You Should Test That: Conversion Optimization for More Leads, Sales and Profit or The Art and Science of Optimized Marketing

Join the Scientific Marketing Revolution Conversion optimization has become the go–to strategy for marketers to increase demand and profit from their websites. You Should Test That! provides the strategy, methods, and frameworks that have lifted conversion rates by up to 400% for organizations such as Shutterfly, Google, Salesforce, Electronic Arts, Iron Mountain, SAP, and many other fast–growth companies and startups. You′ll learn fresh tactics, previously hidden marketing insights, and proven processes that deliver unbeatable competitive advantage. Use what you learn in this book to turn your online marketing channels into high–performance conversion funnels. Prioritize where and what to test on your websites and landing pages for maximum revenue lift Master all testing types, including multivariate, A/B/n, and split path Evaluate the key analytics reports—essential to understanding where you are now Create a conversion optimization strategy aligned with your business and marketing goals, and get your team on board Test for relevance, clarity, urgency, and other key factors in the Landing Page Influence Function for Tests (LIFT) model Follow compelling case studies and learn how to emulate their success " You Should Test That! provides an easy to understand framework for testing, and lots of excellent ideas for how to optimize toward specific goals. It′s a much needed, comprehensive approach to testing." — Jesse Nichols , Agency Partnerships, Google Analytics "When you′ve finished You Should Test That! , you′ll be armed not just with the belief in the importance of testing and optimization, but with the mental tools to accomplish them." — Stefan Tornquist , VP Research, Econsultancy US "In You Should Test That! , Chris doesn′t just talk about what you should test, but how to think about your marketing in a very smart and strategic way." — Mitch Joel , President of Twist Image and Author, Blogger, Podcaster of Six Pixels of Separation

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

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.