TechNO Expo

We came up with a search-engine marketing campaign and put ads out on Google and Yahoo!, and paid for associated keywords—for example, “online PC support.” There were hundreds of keywords on the list. Each week we’re looking at what’s working, what’s not working, and our cost per conversion on each of the keywords.

Page 10 did all of the Web design and development for the site. At the same time, we had to be cognizant of how this new site tied into their backend technology. We worked with their IT group to really understand that system, what its limitations are, and how to supplement those limitations with technologies that we have.

The images on the Web site before showed total frustration—hitting your head against the computer. But a subdued frustration message plays better with the demographic. We changed the images from frustration-driven to a more relaxed “we can help” feeling. Customers can chat live with a customer service representative on the site or call an 800 number for help.

In less than three months, Plum-Choice saw an increase in revenue of 42 percent on the direct-to-consumer channel. And costs for lead acquisition were down 40 percent.

Jeff Hahn
President, Internet Exposure, Minneapolis

Bath and Kitchen Studio is a St. Paul–based retailer that sells a range of plumbing fixtures, but specializes in bathroom and kitchen sinks. Internet Exposure is responsible for the company’s site design, hosting, marketing, and development. A partner focuses on product content and creation, as well as updating product information and processing sales.

The studio’s new Web site, sinkstar.com, aimed to increase traffic and offer more products. The company also wanted to improve the user experience, starting with better-looking product images and more compelling calls to action. This included displaying sales pricing with the amount saved relative to regular pricing, making the 800 number more prominent, and showing related products and accessories.

We also wanted to allow customers to participate in the rating and tagging of products. At the bottom of a product page, customers can read or write a review with star rankings and see tags other customers have added to the page (such as “stainless steel” or “glass”), making searching easier. We also wanted to simplify purchasing by creating a single-page checkout.

The new site features a lot of enhanced features to ensure the search engines “see” it accurately and give a targeted ranking. One such feature is search-engine friendly Web addresses. Rather than querying a product identification number, the engine will see a product name and other relevant info. Active marketing efforts include an opt-in e-mail featuring specials and sales.

The content management system for the back end allows us to add different landing pages to assist with marketing. Measuring total visitors and sales, we have a significantly improved conversion rate—an increase of about 26 percent.