BEST PRATICES IN
WEBSITE TESTING & OPTIMIZATION
B2B
Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
Table of Contents
3 Edging Out the Competition
4 Lessons from B2C
5 Getting Started
6 Showing Off: Your Product or Service
8 Making the Case: Value Proposition
10 Capturing Leads: The Form
12 CASE STUDY: IBM Smarter Marketing
13 The Takeaway
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Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
79% of B2B buyers mentioned that a vendor’s website content plays a decisive role in their purchasing decisions.
Shouldn’t it be you?
So what does it take to make
your website a destination—a
centerpiece of your sales and
marketing strategy that rises
above the competition—so
that you can take your piece
of that $300 billion pie?
Edging out the Competition Ah, the Internet. There’s so much potential online for awareness, growth…and profit. Recent estimates place revenue from online B2B sales at $300 billion—and rising. Which means your customers are out there buying from someone.
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Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
Where to begin? Online retailers have been early
adopters of the most game-changing
technologies and strategies—
including website testing and
optimization. They test every site
feature, every design innovation,
every offer, every detail of their
site to learn not just what they
think might drive desired consumer
behaviors, but to get the cold, hard
facts on what actually does.
But B2B companies are only just
beginning to understand that
testing and optimization solutions
and strategies can deliver the
same meaningful results for them.
Because of this, there’s money to
be made for those B2B marketers
willing to get in early and stake
their claim to online territory.
Lessons from B2C Smart B2B marketers are taking their cues from the B2C marketing playbook.
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Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
Just what does all of this look like in practice? Value
Stand out from the crowd by
emphasizing solutions and
strengths, client work and
relevant achievements, thought
leadership, and any acclaim or
distinction in your field.
ClarityDon’t leave visitors guessing
what you offer. Visitors
should be able to filter products
or services on-site according
to their specific industry,
company size or other
target-specific filters.
Move prospects along the
purchase funnel to the
crucial next step with defined
calls-to-action.
SimplicityWhether your goal is lead
generation or sales, your
objective is to capture leads
through forms. These should
be quick, unintimidating and
easy to fill out. Only gather
information that you actually
use in your sales process.
Getting Started B2B websites must be focused on testing and optimizing content in three key ways:
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Create an eye-catching main banner, showcasing an example
of your product or service.
Prominently feature a call-to-action, like
“REGISTER NOW”, on the homepage.
Videos are a highly effective way to show how your products/
services relate to your target customer.
Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
Your credibility is one thing, but
can you solve your prospects’
toughest business problems?
Present product or service
information in a way that’s relevant
to your audience and offer clear
calls-to-action—and that link
directly to lead-capturing forms.
Showing Off: Your Product or Service
The Homepage
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Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
Depending on your business, you
might have very specific products
or services for different customer
segments. Give visitors diverse
paths to entry to segment out
audiences early in the online
experience, ensuring that shoppers
receive only relevant information
as they explore your site.
Showing Off: Your Product or Service
Segmentation
Prompt users at the homepage to pick their content by
large vs. small business...
…or let them choose by industry.
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Highlight your expertise in various ways.
Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
Your people—and their talents
and expertise—are often just
as important as your products.
Don’t confine them to the “About”
page; instead, integrate them
throughout your site so visitors
have constant reminders of
your authority in your industry.
Making the Case: Value Proposition
Your Experts
Note that the initial tab on the main
navigation focuses on brand capabilities.
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Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
Making the Case: Value Proposition
Case Studies
Client names and logos are
important, but nothing is more
revealing than actual work.
Wherever possible, let prospects
explore work you’ve done for other
companies like theirs. And include
testimonials from satisfied clients.
Use main navigation tabs to include links to case studies or other client work.
Each navigation tab includes
glowing commentary
from a current client.
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Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
Don’t confuse your prospects with
too much extraneous material
on any given page—or you might
distract from an opportunity
to acquire essential information.
Capturing Leads: The Form
3-Step Process
The CTA is prominently displayed on the
homepage—you can’t miss it!
Easy, 3-step purchase funnel.
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Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
Remind prospects of the benefits
of your products, services or
company on the form page. You’ll
reinforce your value and give
them further reason/incentive to
share their information or make a
purchase from you.
Capturing Leads: The Form
Provide a Why
In both examples (lead generation, left; sales, right), the benefits are
clearly displayed on the right side of the page.
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Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
OBJECTIVE To determine the optimal way
to show users that a Smarter
Planet topic menu was
available for them to navigate
to subsequent pages from.
TEST FORMATMVT — tested 7 varying
experiences of the menus,
such as having the topic
menu overlay, having it fade
after a certain amount
of time, having it static, etc.
Increasing B2B Conversions
Tested the menu experience.
Moving the menu to a static, visible piece.
RESULTSThe winning variant led to
219.45% uplift in Smarter Planet Topic Clicks
over the control.
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Business to Business. Leads to Sales.
If you are interested in speaking with someone at Maxymiser, please email [email protected].
Best Practices in B2B Website Testing and Optimization
Remember, optimizing your B2B
website isn’t a one-time thing:
As your audience’s desires shift
and change, your site has to
evolve in kind.
A culture of testing, tracking
and tweaking will keep your site
perpetually fresh and exciting
to visitors at every stage of your
sales funnel; you’ll see the impact
on lead quality, sales conversion,
customer retention—and your
bottom line.
The Takeaway
By testing, analyzing and optimizing your homepage, navigation bar and entry forms, you’ll have a stronger grasp on what your prospects are looking for, as well as how to make your site a destination for essential information in your industry.
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