Drive and Convert

Once the excitement of the "shopping phase" dissipates, building a new home can be a taxing experience. There are often challenges with supplies, logistics, team members, timeline, budget, and a host of other variables that make the ordeal more stressful than anticipated.

Ryan is currently living through this experience, and although going through life with a spouse and four kids all living in a barn while their home is being built, he's managed to learn a few important lessons about what it takes to build a successful business along the way.

Listen to this episode if you want to learn what building a home and building a business have in common, and maybe jot down a few tips from Ryan to prepare yourself for the day when you're ready to build your own new home.

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

In this episode, Ryan and Jon continue experimenting with a "mailbag" format, where they answer questions that were submitted directly by Drive & Convert listeners. The conversation covers a wide range of topics, which makes it the perfect listen for a dog walk, office commute, or spin bike session.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

1. How to allocated paid acquisition spending across channels
2. Whether to sell pre-selected bundles or allow customers to build their own
3. How to improve discoverability with a large product catalog
4. Whether you should race to take advantage of emerging ad channels
5. How virtual/augmented reality may impact ecommerce behaviors

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

In this episode, Ryan and Jon experiment with a "mailbag" format, where they answer questions that were submitted directly by Drive & Convert listeners. The conversation covers a wide range of topics, which makes it the perfect listen for a dog walk, office commute, or spin bike session.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

1. How to drive traffic in a world where privacy provisions are ever-increasing
2. Whether you should focus your optimization on your desktop or mobile site
3. How to reach that coveted "1,000 customers" milestone for a new brand
4. How to allocated your paid acquisition budget across multiple channels

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

Most business leaders understand that you need a significant amount of traffic to run an optimization program that gets results. However, having 100,000+ sessions per month doesn't necessarily mean that your site is ready to optimize with 100% confidence. Not all traffic is created equal, and you have to attract the proper quality and mix of traffic to stand up an optimization program that gets results.

In this episode, Ryan and Jon talk about how much traffic a brand needs to start taking optimization seriously. They also discuss the difference between traffic and qualified traffic, and what impact that has on CRO efforts.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

1. How much traffic you really need to start optimizing
2. Why many brands overestimate the quality and volume of their site traffic
3. What counts as "qualified" traffic in terms of optimization
4. What you should do if you're not getting enough qualified traffic

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

Marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart can be a polarizing topic in the ecommerce space. Some folks swear by them as one of the most effective "growth levers" you can pull, while others contend that what you're required to give up in exchange for access to marketplace customers means that the "juice isn't worth the squeeze." 

In this episode, Ryan and Jon assess the current landscape around marketplaces and provide a balanced recommendation for ecommerce brands who are considering adding marketplaces to their growth strategy for 2022.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

1. How big the opportunity for "marketplaces" really is
2. What surprised Ryan and Jon about marketplace activity in 2021
3. How to determine if joining a marketplace is right for your brand
4. What opportunities and challenges are on the horizon for 2022

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

In this episode, Ryan and Jon talk about how too many ecommerce brands lead by sharing information about their company, their team, or their mission before they tell a prospective customer how they can help solve their problems or address their needs.

You don't need to sterilize your brand or devolve into some kind of faceless, robotic corporation, but there is a way to serve customer needs first while still sprinkling in some of your brand's distinct personality.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

1. Why going "brand-first" is seldom the best approach
2. What customers care about most when they visit your site
3. How you can maintain strong brand positioning without losing sales
4. How the most successful brands are balancing customer needs with company messages

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

In this episode, Ryan and Jon talk about the patterns and trends they saw related to traffic generation in 2021. They also cover some of the expectations they have for traffic acquisition this year and how brands can put themselves in a position to take advantage of those market dynamics.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

1. What traffic generation strategies did/did not work in 2021
2. What emerging trends or technology will impact acquisition in 2022
3. What channels look particularly attractive to brands right now
4. How to set yourself up for success in 2022 and beyond

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

The name of this show is Drive and Convert for a reason. At its core, online business is about driving traffic to your site and then converting that traffic into customers using an outstanding product, engaging copy, and intuitive design.

In this episode, Ryan and Jon talk about the relationship between SEO and CRO, including how business owners should be thinking about balancing their efforts between attracting websites visitors and converting those visitors into buyers.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

1. The "Chicken or The Egg" challenge for SEO and CRO
2. How active CRO tests might impact SEO efforts (& vice versa)
3. What are the risks of running these campaigns in parallel?
4. What most people are really worried about when they ask this question

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

Most marketers are used to digging around in Google Analytics to review their website traffic from organic search, social media, and email marketing, but far fewer dedicate time to analyze their referral traffic – often to their own detriment.

In this episode, Ryan and Jon talk about referral traffic as one of the most commonly misunderstood traffic sources and highlight why failing to dig deeper into the quality and sources of your website referrals could mean leaving money on the table.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

1. What referral traffic is and how it is categorized in your website analytics
2. Common issues with tracking referral traffic and how to fix them
3. What referral traffic data can tell you about your marketing efforts
4. How analyzing referral traffic can uncover ripe opportunities for growth

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

Traditional conversion rate optimization is built around achieving statistically significant results through a combination of research and testing. It can be expensive and time-consuming, but it also carries a >90% confidence level.

In this episode, Ryan and Jon talk about the merits and challenges of another optimization approach known as Rapid Testing. It requires less time, traffic, and resources, but also provides less confidence in the efficacy of the results.

Listen to the full episode if you want to learn:

1. What separates Rapid Testing from traditional CRO methods
2. Which businesses are a good fit for Rapid Testing
3. The benefits and challenges of implementing a Rapid Testing program
4. What kind of results are typical of a successful Rapid Testing program

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