Conversion Conference Blog

SeeWhy Chief Strategy Officer Charles Nicholls on the Hottest Conversion Trend, Biggest Optimization Mistake, SOPA/PIPA, and His Fave Vegan Restaurant in SF

Editor’s Note: With Conversion Conference 2012 San Francisco just around the corner, we thought it’s about time you learn a bit more from each of our speakers. So we put on our journalist/paparazzi hat and placed each speaker on the proverbial hot seat by asking four questions, including one which can be considered a burning issue for digital marketers and other professionals in the internet industry: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). From this day until the conference, we’ll be featuring a speaker and their answers to the questions so be sure to check out our blog regularly.

But wait, there’s more! You can join in and do some pre-conference engagement with our speakers by sending in your own questions through email, Twitter, or our Facebook Wall. We’ll make sure your questions get the attention they deserve and even feature them here.

It’s just four more days and then hello, San Francisco! And we know someone who’s excited to meet you: Charles Nicholls, the founder and chief strategy officer of SeeWhy. SeeWhy provides services that help ecommerce merchants regain visitors or customers who abandon their online shopping carts or forms. Here’s Charles’ take on the hottest conversion trend, the biggest optimization mistake, SOPA/PIPA, and his favorite vegan restaurant in SF:

1) What do you think is the hottest trend in optimization or conversion for 2012?

Hottest trend right now is Pinterest – which grew by over 400% in Q4 2011 to reach 11 million visitors per month. The fastest growing social network is attracting a lot of comment: and frankly its completely addictive. What’s interesting for conversion marketers is that Pinterest is inherently product focused unlike other social networks, so the quality of traffic referred is really good.

2) What would you say is the biggest mistake people (still) make when it comes to optimization?

The biggest mistake is assuming that conversion is about a single session. This isn’t how the majority of customers buy. Our research shows that abandonment, far from being a ‘bad’ thing is in fact often part of the purchase cycle. Conversion marketers should think about the entire purchase cycle spanning several visits and possibly several abandonments. This is of course why remarketing works so well because it supports the buyer across visits while they are still considering a potential purchase.

3) What’s your take on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA)?

Regulation of the internet is generally a bad thing. However, IP must also be protected. My worry is that some dinosaurs are lobbying for legislation to protect out-moded business models. That’s not good for anyone in the long run.

4) What’s your favorite place to hang out in San Francisco (that one place you just have to drop by/visit when you’re in the city)?

Greens vegetarian restaurant – fantastic views of the bridge at sunset from a wonderful restaurant.

Feeling hungry now….

Got a question for Charles that can’t wait till March? Post it on the comments section below, tweet it to us, or post it on our wall and we’ll make sure he gets it.

More About Charles

Charles Nicholls is Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of SeeWhy, blogger, ecommerce visionary, and author of ‘The Top Ten Converting Websites‘ and ‘In Search of Insight. Recognizing that traditional Web Analytic approaches are limited to historical analysis, Nicholls founded SeeWhy in 2003 to make ecommerce more relevant to individual visitors and customers through real time web analytics. Nicholls, a 20-year veteran of the software industry in the US and Europe, is internationally recognized as one of the preeminent thinkers in the Analytics space. In 2003 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology selected Nicholls as a global leader in Intrapreneurship following his highly innovative creation of Business Objects Analytics. In his role as an advisor to leading companies globally, Nicholls has worked with many of the world’s top companies on their web and customer analytics programs, including Amazon.com, Ebay, Lands End, MasterCard and a many smaller companies.

Before creating SeeWhy, Nicholls was an executive officer of real-time analytics company HNC Software (now Fair Isaac). Prior to HNC, Nicholls spent 6 years at Business Objects (now SAP), where he founded and led the Business Objects Analytics division. Nicholls also founded Ithena, an award winning Silicon Valley CRM analytics startup, which Nicholls merged with Business Objects in 2000.

See Charles Live!

Charles will be presenting a session on “The Science of Shopping Cart Abandonment” at Conversion Conference West 2012 in San Francisco, California. See the full agenda and read more about this session.

Want to save on your Conversion Conference Registration? Follow Charles on Twitter to say hello and request for a discount code!

P.S. Regular Pricing for Conversion Conference SF ends Friday, March 02, 2012. Don’t wait the last minute, register now to enjoy some savings while you still can (and before passes are gone!).

Big Giant Conversions CEO Jeff Eckman on the Hottest Conversion Trend, the Biggest Optimization Mistake, NOPA, and Tim Ash’s Presidential Suite

Editor’s Note: With Conversion Conference 2012 San Francisco just around the corner, we thought it’s about time you learn a bit more from each of our speakers. So we put on our journalist/paparazzi hat and placed each speaker on the proverbial hot seat by asking four questions, including one which can be considered a burning issue for digital marketers and other professionals in the internet industry: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). From this day until the conference, we’ll be featuring a speaker and their answers to the questions so be sure to check out our blog regularly.

But wait, there’s more! You can join in and do some pre-conference engagement with our speakers by sending in your own questions through email, Twitter, or our Facebook Wall. We’ll make sure your questions get the attention they deserve and even feature them here.

We’re now down to the last five days till the big show. The Marriott Marquis is already sold out – and so is Tim Ash’s two-day Landing Page Optimization Intensive. So we took what time we have to get insights from Jeff Eckman, the CEO of Big Giant Conversions (BGC). BGC is a performance-based marketing services firm based in the Cambridge Innovation Center in Kendall Square. When he’s not busy with being the CEO of an in-demand firm, he moonlights as a drummer for Boston’s “Pressure Cooker,” an original reggae act. We’re not kidding, he’s that cool. So here’s what Jeff thinks are the hottest conversion trend, biggest optimization mistake, SOPA/PIPA, and the best SF hangout:

1) What do you think is the hottest trend in optimization or conversion for 2012?

We think the hottest trend in optimization and conversion is post-response segmentation, a methodology that’s delivering exponential growth in conversion rates.

2) What would you say is the biggest mistake people (still) make when it comes to optimization?

The biggest mistake people still make when it comes to optimization is not testing enough. Even for people with very low traffic, if you’re not putting new tests in market at least one a month, you’re making a big mistake.

3) What’s your take on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA)?

My take on SOPA and PIPA was NOPA.

4) What’s your favorite place to hang out in San Francisco (that one place you just have to drop by/visit when you’re in the city)?

Tim Ash’s Presidential Suite.

We wonder what curiosities are there in Tim’s Presidential Suite to keep Jeff so interested? Good thing ConvCon is only five days away – you can join us as we snoop around!

Got a question for Jeff that can’t wait till March? Post it on the comments section below, tweet it to us, or post it on our wall and we’ll make sure he gets it.

More About Jeff

Jeff Eckman is the CEO of BigGiantConversions, a marketing startup that is boosting returns and consumer engagement from traditional and online marketing and advertising. Mr. Eckman has led conversion engagements with national and regional brands including California Closets, Athenahealth, Inc., and Children’s Hospital Boston, and the firm routinely partners with complementary marketing innovators including Digitas and ion interactive.

Mr. Eckman earned his BS in Operations Technology at Northeastern University, and holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. For over 14 years, he has been the drummer for Boston’s “Pressure Cooker,” an original reggae act. Jeff is also actively involved in regional business and community organizations.

See Jeff Live!

Jeff and Ginny Snook Scott from California Closets will be presenting a session on “How California Closets Boosted Revenues with Segmentation, Analaytics and Human Behavior” at Conversion Conference West 2012 in San Francisco, California. See the full agenda and read more about this session.

Want to save on your Conversion Conference Registration? Follow Jeff on Twitter to say hello and request for a discount code!

P.S. Regular Pricing for Conversion Conference SF ends Friday, March 02, 2012. Don’t wait the last minute, register now to enjoy some savings while you still can (and before passes are gone!).

SiteTuners’ Brian Lewis Talks about the Hottest Conversion Trend, Biggest Optimization Mistake, and Irish Coffee in SF

Editor’s Note: With Conversion Conference 2012 San Francisco just around the corner, we thought it’s about time you learn a bit more from each of our speakers. So we put on our journalist/paparazzi hat and placed each speaker on the proverbial hot seat by asking four questions, including one which can be considered a burning issue for digital marketers and other professionals in the internet industry: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). From this day until the conference, we’ll be featuring a speaker and their answers to the questions so be sure to check out our blog regularly.

But wait, there’s more! You can join in and do some pre-conference engagement with our speakers by sending in your own questions through email, Twitter, or our Facebook Wall. We’ll make sure your questions get the attention they deserve and even feature them here.

It’s our final week before Conversion Conference and you can bet we’re all set for SF! On top of packing, booking flights, and other activities for the conference, we also managed to do some killer remarketing strategies to get some of our speakers into giving us answers to our burning questions (well, you could also say we pestered them into doing it ). Today we have Brian Lewis, Director of Optimization for SiteTuners on the hot seat. SiteTuners is one of the first companies to focus on providing conversion rate optimization services to their clients. Here’s his take on the hottest conversion trend, the biggest optimization mistake, SOPA/PIPA, and his all-time fave coffee shop in San Francisco:

1) What do you think is the hottest trend in optimization or conversion for 2012?

The consistent growth in tablet and mobile eCommerce use among consumers is providing marketers new challenges and opportunities to create higher levels of usability, functionality and transaction-oriented experiences for multiple devices.

Users’ intents when using mobile apps and mobile sites are not necessarily the same as those for traditional web sites. Understanding the differences will help marketers create the best device-specific experience and capture greater market share.

2) What would you say is the biggest mistake people (still) make when it comes to optimization?

As home pages “age”, they tend to attract bloat trying to promote everything while losing focus on the main reasons the majority of visitors arrive on their site. There’s this philosophy that anything new about the company – products, offers, press, specials – needs to take up the most prominent portions of the home page.

Ultimately, you end up with a cluttered page that’s not focused on the needs of your visitors. Remember that the purpose of the home page is to:

1. Quickly communicate what it is you do

2. Guide the visitor to the page in your site that’s of interest to them

3) What’s your favorite place to hang out in San Francisco (that one place you just have to drop by/visit when you’re in the city)?

Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe

Now who doesn’t love good company and old-skool Irish coffee? I’m sure we wouldn’t have to pester you for that!

Got a question for Brian that can’t wait till March? Post it on the comments section below, tweet it to us, or post it on our wall and we’ll make sure he gets it.

More About Brian

Noted author and speaker Brian Lewis brings over 20 years of both hands-on and strategic online marketing experience spanning a diverse range of industries. In addition to co-hosting the Internet radio show “Best Search Strategies” on WebMasterRadio, Brian has led panels at Search Engine Strategies (SES) Conferences, Search Marketing Expo, SMX Advanced, PPC Summit, Conversion Conference, Affiliate Conference, AdWords Advantage, Online Marketing Summit, and Online Marketing Institute. Brian’s articles have been referenced in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Target Marketing, eMarketer, Search Engine Watch, Website Magazine, SEM Journal, and DM News. He continues to be in demand for speaking engagements on PPC, SEO and conversion optimization around the world.

He earned his B.A. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego and his M.B.A. from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, graduating both schools with honors.

See Brian Live!

Brian will be presenting a session on “Persona-Driven Conversions – Walk A Mile In Your Visitors’ Shoes” at Conversion Conference West 2012 in San Francisco, California. See the full agenda and read more about this session.

Want to save on your Conversion Conference Registration? Follow Brian on Twitter  to say hello and request for a discount code!

P.S. Regular Pricing for Conversion Conference SF ends Friday, March 02, 2012. Don’t wait the last minute, REGISTER NOW to enjoy some savings while you still can.

Conversion Scientist Brian Massey on the Hottest Conversion Trend, Biggest Optimization Mistake, SOPA/PIPA, and SF’s Famous Castle

Editor’s Note: With Conversion Conference 2012 San Francisco just around the corner, we thought it’s about time you learn a bit more from each of our speakers. So we put on our journalist/paparazzi hat and placed each speaker on the proverbial hot seat by asking four questions, including one which can be considered a burning issue for digital marketers and other professionals in the internet industry: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). From this day until the conference, we’ll be featuring a speaker and their answers to the questions so be sure to check out our blog regularly.

But wait, there’s more! You can join in and do some pre-conference engagement with our speakers by sending in your own questions through email, Twitter, or our Facebook Wall. We’ll make sure your questions get the attention they deserve and even feature them here.

You don’t meet many people with the ability to combine science and art. Not that science and art are antithetical; it’s just that folks are often good at one and not so much with the other. That’s why meeting someone as awesome as Brian Massey can be mind-blowing, to say the least. Yes, the conversion scientist is one of those rare people who can eat conversion data for breakfast and churn out beautiful copy by lunch time (if you’ve read Ode to the Big Red Button, then you know what I mean). Now here’s Brian’s take on the hottest conversion trend, the biggest optimization mistake, SOPA/PIPA, and San Francisco’s castle:

1) What do you think is the hottest trend in optimization or conversion for 2012?

Video. Definitely video. (If you want to know the reason why, check out Brian’s musings on the magnetic effect of drawn video)

2) What would you say is the biggest mistake people (still) make when it comes to optimization?

Not hiring the people they need along with the analytics and testing the software they install.

3) What’s your take on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA)?

Written by the [music] industry, not by lawmakers. I’d say SOPA and PIPA can’t be trusted.

4) What’s your favorite place to hang out in San Francisco (that one place you just have to drop by/visit when you’re in the city)?

Julius’ Castle. (Note: Yes, it’s the famous castle that used to house a fine dining restaurant.)

We’re definitely counting the days till we meet Brian Massey again in San Francisco. We’ve actually met him at our previous shows – but that doesn’t mean we’ve gotten tired of him. I doubt we ever will.

Got a question for Brian that can’t wait till March? Post it on the comments section below, tweet it to us, or post it on our wall and we’ll make sure he gets it.

More About Brian

Brian Massey is the Conversion Scientist at Conversion Sciences and he has the lab coat to prove it. His rare combination of interests, experience and neuroses was developed over almost 20 years as a computer programmer, entrepreneur, corporate marketer, national speaker and writer. Conversion Sciences was founded to fill the Web with helpful, engaging and entertaining online Web sites that convert visitors into leads and sales. The company has helped dozens of businesses transform their sites through a steady diet of visitor profiling, purposeful content, analytics and testing. “There are places on the Web that make you feel like they were built just for you,” he says. “Is yours one of these? It could be.

See Brian Live!

Brian will be talking more about copy and its role in persuasion and conversion at the Conversion Conference 2012 on March 5^th and 6^th in San Francisco, California. Join him in his session on “Creating Killer Conversion Copy: Emails, Landing Pages, PPC Ads and More.” See the full agenda and read more about this session.

Want to save on your Conversion Conference Registration? Follow Brian on Twitter to say hello and request for a discount code!

P.S. Regular Pricing for Conversion Conference SF ends Friday, March 02, 2012. Don’t wait the last minute, register now to enjoy some savings while you still can.

Linda Bustos A.K.A the GetElastic Girl on the Hottest Conversion Trend, Biggest Optimization Mistake, SOPA/PIPA, and SOMA Whole Foods

Editor’s Note: With Conversion Conference 2012 San Francisco just around the corner, we thought it’s about time you learn a bit more from each of our speakers. So we put on our journalist/paparazzi hat and placed each speaker on the proverbial hot seat by asking four questions, including one which can be considered a burning issue for digital marketers and other professionals in the internet industry: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). From this day until the conference, we’ll be featuring a speaker and their answers to the questions so be sure to check out our blog regularly.

But wait, there’s more! You can join in and do some pre-conference engagement with our speakers by sending in your own questions through email, Twitter, or our Facebook Wall. We’ll make sure your questions get the attention they deserve and even feature them here.

We fell in love with Linda Bustos before we saw how pretty she was. Yes, you could say she’s our current girl web crush (someone has yet to replace Tim Ash for our boy web crush, but I digress). It was her witty and insightful articles at Get Elastic that did us in. So we weren’t surprised to find out that Get Elastic has earned a spot on the AdAge Power 150, #1 Ecommerce Blog by PostRank, one of the 15 entrepreneur blogs worth reading by the Wall Street Journal and two SEMMY awards (2009 and 2010). Now here’s Linda’s take on the hottest conversion trend, the biggest optimization mistake, SOPA/PIPA, and shopping for organic food in San Francisco:

1) What do you think is the hottest trend in optimization or conversion for 2012?

Remarketing, of course

2) What would you say is the biggest mistake people (still) make when it comes to optimization?

Making design and marketing decisions in the absence of sound data analysis and testing. (AKA “gut feel.”)

3) What’s your take on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA)?

SOPA, PIPA, ACTA and the like are potentially dangerous to marketplaces such as Ebay and Etsy. What is considered piracy, and what is the fallout if, say, someone sells a counterfeit Mickey Mouse lunchbox (or a handmade one) – would the entire site be taken down, along with all legitimate sellers? Ditto for any website that has user-generated content, whether for sale or otherwise. I’m not against action taken against pirates and bootleggers, but there needs to be due process applied, not a seizure of a website without it.

4) What’s your favorite place to hang out in San Francisco (that one place you just have to drop by/visit when you’re in the city)?

SoMa Whole Foods.

We can’t wait to get together with Linda barely two weeks from now (**faint**). How about you, who among our speakers are you excited to meet in SF?

Got a question for Linda that can’t wait till March? Post it on the comments section below, tweet it to us, or post it on our wall and we’ll make sure she gets it.

More About Linda

Linda Bustos is the director of ecommerce research for Elastic Path Software and the author of the Get Elastic Ecommerce blog. As an ecommerce consultant, Linda has helped some of the world’s largest online retailers and technology brands improve their conversion rates and user experience. An online retailer herself, Linda moonlights as a jewelry designer for Robin Hood Couture, her line of handmade accessories.

Meet Linda in Person!

Linda will be presenting a session on “Many Happy Returns: Remarketing Strategies for Converting Site Abandoners” at Conversion Conference West 2012 in San Francisco, California. See the full agenda and read more about this session.

Want to save on your Conversion Conference Registration? Follow Linda on Twitter @roxyyo and @getelastic to touch base and request for a discount code!

P.S. Regular Pricing for Conversion Conference SF ends Friday, March 02, 2012. Don’t wait the last minute, register now to enjoy some savings while you still can.

Vertical Measures CEO Arnie Kuenn on the Hottest Conversion Trend, the Biggest Optimization Mistake, and Seafood-tripping in SF

Editor’s Note: With Conversion Conference 2012 San Francisco just around the corner, we thought it’s about time you learn a bit more from each of our speakers. So we put on our journalist/paparazzi hat and placed each speaker on the proverbial hot seat by asking four questions, including one which can be considered a burning issue for digital marketers and other professionals in the internet industry: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). From this day until the conference, we’ll be featuring a speaker and their answers to the questions so be sure to check out our blog regularly.

But wait, there’s more! You can join in and do some pre-conference engagement with our speakers by sending in your own questions through email, Twitter, or our Facebook Wall. We’ll make sure your questions get the attention they deserve and even feature them here.

Arnie Kuenn must be having the time of his life, with his book Accelerate! getting nominated for and subsequently winning in the marketing category of the 2012 Small Business Book Awards. We were glad we sent in our questions earlier or our email would have gotten buried in the deluge of fan mail. For those who don’t know Arnie, he is the President of Vertical Measures, a full-service internet marketing and link building company in Phoenix. Now hear his thoughts on the hottest conversion trend, the biggest optimization mistake, and where to go for the best seafood in SF:

1) What do you think is the hottest trend in optimization or conversion for 2012?

As far as optimization is concerned, in my opinion “thickening” of your content will be (or should be) the hottest trend.  Our research indicates that pages offering more insightful, engaging, in-depth content are ranking higher than those that are still trying to get away with the minimum.  I recently wrote a post offering several tips on how to thicken your content if you care to read it: http://www.verticalmeasures.com/content/6-ways-to-thicken-your-content/

2) What would you say is the biggest mistake people (still) make when it comes to optimization?

The first mistake that comes to mind is still the title tag. Each page of your website needs to have a unique title tag.  Not only that, the tag needs to be crafted in a way that uses your primary keywords for that specific page and also “sells” the searcher on clicking on your link.  Your title tag is used everywhere; it’s the primary link in the search results, it is what gets shared in most social media and it’s important to the search engine algorithms. Lastly, I recommend putting your brand at the end of the title tag, not the beginning.

3) What’s your take on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA)?

I have to be honest: I just do not know the issue well enough to comment on it.

4) What’s your favorite place to hang out in San Francisco (that one place you just have to drop by/visit when you’re in the city)?

Queue the groans… I really like the Fishermans’ Wharf, Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square area. I love all the activity and of course the seafood. If I have time I also like taking the ferry over to Sausalito to just wander around a get a bite to eat. The ferry ride across the Bay is like a day cruise.

Got a question for Arnie that can’t wait till March? Post it on the comments section below, tweet it to us, or post it on our wall and we’ll make sure he gets it.

More About Arnie

Arnie Kuenn is the president of Vertical Measures, a search, social & content marketing company helping their clients get more traffic, more leads, and more business.  Arnie has held executive positions in the world of new technologies and marketing for more than 20 years. He is a frequent speaker and author of Accelerate! Moving Your Business Forward Through the Convergence of Search, Social & Content Marketing available on Amazon.

See Arnie Live!

Arnie will be presenting a session on “9 Powerful, Low Cost Content Ideas to Grow Your Business in 6 Months or Less” at Conversion Conference West 2012 in San Francisco, California. See the full agenda and read more about this session.

Want to save on your Conversion Conference Registration? Follow Arnie on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn and contact him to request a discount code!

P.S. Regular Pricing for Conversion Conference SF ends Friday, March 02, 2012. Don’t wait the last minute, register now to enjoy some savings while you still can.

Adlift Co-Founder Prashant Puri on the Hottest Conversion Trend, Biggest Optimization Mistake, SOPA/PIPA, and RN74

Editor’s Note: With Conversion Conference 2012 San Francisco just around the corner, we thought it’s about time you learn a bit more from each of our speakers. So we put on our journalist/paparazzi hat and placed each speaker on the proverbial hot seat by asking four questions, including one which can be considered a burning issue for digital marketers and other professionals in the internet industry: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). From this day until the conference, we’ll be featuring a speaker and their answers to the questions so be sure to check out our blog regularly.

But wait, there’s more! You can join in and do some pre-conference engagement with our speakers by sending in your own questions through email, Twitter, or our Facebook Wall. We’ll make sure your questions get the attention they deserve and even feature them here.

Scoop around Prashant Puri’s LinkedIn profile and you’re likely to be bowled over by his credentials: Ex-Ebay, Ex-Yahoo, and now co-founder of Adlift, a leading search engine marketing and optimization company. So you can understand our excitement about Prashant’s answers to our burning questions and his upcoming session at Conversion Conference SF. Here’s a sneak peak on what you can expect from Prashant:

1) What do you think is the hottest trend in optimization or conversion for 2012?

The hottest trend in conversion optimization is the use of landing page optimization tools such as http://www.optimizely.com/, http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/ and http://unbounce.com that help A/B test and optimize different segments of users and traffic channels fairly easily.

2) What would you say is the biggest mistake people (still) make when it comes to optimization?

I find that people are still optimizing different buckets of traffic using the same landing pages. Example: the landing page for SEO and SEM traffic is the same. These should be different and iterative to maximize your SEM conversion rate.

3) What’s your take on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA)?

Stop SOPA & PIPA! I’m glad this got postponed due to the massive protests.

4) What’s your favorite place to hang out in San Francisco (that one place you just have to drop by/visit when you’re in the city)?

RN74

For those who are unfamiliar with RN74, it’s a wine bar and restaurant on 301 Mission Street. According to its website, “RN74 is short for “Route Nationale 74,” the main highway that runs through the Burgundy wine region of France” which is the main inspiration for the restaurant’s wine list and cuisine.

Got a question for Prashant that can’t wait till March? Post it on the comments section below, tweet it to us, or post it on our wall and we’ll make sure he gets it.

More About Prashant

Prashant Puri has over 8 years of online marketing experience and has successfully built numerous sites into multi-million unique visitor sites through a combination of SEO & SEM. Prashant Puri is the co-founder of AdLift.com, a niche internet marketing firm focused in delivering search ROI. Prior to AdLift.com, he was Head of Global Search Marketing for Shopping.com (an eBay Inc Company) where he was responsible for increasing search traffic across 3 websites – epinions.com, shopping.com and dealtime.com across 5 countries.

Before joining eBay, Prashant served at Yahoo! where he worked on increasing monetization of display advertising inventory for Fortune 500 companies and synergizing advertising efforts between search and display to maximize ROI for Yahoo! advertisers. He also created the AT&T Interactive search marketing team where he successfully leveraged niche search engine optimization and marketing techniques to measurably increase traffic, and drive them to become the second largest local search player in the US.

Prashant frequently speaks at leading industry events including SMX, SES & Pubcon as an expert in search marketing. Prashant earned a BTech in Electronics from Bangalore University, India and a MS in computer science from Columbia University, New York.

See Prashant Live!

Prashant will be presenting a session on “Optimization Double Feature: The Interplay Between SEO and CRO” at Conversion Conference West 2012 in San Francisco, California. See the full agenda and read more about this session.

Want to save on your Conversion Conference Registration? Follow him on Twitter and request a discount code.

P.S. Regular Pricing for Conversion Conference SF ends Friday, March 02, 2012. Don’t wait the last minute, register now to enjoy some savings while you still can.

Semphonic VP of Analytics Allison Hartsoe on the Hottest Conversion Trend, Biggest Optimization Failure, SOPA/PIPA, and the Samovar Tea House

Editor’s Note: With Conversion Conference 2012 San Francisco just around the corner, we thought it’s about time you learn a bit more from each of our speakers. So we put on our journalist/paparazzi hat and placed each speaker on the proverbial hot seat by asking four questions, including one which can be considered a burning issue for digital marketers and other professionals in the internet industry: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). From this day until the conference, we’ll be featuring a speaker and their answers to the questions so be sure to check out our blog regularly.

But wait, there’s more! You can join in and do some pre-conference engagement with our speakers by sending in your own questions through email, Twitter, or our Facebook Wall. We’ll make sure your questions get the attention they deserve and even feature them here.

Serial entrepreneur, technology evangelist, operations guru, and internet diva: that’s how Allison describes herself in her blog and we couldn’t agree more. For those of us accustomed to thinking analytics is a man’s game, here’s a woman who’s sure to challenge gendered assumptions. Allison Hartsoe is VP Analytics at Semphonic, one of the world’s leading digital and web analytics companies. Here are Allison’s fearless views on conversion optimization trends, burning issues, and the best SF hangout:

1) What do you think is the hottest trend in optimization or conversion for 2012?

The combination of data sources to make better decisions.

2) What would you say is the biggest mistake people (still) make when it comes to optimization?

I still see companies that do not segment the traffic. This is more than “let’s take 10% and send it to the optimized page.” It’s a critical thought process about site usage, probable signatures and what indicates success.

3) What’s your take on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA)?

A wolf in sheep’s clothing created by legislators who may still think the Internet is a fad.

4) What’s your favorite place to hang out in San Francisco (that one place you just have to drop by/visit when you’re in the city)?

I personally love the Samovar tea house by the Sony center. Cozy, relaxing, yummy.

Impressed yet? Wait till you see and hear her speak at her Conversion Conference session!

Got a question for Allison that can’t wait till March? Post it on the comments section below, tweet it to us, or post it on our wall and we’ll make sure she gets it.

More About Allison

Allison is an experienced manager and developer of online services at Semphonic. She is a Certified Omniture Implementation Consultant as well as a 14 year internet veteran. Allison built the first and largest online media syndicate through her previous company, iSyndicate.

With her second company she optimized global ecommerce strategies for the top 1% of eBay sellers. She has been a guest speaker or moderator at over 50 conferences around the world including eMetrics, eBay Live, Internet World and also appeared on CNN International, NPR and CNBC.

Allison has worked on measurement projects and complex implementations with some of the largest internet brands and Fortune 1000 web sites.

See Allison Live!

Allison, along with Intel’s Denise Modar, will be presenting a session on “What’s Inside: How Use Case Analytics Taught Intel About its Customers and Their Needs” at Conversion Conference West 2012 in San Francisco, California. See the full agenda and read more about this session.

Want to save on your Conversion Conference Registration? Follow her on Twitter and request a discount code.

P.S. Regular Pricing for Conversion Conference SF ends Friday, March 02, 2012. Don’t wait the last minute, register now to enjoy some savings while you still can.

Oban Multilingual’s Head of Client Services Joe Doveton Shares His Insights on Culture and Conversion, SOPA/PIPA, and Cha Cha Cha Bar

Editor’s Note: With Conversion Conference 2012 San Francisco just around the corner, we thought it’s about time you learn a bit more from each of our speakers. So we put on our journalist/paparazzi hat and placed each speaker on the proverbial hot seat by asking four questions, including one which can be considered a burning issue for digital marketers and other professionals in the internet industry: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). From this day until the conference, we’ll be featuring a speaker and their answers to the questions so be sure to check out our blog regularly.

But wait, there’s more! You can join in and do some pre-conference engagement with our speakers by sending in your own questions through email, Twitter, or our Facebook Wall. We’ll make sure your questions get the attention they deserve and even feature them here.

If there’s anything that the rise and growth of the internet has shown us, it’s that global integration does not necessarily translate into cultural homogenization. That makes things a bit complicated for global internet marketers especially in conversion optimization. So we asked Joe Doveton to share his thoughts on the hottest conversion trend and biggest failure people still make in optimization. We also dared him to comment on the SOPA/PIPA and to reveal his favorite hangout in San Francisco. As Head of Client Services at Oban Multilingual and GlobalMaxer, we figured Joe’s is the best brain to pick on all things related to the impact of cultural factors on conversion rates.

1) What do you think is the hottest trend in optimization or conversion for 2012?

More segmentation and integration with third party data sources like eCRM. In particular, understanding and segmenting users into cultural groups to understand cultural drivers to conversion.

2) What would you say is the biggest mistake people (still) make when it comes to optimization?

Not enough test planning. We can’t stress enough to clients the importance of really squeezing your web analytics and extensively researching design ideas to set the best test goals, on the right pages, with the right methodologies.

3) What’s your take on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA)?

I think these two bills are/were using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The bigger issue here is protecting the principle of an independent self-regulating web; so creators and producers will have to find a way of fitting in round this principle, rather than users fitting in round them.

4) What’s your favorite place to hang out in San Francisco (that one place you just have to drop by/visit when you’re in the city)?

As a tourist, not a local, I’m rather partial to Cha Cha Cha bar on Haight Street….with easy access to Amoeba Records next door!

We can’t wait to hear Joe expound on culture-based segmentation (and maybe hang out with him over some sumptous napa afterwards); Good thing he’s flying in for Conversion Conference and that’s in 20 days!

Got a question for Joe that can’t wait till March? Post it on the comments section below, tweet it to us, or post it on our wall and we’ll make sure he gets it.

More About Joe

Joe Doveton is a highly experienced internet marketing professional whose interests and experience encompass Web Analytics and Usability/MVT, Digital Display advertising, SEO/SEM and Web Publishing. He is currently the Head of Client Services at Oban Multilingual, a UK-based specialist agency which developed the leading cultural/international testing tool GlobalMaxer.

See Joe Live!

Joe will be presenting a session on “Going Global: Cultural Drivers to Conversion” at Conversion Conference West 2012 in San Francisco, California. See the full agenda and read more about this session.

Want to save on your Conversion Conference Registration? Connect with Joe on LinkedIn and request for a discount code!

P.S. Advance Pricing for Conversion Conference SF ends Friday, March 02, 2012. Don’t wait the last minute, register now to enjoy some savings while you still can.

Great news for affiliates: we’ve enhanced our affiliate program to let you earn more from your promotional efforts. Under the new scheme, you’ll earn a 15 percent commission on every registration that you generate from your banner ads, newsletters, blogs, and other channels. We’re implementing this new payout structure via the ShareASale network, which also fully automates the entire process. By doing this, we hope to make being an affiliate a fast and hassle-free experience.

In order to enjoy the benefits of this new program, existing and new affiliates should have a ShareASale account (or sign up for one) as everything will be done via the network, from the distribution of promotional assets to the disbursal of payments. On the other hand, you’d be happy to know that ShareASale will also allow you to track your performance as a Conversion Conference affiliate in real-time. It will also enable you to monitor your commissions generated so far and gain greater control over payouts.

Important note for existing affiliates: Any registrations you’ve generated to this point will be paid under the previous structure and only those registrations that have been generated through Shareasale will be eligible for the higher commission rate.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up as one of our performance marketers and earn extra cash now!

P.S. If you prefer the old-school way of being our affiliate or wish to become more of a partner, sponsor, or friend to Conversion Conference, visit http://conversionconference.com or email us for more information.