Conversion Rate Optimization in Practice

Robert CarterWeb Analyst for Nansen

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Conversion is when the user does what you want them to do on your site.

Converison rate optimization (CRO) is a set of practices for continuously improving the conversion rate of a website.

Conversion Rate Optimization

The Funnel CRO is about getting the user to the end of the journey that you want them to take.

CRO is Powerful

Why we are in love with CRO

● Small changes lead to big gains.● A rising tide lifts all boats – a better

conversion rate means more ROI on SEM, SEO, etc.

● Happier users, happier clients.● Helps to clarify and achieve business goals.

HiPPOs vs. Turtlenecks

Test your differences of opinion!

Why agencies should be in love with CRO

● Value added after a website design is “done”● Allows you to be proactive with improving the

website● Makes our design work better and more

effective● Imagine if you spent three years testing and

learning about user behavior before doing the next redesign?

Traditional Website Redesigns (RSR)

CRO in Practice

● Global pet food retailer.● No eCommerce, but

main driver of sales through website is a coupon request.

Case Study: BlueBuffalo.com

● We used Google Analytics to create a custom dashboard of their funnel.

● We mapped out each step and the drop-off rate.

● Coupon conversion rate was lagging from last year.

It starts with data

● Qualaroo is a tool for creating unintrusive on-site surveys.

● Helps to put the “why” behind the numbers.

● Cheaper than interviews or live usability testing.

Qualaroo to discover the “why”

● 39% of survey respondents said they came to the site for a coupon.

● Only 18% of THOSE visitors actually requested one.● That means that:

Putting it together

31% of site visitors were looking for and couldn’t find BB’s most important conversion.

Hypothesis:

If we communicate the savings benefit at the beginnning of the funnel, more people will

go all the way to the end and request a coupon.

We recommended putting a big red coupon button on

homepage.

Solution 1

Heuristic analysisMissed chance to reinforce value prop (complete the test to save $)

Add a savings message on the brand comparison page.

Solution 2

The client said…

The variation

Added $7 savings language to sub-head

Testing a new variation of the page was easy using the WYSIWYG editor in Optimizely.

Optimizely setup

Features● Custom CSS● Custom JS● Integrates with GA custom dimensions & Crazy Egg● Track goals by click, pageview, or custom event

Different ways to test● A/B/n● Multivariate (multiple elements at once)● Multi-page (for an entire funnel or experience)● Redirect (create new page and redirect a % of visitors)

Optimizely customization

Optimizely calculates results and statistical significance.

Results

● We use Excel to aggregate data from multiple conversion types.● The savings message won!

○ 3.3% lift in test completions○ 13% lift in conversion rate○ 10% lift in value per visitor

More results

● Test is paused in Optimizely.● Winning variations are implemented in the CMS.● Chain smoking = continuous cycle of improvement

After a test is complete

Conversion Principles

The LIFT Model

Evaluating Your Value Proposition

Relevance

Clarity● Design clarity: guides the user down the desired

path with logical content organization and visual cues.

● Copywriting clarity: avoids business jargon, speaks the user’s language, tells them what they need to know.

● Color clarity: uses color to emphasize the most important elements & messages.

● Call-to-action (CTA) clarity: the next step is easy to understand and easy to find.

Anxiety

What makes your users anxious?

• Hard to find what they want.• No privacy policy, no security certificate.• Shipping cost & time.• Confusing forms.

Anxiety

Want to know what makes your users anxious? Ask them!

Or, talk to your salespeople. Every objection raised by a prospect in person should be addressed by the website.

Urgency

Our mattress will help you with your back pain.

How much longer can you afford to live in pain?

VS

Getting Started

● Potential for improvement.

● Importance of page.● Ease of implementation

(technical & political)

The PIE Framework

Find the pages with the highest bounce rates.

Finding opportunities

Use HotJar or Google Analytics to measure funnel drop off.Funnel drop off

Funnel drop off

Use common sense to find areas for improvement.

Why do you rob banks?“Because that’s where the money is.” -WILLIE SUTTON

Start with:• Landing pages• eCommerce checkout• Sign up pages• Pricing page for SaaS sites

Setting yourself up for success

• Requires buy-in from stakeholders and team collaboration• Who is responsible for making sure testing happens?• A willingness to fail is essential. Not every test is a winner!• Common goal is more important than individual egos.• Testing requires enough traffic to deliver results (http://

www.evanmiller.org/ab-testing/sample-size.html)

Thank you.