anyone dehydrated ? 🌊

11 Answers, 11 Questions

I got tagged by @nardaviel! <3

Rules: Always post the rules. Answer the questions asked, then write eleven new ones. Tag eleven people to answer your questions as well as the person who tagged you. 

1. what’s your favorite thing to do when you want to chill out and just enjoy yourself?

I’m so lame, it’s sleeping, mostly lol. I love naps like nothing else. As for hobbies, if I’m actively roleplaying with anyone it’s that, or relaxing and reading fanfics or watching Markiplier videos. Just hanging out by myself, really. (Tho cuddling the BF ranks on the list too lol)

2. describe the most beautiful thing you can think of or imagine

Object or concept? If we’re going with object... the perfect-fitting dream dress, heart shaped neckline, flowing skirt with iridescent colors that all blend into one another in varying shades of pinks, purples and blues... (idk I’m working on cosplay right now so all I’m thinking about is clothes). Concept? Coming home to your loved one(s), falling into an embrace and feeling that all is right with the world.

3. what is your favorite combination of colors?

Pink is my all-time favorite standalone, but I really like how royal blue and turquoise look together especially on clothing. 

4. tell us about an AU that you desperately want to make but haven’t been able to, for whatever reason (can’t think of a plot, your faves don’t work well in the setting, w/e)

;^; I actually don’t like AUs too much... I get attached to a world AND its characters, not just one or the other. That’s why I don’t particularly care for reading fics/doing rps that are set in an existing universe but using OCs or AUs. Now Alternate Reality/Slight Canon Divergence I can do- I love me some ‘what if X happened instead of Y’. So I guess I’ll go with an AR answer since it’s kind of AU...

I’d want to do an AR of Boueibu where the CA don’t leave and join the DC, either staying in their CA outfits or becoming Battle Lovers themselves to fight the VEPPer. Now that would be entertaining.

5. what does your phone case look like? did you go for style or sturdiness?

I work in cell phones, so I love me some cases lol I swap out cases so often it’s not even funny. When I had an iphone 6/6s I had something like 10-15 cases at one point but now I have a 7 for work so I don’t have as many  yet;

I have the first one I bought, a Speck hardshell with a purple/blue galaxy print on it. I got stuck with a black phone since it’s a work phone, so I wanted something that matched but was cute. The one I actually use at work is another Speck in turquoise with a slot for a credit card so I can keep my Target card on me at all times so I can buy lunch faster and not lose my card. The one I’m using right now because the Galaxy one is starting to deteriorate is a pink and navy otterbox symmetry that I got on clearance. I wanted the teal one but it was too light colored and was gonna get dirty too fast. All my cases are a blend of protection/function and style so...

6. what is your ideal hairstyle for yourself?

Just cut my hair again, actually; something short and easy to maintain with bangs to hide my forehead that I don’t like but cutesy. I always go with a chin-length bob with sideswept bangs when I cut my hair so... that’s it. 

7. what’s the first favorite song you can remember having?

The first song that I liked just for myself and not because my parents played it all the time was Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65. I fucking love them. 11-year-old me was all over that early 2000s electropop shit. Going back even earlier, though, I want to say it was Hey Hey (We’re the Monkees) or Last Train to Clarksville by the Monkees because my parents played their favorite music for me and my sister when we were really little and I’d dance to everything. I also really liked the Beatles and Kansas around that time but the Monkees pops into my head more easily.

8. what’s the grossest food anyone has ever tried to make you eat? (and did you eat it?)

OH GOD I’M SCARED OF TRYING NEW FOOD WHEN IT’S NOT MY IDEA. 

No, seriously, I actually cannot think of an answer to this question because I am so afraid that I’m not going to like something new/want to vomit when I try it that I actively avoid trying things when someone tries to shove a forkful of something in my face or encourages me to eat it. So any new food is gross. I get so pissed off when my bf or my parents do this because they KNOW I don’t like to try things unless I decide to do so, myself (because then I’ve mentally prepped and imagined what it tastes like and why it might be good) but they don’t understand my anxiety/aversion. They just think it’s a picky thing. It’s absolutely a ‘I am afraid of vomiting therefore I do not want to risk trying something that might make me gag especially in a public setting’. I don’t even have a strong gag reflex, I just have a texture thing and a phobia of vomit :/

I guess to phone in an answer- at the time cheesy potatoes were my worst enemy. I still don’t like cheese that much, but I’ve learned to like varieties of cheesy potatoes prepared well enough. 

9. would you rather never drink anything but water again, or never eat anything again besides the blandest, most boring necessities?

Ack, this is difficult. I suppose while I like water well enough I suppose I’d rather eat bland necessities because my palate is rather limited anyway and that’s kind of been my diet in general until recently when I’ve been experimenting with cooking. I don’t think I can live without soda or flavored carbonated water.... or alcohol. <.<

10. describe your dream home

Somewhere near an ocean where it’s cool enough that I can have the windows open to air out the house and somehow there are no bugs to fly inside. It’d smell like the ocean and i’d be able to hear it outside. The house would be big enough for my family but small enough that it isn’t too huge with lots of cozy living spaces, a game room, a huge sewing/craft room/office for me with more cozy seating while I work. It’d have a nice, well-stocked kitchen with a dining room close by surrounded by windows that look out at the sea. There’d be windows everywhere, basically, but all surrounded by thick, heavy curtains to draw when it gets dark. There’d be a screened-in patio with comfy deck furniture and maybe a minibar, that overlooks my own private pool (maybe an infinity pool!) and backyard oasis with lots of flowers and trees that mostly blocks anyone from seeing into the yard but has views of the ocean peeking through. The bedrooms would all be large enough and super comfy and my bed would be so, so soft and huge enough so I could fit my partner and several cats (and maybe a small, not smelly dog) comfortably. The master bath would be my own private sanctuary, with heated floors, some seating, a huge, gorgeous bathtub big enough for two people and a separate shower that has multiple heads. Y’know, rich people bathrooms. My pets would have everything they’d ever need (catios, lofty cat highways and lots of scratching posts and toys; a big enough side yard for the dogs to run around and maybe a built in doggy bath to get rid of dog smell lol). Oh, and the entire house would have one of those sweet Sonos sound systems so I could play music all day in each room. <3

That was long and specific...

11. i need u to come up with a brilliant, scathing insult that contains five words or less

Fuck... I can’t think of anything other than “Douchnozzle McCuntWhistle”. Its not scathing as much as it’s ridiculous but I love it.

NEW QUESTIONS:

1) If you could have any animal in the world (currently living or extinct) as your pet, what would it be and why?

2) If money were no object, what would your dream career be? 

3) How many hours of sleep would you get a night if you were free to sleep as much or as little as you wanted?

4) What’s more frustrating, having a great idea (for a fic, costume, song, presentation, anything) and being unable to produce it (either not having the means, motivation, funds, etc) or having all of your tools to create the thing at your disposal but not having any ideas?

5) Describe your favorite meal ever. Including dessert (if there is any).

6) What’s the most-used bookmark on your phone’s browser?

7) What chore do you absolutely hate and wish you would never have to do ever again?

8) It’s the end of your best day ever. What’s happening?

9) Would you rather go skydiving or climb to the top of mt. everest?

10) If you suddenly became rich beyond your wildest dreams, what would be the first thing you’d do with your money?

11) If you could master any skill on earth, regardless of what your current abilities are, what would it be and why?

Aaaaand I tag @magiccatprincess, @vashtijoy, @vagarius, @liarino, @angry-jewish-magical-girl, @cryptid-crusader, @metalliclioness, @amateurcatalyst, @thatlittledandere, @dazesprite and @nakedxtime <3

Christmas Car Shopping Tips for Used Car Dealerships No Credit Check Near Me

Used Car Dealerships No Credit Check Near Me

Christmas weekend is here and that means one thing…fantastic car prices left, right and center!

Are you planning to purchase a car this weekend at a used car dealership near you? Today, you’ll learn some important tips to help you get value for money when comparing deals. After that, you’ll get to know the tips smart buyers use to spend the least amount of time in crowded dealerships during this much anticipated weekend.

  1. 10 tips on how to get a good offer

1. Read the fine print carefully

Perhaps you’ve already noticed the big flashy popup ads appearing on your computer reminding you about Christmas. The discount offers appear in bold red digits and advertisers display financing terms in warm colors to instantly draw your attention.

Once you notice an ad that appeals to your purchase decisions, take a step further by reading the terms and conditions attached to the offer. You might spot various costs that won’t appear on roadside billboards. For instance, fines charged for late payments.

2. Compare perks

Car dealerships look forward to Christmas Weekends because sales increase by 15-18%. On the other hand, they understand the high level of competition among rivals looking to dominate sales. So, each seller might throw in a few items to entice potential buyers away from competitors.

You might come across dealerships offering free maintenance for the first year or 100,000 miles. Some will give you a couple of brand new tires and that’s great for motorists who frequently drive long distances. Usually, most sellers prefer throwing in free electronics such as iPads or iPhones.

3. Check the inventory online

Good planning prevents you from buying a car that you don’t like. If the dealership you’re intending to visit has a website, check their inventory on the online gallery. It saves you time because you can search for particular models and check their availability.

Doing this also helps you to find out which dealership has the car you want in the right color. Most female motorists prefer warm colors to darker ones. You also avoid spending a lot of gas and time driving from one seller to another doing comparison.

4. Test drive the car

Make sure you carry your driving license to the dealership to get approvals for test drives. Despite the large turnout of customers, most sellers will still allow you to go on a test drive. It gives the buyer an opportunity to experience the car and gauge whether it matches their needs.

The sales rep might limit you to a short test drive, unlike regular days. The best you can do in this situation is assessing the suspensions by driving and halting at different speeds over short distances. You can also do fluid leak tests within that brief duration.

How to buy a car

5. Compare delivery costs

Did you know that you can buy a car without a license? In this situation, you’ll probably want the car delivered to a friend or relative as a birthday gift. Some business owners also request deliveries to their premises so that employees can get on with customer deliveries.

Since each seller sets their own per mile rate, doing cost comparisons helps you to get value for money. Dealerships expect delivery costs upfront because they hire third-parties to do the shipping for them. So, this means that they cannot include the fee in your monthly car payments.

6. Check your Facebook for adverts

Facebook enables sellers to display advertisements in specific geographical areas perceived as hot target markets. Anyone who lives in the specified area and matches other attributes described the seller gets to see the advertisement. Now that Christmas is here, most sellers are targeting people aged from 20-50 years old and employed.

Perhaps you’ve seen several car adverts appearing on the right side of your Facebook timeline. That’s because you meet most of the descriptions described by used car dealerships near you. When you find an advertisement you like, you can save the post for future reference.

7. Visit the dealership right after closing hours

I know this sounds strange but here’s how it works.

You were planning to buy your car on Friday but unfortunately, your workload was so big that you left the office half an hour to the dealership’s closing time. By the time you beat evening traffic, the dealership is closed. Should you make a U-turn and drive home disappointed?

No, you shouldn’t. Rather than go home, get inside the dealership and try to find a sales rep. Tell them you want a car but your working hours make it hard to get there on time. He or she will book a car for you without any hassles. Why? Because sales reps earn commissions for each car sale. So, he or she will be eager to secure your sale.

8. Compare prices on Kellys Blue Book

Kellys Blue Book is a highly credible source for doing price comparisons. It’s free and easy to use because you just have to type the vehicle model and age. Why should you use this tool before making a purchase? Because it helps you to know whether you’re getting the best price or overcharged.

Using this online tool also helps you to determine your financing plan. By comparing car prices, you’ll make a better estimate of your down payment. This information also helps you in planning your car monthly payments.  Most auto finance companies use Kellys Blue Book when providing credit.

Suggested read: How to buy a car from another state

9. Search for discount codes

In addition to giving free electronics or tires, car dealerships will provide discount codes to attract buyers. The sales manager might announce a special code on local popular breakfast shows that gets you 20% off cars valued over $30,000. That’s a huge benefit for buyers interested in car financing.

Where else can one find discount codes? By following your short-listed dealerships on Facebook and Twitter. Most businesses share discount codes online due to the rapid sharing of information. Remember to visit the seller’s website and check for any web banners displaying discount codes.

10. Ask friends and relatives for referrals

No man is an island, right? Perhaps you might believe that there are no good deals around you, only to find out that a friend knows two dealerships that you hadn’t visited. The new piece of information can drastically increase your chances of purchasing the car you’ve been looking for a while.

When you have a friend who’s built a good relationship with their dealership, you’ll receive special treatment that’s usually not accorded to first-time buyers. For instance, getting a free car alarm installation as a way of welcoming you into the family.

Suggested read: Are you planning to trade in a car with a loan?

2. How to get the car you want without spending hours at the dealership

1. Prepare all your documents at home

Car dealerships request documents that enable them to verify your identity and check whether you meet their financial requirements for financing. For instance, bank statements and tax returns for the past one year.

Some sellers also request for proof of residence. It’s hard to obtain this information at the last minute, and, still expect to find the car you want waiting for you at the lot. So, get your financial records and utility bills all in place before driving to the dealership.

2. Show up with the required down payment

Why should you show up ready to pay the down payment? Because there are other interested buyers eyeing the same car you’re planning for. No matter how loyal a customer you are, your dealer won’t turn down a new customer who’s ready to pay for the car.

Call the dealership in advance and find out the payment options. If it’s an honest seller, you can wire the deposit a day before then show up with your receipt. This is after confirming that the car you want is available.

Do you need secured financing? 

3. Negotiate the price prior to your arrival

When you’re in a crowded pub during a highly anticipated basketball or football game, you know how hard it is getting the waiters’ attention. They’re constantly taking orders and returning change to several customers. That’s exactly how car sales reps operate during Christmas Weekend.

As you wire your down payment the day prior to your arrival, negotiate for a better price with the sales rep over the phone. Doing this gives you a better opportunity to negotiate because the sales reps don’t have customers tapping his or her shoulder for attention.

4. Plan your alternatives

Since your colleagues, friends, and neighbors are all planning to get new vehicles this weekend, the car you’re hoping for might run out of stock faster than you think. So, you might need to have a few alternatives that still match your car needs.

Why is this important? Because a sly sales rep might take advantage of the confusion to mislead you into buying a car that just looks good on the outside but has mediocre performance. Have about two other cars that you can settle for in case your Plan A doesn’t work.

Suggested read: Should I lease or buy?

5. Don’t expect to do a trade-in

Trade-ins enable car buyers to spend less money on down payments. Doing a trade-in is also easier than selling a car privately in order to buy another one. On the other hand, it can take anywhere between a couple of hours to some days. Why does it take that long? Because the seller has to inspect the car then propose an offer that usually leads to lengthy negotiations.

During this weekend, most dealerships will shy away from trade-ins. You can’t really blame them because each seller wants to attend to as many buyers as possible. If you have some savings, you can use them then replenish your bank account after selling the car privately.

6. Don’t be indecisive

Sales reps hate undecided customers. They check out more than ten cars but seemingly can’t find the “right one”. Then the sales rep has to spend more time repeating the financing terms. At the end of the day, the sales rep loses valuable time that could have been used to generate more sales.

If you can’t find the car you want, just walk out of the lot. Drive to another dealership and see if they have your alternatives. Doing this ensures that you retain the sales rep’s attention from the moment you meet.

7. Avoid showing up with more than one person

If you’re a rookie motorist, it’s advisable to show up with a more experienced one. You’ll count on his or her experience when inspecting a vehicle at the lot and while out on a test drive. An experienced motorist will also enhance your bargaining skills by actively engaging the sales rep.

How many experienced motorists should you bring to the dealership? Just one. Bringing two or more people might bring about differences in opinions that might take several minutes to resolve. The sales rep might get tired of hearing your friends arguing back and forth over which car you should get.

8. Use a car payment calculator

A car payment calculator is a great tool for planning your future monthly payments. You can use it on a smartphone or tablet at home while downloading your bank statements. Doing this enables you to determine how much down payment you need to pay $500-$600 monthly.

Using this free tool also enables you to evaluate refinancing options. On the other side of things, you get a better job and might want to make a lump sum payment in order to reduce the remaining monthly payments. Make sure you bookmark it on your web browser so that you can make calculations immediately when dealerships present their offers.

Suggested read: How much should your car monthly payment be?

9. Prepare to do a brief inspection

Since dealerships expect a large number of buyers, you’ll most likely have less than five minutes to inspect a car on the lot. That’s why it’s advisable to bring a more experienced motorist because they know what to check.

Buying Car accessories

10. Arrive early

The sooner you arrive, the better your chances of getting the car you want. You’ll also receive more attention from the sales rep compared to a buyer who shows up in the afternoon.

Are you ready for Christmas Weekend?

These tips will help you get value for money and ensure you have a pleasant experience at the car dealership. You can get started by downloading your bank statements and making copies of your driving license.

Suggested read: Is buying a car with a credit card okay?

from Complete Auto Loans https://ift.tt/2SHwn6q via IFTTT

Interview with Karl Gilis (AGConsult)

We’re thrilled to announce that CRO expert Karl Gilis will be speaking at YoastCon on November 2! Karl Gilis from AGConsult is one of the most influential usability and conversion optimization specialists in the world, and our personal go-to-guy if we need advice on these matters for Yoast.com. We’ve asked him 5 questions, or actually 6, to warm you up for his talk on YoastCon. Read on if you want to find out which trends annoy Karl the most and what the most unexpected improvement was he ever saw on a website.

Don’t want to miss the ‘conversion comedian’ on stage? Get your ticket now for YoastCon 2017! var p = null; function centeredPopup(u,n,w,h,r){ l = (screen.width) ? (screen.width-w)/2 : 0; t = (screen.height) ? (screen.height-h)/2 : 0; s = "height="+h+",width="+w+",top="+t+",left="+l+",scrollbars="+r+",resizable"; p = window.open(u,n,s);}

AGConsult is specialized in optimizing website conversion and usability. If you could give people only one advice to improve their site’s conversion, what would it be?

That’s a very easy question to start with :-) No, it’s an incredible difficult one. On a more generic level I would say: listen to your clients and visitors.

What words are they using?

What questions do they have?

What do they really like about your product or service?

How did it help to make their life better / easier / …?

Use these insights to rewrite your copy. Because your copy is probably written from your point of view: you talk about what you think is important. Don’t do that. Focus on what your clients think and say. Use their words. Don’t sell the way you want to sell, sell the way people want to buy.

If you want a more practical hands-on tip, I would say: get rid of all the clutter. Print a typical and important page from your website, such as a product detail page or your order form. Take a red marker and draw a big red cross on all the things that you make you wonder ‘Why is that here, isn’t this a distraction from my main message’? Remove all those things.

Less clutter will result in:

Faster loading times, especially when you have lots of fluffy stuff or stock photos that don’t add to your message.

A cleaner look. And yes: the less elements you have, the clearer your message will be. 
A great example of this is the top part of the homepage of Airbnb, especially now they finally removed the sliders and the video background.

More room to add things that will result in more sales. Things like social proof or a sense of urgency.

Come see Karl Gilis speak at YoastCon 2017 on November 2 »

Scientific evidence is what drives you. Do you have an example where your research wiped the floor with design trends and hypes?

Don’t get me started about design trends and hypes. Most of them don’t increase sales or conversions. They only help design agencies and designers make more money. When a design change is not driven by a business or user need, it’s a big gamble to change something.

3 examples:

Sliders with different messages They’re part of almost every theme for WordPress and other platforms, because they’re fun to make and beautiful to look at. But they don’t convert.
Your website is not a piece of art. It’s a tool. A sales tool.
 When we removed the slider on the Suzuki homepage and showed 2 static images instead, this resulted in 55% more clicks in the same screen real estate.

Flat design and ghost buttons A few years ago designers decided that buttons shouldn’t look like buttons anymore. They introduced so-called ghost buttons. Where a button is just a square line around some words. So it’s more inline with the design and it doesn’t attract attention.
 Excuse me: your call-to-action should attract attention. That’s what it’s there for!
 What we’ve seen is when a site went from a normal button to a ghost button, the number of clicks on non-clickable elements increased with 600%. Because users had no clue where to click.

Video background They’re the new Flash and the new sliders rolled into one. So please avoid them.
 A moving background is always a distraction from your message. And visitors should focus on your message. 
We’ve done several tests where we replaced a video-background with a static background and saw an uplift. 
It’s no coincidence even AirBnB ditched their video background for -euhm- nothing. Yep, there��s nothing wrong with a white background.

As a consultant you must have seen changes on dozens of websites over the years. What was the most unexpected improvement that you’ve ever seen happen on a website?

Another difficult one. What probably surprises me the most is that I’m still often surprised. That’s the most important thing I’ve learned thanks to AB-testing. There are always exceptions to the rules and guidelines. Don’t get me wrong: there are best practices. But they do not always work on every website.

When you’re asking for a specific case, I think of the shopping cart of an online shop selling watches and sunglasses. We took away all friction, made delivery time and shipping costs extra clear and everything that is in the classical usability book. But the results were still disappointing.

Then we added the message ‘You’ve made an excellent choice’. And whoppa: sales went up by a huge margin. Why? Because we supported the user in his choice. We took away their biggest fear: will this watch or sunglass suit me? So, don’t only focus on taking away the imperfections of your site. Give compliments too!

Your specialization is conversion and usability, ours is SEO. Do you feel these two are interconnected, or would you rather see them as two separate areas?

They are interconnected. And more people need to realize that. On a generic level this is pretty obvious. When you attract lots of people to your site but they don’t do anything (buy, subscribe, …), you’ll be out of business soon. When you have a website that converts like crazy but you don’t have any visitors, you have a problem too.

But also on a deeper level SEO and Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) are very connected. When we do AB-tests the big changes almost always come from changes in words. And I’m not talking about random changes, but using the right words that tickle the human brain. As I said earlier: if you use the same words as your clients, they’ll have the feeling you understand them. When you relate to their problems, dreams and hopes, they will more likely convert than when you use corporate lingo and only talk about features. And I guess your readers know that those things are also important for SEO. Use the same word as your audience.

In all these years I’ve never had big conflicts with good SEO specialists. I only have fights with black hat SEO people or those who use the old tricks that don’t work anymore (keyword stuffing, anyone?). Never forget: you’re optimizing for people. Not only for Google. And not for the sake of usability as such either. You’re optimizing your website for your audience.

Failure is an important part of finding out how to make things work in the best possible way. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned while working for any of the big brands you’ve worked for?

Most big brands are afraid of failure. They don’t want to take risks. But that means you’ll reach a status quo. You have to take calculated risks. Based on user research and past experience you identify the weak points of site of page. And then you start making changes.

Small changes will mostly result in small results. Big, bold changes will result in big changes. Hopefully an uplift, but sometimes a drop in sales. But that’s why you test. And you learn something from those failures. What we often see is that our 2nd or 3rd test after a big failure, results in a big winner. And if you implement that winner, the gains of that will be so much bigger than that temporarily loss in sales or leads during the test. Big (and smaller) brands who understand this, will often choose to test more. And the more you test, the more you learn, and the more winners you’ll have.

Conversion optimization is not a project. Not something you do once. It’s a continuous process. And when you keep doing it, it will result in big wins. 
Just as it is with SEO. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Come see Karl Gilis speak at YoastCon 2017 on November 2 »

We assume this interview has convinced people to go see your talk at YoastCon on November 2! In the unlikely case someone is still in doubt, what’s the main reason they shouldn’t miss your talk?

Who am I to answer why people need to see me? If you insist, I think there are 3 reasons: · My talk will be full of practical hands-on tips. Little tricks you can apply yourself and will result in more sales and conversions. · There’s also a more strategic layer that focuses on techniques and methods that you can also apply yourself. · You will laugh a lot. People call me the conversion comedian and I do my best to put a smile on everybody’s face.

Read more: ‘YoastCon 2017: Practical SEO’ »

from Yoast • SEO for everyone https://yoast.com/interview-with-karl-gilis-agconsult/

Interview with Karl Gilis (AGConsult)

We’re thrilled to announce that CRO expert Karl Gilis will be speaking at YoastCon on November 2! Karl Gilis from AGConsult is one of the most influential usability and conversion optimization specialists in the world, and our personal go-to-guy if we need advice on these matters for Yoast.com. We’ve asked him 5 questions, or actually 6, to warm you up for his talk on YoastCon. Read on if you want to find out which trends annoy Karl the most and what the most unexpected improvement was he ever saw on a website.

Don’t want to miss the ‘conversion comedian’ on stage? Get your ticket now for YoastCon 2017! var p = null; function centeredPopup(u,n,w,h,r){ l = (screen.width) ? (screen.width-w)/2 : 0; t = (screen.height) ? (screen.height-h)/2 : 0; s = "height="+h+",width="+w+",top="+t+",left="+l+",scrollbars="+r+",resizable"; p = window.open(u,n,s);}

AGConsult is specialized in optimizing website conversion and usability. If you could give people only one advice to improve their site’s conversion, what would it be?

That’s a very easy question to start with :-) No, it’s an incredible difficult one. On a more generic level I would say: listen to your clients and visitors.

What words are they using?

What questions do they have?

What do they really like about your product or service?

How did it help to make their life better / easier / …?

Use these insights to rewrite your copy. Because your copy is probably written from your point of view: you talk about what you think is important. Don’t do that. Focus on what your clients think and say. Use their words. Don’t sell the way you want to sell, sell the way people want to buy.

If you want a more practical hands-on tip, I would say: get rid of all the clutter. Print a typical and important page from your website, such as a product detail page or your order form. Take a red marker and draw a big red cross on all the things that you make you wonder ‘Why is that here, isn’t this a distraction from my main message’? Remove all those things.

Less clutter will result in:

Faster loading times, especially when you have lots of fluffy stuff or stock photos that don’t add to your message.

A cleaner look. And yes: the less elements you have, the clearer your message will be. 
A great example of this is the top part of the homepage of Airbnb, especially now they finally removed the sliders and the video background.

More room to add things that will result in more sales. Things like social proof or a sense of urgency.

Come see Karl Gilis speak at YoastCon 2017 on November 2 »

Scientific evidence is what drives you. Do you have an example where your research wiped the floor with design trends and hypes?

Don’t get me started about design trends and hypes. Most of them don’t increase sales or conversions. They only help design agencies and designers make more money. When a design change is not driven by a business or user need, it’s a big gamble to change something.

3 examples:

Sliders with different messages They’re part of almost every theme for WordPress and other platforms, because they’re fun to make and beautiful to look at. But they don’t convert.
Your website is not a piece of art. It’s a tool. A sales tool.
 When we removed the slider on the Suzuki homepage and showed 2 static images instead, this resulted in 55% more clicks in the same screen real estate.

Flat design and ghost buttons A few years ago designers decided that buttons shouldn’t look like buttons anymore. They introduced so-called ghost buttons. Where a button is just a square line around some words. So it’s more inline with the design and it doesn’t attract attention.
 Excuse me: your call-to-action should attract attention. That’s what it’s there for!
 What we’ve seen is when a site went from a normal button to a ghost button, the number of clicks on non-clickable elements increased with 600%. Because users had no clue where to click.

Video background They’re the new Flash and the new sliders rolled into one. So please avoid them.
 A moving background is always a distraction from your message. And visitors should focus on your message. 
We’ve done several tests where we replaced a video-background with a static background and saw an uplift. 
It’s no coincidence even AirBnB ditched their video background for -euhm- nothing. Yep, there’s nothing wrong with a white background.

As a consultant you must have seen changes on dozens of websites over the years. What was the most unexpected improvement that you’ve ever seen happen on a website?

Another difficult one. What probably surprises me the most is that I’m still often surprised. That’s the most important thing I’ve learned thanks to AB-testing. There are always exceptions to the rules and guidelines. Don’t get me wrong: there are best practices. But they do not always work on every website.

When you’re asking for a specific case, I think of the shopping cart of an online shop selling watches and sunglasses. We took away all friction, made delivery time and shipping costs extra clear and everything that is in the classical usability book. But the results were still disappointing.

Then we added the message ‘You’ve made an excellent choice’. And whoppa: sales went up by a huge margin. Why? Because we supported the user in his choice. We took away their biggest fear: will this watch or sunglass suit me? So, don’t only focus on taking away the imperfections of your site. Give compliments too!

Your specialization is conversion and usability, ours is SEO. Do you feel these two are interconnected, or would you rather see them as two separate areas?

They are interconnected. And more people need to realize that. On a generic level this is pretty obvious. When you attract lots of people to your site but they don’t do anything (buy, subscribe, …), you’ll be out of business soon. When you have a website that converts like crazy but you don’t have any visitors, you have a problem too.

But also on a deeper level SEO and Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) are very connected. When we do AB-tests the big changes almost always come from changes in words. And I’m not talking about random changes, but using the right words that tickle the human brain. As I said earlier: if you use the same words as your clients, they’ll have the feeling you understand them. When you relate to their problems, dreams and hopes, they will more likely convert than when you use corporate lingo and only talk about features. And I guess your readers know that those things are also important for SEO. Use the same word as your audience.

In all these years I’ve never had big conflicts with good SEO specialists. I only have fights with black hat SEO people or those who use the old tricks that don’t work anymore (keyword stuffing, anyone?). Never forget: you’re optimizing for people. Not only for Google. And not for the sake of usability as such either. You’re optimizing your website for your audience.

Failure is an important part of finding out how to make things work in the best possible way. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned while working for any of the big brands you’ve worked for?

Most big brands are afraid of failure. They don’t want to take risks. But that means you’ll reach a status quo. You have to take calculated risks. Based on user research and past experience you identify the weak points of site of page. And then you start making changes.

Small changes will mostly result in small results. Big, bold changes will result in big changes. Hopefully an uplift, but sometimes a drop in sales. But that’s why you test. And you learn something from those failures. What we often see is that our 2nd or 3rd test after a big failure, results in a big winner. And if you implement that winner, the gains of that will be so much bigger than that temporarily loss in sales or leads during the test. Big (and smaller) brands who understand this, will often choose to test more. And the more you test, the more you learn, and the more winners you’ll have.

Conversion optimization is not a project. Not something you do once. It’s a continuous process. And when you keep doing it, it will result in big wins. 
Just as it is with SEO. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Come see Karl Gilis speak at YoastCon 2017 on November 2 »

We assume this interview has convinced people to go see your talk at YoastCon on November 2! In the unlikely case someone is still in doubt, what’s the main reason they shouldn’t miss your talk?

Who am I to answer why people need to see me? If you insist, I think there are 3 reasons: · My talk will be full of practical hands-on tips. Little tricks you can apply yourself and will result in more sales and conversions. · There’s also a more strategic layer that focuses on techniques and methods that you can also apply yourself. · You will laugh a lot. People call me the conversion comedian and I do my best to put a smile on everybody’s face.

Read more: ‘YoastCon 2017: Practical SEO’ »

from Yoast • SEO for everyone https://yoast.com/interview-with-karl-gilis-agconsult/

Hey fellow /r/entrepreneurs! I’ve written up a small case study of my product and it’s “failure” (Yay! You can learn what mistakes not to do). Hope you enjoy.Flashback.So in January 2016, whilst playing a game of poker, an epiphany occurred. Seeing all the designs on a deck of cards, I thought they’d be cool to color and from that moment on, PlayingColor was born. Furthermore, as this was my first project and I was on college holidays, time and curiosity was aplenty.Well, to start the deck, I needed a designer. I was willing to do it myself but I felt someone else would be better. So instead of searching for an established and professional designer, I went over to a friend and asked her to do the deck. She said sure…. Sweet! What could go wrong?LESSON 1. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR AND DON’T MIX IN YOUR FRIENDSWhat my naivety failed to realize was that she’s also in college and working and partying… and my project was going to take fourth place. Oh boy was her designs delayed. A request of 52 beautifully unique and intricate Mandalas ended up taking nearly 4 months to draw… (I should’ve really saved that time and hired a faster professional designer). Furthermore, since we were friends, I couldn’t really fathom of being harsh. My mistake. Also I forgot to implement a stringent deadline. Another mistake.LESSON 2. CHINA ISN'T ALWAYS CHEAPERAs the cards were sloooooooowly being designed, I was busy searching for suppliers. I always thought that China = Cheap and as a result, I began searching for Chinese manufacturers (I’m located in Australia). The issue was that the card stock I needed had to have 1-side coated and the other to be uncoated. This was surprisingly a tall order for most Chinese and even US card manufacturers. Other issue was that US and China were giving me Minimum Order Quantities of 2,000 for $10k to print. I just didn’t have that amount of money to spend. Luckily, I found one manufacturer in China and ordered a deck.LESSON 3. MAKE SURE YOU CLARIFY AND TRIPLE CHECK EVERYTHINGSo the deck came from China. They promised and assured me that I could draw on the colored side. Nope. As well, the long shipping made me lose another 3 weeks. Fuck. I should’ve requested a paper sample. My mistake.LESSON 4. CHINA ISN”T ALWAYS CHEAPERI then went looking for any local suppliers in Australia and BEHOLD, it was actually cheaper to find a local supplier. Albeit, the first deck arrived and it was perfect. Finally! A fantastic box supplier in US and an Australian card manufacturer. I now have a product… but how do I sell it?Marketing TimeLesson 5. DON”T BE AFRAID TO SHOW YOUR PRODUCTPretty self-explanatory but you see, when I created the deck, I realized no one had such an idea before. GOLD MINE! WHY SHOULD I TELL ANYONE? THEY MIGHT STEAL IT! I kept quiet about it (seriously, it wasn’t a goldmine and I should’ve been testing the concept earlier). I felt the idea was definitely going to be stolen. Unfortunately, only thing stolen was my logic and common sense. As a result, my initial marketing and customer research suffered. I actively started using Instagram and posting content about coloring and similar styles/designs to my cards but never actually revealed the product till the last moment. Big mistake. Sure the content I was posting made my account look pretty but for the actual purpose of my business, quite useless. Also, without showing and dabbling with my audience, I never really found out what consumers wanted or cared about coloring and specifically, my coloring playing cards. BIG MISTAKE.Lesson 6. DO MARKET RESEARCHI did none. I suffered. I assumed they’d love it. Assumed. To make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'. And as a result of failing to discover the exact needs and the specific people that’d be interested, I lost out a whole new understanding for my product and obviously made my marketing attempt suffer.Lesson 7. DON”T WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT YOUR LOGOLogo Styles I experimentedI wasted a long time doing this. Trust me. It’s not worth it at the start. Unless you’re relaunching a new P&G product, your 600 followers won’t care that much. Use your time for something else.Lesson 8. PEOPLE ARE STUPID. SPEAK STUPIDSo when I finally revealed the product leading up to my Kickstarter, I was met with a warm response and I decided to ump the marketing. I made a simple giveaway on my site where people had to submit their email and in return, they’d get 5 free coloring card PDF’s. Simple right? Nope. Under the “Please Put Your Email Here”, I had more than 35 submissions of people putting the word “Email” in there….Wonderful.I had people message my FB Page stating they got a virus called BMP. I had to explain to them it was a file format. I even had a lovely lady ask me if I could help her find the PDF files she downloaded on her computer. Albeit, I made mistakes by creating lead generation pages and giveaways that required more than 3 steps…. Something that many couldn’t do. Oh well. When I dumbed it down, results started happening and my mailing list started to grow.Lesson 9. BE REAL. SORTA…To connect with many other colorists on FB and get a feel of the market, I made a fake FB account of our brand personality and interacted with them through all the tight-knit FB coloring groups. This is something I highly recommend for you to try. The connection and support I made was valuable for the Kickstarter that was coming up.Kickstarter TimeLesson 10. MAKE SOME NOISEI was quiet for Kickstarter. I figured that I’d just rely on my FB personality sharing the announcement and my posts on Instagram alerting about it. I believed I had a fellowship already strong enough for Kickstarter which was sort of true, but having more fans, more money and more interest is always better. I could’ve done so much more by seeking PR, Journalists or even paid recommendations from influencers. But no I didn’t.Anyway, raised my $3k for PlayingColor and had enough to purchase a decent order to minimize my costs. Everything after went well though I planned to send these cards early November, the manufacturer screwed up the order and backlogged it till early December…. Meaning I missed out on Christmas. Not fun. But with all the delays throughout the year, I was just desperate for something to come soon.Lesson 11. TEST PRICING.One startling issue with PlayingColor was its location in Australia. Our main market was the US. To send a deck over there costs $7USD. Starting to see the problem? Because of shipping, selling a deck + shipping appeared extortionate to my customers and my demand flailed heavily. I ran numerous campaigns on FB and Instagram but sales were slow. People weren’t happy paying $14 for a deck of cards.Lesson 12. ONCE YOU COMMIT. COMMIT.Another issue arose in the start of this year. See, I got an internship/college opportunity to go to US for 6 months which I accepted. However, my spare time for PlayingColor quickly eroded. When I left to US, I took all the decks I had with me and tried selling it (albeit lazily) in US. I tried to run numerous FB advertising with no luck. Only one advert converted to sales but it just wasn’t financially working out for me. As well, with Kickstarter, I bought an order that supplied me with enough cards to last a short time (I was hoping sales would skyrocket and I’d buy a bigger order) but I was wrong. Here’s the example of our profits (not including Kickstarter). Just sales directly from Shopify and not from market stalls or other avenues.November $120.90 December $154.40 January $175.87 February $281.48The issue was that in February, my stock was down to 16 decks. I had to reorder but I wasn’t willing to. I managed to find a few quality suppliers in US for both the boxes and the cards but I knew deep down I wouldn’t have enough time to balance all my commitments. Furthermore, I’ll be going back home to Australia and I’d have to find a fulfillment company to ship and make the product competitive. I failed the product.Now, with my soon-graduation, changing employment and a health issue, this all has culminated in putting me out of action and destroying all my interest in PlayingColor. So that’s the story of my PlayingColor experience....Though, as I sit now thinking whether to sell or just end the company, I can’t help but be proud of the experience I’ve had. It’s been totally worth it with all the new knowledge and skills I’ve developed. As well, looks fantastic on the resume ;)If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I leave you with this quote “Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.”