The short answer appears to be -- Yes.

In a recent set of tests, in which we distributed 28 short, entertaining video clips through YouTube and Google Video, we converted almost 1.5% of viewers into subscribers.

That may not sound like a huge conversion rate. However, all of these video clips were non-commercial. They were simply entertaining, with no sales message included.

In other words, the video clip was simply part one in a three-step process.

1. Watch the video.
2. Go to the site url featured at the end of the video clip.
3. Sign up for the site’s newsletter.

The use of online video in this way, to drive site traffic and convert visitors to subscribers or buyers, is still in its infancy.

If you would like to know more, and study the full set of data from our recent tests, register for our free webinar, this Wednesday, at 4:00PM EST -- Can viral video clips drive targeted traffic to your web site?

Your landing page could be a marketing expert’s dream, complete with credibility factors, bold text, and a natural eye path. But what happens when a customer proceeds to checkout and they become suddenly hesitant of their purchase because of a poorly designed page?

With this in mind, should website optimizers focus their attention on the landing page or the checkout page?

Certainly both pages deserve particular attention, but optimizing your Shopping Cart seems far less obvious. A recent article at MarketingSherpa sheds some light on this topic.

Here is a short excerpt:

While marketers toil away on their landing pages, getting more and more people to advance to subsequent pages, the average ecommerce shopping cart is abandoned nearly 60% of the time. In response to this high number, the company in this article conducted a multivariate test, that is, they tested elements on a page in different combinations and then isolated the results of each variable. They discovered a dramatic increase in conversion rates by simply adding an instructional headline, yellow information fields, and a blue button that read “Click Here to Order.”

So whichever page you optimize, you must keep in mind one fundamental yet remarkably simple rule: simple changes in page design elements can yield a significant increase on conversion.

Earlier this year, we published an article that addressed how minor changes to your website can have a major impact on your conversion rate. With a multivariate test, we discovered that even a highly-optimized page can be improved with small changes in the headline, page design, and color.

That is to say, if you create a video clip to run on TV, will it be received just as well on the web or on a mobile device?

Marketers everywhere might hope that the answer to this question is yes. It would certainly cut down on budgets if a single video could be run across all media with equal success.

But common sense says no. As does this article in MarketingVOX, citing results from a recent survey sponsored by the Cablevision Advertising Bureau.

Here is a short excerpt:

More than 60 percent said they prefer watching video on TV rather than a computer or iPod. Only 12 percent of those with video-enabled phones said they used it for video. Only 30 percent said they had an additional screen device (beyond a TV and computer) used for watching video.

So while marketers dream of teens and those in their early twenties being glued to their iPods and cell phones, eager to watch another commercial video, the truth seems a little different. And you have only to look at some of the short amateur video clips that have burst onto the scene through services like YouTube to see that while they were immensely popular on the web, they would likely not go down as well on TV.

In other words, each medium, or screen, suits different approaches to video, and they are not necessarily interchangeable.

As we have mentioned before in this blog, we are undertaking a significant study ourselves on the potential of video as a marketing tool online. The question of the right video for the right screen will doubtless be an issue that merits exploring.

Web page designers and writers often struggle between loading a page with plenty of information and choices, or keeping it clean and simple.

Which approach works best and gives you the best conversion rates and highest revenues?

Should you present readers with plenty of options, to best suit their own preferences?

Should you let them choose, for example, between a number of different subscription options?

Should you provide links to related or more detailed information?

Should you use multiple columns to provide space for related images, links and supporting information?

Or should you aim instead to keep your pages as simple as possible? Should you reduce the number of choices available to your readers to the absolute minimum?

We will be answering these questions, and sharing recent test data to support our findings, in our free webinar this Wednesday.

You can sign up here: Choice vs. Simplicity