The document discusses 4 discoveries made from testing common usability principles. It found that: 1) Short pages are not always best, longer pages can be more effective by guiding visitors through information; 2) Navigation is not always necessary, removing it can increase conversions; 3) Having options is not always helpful, simplifying choices can improve outcomes; 4) Minimal designs are not always optimal, adding elements can reduce confusion and improve conversions over simpler designs. The key is optimizing the thought process, not just the page design.

1. The Usability Myth:
4 Surprising discoveries we learned after testing
the most common usability principles
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4. TODAY’S TEAM
Dr. Flint McGlaughlin – Director, MECLABS Group
Flint McGlaughlin is the Director of MECLABS Group. The organization has
partnered with key market leaders including The New York Times,
Microsoft Corporation, and Reuters Group.
Dr. McGlaughlin also serves as the Director of Enterprise Research at the
Transforming Business Institute, University of Cambridge (UK) and served
as a former Trustee for Westminster Theological Centre. Dr. McGlaughlin
originally studied Philosophy and Theology at the University of London’s
Specialist Jesuit College.
Today, his primary research is focused on enterprise as transformative
agent. His work has won multiple awards and has been quoted in more
than 13,000 online and offline sources.
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5. EXPERIMENT: BACKGROUND

Experiment ID: (Protected)
Location: MarketingExperiments Research Library
Test Protocol Number: TP1283
Research Notes:
Background: Italian ecommerce website offering cosmetics. The researchers
were focusing on testing different approaches to the “body” category page.
Goal: To increase the rate of conversion
Primary Research Question: Which page will generate the highest rate of
conversion?
Approach: A/B variable cluster test
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6. EXPERIMENT: CONTROL
Control – Category List
• The control listed all the
main categories of “body”
products:
• Deodorants
• Moisturizers
• Toner
• Skin
• Hair remover
• Feet
• Hands
• Mouth
• Scrubs and Specials
• Accessories
• Combination Offers
• Products are all listed below
by category as selected
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7. EXPERIMENT: CONTROL
Control – Category List
Is the category list at
the top of the page
the most user-friendly
way to present the
information?
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8. EXPERIMENT: TREATMENT 1
T1 – Configurator
• Treatment 1 seeks to make
the page easier to use by
adding an interactive
configurator that enables
the visitor to customize the
products that show up
below.
• By Category
• By Objective
• By Product Line
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9. EXPERIMENT: TREATMENT 2
T2 – Visual Categories
• Treatment 2 seeks to make
page easier by removing the
category links and simply
featuring the main
categories with images.
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10. EXPERIMENT: TREATMENT 3
T3 – Navigation Links (text)
• Treatment 3 is a radical
approach that seeks to
make the process easier
by removing the “body”
category page
altogether, enabling the
visitor to choose their
category within the
navigation of the
homepage.
#webclinic

11. EXPERIMENT: TREATMENT 4
T4 – Navigation Links (visual)
• Treatment 4 is similar to
Treatment 3, only it
integrates a more visual
approach to the
categories within the
navigation.
#webclinic

12. EXPERIMENT: TEST YOUR INTUITION
Control – Category List T1 – Configurator T2 – Visual Categories
T3 – Navigation Links (text) T4 – Navigation Links (visual)
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13. EXPERIMENT: RESULTS
20% Increase in Total Conversions
Treatment 1 category page increased conversion rate by 20%
Conversion Relative
Treatment Version
Rate Difference
Control – Category List 1.04% -
T1 – Configurator 1.25% 20%
T2 – Visual Categories 1.10% 6%
T3 – Navigation Links (text) 1.10% 5%
T4 – Navigation Links (visual) 1.10% 5%
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14. EXPERIMENT: RESULTS
Why did the configurator beat all the other methods? Was it the usability?
If so, what made it more usable than the other methods?
Control – Category List T1 – Configurator
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15. THE USABILITY MYTH
 Key Principles
1. Focusing on usability can hinder an effective approach to optimization. It
often undermines the micro-yes approach and can ultimately hinder
results.
2. An overemphasis on “usability” confuses the means with the end. The
goal of our website is not “usability”, but rather “buyability”.
3. Usability, when viewed properly, can be a valuable tool for helping
marketers identify hidden psychological costs in their conversion
processes.
#webclinic

16. USING USABILITY
Tools Hypothesis Test
Conversion Methodology Usability Claim: Control
Users have to scroll A single-column page
Metric Analysis down to the bottom of where the call to action
the page to see the call- is located at the bottom
Usability (UX) to-action. By raising the of the page
CTA above the fold, we
Competitive Analysis can improve the rate Treatment 1
conversion A two-column page
Focus Groups where the the call to
action is located at the
Marketing Opinions top right of the page .
16
#webclinic

17. THE USABILITY MYTH
 Key Principles
1. A focus on usability can hinder an effective approach to optimization. It
often undermines the micro-yes approach and can ultimately hinder
results.
2. An overemphasis on “usability” confuses the means with the end. The
goal of our website is not “usability”, but rather “buyability”.
3. Usability, when viewed properly, can be a valuable tool for helping
marketers identify unnecessary psychological cost in their conversion
processes.
4. All usability claims must be tested.
#webclinic

18. TODAY’S FOCUS
Today, we are going to walk through 4 interesting
discoveries that we have made when testing some of
the most common “rules of usability”.
18
#webclinic

19. DISCOVERY #1:
Short is Not Always Sweet
19
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20. COMMON RULES OF USABILITY
“ “Keep it short…cut the copy and keep the most
important points of the message near the top.”
“…the material that's the most important for the users'
goals or your business goals should be above the fold…”
”
#webclinic

21. SHORTENING A PAGE CAN BE EFFECTIVE
16.52% 19.95% 23.14% 25.40%
Conversion increases as page-length decreases
• Often conversion increases as the
page is shortened, but this is not
always the case…
#webclinic

22. EXPERIMENT: BACKGROUND

Experiment ID: (Protected)
Location: MarketingExperiments Research Library
Test Protocol Number: TP1662
Research Notes:
Background: An addiction and mental health rehabilitation facility.
Goal: Increase the total number of leads captured.
Primary Research Question: Which page will obtain the most form
submissions?
Approach: A/B multi-factor split test
#webclinic

23. Control
EXPERIMENT: CONTROL
• Average short-form page
template with a rotating
banner.
• Call to action is above the fold
on the right hand side and
above “the fold”.
What if we created a
single-column, long-form
structure with the CTA at
the bottom?
23
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24. EXPERIMENT: TREATMENT
Treatment - Top
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25. EXPERIMENT: TREATMENT
Treatment – Middle
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26. EXPERIMENT: TREATMENT
Treatment – Bottom
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27. EXPERIMENT: SIDE-BY-SIDE
Control Treatment
• The treatment is nearly
2x the length of the
control and the call-to-
action is at the bottom
of the page.
27
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28. EXPERIMENT: CONTROL
220% Increase in Total Conversion
The treatment page increased the rate of conversion by 220%
Design Conversion Rate
Control 0.78%
Treatment 2.48%
Relative Difference 220%
 What you need to understand: By utilizing prospect’s thought process and
approach, the treatment better guides the
a single-column, long-copy
generates 220% more leads online.
28
#webclinic

29. DISCOVERY #1: SHORT IS NOT ALWAYS SWEET
 Key Principles
1. We control the chronology of the mind with the geography of the page.
Many times, it is necessary to guide the visitor through a significant
amount of information before they are ready to make a decision.
2. Generally, there is a direct relationship between the cost/complexity of
an offer and the amount of information that is required to achieve a
conversion.
29
#webclinic

30. DISCOVER #2:
Navigation is Not Always Necessary
30
#webclinic

31. COMMON RULES OF USABILITY
“ Users want to have control... Navigation is arguably the
most important part of your website, aside from the
content…
Give users complete control of your website by allowing
them to navigate located information and direct where they
are at all times….
”
31
#webclinic

32. NOT THIS, BUT THIS
Not this
But this
548%
INCREASE IN CONVERSION
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33. NOT THIS, BUT THIS
But this
Not this
155%
INCREASE IN CONVERSION
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34. NOT THIS, BUT THIS
Not this
But this
24%
REVENUE PER VISITOR
34
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35. NOT THIS, BUT THIS
Not this But this
56%
IN REV. PER ORDER
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36. DISCOVERY #2: NAVIGATION IS NOT ALWAYS NECESSARY
 Key Principles
1. Navigation necessarily presents a series of competing options and will
almost always diffuse attention.
2. Navigation should be utilized as a channel-like tool to help the customer
move towards an offer, not away from one.
3. For the average site, this means that navigation should be emphasized on
directory pages (home pages; category pages; etc.), and deemphasized
on destination pages (product pages; lead forms; etc.).
36
#webclinic

37. DISCOVER #3:
Options Are Not Always Helpful
37
#webclinic

38. COMMON RULES OF USABILITY
“ Having choices is considered a good thing. We are used
to choices and we value dearly if we can be in control.
When people have no choice, life is miserable. As you
start adding options, you increase wellbeing…
”
The more choices, the better…
38
#webclinic

39. EXPERIMENT: BACKGROUND
 Experiment ID: (Protected)
Location: MarketingExperiments Research Library
Test Protocol Number: TP1213
Research Notes:
Background: Integrated software solutions for businesses and enterprise
Goal: The company sought to increase free trial sign-ups for the CRM solutions
Primary Research Question: Which landing page will obtain the most
conversions?
Approach: A/B split test (variable cluster)
#webclinic

40. EXPERIMENT: SIDE-BY-SIDE
Control
LOGO
Treatment
LOGO
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41. EXPERIMENT: SIDE-BY-SIDE
By changing the display of the offer, we simplified the customer’s
LOGO
decision from three evenly weighted buttons to a single selection.
1 2 3
LOGO
1
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42. EXPERIMENT: RESULTS
78% Increase in Conversion
The simplified design contributed to a 77.94% conversion gain.
Path Design CR
Control 1.71%
Treatment 3.05%
Relative Difference: 77.94%
#webclinic

43. DISCOVERY #3: OPTIONS ARE NOT ALWAYS HELPFUL
 Key Principles
1. When possible, marketing collateral should NOT lead a prospect to set of
potential options, but rather to “the one” option. Beware of
unsupervised thinking.
43
#webclinic

44. DISCOVER #4:
Minimal is Not Always Optimal
44
#webclinic

45. COMMON USABILITY PRINCIPLES
“ [Websites should have an] aesthetic and minimalist
design…dialogues should not contain information
which is irrelevant or rarely needed.
A minimalist design draws the users to focus on the
main subject at hand without being distracted by
irrelevant images or text.
”
45
#webclinic

46. ORIGINAL EXPERIMENT
Treatment 1 Treatment 2
Configurator & Full List of Products Organized Categories Only
• Treatment 2 takes a more minimalist
approach, and yet Treatment 1
outperformed it by 14%
46
#webclinic

47. ORIGINAL EXPERIMENT
Treatment 3
Organized Categories within Navigation Links • Treatments 3 took
even more of a
minimalist approach
by completely
removing the page
altogether and letting
the visitor jump
straight to the
category through the
navigation…
• Yet this minimalist
approach did not
improve conversion.
47
#webclinic

48. ORIGINAL EXPERIMENT
Treatment 1
Configurator & Full List of Products
• In all, Treatment 1 was the
most complex version of
the page from a design
and process standpoint…
• …and yet it provided the
easiest and most useful
experience for the visitor.
#webclinic

49. DISCOVERY #4: MINIMAL IS NOT ALWAYS OPTIMAL
 Key Principles
1. We do not optimize web pages; we optimize thought sequences. Our goal
is NOT to minimize complexity on the page, but rather confusion in the
mind (i.e., psychological effort).
2. Minimizing the confusion in the mind will at times include adding
elements to the page design:
• Adding Interactive Tools • Adding (separating) Micro-Steps
• Adding Statements of Value • Adding Eye-path Guides
• Adding Anxiety Reducers • Adding Qualifying Friction
#webclinic

50. SUMMARY: WE MUST TRANSCEND BEST PRACTICES
Rule-based Science-based
vs.
Optimization Optimization
Practice
• Emphasize hero shots
• Keep it above the fold
Methodolog
• Avoid too much copy y
• Emphasize the Benefits
• Don’t use reverse text C = 4m + 3v + 2(i-f) - 2a ©
• Don’t rely too much on Flash
• Implement basket recovery emails
Meta-theory
• Avoid auto-on audio
50
#webclinic

51. SUMMARY: THE USABILITY MYTH
DISCOVERY #1: Short is Not Always Sweet
We control the chronology of the mind with the geography of the page. There is a direct relationship
between the cost/complexity of an offer and the amount of information that is required to achieve a
conversion.
Discovery #2: Navigation is Not Always Necessary
Navigation necessarily presents a series of competing options and will almost always diffuse
attention. Navigation should be utilized as a channel-like tool to help the customer move towards an
offer, not away from one.
Discovery #3: Options Are Not Always Helpful
When possible, marketing collateral should NOT lead a prospect to set of potential options, but rather
to “the one” option. Beware of unsupervised thinking.
Discovery #4: Minimal is Not Always Optimal
Our goal is NOT to minimize complexity on the page, but rather complexity in the mind. Minimizing
the complexity in the mind will at times include adding elements to the page design.
#webclinic

52. LIVE OPTIMIZATION
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53. Upcoming Web Clinic
Tune into our next Web
clinic to learn:
• How one company
used email subject
lines and body copy to
determine the
essence of its value
proposition.
• A 5-step methodology
for testing value
proposition with email
messages.
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54. Live Optimization
Merck
Primary objective(s):
To capture leads for
partnerships
Primary traffic source(s):
Organic and Direct ad
Target audience:
Potential research partners
Page URL: http://bit.ly/ZpL9Ll
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55. Live Optimization
American Red Cross
Primary objective(s):
Convert donor traffic
Primary traffic source(s):
Organic and email
Target audience:
New and existing donors
Page URL: http://rdcrss.org/N5tB2a
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56. MarketingExperiments Optimization Newsletter
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