Originally published at: http://www.sitepoint.com/debunking-5-myths-conversion-rate-optimization/
Some conversion optimization myths are not easy to spot. You hear about them in conversion conferences, you read about them in books but years of practice reveal that you have to be more careful before a myth can cost you money and valuable time.
Let’s take a look at the most common myths of conversion rate optimization (CRO), keeping in mind that the same thing won’t work for everyone. You need to keep an open mind and remember to take a step back to make sure you’re not doing something just for the sake of it.
Myth 1: Always Be Testing
When I started in the field of conversion optimization about 10 years ago, it was difficult to convince anyone of the importance of testing. It was typical for us to hear a customer say, “you are the experts, just tell me what I need to change on my website and I’ll do it.”
We trust you so we do not see a need to test.
Most clients wanted to take optimization recommendations and not spend money on implementing different designs and running AB or multivariate tests to figure out which design will increase conversion rates. Many thought that these tests were a waste of time and money. In order for those of us working in the field to convince people of the importance of testing, we had to sell the idea of A/B and multivariate testing in conferences, articles, and seminars. Nowadays, I think it is fair to say that the culture of testing is taking its roots in the online community. However, the early push to convince people about the importance of testing might have oversimplified the process of testing. We did not focus on how to select the right pages to test or what elements should be tested on these pages. Another side affect was that people confused the process of conversion optimization with process of testing.
Conversion optimization includes several steps:
- Analyze analytics data to determine which page should be tested
- Analyze selected page to determine problems
- Prioritize problems
- Create a hypothesis on how to fix the top problems
- Create mockups for the new designs
- Implement the new designs on website
- Test (A/B or multivariate) the different designs to determine the winning design (hypothesis testing)
- Analyze the results of the test and determine marketing insights
As you can see, testing is only one step within the process of conversion optimization. As you attend marketing conferences or read articles about conversion optimization, you will start noticing the new push to persuade the online community about the importance of following a conversion optimization methodology.
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