More often than not, your clients only see the end result of what can be weeks or even months of work that goes on behind the scenes. They aren’t on the creative brainstorming calls or on the phone after hours making those last-minute copy tweaks, and that’s okay if they’re not. Because in the end, all the work you put in to your creative messaging can add up to a huge win for you and the client.

But sometimes the work doesn’t add up. Then what do you do? The answer is simple…. 

Your marketing strategy is already turning in great results — performance metrics all indicate that channels are generating ROI for the company.

The temptation may be to sit back and rest on your laurels. After all, you've built a marketing machine that's getting the job done. However, good results don't necessarily mean that your strategy is generating the best results possible.

That's where an A/B test strategy comes into play. Even if you're happy with the results of your current digital marketing strategy, A/B testing is a surefire way to make sure you never stop searching for ways to raise your standards.

The world of digital creative began back in the mid-90s when Wired invented the banner ad. According to HubSpot's chronicle of the beginning of digital ads, Wired devised a plan to set aside portions of its website to sell space to advertisers and charged them by the hour — not per click — for the chance to showcase ads on their website. These early days were a time of experimentation, and with such a small amount of the U.S. population online, click-through rates were high and banner ads seemed like the wave of the future.

Fast forward to today, and click-through rates for banner ads are less than one-half of one percent. Marketers care more about impressions, building up brand familiarity and gaining the trust of potential customers than just simple clicks. So, how did we get here?

Visual content is good for business. In fact, imagery is so powerful that just seconds of watching a video will increase purchase intent in 44 percent of viewers, according to a Facebook study. Additionally, Facebook posts with photos get 120 percent more engagement than text-only social media posts, a report from Ragan explained. Why are these things true? And, more importantly, how can you use this information to your advantage?

First, the (Neuro) Science

Estimates dating the origin of spoken language vary, but according to a report from the University of California, Berkeley, the process began with visual demonstration approximately 1.8 million years ago. In fact, our brains are hard-wired for visual information, and visual senses are meant to be powerful.

When brands are looking at crafting broad marketing campaigns, a lot of effort, research and resources are poured into things like ad text and calls to action. However, there's one facet that's so obvious many marketers miss it completely: color.

Ogilvydo posits that because color evokes instantaneous emotions, reactions and physical responses, it can have a profound influence on the choices consumers make (even unconsciously), which is why this seemingly insignificant element of display ads can have an outsize impact on conversions and, ultimately, your bottom line. Here's why brand colors are so important.

Call-to-action phrases (CTAs) can make all the difference when it comes to return on investment. While you want to write compelling copy to engage customers, you also need to figure out how to take that engagement one step further and drive traffic to your site and product pages, which is where CTAs step in.

Check out these five effective call-to-action phrases, and learn why they work and how to write your own. These CTAs don't necessarily have to be the button copy, but they should make your customer want to click.

There are a lot of myths about banner ads out there. While we've already debunked a few of these, today we'll turn our mythbusting sights specifically to animated banner ads. It's impossible to browse the internet for very long without seeing them, but does animation really make banner ads better? Surprisingly, the answer is no. Here are three reasons why:

Flash Is Dead

As far as support and compatibility are concerned, Flash has been on its way out for a long time. Though banners that use Flash-based animation are easy to create, they isolate quite a large audience right off the bat. Adobe has created Animate, which is friendly with all browsers and devices.

As marketers, there are plenty of practical things you can do to increase conversions. Employing responsive design on your website, auditing your SEO techniques and ramping up your content marketing efforts are all good strategies. However, if you're ignoring your "contact us" form, you could be losing consumers right at the conversion finish line. Some experimentation and A/B testing may need to take place, but here are some simple ways for you to start increasing "contact us" form conversions.

1. Take a Look at Page Placement

We know that page design already has a huge impact on conversions as a whole. Graphics placement, banners and navigation all can affect what kind of impression your Web page makes on consumers, and the same holds true for forms. Try placing your "contact us" form near the top of the page, "above the fold," so that browsers won't have to scroll down to see it.

Creating a marketing campaign is a lot of work. After months of research, A/B testing and seemingly endless promotion to get it up and running, it's reasonable to want to rest a little bit and reap the rewards of a campaign well executed. But don't get too comfortable. Marketing campaigns aren't just "set it and forget it"; they require continual maintenance to make sure you're always connecting with your base in meaningful ways and reaching as many new customers as possible. While you might not need a complete overhaul just yet, here's a spring cleaning checklist you can use to spruce up your campaigns as the last of the winter chill melts away.

Increasing "contact us" form conversions is a very effective way to generate new leads for your business, yet it still represents a hurdle for many marketers. Your SEO strategy does a great job driving traffic to your website, where your visitors might poke around on various pages — but when they get to your contact page, instead of filling out your form, they bounce. It happens all too often. Use these tactics and be on your way to increasing "contact us" form conversions on your site.

1. Keep It Short

Lengthy forms are a turnoff to visitors, so ask for the least amount of information you need. It won't be hard to convince eager clients, but for the most part these days, asking for a phone number is like asking someone to marry you before you go on a date. Unless your business is call-based, avoid this field. If you need that additional information, it's better to entice your prospects to give it later.