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I love it when designers talk about hypotheses and tests. "I use this process to help teams frame their work as a business problem to solve (rather than a solution to implement) and then dissect that business problem into its core assumptions. We then weave those assumptions into hypotheses. Finally, we design experiments to test our riskiest hypotheses."

The blog volcano wants to ERUPT. But it won't unless you are doing some basic things in your posts and articles. Here are eight important and relatively easy to follow tips to give your posts and articles legs.

In my new book I liken abandonment to cholesterol: there is good abandonment and bad abandonment. SeeWhy.com CEO Charles Nichols was the person who helped me realize this, and his article shows you how to support your visitors natural need to abandon before they buy.

Consistency is key in conversion. Automation helps us stay consistent. That is why I like this article from Christopher S. Penn. Best takeaway: Install "Shortcode Exec PHP"

 @PeepLaja Pricing is hard for online services. Part of the reason is that the kind of thinking that makes for great online services don't work well when applied to the psychology of buying. However, there are some things that are true for both apps and pricing schemes: keeping it simple, helping people choose the next step, limiting choices, and adding playfulness. Peep covers these and more with some great examples. These principles apply to other kinds of businesses as well, especially online publications and ecommerce sites. 

I've put forth in my new book that adding social media icons to a landing page is a bad idea. I get a lot of pushback on this. Here's some support for my position. Simplicity sells. "Engagement" doesn't. This article highlights three components that consumers need to make it easier to buy. They need to trust the information they receive.They need to learn effectively without distraction.They need to be able to weigh options confidently. Help your visitors choose and choose confidently. Worry about your social media strategy after the sale.

 @gaspland The customer equation for an Online Store seems to be the least content intensive, with online proprietors being satisfied with manufacturer stock photos of products. High converting online stores, however, take pains to help the visitor "touch and taste" their wares. Here are some great ideas on how to generate content for your online store.

It's great to optimize  high-traffic websites, but the traffic brings it own set of analysis problems. In particular, the number of things you can test goes up, the amount of data goes up and finding insights becomes more and more difficult. Excel is a great tool, but I'm looking for some tools to help cut the analysis time. Here is a nice list of free tools that I will be exploring over the coming weeks.

Peep Laja @peeplaja has put together a great list of ways to increase conversion rate. The remarkable thing about this list is that he provides a case study for each of his recommendations, proof that these ideas have works somewhere. This lets you understand the circumstances that drove the improvements in conversion and help you choose the tactics you will use on your site. Thanks, Peep.

While this article focuses on urgency and social proof, take a look at the way this Ruby Lane product page is designed.

Price is prominently displayedAdd to Cart button is high on the pageShipping is handled before entering checkoutThe product description is near the hero shot (and well written)Several high-quality photos are provided.All are above the fold or close to it. Are you working this hard to help your visitors buy?

Our pages must persuade. This is even true of B2B sales, where we feel we must speak like an adult to other business people. When we speak like an adult we lose our ability to persuade, much as a parent has little ability to persuade a teenager... of anything. Here are eight terms that thrive in business writing that keep us from persuading the visitors who WANT to be persuaded. They have a choice to make. Help them make it.

Is your business or offering as difficult to explain as a financial investment? A website is often not enough. So it's interesting to see that stodgy financial firms are using humor and even hand-drawn cartoons to help their customers make some serious decisions. We're bullish on video as an online tool at Conversion Sciences. Ask us about our Video Science service.

YouTube is a challenging environment for Conversion Scientists, despite @purnavirji 's optimism. Video is an amazing way to communicate, so we must pay attention to the second biggest search engine on the planet. Purna's advice includes strategic as well as tactical advice, and I found it very helpful.

 @flabastida lists ten "steps" for a "Total Content Approach." Taking these all together, it becomes clear that a business or a brand is fully realized only through its content. We can no longer rely on slogans and manipulation. A brand now has hopes, fears and dreams. Businesses must express opportunity as well as possibility. Don't worry. Our customers are there to help us understand ourselves.

I only touch on the issue of Mobile Apps in my new book Your Customer Creation Equation. So I'm happy to share this very helpful infographic on Mobile websites vs. Mobile apps.

Is it just me, or is it clear that mobile websites are the way to go (except in extreme situations)?

I only touch on the issue of Mobile Apps in my new book Your Customer Creation Equation. So I'm happy to share this very helpful infographic on Mobile websites vs. Mobile apps.

Is it just me, or is it clear that mobile websites are the way to go (except in extreme situations)?

 @b2bmarketing via @huffpostbiz John Fox gets landing pages and is bringing the tale of this important online strategy to the masses who read the Huffington Post. Much of the article was based on an interview with yours truly.

There are two defining characteristics of a landing page: It must keep the promise made by the link or ad that brings people to the page It is single-mindedly focused on getting them to take an action that will help them or the business Fox goes on the talk about trust, proof and images as keys to effective landing pages. He also talks about eliminating distractions and avenues for abandonment.

Thanks for a great article, John.

@neilpatel collects some of the most interesting eye-tracking images available and provides seven insights that can help you design your pages and choose images. We have done our own eye-tracking study of business video and you can get the full report now. The report offers similar conclusions for the use of video in a landing page. It includes over 30 minutes of embedded video that you can watch yourself.

Neil's conclusions include:Be careful you you use [images of] peopleThat people love media (especially on search results pages)That men and women look at images differentlyThat simple images can be more effectiveThe power of the left side of the pageThe power of facesThat people love hand-written notes (my favorite)Enjoy the images he provides.

For those of you who are new to Google for our advertising, analytics or SEO, here's a nice set of tools to help you get better at making money online.

The things that make us effective marketers or stand in our way often aren't external, but internal. Being a good marketer, copywriter or Conversion Scientist means coming to terms with our own demons, limitations and neuroses.

Dr. Aaron Balick maps out how our overburdened Ego does it's best "while being goaded on by the Id and being told off by the Superego."

Dr. Balick knows how to help us relate to these kind of issues.