Conversion rate optimization is a powerful tactic to get more value from your visitors, but there's a lot of mythology out there about what really works and doesn't. CRO is about more than testing button colors, headlines, photos, or videos. Learn more about the big picture, and what truly moves the needle, with Rand Fishkin himself. Check out this presentation to learn: - Conversion Rate Optimization basics - What's in a conversion decision - How to find out what needs optimizing - 10+ tactical tips for CRO

1. Big Picture CRO
Beyond button colors, headline changes, & A/B tests
Rand Fishkin, CEO, Moz
@randfish | rand@moz.com

2. Conversion Rate
Optimization Basics

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

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. 12 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. #6: Concrete & Emotional > Abstract & Intellectual
Concrete &
Emotional
Abstract &
Intellectual
From this excellent infographic: http://www.zippycart.com/infographics/how-sales-messaging-affects-conversion-rates.html

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. Despite reading the homepage thoroughly, I was stumped about exactly what teamr does: h#p://www.teamr.com/
#10: Make Your Core Purpose Insanely Obvious
Huh?

37. Contrast with 15Five, a competitive product that makes their purpose and product extremely clear right away: h#p://www.15five.com/
#10: Make Your Core Purpose Insanely Obvious
Makes total sense.

38. Maintaining the conversion “scent” from ConversionXL: h#p://conversionxl.com/give-­‐your-­‐adver>sing-­‐roi-­‐a-­‐serious-­‐boost-­‐by-­‐maintaining-­‐scent/#.
#11: Maximize the Conversion “Scent” Throughout
the Marketing Messages (on & off site)
Photo doesn’t match…
Where’s the “snow, ice,
or ground” versions?
There’s no copy except
the name…
WEAK SCENT!

39. Maintaining the conversion “scent” from ConversionXL: h#p://conversionxl.com/give-­‐your-­‐adver>sing-­‐roi-­‐a-­‐serious-­‐boost-­‐by-­‐maintaining-­‐scent/#.
#11: Maximize the Conversion “Scent” Throughout
the Marketing Funnel
Photo, logo, &
button all match
Screenshots & copy fit with
the display ad’s promise STRONG SCENT!

40. Moz’s internal customer growth funnel (built by our amazing inbound engineering team)
#12: Don’t Just Aim for the Fastest Possible Conversion
The more times
someone visits Moz
before taking a free
trial, the longer they
stay a subscriber
(on average)
Conversions <
CLTV

41. From Unbounce: http://unbounce.com/conversion-rate-optimization/544-conversion-rate-optimization-tips/
Bonus #13: More Tips Than You Can Imagine

42. Big Picture CRO
Rand Fishkin, CEO, Moz
@randfish | rand@moz.com