Homepage Hero Banner Slides?

[Alexander Lau]

We track clicks on all sliders across all sites because this question is both common and welcomed.
The first and 2nd slider tend to get clicks, sometimes the 3rd gets some. Beyond that you've got a dedicated customer.

That said, the common solution tends to be homepage video backgrounds. Those convert less than anything because there's no engagement, it's just "look and feel".

I much prefer a "show all your cards at once" approach.

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Yes, if you're going do it, throw all of your options out there "at once" and make the interface VERY USABLE (as I am sure yours is Craig). Don't jam shitty functionality in your potential or current customers face. Try not to confuse them.

I'd still be interested in getting usability testing feedback from all automotive website vendors. You know darn well most don't test. It's sad...

 

[Ryan Everson]

If you're not testing for usability and conversion rates (on some level), then you're doing it wrong. I would argue it's all about your messaging and format.

• http://www.conversion-rate-experts.com
• https://www.optimizely.com (A/B testing -- there's an Optimizely plugin for Dealer Inspire sites, which knowing dealers would think is highly underutilized)
• https://www.clicktale.com (multiple pieces here)
• https://vwo.com/blog/conversion-optimization-best-practices/ (https://vwo.com itself is an AWESOME A/B testing tool)

Loads of discussion on this stuff out there:

• https://thrivethemes.com/why-sliders-suck
  • https://www.nngroup.com/articles/auto-forwarding/
    
  • https://erikrunyon.com/2013/01/carousel-stats/
    
  • http://searchengineland.com/homepage-sliders-are-bad-for-seo-usability-163496
    
  • http://www.widerfunnel.com/conversi...tating-offers-the-scourge-of-home-page-design
• https://www.newfangled.com/beware-homepage-slideshow/
  
• https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/magic-power-words-for-conversion/
• https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/conscious-language/

etc., etc., etc.

Your post seems a little bit contradictory, are you suggesting we use a tool to A/B test different slide messaging? Or are you suggesting you agree with your discussion links which all seem to agree that sliders suck?

 

[craigh]

make the interface VERY USABLE (as I am sure yours is Craig).

Obviously. Everyone knows that the key to a good interface is all the data upfront.
I find that putting it all as close together as possible is best, you just have to use colours to differentiate key pieces of information.

 

[Ryan Everson]

@Alexander Lau let's put it this way - if you had a GM dealership right now and your factory reps insisted that you have X number of slides on your homepage, how / what would you do? Remember your offers will change every month and you'll want to get the messaging up as soon as it's released.

 

[Alexander Lau]

Your post seems a little bit contradictory, are you suggesting we use a tool to A/B test different slide messaging? Or are you suggesting you agree with your discussion links which all seem to agree that sliders suck?

What I am attempting to convey, there's quite a bit of evidence to show that slideshows and carousels annoy users and have been measured to perform poorly. So, why is that? Is it the format (functionality) or the messaging that doesn't hit home? A combination of both perhaps?

There's no shiny red button, what converts with one demographic might not in another (that goes for any piece of digital marketing collateral or service). The need to test is what I am getting at here. Again, I would argue it's format and messaging, but I am probably overstating the obvious. Dealers, agencies and / or web platform providers need to have a strategy on this level. Some do; most don't.

 

[craigh]

@Alexander Lau let's put it this way - if you had a GM dealership right now and your factory reps insisted that you have X number of slides on your homepage, how / what would you do? Remember your offers will change every month and you'll want to get the messaging up as soon as it's released.

Sliders suck. 1000% they suck.
The reason they sometimes work is because sticking something in the consumers face always results in at least some activity.
I just find them to be a waste of real estate - who wants to show 1 idea that takes up 50% of the screen for 100% of visitors?

 

[Ryan Everson]

Agree that hero banners don't work, we test it all the time. but must also agree with @Alex Snyder that they don't work not because of their nature but because of the message that we put.

We continue to add offers equal to those of every other dealership, and the consumer knows it. Do we think that our $199/month lease is anything unique to hurry up to get?

Put a banner with a car at half price, half of the real price, for 1 (uno) day, be ready to deal with the heat. People will come out of the woodwork to buy that car well after you replace the banner with a new one saying that it has been sold.

With that same logic I could put a too good to be true offer in the footer of my website and still have a stampede of people at my door. Does that mean the footer is a good way to promote offers?

 

[Alexander Lau]

@Alexander Lau let's put it this way - if you had a GM dealership right now and your factory reps insisted that you have X number of slides on your homepage, how / what would you do? Remember your offers will change every month and you'll want to get the messaging up as soon as it's released.

What evidence do they have that a certain number of slides work and that the content within the slides convert for your specific demographic? If GM is forcing you to do it, I get it (you're under the gun, compliance and the rest of that stuff), but seriously challenge them on that question, if you're able.

I'm not going to go into formats, as I'm not a usability expert. As @craigh has suggested, showing all of the offers up front seems smarter, instead of waiting around 3 to 4 second for a slide or carousel to flip, which seems archaic to me. Everything is about speed and you have very little time to capture a potential customer's attention.

My two cents.

 

[Alex Snyder]

if [...] your factory reps insisted that you have X number of slides on your homepage, how / what would you do?

There are two types of advertising:

1. The kind that works
2. The kind that appeases

 

[Ryan Everson]

There are two types of advertising:

1. The kind that works
2. The kind that appeases

Agreed, that's why we're switching to the kind that appeases because we know sliders on the homepage are not very effective.

Here's what we're in the process of switching to....

Our homepage will default to the Search Cars For Sale tab with the typical search dropdowns then a model slider below that and then the specials slider. When a user clicks on the View Specials tab it hides the search dropdowns / model slider and instead brings the specials slider up above the fold.

So we'll have the best of both worlds - a homepage slider to appease factory reps and a video background to appeal to consumers. Then we'll promote the homepage slider specials elsewhere on the site in more effective locations such as segmented vehicle search result pages like I described earlier in this thread.