FT.com boosts click throughs by 350%+ with Autonomy Optimost
Autonomy Corporation plc, a global leader in infrastructure software for the enterprise, said The Financial Times has selected Autonomy Optimost to increase subscription rates on its website, FT.com, which has up to 10m unique users and 50m page views a month.
Autonomy said that due to the economic downturn and its impact on the publishing industry and the advertising market, FT.com recognised the need to shift its focus from cyclical ad revenues to stable content and subscription revenues.
FT.com uses a three-level approach to increase traffic and subscriptions. Visitors get access to up to two articles a month anonymously, up to 10 pieces of content in exchange for providing some details, and unlimited access to all content upon paid subscription. FT.com identified that to increase the paid subscriptions, it needed to optimise its subscription barrier page.
Through Optimost's unique multivariable testing, carried out solely on one web page, FT.com has seen a jump in CTR of over 350%, combined with a 50% increase in conversion rates, Autonomy said.. This has been the result of subtle changes to the page layout, wording and presentation identified through a series of concurrent tests with results based on user habits and reactions.
"In just a few months having Autonomy Optimost functionality on our site has revolutionized marketing decision-making by introducing certainty to our assumptions," said Sandra White, Marketing Manager for FT.com.
"Where we previously had to fit marketing enhancements into the queue with other site developments, Optimost has given us the capacity to make changes and deliver improvements in a shorter time-frame."
Optimost enables the FT.com marketing team to base decisions on solid figures, rather than opinion whilst cutting the need for long IT processes. FT.com previously invested heavily in driving SEO, PPC and partnerships but owing to the lack of a vigorous multivariable testing mechanism decisions had been primarily based on guesswork.
"Autonomy Optimost has delivered excellent tracking, a fantastic reporting console where everything is calculated according to statistical significance," Ms White said. "Having concrete figures means the difference between running with creative and offers based on subjective views and what actually works."
FT.com plans to carry out further tests on additional pages to optimise every step of the sign up process, even looking to incorporate innovative segmentation and persona targeting by type of visitor.
