The Grunt Test – Can Your Website Pass It? Landing Page Optimizationmarketing

The Grunt Test – Can Your Website Pass It?

Do you remember those Geico commercials about "So Easy a Caveman Could Do It?"  They became pretty popular and had many different versions that went for quite a long time.  But why were they so popular?  I can't believe they are over 15 years old now.  Sigh. What Is The…

John Paul MainsJune 5, 2025

Reduce Your Reliance on Google in 2025 to Increase SEO Visibility SEO

Reduce Your Reliance on Google in 2025 to Increase SEO Visibility

In case you haven't noticed, search engine results have been changing a LOT since generative AI came to center stage. Fortunately, you can take advantage of this to improve your visibility to your customers and that is what I am going to show you how to do. The Current Status…

John Paul MainsJanuary 13, 2025

The Importance of Content in SEO SEO

The Importance of Content in SEO

Have you thought about the "why" behind needing to create blog posts and other forms of content?  Up until the last decade, businesses never had to worry about creating a blog post, much less ranking for anything. The vast majority of marketing teams that I work with on SEO have…

John Paul MainsMay 28, 2024

Mastering SEO in 2024: Comprehensive Guide for Success content marketing

Mastering SEO in 2024: Comprehensive Guide for Success

So you've finally started regularly publishing content across many channels but mostly to your own website blog and podcast.  As a bonus, the social media team is super busy promoting this new content all over social channels. You're even making guest appearances on podcasts and blogs, but now months later,…

John Paul MainsMay 27, 2024

Using Content Analytics to Improve Your Customer Experience Content Analytics

Using Content Analytics to Improve Your Customer Experience

Imagine you're a detective in the digital world. Your mission? To understand the secret language of your customers. This isn't just about solving a mystery; it's about unlocking the heart of your business's success. Our story begins with you sifting through a sea of data - blog posts, tweets, reviews.…

John Paul MainsJanuary 16, 2024

Creating a Landing Page Header that Converts Visitors into Customers Engagement Optimizationuser behaviorvisitor engagementWeb Strategy

Creating a Landing Page Header that Converts Visitors into Customers

Of course, we are not talking about improving headers in Soccer, but your landing page header that a visitor sees when they first enter your site. We've talked extensively about how important the Grunt Test is here at Click Laboratory and on our social channels for improving the odds of…

John Paul MainsDecember 1, 2023

What is Content Decay and How Do You Fix it? Content AnalyticsContent ProductionSEO

What is Content Decay and How Do You Fix it?

Have you ever noticed that your once top-performing content doesn't bring in the traffic it used to? That's content decay in action—a slow, gradual decline in your content's performance, and it's an issue many businesses face. This blog post promises to not only explain the phenomenon of content decay but…

John Paul MainsNovember 3, 2023

SEO Conversions and the 4 Steps to Convert Google Visitors Into Customers Landing Page OptimizationSEOseo audit

SEO Conversions and the 4 Steps to Convert Google Visitors Into Customers

Today, I’m going to talk about combining two of my favorite topics, SEO and conversion optimization, to drive more online sales. We all know that simply building a website isn’t enough. You have to drive traffic to your site and ranking well in search engines is a big part of…

John Paul MainsOctober 31, 2023

Conversion Rate Ideas and Tactics Conversion Rate Optimization

Conversion Rate Ideas and Tactics

A common practice seen among most organizations serious about their web is a redesign of their website after 2-3 years. Not just a simple change or two, but an entire overhaul of the site. This practice of just shaking up the website and erasing everything doesn’t make sense. It takes…

optimizationOctober 27, 2023

What is a Content Engineer? Unveiling the Future of Content Creation Content Production

What is a Content Engineer? Unveiling the Future of Content Creation

In the ever-evolving world of digital content, the role of the 'Content Engineer' has surged into prominence. AI has emerged as a powerful ally for content writing teams. Its capabilities, far from replacing the human touch, can augment and elevate the work of writers in myriad ways. It's essential to…

John Paul MainsOctober 9, 2023

Decoding Engagement Rate for Websites: Why It’s More Important Than You Think Engagement Optimization

Decoding Engagement Rate for Websites: Why It’s More Important Than You Think

Engagement Rate (ER) is a term frequently tossed around in digital marketing circles because of GA4. While most are familiar with common metrics like page views, click-through rates, and bounce rates, understanding the engagement rate's significance can be the key to unlocking the true potential of your website. Let’s dive…

John Paul MainsSeptember 22, 2023

Integrating Generative AI into Your Website Search and Chat AIgrowthWeb Strategy

Integrating Generative AI into Your Website Search and Chat

It seems every corner of the digital realm is buzzing about artificial intelligence (AI).  Generative AI can play a transformative role in enhancing search capabilities on your company website, especially if you have a lot of great content to train it. Here's a detailed look at how generative AI can…

optimizationAugust 14, 2023

Integrating AI Assistance into Your Creative Process AIContent Production

Integrating AI Assistance into Your Creative Process

Remember when the Internet came around and it changed everything it touched?  I'm not old enough, but my understanding is that the same happened when the phone, TV, assembly lines and manufacturing processes came on the scene. The same statement can be said about generative AI.  It is going to…

John Paul MainsJuly 24, 2023

Using AI to Grow Your Business AISEO

Using AI to Grow Your Business

Is AI good or bad for business growth? At the moment, businesses are reaping the benefits of what generative AI can do.  Even small businesses. So in case you were not aware, did you know you are using AI in your everyday business life?  Google Search and Google Ads is…

John Paul MainsMay 4, 2023

What is a Growth Rate? Updated for 2023 growth

What is a Growth Rate? Updated for 2023

When I was a kid, I think I drove my Mom nuts wanting to constantly have my height measured.  We had so many marks on the wall next to our garage door and dates next to them it looked more like someone had painted a messy, grayish, stripe next to…

John Paul MainsApril 13, 2023

A Beginner’s Guide to MarTech [Updated 2023] Uncategorized

A Beginner’s Guide to MarTech [Updated 2023]

Let me Google "Digital Marketing" for you. Since the dawn of the personal computer marketing has changed dramatically. What was once the industry of Mad Men has become the playground of the David Lightman’s of the world. Digital Marketing and MarTech (Marketing Technology) are a complex web of things. And they…

Nathan ElsonMarch 10, 2023

How to Create the GOAT of Lead Generation Campaigns Lead Generation

How to Create the GOAT of Lead Generation Campaigns

Generating new customers is the lifeblood of your business.   Even a company like Google constantly has to focus on getting new customers and keeping them.  I know because I was part of the marketing team that was regularly taking customers away from one of Google’s product lines to the point…

John Paul MainsJanuary 12, 2023

Get to Know Your Customer to Increase E-Commerce Sales Conversion Rate Conversion Rate Optimization

Get to Know Your Customer to Increase E-Commerce Sales Conversion Rate

The secret to having a successful e-commerce business is all in the numbers. I know, I've been helping businesses like Outback and online retailers figure out their e-commerce cart funnels for over 20 years. The number of sales, conversion rates, the average order value, the number of returning buyers, the…

John Paul MainsDecember 7, 2021

Coke vs Pepsi: Which Website is Better at Converting Customers? Conversion Rate Optimization

Coke vs Pepsi: Which Website is Better at Converting Customers?

Getting sales is tough for everyone. Even the really big companies out there. They have lots of great resources for doing continuous testing to see what improves sales. So we are putting Pepsi and Coke websites Head-to-Head so we can uncover some of their strategies for your use. So I…

John Paul MainsOctober 8, 2021

What is Google Experience Optimization? marketingSEOWeb Strategy

What is Google Experience Optimization?

As a marketer, trying to figure out how to rank on Google is a frustrating experience. They constantly change their algorithms and add new products they say we MUST use, then let them die a slow painful death. Remember Google+? I was on a marketing team at Google for a…

John Paul MainsSeptember 2, 2021

How to Use The Grunt Test to Increase Conversions content marketingConversion Rate Optimization

How to Use The Grunt Test to Increase Conversions

You've got a snazzy website with all the bells and whistles money can buy. It's pretty to look at and a nice conversation starter at networking events, but it can't do the one thing you really, really want it to do. SELL. And it's driving you nuts why it won't.…

IanAugust 11, 2021

Head 2 Head: McDonald’s vs Burger King’s Websites Conversion Rate Optimization

Head 2 Head: McDonald’s vs Burger King’s Websites

Have you ever wanted insights into what the big-budget marketing teams do to get more customers? We do! So we have tasked our digital laboratory this month to take a look at who does a better job, McDonald's or Burger King. In this head to head, we are going to…

John Paul MainsMarch 17, 2021

10 Strategies to Begin Converting Visitors into Customers Conversion Rate OptimizationLanding Page Optimization

10 Strategies to Begin Converting Visitors into Customers

You have found the article you are looking for. So you are interested in conversion optimization and want to find out what it is and how it can help your business? Conversion optimization is the practice of improving the performance of your website and forms so that you can turn…

John Paul MainsOctober 21, 2019

3 Target Audiences You Must Reach to Succeed Online content marketing

3 Target Audiences You Must Reach to Succeed Online

So you've finally cracked the content creation issue and you're publishing a couple of new blog posts every week and you have the social media team super busy promoting it all over social channels. You're even making guest appearances on podcasts and blogs, but now months later, you've barely seen any…

Johnnie WebJanuary 30, 2017

How to Write Compelling Call-to-Actions that Drive People to Click Conversion Rate Optimization

How to Write Compelling Call-to-Actions that Drive People to Click

Did you know that using numbers and data in your content can boost engagement, but using too many adverbs could kill it? There are many aspects to writing content that stimulates action from your readers -- a lot of which writers don’t know or do not implement. If you are…

Johnnie WebMarch 4, 2015

Using Google Analytics to Help Create Customer Personas web analytics

Using Google Analytics to Help Create Customer Personas

Do you know your customers like the back of your hand? If your answer is no, then you’re making the same mistake countless businesses make when trying to increase their ROI. Why Should We Develop Digital Personas? Customers are the thriving source of every business, so it only makes sense…

Johnnie WebJanuary 6, 2015

How Typography Can Negatively Affect Your Conversion Rates Conversion Rate Optimizationvisitor engagement

How Typography Can Negatively Affect Your Conversion Rates

If you do any kind of business online, you know the importance of having a great design that will retain visitors, but did you know that it goes further than just the layout and color schemes? The typography you use for the text on your site has been proven in…

Johnnie WebDecember 4, 2014

5 Traits of Compelling Headlines that Boost Conversion Conversion Rate Optimization

5 Traits of Compelling Headlines that Boost Conversion

What makes people click on your blog posts? If you think it’s your content, then you’re wrong. The first thing Internet users see are the headline and photo, making these two key components of drawing in readers. When your blog posts have compelling headlines that scream “click me!”, then you…

Johnnie WebNovember 23, 2014

Blog Strategy – Keep Moving Forward content marketing

Blog Strategy – Keep Moving Forward

I'm a big fan of animated movies. My wife doesn't really understand why I like them, but I enjoy them as much as our three young kids. One of my favorites is "Meet The Robinsons". Keep Blogging Forward The theme of the movie is to "keep moving forward". This is…

John Paul MainsApril 3, 2013

What To Do When Conversion Optimization Tools Fail Conversion Rate Optimization

What To Do When Conversion Optimization Tools Fail

I'm a big proponent of adaptive web design and conversion rate optimization.  I love the tools that are out there such as Google's ex Opmitizer, Visual Website Optimizer and Unbounce. But one thing I've learned over time using these tools is that they are subject to making inaccurate claims about…

John Paul MainsSeptember 26, 2012