Conversion Rate Optimization Minidegree — CXL Institute Review #1
Conversion rate optimization: Introduction and best practices
Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of conversion rate optimization and it’s best practices, let’s talk about the word “optimization” and what does that mean.
Optimization — “A mathematical technique for finding a maximum or minimum value of a function of several variables subject to a set of constraints, as linear programming or systems analysis.”
Too technical? Let me explain this in layman’s term. Optimization is the process of finding the most optimal solution out of all the possible solutions. In the case of E-commerce, optimization is finding the process that generates the maximum profit. Now profit could mean a lot of things in this scenario. It could be the number of orders, order conversion, revenue depending on what we are trying to optimize.
In this series, I am going to talk about conversion rate optimization (CRO). This blog is part 1 of the 12 reviews that I would be publishing based on my learnings from the CXL Institute’s Conversion Rate Optimization Minidegree program.
CXL Institute offers some of the best online courses, mini degrees, and certifications in the field of digital marketing, product analytics, conversion rate optimization, growth marketing, etc. I am a part of the Conversion Rate Optimization Minidegree program. Throughout the series, I would be discussing the content of the course as well as my learning and thoughts about the same.
Introduction to Conversion Rate Optimization
The first course of the mini degree program is called Introduction to conversion rate optimization taught by Brian Massey, a master storyteller. The course was effortless, the way he explains multiple concepts with ease while telling a story is admirable. For me, it is easier to remember complex concepts with ease if they are disguised as a story and this course does exactly that.
Brian defines conversion rate optimization as a way of approaching your website in which you collect data to understand how changes to your website are going to impact your visitors and thus their willingness to sign up, subscribe, or buy from you.
He also emphasizes on the fact that CRO is more about ideas than testing. He explains that yes, testing is important. Velocity and momentum are important, no doubt about that. But the most important delineator, the most important unit of value for us is ideas. The issue here is that in an organization there are a lot of people and everyone has multiple ideas. So in a nutshell the ideas we don’t test/ run an experiment on are equally important as the one on which the testing is performed.
Brian addresses the experimenter as a scientist performing in a controlled environment. The job of an experimenter includes but not limited to —
- Ask good questions
- Increase the sample size (more eyes to look at the MVP/Idea the better)
- Increase the quality of sample size (An experimenter needs to make sure that the sample is made up of targeted audience)
In my experience as an experimentation analyst, I believe that increasing the quality of sample size is one of the most important aspects of an experimenter’s job.
I believe that writing a hypothesis is an important part of conversion optimization as it makes you specific about what you are talking about. It talks about the change that you are planning to make, what you expect out of the change, and how you are going to measure success.
Conversion Rate Optimization — Foundation and Best Practices
Peep Laja, the founder of CXL Institute, reminds us that the mindset of CRO professionals should not be strictly about increasing conversions. Because if it was so, that could have been an easy task. A conversion rate optimizer or scientist has to think of methodologies that are fruitful today and in the future as well.
CRO Best Practices
One has to keep into consideration that not all size fits all, something that is working for your competitor might not work for you or vice-versa. The biggest mistake that the majority of the product teams makes is to make a decision based on the following motto -
“I don’t need data to make decisions, I have intuitions”
and as the images say; that’s a slippery slope to witchcraft. Any idea that the team comes with should be tested both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Below are Peep Laja’s recommendation for the best practices. Let’s have a look at those —
- WebForms should be simple and precise. Only ask for the information that you need. Imagine meeting a stranger and s/he starts asking you about your address, date of birth, credit card details, etc. What would be the first thought? Why is this person asking all these questions? What is s/he going to do with my information? Exactly, that’s what we need to avoid here. Web forms should be as frictionless as possible (unless you want to increase the friction to increase the lead quality). Simple fields should be on top and one should most definitely leverage the autofill capability.
- E-commerce category page’s goal is to make sure that a customer finds what they are looking for. Our goal as an optimizing scientist is to make sure that this process is seamless. This can be done by incorporating options to set preferences, for example having a filter pan (from basics to more technical, optimal for all kinds of audiences). The images on the category page should be big and clear, this is an example of a strong visual hierarchy. Make sure there is a sorting option and also breadcrumbs to help understand where they are on the website.
- Call to Actions (CTA) should be highly noticeable. CTA guides the customer to the next step in the purchase funnel. There should be ample whitespace and they should have a contrast color as compared to the background with enough whitespace.
- Fold and page length might vary based on different devices and browsers that we are on and they can depend on various factors. Irrespective of that, a website should always have the most important information above the fold. This includes, what the company is about, visual cues, and most importantly primary and secondary CTA’s. Having a short page length helps to keep the website loading time in check.
- Ecommerce Signups in my personal opinion are a very important part of the website. It helps capture important information about the customer but on the other hand, can be interpreted as an additional step in the conversion process. So, the best practice in this scenario is to always provide a guest checkout. People would require to provide the majority of their personal information during the checkout process. There is a huge opportunity to ask them to create an account on the thank you page. For example, asking to set up a password for the email address they used for the checkout purpose.
- Prices should never be hidden, no one likes surprises when it comes to money. Also, Peep advises making sure that you constantly keep testing the different price options and make an educated decision based on statistically significant results.
- Shopping cart page is the important page on the website, this is where the decisions are made. We should try to reduce as much friction as we can on this page. Make sure that the page layout is clear and easy to understand and the proceed to checkout CTA is present both on top and bottom of the cart.
- Checkout page is the page where the “magic” happens. A customer should feel secure about the process, so we should have security and trust badges on this page. We also need to make sure that ‘enter credit card information’ is the last step of the process.
Review —
I find the CXL CRO Minidegree very insightful. The instructors are champions in their fields and they know exactly what they are talking about. Being an experimentation analyst, I understand the importance of experiments (A/B testing) and I have seen numerous examples where the outcome of the test was contradictory to public opinion. The emphasis on testing and learning from it is something that I admire the most about the course.
The material that I went through for the first week helped me understand the basics of conversion rate optimization, the best practices one should follow to gain maximum profit out of the process. I am eager to learn more about copywriting, product messaging, and social proof during my week #2.
That’s all folks. See you next week!
