47 Conversion Rate Optimization Tips

Portent Webinar Series

101 47 Conversion Rate Optimization TipsPRESENTATION PREPARED BY: Josh Patrice

#portentuhttp://portent.co/CRO-Tips

101 CRO TIPS 2

WHO IS THIS GUY?

Josh PatriceDirector of SEO, Portent

•Over 10 years in the search industry•User Experience, Info Architecture background•Agency experience•Passion for CRO

3

Psychology

101 CRO TIPS 4

PSYCHOLOGY

#1 Fear v. Greed

5

• The basis of all our users’ online interactions.• Origins in market trading.• Users default to fear, more conversions come from

trust• Greed is good.

• Free whitepaper & site evaluation• 20 minute consultation• Analysis of 5 competitors• Send your website address to info@domain.com

PSYCHOLOGY

#2 Familiarity leads to Conversions

6

Familiarity builds trust.Trust builds greed.Greed leads to conversions.

PSYCHOLOGY

#3 Habit Forming Leads to Success

7

Restaurant receipts are habitual.User form fields:Subtotal, Tip, Total, Signature

True worldwide. Meaning there is no barrier to success regardless of the language barrier.

PSYCHOLOGY

#4 Loss Aversion

8

Practiced by Living Social, Groupon, Amazon Local, Touch of Modern, etc.

Messages like:• Only 10 left!• 3 days remaining• Limited time offer

Think …infomercial

PSYCHOLOGY

#5 Social Proof

9

Trust factors through social resources. Your friend Tommy likes this and so do 9,000 other people• Facebook Likes• Tweets• Shares• +1

If you don’t have social presence, leave these off your site!

PSYCHOLOGY

#6 Call to Action

10

Users need to be told what to do.

Craft a message that will not only resonate with their wants, but also compel them to take action

PSYCHOLOGY

#7 Color Psychology

11

People relate to colors differently84.7% buy because of a color52% customers didn’t return to a store due to aesthetics

http://www.webpagefx.com/blog/web-design/psychology-of-color-infographic/

PSYCHOLOGY

#8 Button Color

12

Orange may be the new black, but it's not the only answer.

Contrast is king due to the Von Restorff effect. Blue is common on the Web, orange stands out.

Some studies are skewed by poor testing scenarios.

http://dmu.cdmginc.us/testing-corner-do-bigger-buttons-work-better/http://blog.kissmetrics.com/color-psychology/?wide=1

Orange Facts:• SAP saw 32.5% uptick with a

big orange button• Wider Funnel calls the big

orange button BOB• Is the opposite of blue

PSYCHOLOGY

#9Personalized Button Message

13

Reach out to your audience, it’s a leap of faith for them to buy online because there’s no human interaction.

By making a button more personalized, more direct, speak to the user, you can see an increase in engagement.

http://contentverve.com/10-call-to-action-case-studies-examples-from-button-tests/

PSYCHOLOGY

#10 Study Your User

14

Your audience isn’t a set of keywords. Build online user personas and find their habits, action paths, etc.

Interviews Card Sorting

&

Testing

101 CRO TIPS 15

TESTING

#11 A/B Testing

16

• Test your message• Test your colors• Test your pictures• Test everything

• Test one thing at a time A

B

TESTING

#12 B/C Testing

17

Don’t stop with the winner of A/B tests. Keep going! Maybe C will be better than both A & B

B C

TESTING

#13 Do not throw B away

18

A/B testing can lead you astray.

31% choose B. Why? Don't ignore the "failing" message… it has a 31% success rate.

Go back to your personas, see if there’s a message that works for the “B” users that could improve that conversion rate.

69% 31%

User Experience

101 CRO TIPS 19

USER EXPERIENCE

#14 ABCD

20

Layout your site with regard to the ABCD grid as seen in the landing page at right A

B

CD

USER EXPERIENCE

#15 A & D

21

Users’ eyes gravitate naturally from A to D A

B

CD

USER EXPERIENCE

#16 Take out the B & C

22

Avoid putting important information in quadrants B & C, as users will often miss the information.

AB

CD

USER EXPERIENCE

#17 A & D

23

By arranging your primary actions in quadrant D, you can expect a higher level of user engagement.

AB

CD

USER EXPERIENCE

#18 Avoid Templates

24

We’ve all seen the same landing page before, it looks a lot like the one at the right

USER EXPERIENCE

#19 Get Creative

25

This is much cooler, while still following the ABCD format.

Essentially the same thing, with a little design for good measure and a better user experience

AB

CD

USER EXPERIENCE

#20 Avoid Too Many Calls to Action

26

Stick to 1, maybe go upto 3, but 8 is more than enough. Where should the user begin on the page below?

USER EXPERIENCE

#21Do not Forget New Customers

27

You have 2 types of visitors: customers and potential customers.

Remember to write content for both users. Your potential customers won’t react to the same content as your current customers and vice versa.

USER EXPERIENCE

#22Ditch the Drop-Down Navigation

28

Drop-down navigation can be hit or miss. While it helps users dig deeper into your site, it can also be a major distraction. When it’s overwhelmingly huge, it can cover up the entire window when on a small screen.

If you can ditch it, go for it. If not, then focus on your main user paths.

There’s no reason for a direct link to your miscellaneous accessories page from the main navigation.

USER EXPERIENCE

#23Ditch the Distractions

29

Sometimes, design elements distract the user from completing their goal. Site elements like banners, rotating offers, and intrusive pop-ups should be avoided.

Landing Page Optimization

101 CRO TIPS 30

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#24 Construct the AIDA Flow

31

Take your users through a journey on your landing pages.

awareness

interest

desire

action

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#25 Awareness

32

Get folks to your site. How? SEO, PPC, Social Media, etc.Then what?Keep them there.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#26 Attraction

33

Resonate with your users’ pain.

What problem are visitors trying to solve? Your site is about THEM not you.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#27 Desire

34

Your users have outcomes in mind when they visit your landing page. Be sure to address their outcomes.

This is where your value proposition comes into play.

Help them answer:What’s in it for me?

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#28 Action

35

Reason to believe you.Users need to trust more than they need to be sold.

Examples:• icons for the halo effect• testimonials• etc.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#29 Match Your Keyword to Your Ad

36

Seeing the search query appear in the ad helps create familiarity.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#30 Match Your Ad to Your Landing Page

37

Carrying that familiarity to the landing page, continues the bond.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#31 Match Your Landing Page to Your User

38

Designing your landing page for your specific users, will lead to more frequent conversions, and stronger sentiment.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#32 Match Your Socks to Your Pants

39

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#33 Avoid Instructions

40

Instructions won’t resonate with their pain, rather compound it. Do what you can intuitively.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#34Avoid Options

41

Keep it simple. Options create confusion and roadblocks in the conversion process.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#35 Avoid Solutions Address Problems

42

I have a problem. I don’t know the solution. Stop offering blanketed solutions to your users.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#36 Avoid Statements

43

“I don’t know you. Don’t claim you make the best pie.”

-Josh Patrice This time, try to forget infomercials, as bold superlative statements can be very polarizing to users. You only get a few seconds, avoid overtly selling to them.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#37 Avoid Commitment

44

Think of your users as male characters from 90s movies & sitcoms: they’re terrified of commitment

Sometimes it’s too much to ask for an email address. If there’s another way, use it. Keep forms to a minimum.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#38 Embrace Instinct & Affordances

45

Since we’re avoiding instructions, we have to embrace the instincts of our users. Landing pages should be created such that users instinctually know what to do.

A door with a handle should always pull open, one with a flat bar should always push open.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#39 Embrace a Garden Path

46

Guide your users through your process, site, landing page, etc.

Your site should bridge the knowledge gap between their awareness and your desired actions.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#40 Embrace the Result

47

It’s not all about showing them that you know their needs, that you can help.

It’s also about showing the outcome which should be recognizable to your user.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#41 Embrace Questions

48

The user doesn't need to have the answer, and they can be open to suggestion because they don't know the answer. Sometimes, it’s best to initiate a conversation in order to get your users to their desired outcome.

Find your 3 most common problems, and turn them into questions.

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#42 Embrace Engagement

49

We’re detached online.

Create interaction without users submitting their info.

Have them create something of value for free, and then save it through registration.

Use filters for user engagement.

eCommerce:Product Pages & Shopping Carts

101 CRO TIPS 50

ECOMMERCE

#43 Show me the Price

51

Don’t hide your price under copy or with a color that blends in. Make it stand out!

ECOMMERCE

#44 Show me the Shipping

52

Humans will rely on one trait or piece of info when making a decision.

Free shipping is most important order factor: • 52 percent of abandoned online shopping

carts in 2011 were due to a lack of free shipping deals*

• Shoppers spend an average of 30% more when free shipping is available*

*http://www.freeshipping.org/statistics/

ECOMMERCE

#45 Common Product Page Info

53

• Customer reviews/ratings• Product videos• Unique product descriptions• Individual Q&A on the product page• Social sharing buttons• CTA• Trust signals: Certified Reseller, etc…• Stock & availability levels• Product options – Fewer options make for

easier decisions.• Image size – Large images can help sell.

Probably not a major concern if your product is butter, we all know what butter looks like. If your product is a dress with detailed print, then bigger is better.

ECOMMERCE

#46 Show me the Cart & make it Persistent

54

Put the cart in the top right and keep it there. Make it easy to preview, show me what’s in it when I hover over it.

And by all means, make it persistent. Save my order for the next time I visit the site.

A National Mail Order Association study showed that 35% of shoppers took over 12 hours to complete their purchase. Another 21% took more than 72 hours. Keeping their items in the cart for 7 days could lead to significantly higher conversion rates.

ECOMMERCE

#47 Progress Tracking Roadmap

55

Steps help users see the finish line, leading to less drop-off.

Q & A#portentuhttp://portent.co/CRO-Tips

101 CRO TIPS 56

Portent Webinar Series

Thank You!PRESENTATION PREPARED BY: Josh Patrice @syzlak