Drive and Convert

In this episode of Drive & Convert, Jon and Ryan delve into the rise of video as a powerful tool for digital marketing. They discuss the impact of platforms like TikTok, the changing landscape of video monetization, Apple's influence on tracking and privacy, the growth of Connected TV, and the importance of creative content in video marketing.Sharing insights and experiences from their own journey in the ecommerce space, Jon and Ryan explore how brands can leverage video to drive conversions and growth.Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: What type of video content you can leverage in digital marketing  How to track ROI for YouTube spend  How video is being utilized on different platforms   What challenges small brands encounter in video marketing  Why it’s crucial to have quality and creative content  If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow.

Ecommerce managers are juggling a million things by the time Q4 rolls around. They’re busy preparing holiday campaigns and gearing up for the coming year. However, optimization should still be top of mind during Q4, and the perfect way to ensure this happens is through a website audit. This week, Jon and Ryan explore eight benefits that a November audit can provide your business. You can level up against the competition by continuing their optimization work through the end of the year – when other brands are at a standstill.Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: Why November audits are often misunderstood How to fit in a November audit during the holiday rush The benefits of conducting a November audit  Why its an especially good year for a Q4 website audit  If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow.

SEO takes time, money, and energy. There is no shortcut to achieving increased rankings on a search results page over a short period of time. So, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in the business awhile, you need to have a strategy for SEO. In today’s episode, Jon and Ryan share that while there are no hacks, there are proven ways to build the right strategy that will get you in front of the right audience. Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: Why there is no “hacking” SEO  Why website optimization is crucial to SEO  What role quality content has for SEO  Why backlinks are still valuable  How long it takes to see results from SEO If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

People have a lot of options when it comes to subscriptions. And now more than ever, people are conscious of where and what they spend their money on.  In this episode, Jon and Ryan discuss how to acquire and retain subscribers with proven strategies including personalization, various types of subscriptions, and tactics for increasing your number of subscribers. They also cover how to look at things from a consumer perspective in order to fully understand what needs companies can address with their subscription services.  Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: The different types of subscription services  Why personalization is important  Why brands need to identify where customers churn Seven strategies to increase subscriptions  If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

What is a good return on ad spend?Just like the question posed in our last episode, there is no simple answer to this. In this week’s episode, Jon and Ryan delve into the importance of tailoring your ROAS goals to your unique brand. They also touch on the aggressiveness of marketing strategy, customer lifetime value, and the benefits of aiming for a lower break-even ROAS. Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: How brands can optimize their ROAS goals Why brands should consider influencer marketing and dark posting Why there is no one-size-fits-all approach to ROAS How analytics can help in determining ROAS  If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

So, what is a good conversion rate? Is there a magic number you should be aiming for or a percentage that, when you reach it, means you’ve hit the big time and you can sit back and relax?In this week’s episode, Jon and Ryan discuss why there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. They delve into the definition of conversion rate and the countless variables that affect it. In the end, their advice is this: a good conversion rate is one that is constantly improving. Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: What variables affect conversion rates What conversion rate actually means How to measure conversion rates What are the challenges in measuring conversion rates Why you shouldn’t measure yourself against ecommerce benchmarks  If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

What is the future of digital marketing and online experience?Jon and Ryan unpack the valuable insights gained from recent events with Google and Logical Position to try and answer this question. They discuss the challenges faced by smaller businesses in the ever-changing landscape of attribution models and the importance of thinking outside the box when it comes to driving brand growth. From exploring alternative methods of customer acquisition to diving into the world of AI and attribution, this is everything you missed at the Google and Logical Position events! Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: How GA4 will impact SMBs and larger brands Why it's important to constantly analyze data  What the future of attribution and AI looks like What additional strategies and resources to consider for the holidays If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow.

Sending everyone to a Product Detail Page (PDP) without context or information about the brand can be counterproductive in building trust. Landing pages, however, allow for more curated information and more consistent and relevant messaging during the customer journey. This is exactly what Jon and Ryan explore in this week’s Drive and Convert episode. They also cover how the lack of educational information on a PDP could make it difficult to convince customers to make a purchase.  Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: Why landing pages are crucial for building trust and educating customers  Why alignment between ad messaging and landing pages is important How landing pages should be optimized for Google Shopping traffic How context and personalization can improve landing pages and PDPs How to create and optimize landing pages  If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow.

From struggling marketplaces to recent stock turmoil, Jon and Ryan explore the factors impacting traffic and sales in the ecommerce industry. They take a deep dive into how competition, economic factors, and changing consumer behavior are reshaping the e-commerce landscape. In this week’s episode, they discuss powerful strategies for driving traffic and sales and how brands can leverage Google's algorithms to their advantage.  Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: How the decrease in search volume on Google affect transaction and sales volume What methods Amazon uses to drive traffic beyond search traffic How brands can leverage Google's algorithm to increase product discovery Why testing and experimentation are crucial for staying ahead of the competition If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

It can be difficult to convince new customers to purchase from your site the first time they visit. Instead of driving traffic and new visitors to your site, why don’t you focus on the customers you already have?This week, Jon and Ryan share how you can leverage nine proven strategies to help you increase average order value. By improving the average order value of your website, you can grow your business without having to invest heavily in additional marketing and advertising. Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: How to find out your customer’s needs  Nine proven tactics to increase AOV (with examples) Why social proof is such a powerful tool How to execute limited offers properly Why it’s important to remember post-purchase offers If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow.

Each holiday season is different, so how do you prepare for one? As a business, it’s important to use data-driven strategies and think creatively when planning for your holiday campaign. In this week’s episode, Jon and Ryan share a few ideas on how to think about the holidays and what you need to do to stand out from the competition.  Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: Why each holiday season is different How to define the holiday season How to use data to determine holiday periods How to prepare for the holiday season When to start advertising for the holidays If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

Sharing winning tests isn’t just a way to celebrate success with previous clients. The patterns and insights from winning tests can offer a lot of ideas for other brands looking to improve their conversion rates and boost sales. In particular, Jon and Ryan talk about three areas of a site that tests work really well in: category pages, social proof, and website copy.  Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: How personalization can improve category pages  Why you need clear and specific labels on your navigation  How to leverage different types of social proof  How small changes in copy can lead to big results  If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

So much energy is focused on driving traffic to a site via different platforms, but Jon and Ryan share why email should be the most profitable traffic acquisition channel. In this episode, they discuss how you can set up your account and create automatic email flows. Ryan puts emphasis on not buying your email list. They also dive into examples of automatic email flows, such as a welcome series or an abandoned cart email, before sharing 5 points to help you successfully scale your email marketing campaign.  Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: How to utilize free email systems like Klaviyo and Mailchimp Why you need to keep growing your email list  Why you need to segment your customers and personalize their experience How to leverage your email data for your other marketing channels Why it’s important to test your email marketing campaign If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

In this episode of Drive & Convert, Jon and Ryan share important metrics for businesses to monitor including customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, and conversion rates. They stress the importance of understanding which metrics will impact the bottom line and align with the company's strategic goals.They also delve into the importance of tracking your raw data, channel mix metrics, and evaluating subscription and consumable products.  Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: How to determine and evaluate significant ecommerce metrics Why you should focus on long-lasting customer relationships What value can you get from post-purchase surveys What is the “first-touch” metric How to improve your own ecommerce metrics If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

In this podcast episode, Jon and Ryan discuss Google's recent announcement about sunsetting certain attribution types in Analytics. They both emphasize the need for businesses to get creative and find new strategies to compete with larger brands. Jon suggests that small brands have an advantage in being more willing to take risks and test different approaches. For small brands, they suggest exploring social media, influencer marketing, affiliate partnerships, and top-of-funnel strategies to drive awareness and engagement. They conclude that the evolving digital landscape requires businesses to adapt and find new ways to stand out in the competitive e-commerce space.Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: What attribution models are being removed from Google Why Google is sunsetting four of its attribution models How these attribution changes could affect transparency and Google algorithms What alternative options do big and small brands have  If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

What’s the best type of navigation to use for your website? Jon and Ryan reveal that there is no one-size fits all approach to this question. However, customer research and experimentation can help determine the most effective navigation style. Jon offers 10-pointers for website owners to test or steal, which are based on what has worked well for other brands. They stress the importance of designing navigation based on what customers want, not what the brand wants. Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:1. Why website navigation is crucial to a website’s functionality2. The different types of website navigation3. How to improve your website navigation 4. 10 stealable tips for website navigationIf you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. For more information, read the full article at: https://thegood.com/insights/website-navigation/ 

A lot of emotions are involved in exiting a business, and Ryan emphasizes the importance of legal advice and research along the way. In this episode, Jon and Ryan also talk about failing and growing throughout the experience and seeing everything as a learning experience. Every business exit is a little different, so there is no defined timeline for going through the process. Ryan advises that you should do it when it feels right, and the numbers will work themselves out. Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: Why it's important not to burn bridges and end things on a positive note  How relationships with employees change  Why doing more research is important  Why you should invest in a good legal team  What to look forward to after exiting an ecommerce business  If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We’re @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

Conversion rate optimization is important for any ecommerce brand, but it’s markedly more difficult for brands with lower traffic. However, there are still ways how you can increase website conversions with low traffic.In this week’s episode, Jon and Ryan highlight the significance of leaning into rapid testing in the absence of data to validate statistical significance. They also discuss other validation tactics, such as surveys, user testing, heatmaps, and many more.  Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: How to use the confidence/tolerance relationship to your advantage The benefits of rapid testing Validation tactics beyond testing How social listening and session recordings work Why eye tracking is simple yet effective  If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We’re @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

Last year, Google moved people over from Smart Shopping to Performance Max, and they said Performance Max would be the “one campaign to rule them all.” The struggle now, especially for smaller advertisers, is not having enough data points. And the more data you give an algorithm, generally, the better it’s going to be able to accomplish your goal.In this episode, Jon and Ryan discuss what conversion tracking looks like in this new world of Performance Max and how you could help your system and ads perform better once you get some of the right data points.Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: What conversion tracking looks like on PMax How the PMax algorithm works  What eCommerce advertisers should focus on tracking Why Google Analytics is still the best source of data  Why you need to test and optimize your feed If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We’re @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow. 

Industry benchmarks are an obvious starting point for anyone looking to set goals. Unfortunately, comparing your conversion rate to the rates of other companies (or the industry as a whole) is meaningless.Unlike studying your competitors, studying your customers is directly applicable. The better you can serve their needs and create better shopping experiences, the higher your conversion rate will climb. In this episode, Jon and Ryan talk about alternatives such as goal-setting, iterative learning and experimentation.Listen to the full episode if you want to learn: Why industry benchmarks should not be your starting point for setting goals How you should approach measuring conversion rates What the flaws of self-reporting among competitors is What factors affect conversion rate How you can work on continuously improving your conversion rate If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, hit us up on Twitter. We're @jonmacdonald and @ryangarrow.