be the differentiator. In addition, personalization has the opportunity to improve more than the middle of the funnel (conversions) - it can affect the top of the funnel through virality.
Facebook, Twitter and the loads of data that we each produce (and the companies sit atop) enable personalization is ways that previously were not possible. Some of those solutions are out-of-the-box scripts and widgets - others will be baked directly into the product, experience and brand.
If it wasn't a core discussion for you in 2010, personalization should be in 2011. And it should be a discussion for each component of the organization: what does it mean for:
- Product - User acquisition: advertising, virality and social - Conversions & retention: email marketing, search, customer support, landing pages