You Should Test That

Chris Goward is founder and CEO of WiderFunnel, the conversion optimization agency that has improved marketing results by up to 400% for such firms as eBay, Google, BabyAge.com, SAP, Electronic Arts, Iron Mountain, Expensify, Hair Club, and many more. Chris is recognized as a conversion optimization thought leader, has an influential blog (WiderFunnel.com/blog), and speaks internationally at such conferences as Search Engine Strategies, Pubcon, eMetrics, Search Marketing Expo, European Conversion Summit, IIMA, Conversion Conference, and Internet Marketing Conference.

• Foreword xxiiiIntroduction xvChapter 1 Why You Should Test That 1Your Website Is Crucial to Your Business 2Your Website Is Underperforming 4All Websites Can Be Improved 4The Halo Effect of Underperformance 5Web Design for Results (Rather than Aesthetics) 9Why “Best Practices” Aren’t Best 10Is There a HiPPO in the Room? 11The Risks and Costs of Website Redesign 12Your New Website Design Could Hurt Your Results 13Your Improvements May Be Overshadowed by Mistakes 13Use Evolutionary Site Redesign 15Conversion-Rate Optimization Increases Revenue without Increasing Advertising Spend 15Comparing Conversion-Rate Optimization with Paid-Search Optimization 15Conversion-Rate Optimization and Your Business 17Conversion-Rate Optimization Results by Industry 17Calculate the Benefit of Conversion-Rate Optimization 18CRO Works alongside SEO 20SEO and CRO Can Play Well Together 20How to Do CRO without Hurting Your SEO 21You Should Test That! 22Chapter 2 What is Conversion Optimization? 23Conversion Optimization Requires Controlled Testing 23The Scientific Method of Controlled Testing 24Selecting a Sample (Not a Free One, a Statistical One) 25Using a Tool Designed for Controlled Testing 26“Best Practices” Are Not Conversion Optimization 27The Before & After Method Is Not Conversion Optimization 29External Factors Mess with Your Data 30Usability Testing Is Not Conversion Optimization 33Surveys Are Not Conversion Optimization 37Click Heatmap Tracking Is Not Conversion Optimization 38What Is Conversion Optimization? 39Who Are Your Target Audiences? 39Target Markets and Personas 40Setting Goals 41Define Your Goals 42The Goals Waterfall 42Prioritize Your Goals 42Should You Optimize for Micro-Conversions? 46Web Analytics Goals vs Conversion-Optimization Goals 48The Continuous Improvement Cycle 54Continuous Improvement Is Key to Success 55Progress from Macro to Micro 58Chapter 3 Prioritize Testing Opportunities 61Use Data to Prioritize Tests 62Your Web Analytics Data 62Your Home Page Isn’t Your Front Door 62View Data at the Page-Template Level 63The PIE Prioritization Framework 66Prioritize Pages with High Potential for Improvement 67Top Exit Pages 67Analyze Your Conversion Funnel 70Gather Qualitative Data 72Prioritize Important Pages 82Pages with High Traffic Volume Are More Important 83Pages with Expensive Visits Are More Important 85Prioritize Easy Test Pages 89Consider Technical Implementation 89Consider Organizational Barriers 94Prioritize with a Weighting Table 94Reprioritize Regularly 95Chapter 4 Create Hypotheses with the LIFT Model 97Methodology Is More Valuable than Tips 98The Gorilla in Our Brains 100The LIFT Model 102The Value Proposition 103Relevance 104Clarity 104Anxiety 105Distraction 106Urgency 107Problems Are Opportunities! 107Fill the Marble Jar 107Create Valid Hypotheses 109The Hypothesis Structure 110Good to Great Hypotheses 111Tips to Get Your Testing Started 112Chapter 5 Optimize Your Value Proposition 113The Value-Proposition Equation 114Your Visitor’s Perception Filters 115Tangible Features 118Product or Service Features 118Incentives and Offers 119Intangible Benefits 123Credibility 123Social Proof 128Personal Benefits vs Business Benefits 136Costs 137The Price 137Delivery Cost 141The Incredible Power of Free 141Associated Costs 143What Is Your Value Proposition? 144Test Your Value Proposition 145Chapter 6 Optimize for Relevance 147Marketing Funnel Relevance 148Source Relevance 150Relevance to Ad Messages 151Relevance to Search Keywords 152Relevance to Emails 158Three Ways to Create Landing-Page Source Relevance 159Target Audience Relevance 160Customer Segmentation 160Call-to-Action Relevance 162Tone Relevance 163Navigation Relevance 167Competitive Relevance 174Chapter 7 Optimize for Clarity 177Information Hierarchy Clarity 178Website-Level Information Hierarchy 178Page-Level Information Hierarchy 181Design Clarity 182Eyeflow Clarity 182Image Clarity 186Color Clarity 191Call-to-Action Clarity 193Copywriting Clarity 195Chapter 8 Optimize for Anxiety 207Privacy Anxiety 208Usability Anxiety 215Form Usability 215Website Errors 217Site Speed 218Effort Anxiety 219Fulfillment Anxiety 223Security 224Fine Print 224Brand Reputation 225Delivery Promise 225Guarantees, Returns, and Unsubscription 226Turn Anxiety in Your Favor 228Chapter 9 Optimize for Distraction 231Two Distraction Points 232First-Impression Distraction 233Look through Your Prospects’ Eyes 233Too Much Content 235Daunting Text 237Complex Graphics 238Large Headers 238Redundancy 240Message Distraction 244Too Many Messages 245Irrelevant Content 245Too Many Options 247Navigation Bars 248Image Distraction 248Chapter 10 Optimize for Urgency 255Internal Urgency 256Seasonality’s Effect on Urgency 256Create Internal Urgency 262External Urgency 266The Offer’s Effect on Urgency 267Create Offer Urgency 268Respond with Urgency 271Chapter 11 Test Your Hypotheses 273Set Test Goals 274Types of Goals 274Use Clickthroughs with Caution 276Goal Triggers 277The One-Goal Goal 279Multi-Goal Tracking 280Choose the Test Area 281Templated Pages 282Individual Static Test Pages 283Individual Pages with Dynamic Content 283Site-Wide Section Tests 283Choose the Test Type 288Consider Traffic Volume 288Multivariate Testing 288A/B/n Testing 290My Recommendation: Emphasize A/B/n Testing 291Alternative Path Tests 293Isolate for Insights 293How to Get Good Great Results 295Test Boldly 295Test Fewer Variations 296Avoid Committee Testing 296Win with Confidence 296Maintain Your Control 297Use Testing Expertise 297Chapter 12 Analyze Your Test Results 299Reading the Tea Leaves 300Monitoring Your Tests 301Wait for Statistical Significance 301Remove Under-Performers 302Don’t Give Up Too Early 302Evaluating Results 303How Accurate Are Your Results? 303Multiple Goals 306Revenue Results 306Compare Isolations 310What to Test Next? 311Re-Prioritize Your Priorities 311Beat the Dreaded Inconclusive Test 311Chapter 13 Strategic Marketing Optimization 313Aim for Marketing Insights 314The Optimization Manifesto 314Be a Marketing Optimization Champion 315Index 319