Drive and Convert

This week on Drive & Convert, Jon and Ryan discuss how to convert free trial users to paying customers. 

Check out the full episode to learn:

1. The importance of optimizing the free trial experience for SaaS brands.
2. How to gain an understanding of the factors that motivate your users to buy.
3. Proven strategies to encourage your users to convert from free to paid.

The resource Jon mentions in the episode can be found on thegood.com here.

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, connect with us on LinkedIn. We’re Jon Macdonald and Ryan Garrow.

This week on Drive & Convert, Jon and Ryan discuss the July 2024 Amazon Prime Day event and its effect on the ecommerce landscape. 

Check out the full episode to learn:

1. Pricing tactics used by brands leading up to, during, and after the event.
2. Consumers' perceptions of deals and discounts.
3. How the event may impact the upcoming holiday shopping season.

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, connect with us on LinkedIn. We’re Jon Macdonald and Ryan Garrow.

While analytics, interviews, and surveys offer valuable insights, nothing compares to watching how users actually engage with your site. That is where heatmaps come in. However, not every heatmap software is created equally.

This week on Drive & Convert, Jon talks all things heat maps! From their various uses to which heatmap tool is truly the best, join us for an episode that is a researcher's dream. 

Check out the full episode to learn:

1. The value of using heat mapping tools
2. How Hotjar stands out from its competitors
3. Other tools you can use to see what your site visitors are doing

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, connect with us on LinkedIn. We’re Jon Macdonald and Ryan Garrow.

After walking 100 miles across a wall in Europe (for vacation!?), Ryan is back and wondering what walls brands can build that will net them better traffic.

In this week’s episode, Ryan tells Jon all about what he learned from reading a recent study on zero-click searches. They discuss the amount of clicks that go to organic listings vs. Google-owned properties and ways to pivot focus to optimize your marketing budget.

Listen to the full episode to learn:

• How to find a middle ground between SEO and other marketing strategies
• What has been the impact of AI in Google search results on click-through rates
• How focusing on smaller areas can help you drive traffic
• Why Ryan would walk 100 miles while on vacation

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, connect with us on LinkedIn. We’re Jon MacDonald and Ryan Garrow.

Every day we make a million little decisions without ever giving it a second thought. This is because our brains are wired to take shortcuts and make quick decisions. If you understand and follow the shortcuts your users are taking, you can shift the focus to enhancing their experience and help them achieve their goals on your site quickly and efficiently.

This week, Drive and Convert takes you on a journey through the six heuristics for digital experience optimization and how they come together to create a better digital experience for users.

Check out the full episode to learn:

• How to build trust, confidence, and credibility
• How to create a smooth path to purchase for users
• What heuristics are and the potential outcomes of utilizing them

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, connect with us on LinkedIn. We’re Jon Macdonald and Ryan Garrow.

Just like Google is changing, Ryan’s stance on broad match is changing too. In this week's episode, Ryan gets candid about his opinion on broad match and why he now believes it to be valuable… in certain situations.

Google has used AI for its broad match keyword feature for years, but haven't always been forthcoming about it. Now that there is transparency about how the feature works, Some interesting use cases have become clear. Google isn’t just throwing ads around, there is calculation and intent behind search results when this feature is in use.

Check out the full episode to learn:

• How your brand should control keyword match types
• What user data Google uses to assume intent when showing ads
• In what ways the different match types have changed

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, connect with us on LinkedIn. We’re Jon MacDonald and Ryan Garrow.

This might be surprising to hear from one of the pioneers of conversion rate optimization, but CRO is out and DXO is in. In this episode, CEO Jon MacDonald dives into what Digital Experience Optimization(DXO) is and why it’s the best way to produce results. DXO is an evolved approach that brings together a range of tactics needed to build a better digital journey. 

Digital Experience Optimization involves looking at the digital journey as a whole to see not just how customers engage with you but why they make certain decisions. Through the process, meaningful changes are made to your website or app to meet the needs of your users and business.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

• What Digital Experience Optimization is
• How CRO differs from DXO
• The benefits of using DXO
• How success is measured when using DXO

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, connect with us on LinkedIn. We’re Jon MacDonald and Ryan Garrow.

Google is constantly changing. In just the last year, digital leaders have seen the sunset of Google Optimize, a transition from Universal Analytics to GA4, and countless algorithm changes. Now, we’re bracing for Google’s latest wave of updates to payments and AI implementation.

If you're involved in digital marketing, own a business, or interact with any Google product, this episode is a must-listen. Jon and Ryan, seasoned professionals in the field, delve into the implications of Google’s latest updates and how they directly affect you.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

1. How ad payments on Google are changing
2. How Google is using AI
3. How broad match keywords will change the way your ads appear
4. What to look for to maintain integrity while using Google Ads revenue tracking

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, connect with us on LinkedIn. We’re Jon MacDonald and Ryan Garrow.

Anyone who guarantees they can increase your conversion rates with just on-site optimization alone is either lucky or lying. 

Many factors influence conversion rates. In this episode, we discuss why benchmarking doesn’t work and introduce a better way to measure optimization efforts.

After conducting a study of hundreds of optimization experts to uncover the key factors that influence the success of digital products, Jon and his team at The Good identified five competencies that set high-performance teams apart.

In fact, teams that excel in these five Factors are 60% more likely to meet their annual performance targets and twice as likely to rank “excellent” in customer satisfaction.

Listen to the full episode to learn;

• Why traditional benchmarking is ineffective.
• Why the 5-Factors Scorecard™ is a better way to measure success.
• How the 5-Factors Scorecard™ can help you decide where to invest to improve your digital experience and determine what steps you need to take to grow your impact in your organization.

To get your scorecard, go to https://thegood.com/5factors

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, connect with us on LinkedIn. We're Jon MacDonald and Ryan Garrow.

Tired of navigating the ecommerce world alone?

Well, we have some good news. Ryan is about to launch a community where like-minded business owners can connect, share insights, and troubleshoot challenges – without hidden agendas or sales pitches. 

Grow with Garrow is a Slack-based community for entrepreneurs seeking guidance and support. In this episode, Jon and Ryan dive into the purpose and power of Grow with Garrow, emphasizing the importance of community, hard work, and actionable advice.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

1. Why there is a need for an ecommerce community 
2. What people can expect from Grow with Garrow 
3. Why hard work is essential to business success 
4. How Grow with Garrow will be different from the email list 

Ryan is offering a special discount code for the Drive & Convert listeners. Get 50% off for the first three months with the code: driveandconvert. 

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback to share, connect with us on LinkedIn. We're Jon MacDonald and Ryan Garrow.