6. Increase the number of people who buy, call, fill
out contact form, subscribe, follow, share, return
visit, recommend, or whatever your goal is.
Number of Completions
Number of Visitors
= Conversion
8. Bounce Rate
If your bounce rate is high, then your landing page is likely irrelevant to your
visitors and as a result, conversions are likely to be lower.
18. Promotional writing (control condition)
using the "marketese" found on many commercial
websites
Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized attractions that
draw large crowds of people every year, without fail. In 1996,
some of the most popular places were Fort Robinson State Park
(355,000 visitors), Scotts Bluff National Monument (132,166),
Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum (100,000),
Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
(60,002), and Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park (28,446).
Control
19. Concise text
with about half the word count as the control condition
In 1996, six of the best-attended attractions in Nebraska were
Fort Robinson State Park, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Arbor
Lodge State Historical Park & Museum, Carhenge, Stuhr Museum
of the Prairie Pioneer, and Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park.
Usability Improvement: 58%
20. Scannable layout
using the same text as the control condition in a layout
that facilitated scanning
Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized attractions that draw large crowds of
people every year, without fail. In 1996, some of the most popular places were: Fort
Robinson State Park (355,000 visitors)
• Scotts Bluff National Monument (132,166)
• Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum (100,000)
• Carhenge (86,598)
• Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (60,002)
• Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park (28,446).
Usability Improvement: 47%
21. Objective language
using neutral rather than subjective, boastful, or
exaggerated language (otherwise the same as the
control condition)
Nebraska has several attractions. In 1996, some of the most-
visited places were Fort Robinson State Park (355,000 visitors),
Scotts Bluff National Monument (132,166), Arbor Lodge State
Historical Park & Museum (100,000), Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr
Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (60,002), and Buffalo Bill Ranch
State Historical Park (28,446).
Usability Improvement: 27%
22. Combined version
using all three improvements in writing style together:
concise, scannable, and objective
In 1996, six of the most-visited places in Nebraska were: Fort Robinson State
Park
• Scotts Bluff National Monument
• Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum
• Carhenge
• Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
• Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park
Usability Improvement: 124%
44. TIMING
Limited time offer.
LAYOUT
Placement, Spacing, etc.
MESSAGING
Make it more valuable.
ACTIONS
Text, layout, look.
TESTS
What To Test
NAVIGATION
Text, layout, look, features.
DESIGN
Overall look, colors, etc.
IMAGES
Type, location, size.
EVERYTHING
Your site is unique.
45. TOOLS
Where To Start
USEIT.COM
Great articles.
ABTESTS.COM
Tons of examples.
OPTIMIZLY.COM
Online SAAS.
GOOGLE CONTENT
EXPERIEMENTS
Analytics integrated.
FIVESECONDTEST.COM
Simple tool.
INSIVIA
Hey, had to add us.
Bad MesagingGoal of the Page: The conversion goal for this test was a click on their pricing plan.Version A - 25.3% Conversion RateBusinesses grow faster online! (original)
Pingdom.com
F-PatternStudies show that users really do judge a website by its design. Elements such as layout, consistency, typography, color and style all affect how users perceive your website and what kind of image you project.
According to a Skyword study, articles that contain at least one image cab see an average of 70% more page views.
Design/Layout – Using a new layout with screenshot call outsVersion A - BaselineThe control page.Version B - 85.0% ImprovementRequires less clicking by showing all screenshots as nice, large thumbnails. Freshens up the design of the page (having handwriting-type captions). Strengthens the call to action with a prominently placed testimonial at the very top.Big TakeawayScreenshot call-outs with strengthened value-propositions strongly increased conversions.
Design/LayoutVersion B - 85.0% ImprovementRequires less clicking by showing all screenshots as nice, large thumbnails. Freshens up the design of the page (having handwriting-type captions). Strengthens the call to action with a prominently placed testimonial at the very top.Big TakeawayScreenshot call-outs with strengthened value-propositions strongly increased conversions.
Design/LayoutGoal of the Page: Enter email + join the site.Version A - 0.3% Conversion RateThis is the page I used for about 11 months. Mostly everything is different from this original page compared to Version B. It converted at 1:300 from a steady source of traffic.
Good use of whitespace and margins increases comprehension by 20% - NeilsonGoal of the Page: Enter email + join the site.Version B - 1% Conversion RateMuch more white space, less text up top, and more content (longer page ad copy compared to Version A). It also doesn't mention price on this page. It converts at 1:100 now. A 200% increase in conversions.
IMAGESFor e-commerce, use of photos of people increase trustworthiness.
KEY MESSAGES“30-Day Free Trial on All Accounts” generated 30% more sign-ups than the original “Start a Highrise Account.”
“You Should Follow Me on Twitter Here” (Dustin Curtis)This much-hyped split-test involved testing multiple versions of a call to action for Twitter followers. Dustin found that “You should follow me on Twitter here” worked 173% better than his control text, “I’m on Twitter.”
Two Magical Words Increased Conversion Rate by 28%The words “It’s free” increased the clicks on this sign-up button by 28%, illustrating the importance of testing call-to-action buttons and how minor changes can have surprisingly major results.
Interesting thing is, this is not always the case. Multi step processes can be shown to increase conversion too when customers want confirmation about their order. This worked because all order details stayed on the page.
Labels on top are fast, but labels on left increase comprehensionIndicators of successNaming Conventions – Generic ‘Submit’ can be bad
Goal of the Page: Visitors click on "Use Coupon."Version A - BaselineBaseline variation.
Goal of the Page: Visitors click on "Use Coupon."Version A - BaselineBaseline variation.
Limiting the number of actions on a page can significantly increase conversions.This is smart for landing pages and why you often see navigation removed.
Design/LayoutVersion B - 34.0% ImprovementThey replaced the promotional right sidebar by a left navigation bar that did not have the heavy focus on single visual elements. Note that all subcategory pages are neatly displayed in left navigation bar and it is much more intuitive to browse around different pages on the ecommerce store.Big TakeawayA homepage with a better-designed sidebar increased the number of items added to carts.
Nielsen’s study revealed that just five users would reveal about 85% of all problems with your website.
An A/B test is a process through which you provide different versions of a medium to statistically significant groups of users, and then measure their reactions to those versions in order to understand which is more effective at driving the behavior you prefer.