This document discusses conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategies beyond simple A/B testing. It recommends asking customers questions to understand obstacles to conversion. CRO is about moving customers through the stages of discovery, testing, consideration, and conversion to becoming long-term subscribers. The document provides 10 tips for CRO including making pages fast, aligning design with intent, using empathy and emotion over complexity, reducing steps, adding video and product details, and understanding individual customer contexts rather than just copying tactics.

1. The Big Picture of CRO
Beyond button colors, headline changes, & A/B tests
Rand Fishkin, CEO, Moz
@randfish | rand@moz.com
Download at http://bit.ly/bigpicturecro

2. Conversion Rate
Optimization Basics

3. From my blog: http://moz.com/rand/
I want more people who
visit the site to subscribe
via email

4. A) More People
Visiting
B) Higher Conversion
Rate

5. Let’s Improve the Call to Action!
This must be the
problem!

6. A/B Testing
We’ll show half our visitors one and half the
other, and get a winner

7. Multivariate Testing
We’ll show each version to a percentage of
visitors and find a winner

8. Statistical Significance Testing
Most testing platforms have this built in. If you need a generic one and some tips on statistical significance, Avinash’s post here has
good stuff: http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/excellent-analytics-tip1-statistical-significance/

9. We Can Test Everything!
Location on Page
Display Width
Box Color
Address Verification
Loading After the Page
Different Versions Based
on User Behavior
Call-to-Action Copy
Social Proof Inclusion
Changing Messaging on Different
Types of Pages/Posts

10. That’s Not CRO

11. What if this isn’t the
problem?

12. What if it’s
my sucky
headlines?

13. What if it’s my
crappy content?

14. What if it’s this funny
looking hoser?

15. Testing button
colors
Testing headlines, copy,
visuals, & form fields
Designing for how customers
think about their problems &
your solution

16. Discovery
Testing
Consideration
Conversion
Subscriber for 3 Months
Subscriber for 6 Months
Subscriber for 12+ Months
CRO is about
getting your
customers from
here to here

17. Discovery
Testing
Consideration
Conversion
Subscriber for 3 Months
Subscriber for 6 Months
Subscriber for 12+ Months
Great CRO is
about moving
them here, too

18. What’s in a
Conversion Decision?

19. Trust
Word of Mouth
Likability
Design
Associations
Word of Mouth
Amount of Pain
CTAs
UX
Effort Required
Process
Historical Experiences
Social Proof
Copywriting
CONVERSION DECISION
Timing
Discovery Path
Branding
Price
(it’s a complex process)

20. How Do We Find Out What
Needs Optimizing?

21. Segment Our Visitors & Survey Them
Via: http://moz.com/rand/the-growth-of-web-marketing-fields/

22. Ask Smart Questions to the Right People
Never Taken a Free
Trial
Took the Free Trial
But Left
Took the Free
Trial and Stayed
What are you seeking
from Moz? What’s brought
you back?
What made you take the
free trial?
What initially made you
want Moz?
What would make you
more likely to sign up?
What are your biggest
objections to signup?
What objections did you
have and how did you
overcome them?
What caused you to
cancel subscription?
What would have made
you stay a subscriber?
What objections did you
have and how did you
overcome them?
What’s been most
valuable to you?
Had success w/ Moz?
Can we share?

23. This is How the Pros Do It:
From Conversion Rate Experts’ case study (which is definitely worth a read): http://www.conversion-rate-experts.com/crazy-egg-case-study/
Boom.
And Shakalaka.

24. This process made Moz $1mm in additional revenue in
2009, when we desperately needed it.
CRE detailed their results with us here: http://www.conversion-rate-experts.com/seomoz-case-study/

25. 10 Tactical Tips for CRO

26. #1: Make Pages Load BLAZING FAST
Data and charts via: http://blog.tagman.com/2012/03/just-one-second-delay-in-page-load-can-cause-7-loss-in-customer-conversions/
ROI of page speed calculator: http://www.tagman.com/conversion-loss-calculator/
50% drop in just
3 seconds!

27. From Avinash Kaushik’s post: http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/tips-for-improving-high-bounce-low-conversion-web-pages/
#2: Align Visitor Intent and Page Purpose

28. Good place to find great designers: http://dribbble.com
#3: Poor Design Negatively Impacts Everything

29. Via Kyle Rush: http://kylerush.net/blog/optimization-at-the-obama-campaign-ab-testing/
#4: Empathy Yields Action
+19%

30. The $300mm button story is a great anecdotal piece on this
http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button
#5: Don’t Force Unnecessary Steps

31. From this excellent infographic: http://www.zippycart.com/infographics/how-sales-messaging-affects-conversion-rates.html
#6: Concrete & Emotional > Abstract & Intellectual
Concrete &
Emotional
Abstract &
Intellectual

32. Zappos’ great videos and detailed images help make them a standout in the field of online retailing:
http://www.zappos.com/puma-future-cat-remix-2-ferrari-dandelion-black-high-risk-red
#7: More Product Detail + Better Presentation = WIN

33. http://www.commoncraft.com/common-craft-video-dropboxcom-effective
#8: Video Works
Conversion went from
30.0% → 33.2% after the
video was added. (10%
lift)

34. Three must-read links on video for conversion: http://conversionxl.com/how-to-use-video-to-increase-conversions/, and the case study data for
eParty: http://www.internetretailer.com/2011/02/22/videos-boost-online-profile-eparty-unlimited and for Premiere Game Tables:
http://blog.treepodia.com/2011/03/ecommerce-video-roi-a-case-study/. I also highly recommend http://wistia.com which we use at Moz for video.
#8: But You Have to Optimize It

35. Great post on case studies and lessons learned: http://moz.com/blog/lessons-learned-from-21-case-studies-in-conversion-rate-optimization-10585
#9: Don’t Fall Into the Trap of Copying Others’ Tactics
14% Increase in Sales 20% Increase in Sales

36. From Unbounce: http://unbounce.com/conversion-rate-optimization/544-conversion-rate-optimization-tips/
#10: More Tips Than You Can Imagine

37. The Big Picture of CRO
Download: http://bit.ly/bigpicturecro
Rand Fishkin, CEO, Moz
@randfish | rand@moz.com