BC Finance uses Google Website Optimizer to revamp its site

The Company

BC Finance specialises in credit restructuring. Founded 15 years ago in Lille and currently based in Marseille, the company operates across France through some 20 local agencies. Targeting private individuals and sometimes professionals, BC Finance has made personalized client follow-up its philosophy. The company wants to use its website www.bc-finance.com to convert visitors into new prospects.

Intelligently rethinking its site

BC Finance wanted to revamp its site to make the navigation more user-friendly, reduce conversion costs and increase customer loyalty. The company decided Website Optimizer would be a great tool to use. Google’s tool is simple: it enables companies to test several web page variants in order to find the one that will quickly attract the surfers’ attention, keep them on the site and possibly get them to convert their visit (request information, place an order, buy something, etc.). With Google Website Optimizer, BC Finance was able to compare different graphic and text designs, move them around on the pages and try different combinations. For example, the results of Website Optimizer enabled BC Finance to define the most efficient and clearest navigation menu for the home page and position it in the right place (the middle of the home page) to generate more clicks and conversions.

Making an informed decision

Upstream, BC Finance broke down its home page into eight sections, each with two or three variants, creating more than 24 combinations (multivariate testing). "Each test lasted two to three weeks, at the end of which we simply had to check the reports on the interface and save the best version or combination of each section," explains Hubert Barreaud, responsible for rankings at BC Finance. Decisions regarding changes to the graphics and text were made pertinently, quickly, and efficiently. /;The position of the text added to its meaning, and we discovered that the more accurate the descriptions of the links were, the higher the number of clicks to one of the site’s other pages was" continues Hubert Barreaud. "The results produced by Google Website Optimizer also influenced the placement and the association of the different variants tested to optimize the navigation," comments Hubert Barreaud. The entire process was completed within three months.

More visits and more conversions

With the new site and the new home page, which emerged from the results of tests run with Google Website Optimiser, the percentage of visitors leaving the site from the home page (meaning the bounce factor) decreased by ten per cent!" explains a delighted Hubert Barreaud consulting his Google Analytics reports. In other words, more visitors are now able to find the information they’re looking for and extend their visit rather than leave the site without really having visited it. For BC Finance, the navigation and loyalty benefits are clear. The duration of the visits has increased by 30 per cent (data provided by Google Analytics) and the best combinations selected as a result of the tests have increased the conversion rate by 15 points.

In the end, BC Finance was able to increase the number of its prospects and reduce its conversion costs at the same time. "We had never used tools like this before, but we had no trouble getting to grips with this one," concludes Hubert Barreaud.

About Google Website Optimizer

Google Website Optimizer offers free multivariate testing that helps you take action to convert visitors to customers. Graphical reports show which content engages your audience and results in the highest conversions. The Website Optimizer is integrated into Google AdWords, but it tests all traffic to your site - including traffic from your AdWords ads, Google search results and any other source of traffic to your site. For more information visit http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer.