SITUATION

After working with Simpleview to create a multi-award-winning website, experiencecolumbus.com (which won a Platinum Marcom Award and made Skift’s Best Website list in 2016), the Greater Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau decided to truly focus in on one of their high-priority goals for the website: increasing eNewsletter signups. They partnered with Simpleview on a Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) engagement.

SOLUTION

Our CRO team uses research, analysis, and mindful testing techniques to help DMOs significantly increase chances of conversion. From discovery and test setup to conversion tracking and reporting, we aim to help organizations like the Greater Columbus CVB target and deliver on their goals in a measurable, accountable way. After some initial analysis of the Experience Columbus site, it was noted that while the homepage provided a call-to-action in the footer (the bottom-most area of the web page) to sign up for the eNewsletter, internal pages on the site did not. So, we threw out the preconceived notion that “no one scrolls to the bottom” (or below the fold) and tested out a footer change. We created a variation of the footer for the interior pages of the site that served as a consistent call-to-action and opportunity to sign up for the eNewsletter.

RESULTS

We tested this additional footer option for 15 days, across approximately 50,000 visitors, reaching statistical significance enough to support making the change. Results showed a 513% increase in conversions and 518% increase in conversion rate (average conversions-per-session).