Chris Goward Conversion Optimization Video Interview From PubCon South at Dallas by, Vanessa Zamora on May 5, 2010

Summary by Lane R. Ellis

Video interview by Vanessa Zamora

During last month's busy PubCon South at Dallas conference, Chris Goward, co-founder and chief executive of online marketing, optimization and analytics firm WiderFunnel, sat down for a video interview with WebmasterWorld video content producer Vanessa Zamora.

Goward spoke about WiderFunnel's framework for studying the strengths and weaknesses of conversions from a website's various landing pages, a method the firm calls the "LIFT Model," employing a process incorporating kaizen -- a Japanese practice of sustained improvement.

Goward, who was a speaker on the PubCon South at Dallas conversion optimization panel, also told Zamora about using WiderFunnel's testing methods, which include multivariate and A/B studies, to improve clients' sites.

During their interview, Goward told Zamora about finding successful landing page and conversion rate optimization (CRO) approaches that sometimes may go against the grain of traditional "best practices."

Goward also shared information about some of the utilities the company uses in its process, including Google's free Website Optimizer tool and offerings from Omniture , ion interactive, CrazyEgg, Unbounce, and Maximizer Software.

Before concluding the PubCon interview, Goward spoke about the different skill sets required for successfully doing conversion optimization and search engine optimization (SEO,) and the difficulties SEO practitioners sometimes face when examining certain areas required for conversion work, such as the psychology of a site's visitors.