Converting The Believers PDF

ConvertingTheBelievers
HowtoTurnWebsite
VisitorsintoBuyers

2008UserEffectwww.usereffect.com(847)7086007
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TableofContents

I.Introduction:WhoAreTheBelievers?..................................2
II.WebAnalytics:AreYouWinning?.......................................3
WhatAreWebAnalytics?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Metrics:ABriefHistory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Conversion:TheGoldStandard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
III.Usability:WhatDoPeopleWant?......................................9
WhatIsUsability?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Habits&Expectations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
PatienceIsNotAVirtue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
KeepItSimple. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
BuildConfidence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

IV.Testing:WhatReallyWorks?...........................................18
WhatIsWebsiteTesting?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
TheBasicsofTesting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
WhatShouldYouTest?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
AFewStatistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
TestingTools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

V.Summary:WhatsInItforMe?........................................ 26
VI.AuthorInformation........................................................ 27
VII.RecommendedResources.............................................. 28
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I.Introduction:WhoAreTheBelievers?

CreatingBelievers
Marketingisaboutcreatingbelievers,andonlinemarketingisnodifferent.IntheU.S.alone,
companiesspentover$21Billionlastyeardrivingvisitorstotheirwebsitesanddoingtheirbest
toturndoubtersintobelievers.Forallofthemoneyspentleadingbelieverstothevirtualdoor,
though,onlyafractionofthosecompaniesspentthetimeandmoneynecessarytoconvert
thosebelieversintobuyers.Creatingbelieversandthenignoringyoursalesprocessislike
drivingcustomerstoyourgrandopeningonlytoleavethestorelockedwhentheyarrive.This
bookisdesignedtohelpyouturnbelieversintobuyersandmaximizeyouronlinemarketingROI.
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ThreeQuestions
Thisbookisanentryleveldiveintothreeareas:(1)Websiteanalytics,(2)Usability,and(3)
Testing.Theanalyticssectionasksthequestion:Areyouwinning?Simplyput,ifyouwantto
improvesomething,youhavetobeabletomeasureit.Theusabilitysectionasks:Whatdo
peoplewant?Byunderstandingthebasicsofhowwebsitevisitorsthinkandact,youllgoa
longwaytowardsfiguringouthowtoconvertbelieversintobuyers.Finally,thetestingsection
answersthequestion:Whatreallyworks?Dontguesswhetherchangestoyourwebsitewill
improvesalestestthosechangesandknowforsure.Together,thesethreequestionsforma
structured,scientificapproachtoonlinesalesimprovement.

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II.WebAnalytics:AreYouWinning?

WhatAreWebAnalytics?
Puttingasidethetechnicalstuffforjustaminute,webanalyticsareallaboutansweringone
question:"Areyouwinning?Althoughsomeofuslovenumbers,thereasonweanalyzedata
aboutourwebsitesistofigureouthowthosesitesareperforming.Arewegettingmore
visitors?Aretheystayinglonger?Aretheybuyingmoreproducts?Theseareallimportant
questionsaboutperformanceand,ultimately,aboutthesuccessofyourbusiness.Thisebook
leadsoffwithanalyticsforoneveryimportantreason:ifyoucantmeasuresomething,you
canttellifyouregettingbetteratit.

Practicallyspeaking,thegoalofwebanalyticssoftwareasatoolistoreducemountainsof
visitordataintomeaningfulstatisticsandgraphsliketheoneabove.Regardlessofwhich
softwareyouuse,thissectionisdesignedtogiveyouaquickprimeronthebasicconceptsand
terminologyofwebanalytics.
LogbasedAnalytics
Whenyouvisitawebsite,thatvisitisbrokenupintorequeststothecomputerhousingthatsite,
andeachofthoserequestscreatesalogentrythatlookssomethinglikethis:
2008092500:16:33W3SVC9999200.100.10.1GET/index.phpparam=12345&print=1
80199.99.9.1HTTP/1.0Mozilla/4.0+(compatible;+MSIE+7.0;+Windows+NT+5.1)
www.usereffect.com200009301371203
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Clearasmud,right?Ifyoureatechie,youmightbeabletoreadthatlogentry,butevenforthe
technicallyinclined,readingthethousandsorevenmillionsoflogentriesthatanaverage
websitegenerateseachdayishardlythewayyoudwanttospendaFridaynight.So,analytics
softwarewasdevelopedtoparsetheselogfilesandturnthemintousefuldataandreports.
Ifyouhaveawebsite,youprobablyhaveaccesstosomesortoflogbasedanalyticsprogram
thatwillprovideyouwithbasicinformationaboutyoursitesactivity.Yourwebhosting
companyshouldbeabletogiveyoumoredetails.
ScriptbasedAnalytics
Inthepastcoupleofyears,programssuchasGoogleAnalyticshavebeencreatedthatrunas
scripts,snippetsofcodewhichexecuteonthecomputerofthepersonvisitingyourwebsite.
Scriptbasedanalyticsallowsomewhatricherdatatobecollected,butalsohavesome
drawbacks,suchasthefactthatnotallwebsitevisitorscanrunthesescripts(meaningdata
fromthosevisitorsislost).Ontheotherhand,scriptbasedanalyticsprogramscanbesetupby
anyonewhohasdirectaccesstothewebsite,andcaninsomecasesbeeasierandcheaperto
implementthanlogbasedanalytics.Choosingananalyticspackagecanbeabigdecision,and
therelativeadvantagesoflogbasedandscriptbasedanalyticsarebeyondthescopeofthis
book,butitsimportanttobeawareofbothtypesofanalyticssoftware.
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Metrics:ABriefHistory
Ametricisjustafancywordforatoolorunitformeasuringsomething(asinthemetric
system).Inwebsiteanalytics,metricsaretheindividualstatisticsandperformanceindicators
thathaveevolvedasvisitordataandanalyseshavematured.Therearestillmany
misconceptionsaboutthesemetrics,sowhatfollowsisanoverviewofsomeofthemost
commonmetricsandtheirdevelopmentovertime.
TheHitsKeeponComing
ThegrandfatherofallanalyticsistheHit,andyoustillhearpeoplesaythingslikeHowmany
hitsdoesyourwebsiteget?Hitsgobacktotheearlydaysoftheweblogslikethesample
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shownaboveeveryrequesttoawebsite,whetheritsforthecontentsofapage,image,audio
clip,orvideo,generatesalogentryandistechnicallyconsideredahit.Unfortunately,thisisnt
particularlyuseful.Considertheexamplebelow:
Letssaysomeonevisits3pagesonyourwebsite.Eachofthesepagesalsohassomeimagesin
theexampleabove,thepageshave1,3,and2images,respectively.Eachoftheseelements
(pagesplusimages)countsasahit,yielding9hitstotal.Apageloadedwithimages,video,etc.
wouldgeneratealotmorehitsthanonewithnothingbuttext,butthatdoesntnecessarily
makethatpagemoreimportant.Unfortunately,quotinghitscaughtonbecausetheraw
numberslookimpressiveevenforsmallwebsites.Also,beawarethatsomepeoplemayusethe
termhitsgenerically,torefertoavarietyofmetrics.Whendiscussinganalyticswithothers,
especiallyonyourownteam,makesureyourespeakingthesamelanguage.
HowsTheView?
Fromthediagramabove,itsprettyeasytoseethenextlogicalstep.Whatifwejustcounted
thewebpagesthemselves?ThisisoftencalledaPageVieworsometimesjustaView.Itspretty
selfexplanatory,butheresanotherdiagram,forcomparisonssake:
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NowOpentoVisitors
Ofcourse,allofthesepagesstillonlyequatetoonepersonvisitingyourwebsite,sothenext
naturalstepistocountonlythoseindividualVisitors:
Beyondvisitors,itscommontomeasureUniqueVisitors.Ifapersonvisitsyoursite,andthen
comesback10minuteslater,mostanalyticspackageswillcountthatpersonas2visitorsbut
only1uniquevisitor.Beawarethatdifferentanalyticspackagesmeasureuniquevisitorsin
slightlydifferentways.
WhichMetricIsBest?
Itsaloadedquestion,butlookingatthesenumbers,whichonedoyoulikethebest?Likemany
peopleintheearlydaysofwebanalytics,youmightsayhits,becauseletsfaceit:9soundsalot
betterthan3or1.Ultimately,though,thisisntabouthowbigthenumbersareitsabout
gettingrelevantanswerstomeaningfulquestions.Hitsmaysoundgood,butknowinghowmany
uniquevisitorscametoyoursiteisusuallyalotmoreuseful.Ofcourse,thesethreebasic
metricsarejusttogetyoustarted.Therearemanymoremetricsincommonuse,including:
Pages/Visitor,TimeonSite,BounceRate,NewVisitorsvs.ReturnVisitors,etc.Eachoneanswers
itsownuniquequestions.
AdLingo:Impressions,CTR&CPC
Sincewebanalyticsareoftenusedtomonitortheperformanceofonlineadvertising,herearea
fewbitsofadlingoyoumightfinduseful.Everytimeyouradappearsonasite,thatappearance
iscalledanImpression.Ifawebsitevisitorclicksonthatadd,theygenerateaClickthroughand
theratioofclickthroughstoimpressionsiscalledyourClickThroughRateorCTR.Muchof
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modernonlineadvertisingispricedbasedonclicks(notimpressions)andpricingisusually
representedbytheadsCostPerClickorCPC.
HowMuchIsGoodEnough?
Withanymetric,itstemptingtostartthinkingintermsofabsolutesandwhatyournumbers
shouldbe,andtoomanypeoplegetcaughtupincheckingtheiranalyticsobsessively.Many
factorsaffectwebsitesuccessandanygivennumberisgoingtocontainabitofnoise,sothe
importantthingistofocusonimprovement.Trackrelevantnumbersovertime,andtrytothink
lessintermsofgoodandbadandmoreintermsofthestorythatthosenumbersaretelling
you.Askquestions,experiment,anddriveyouranalyticsprocessdontletitdriveyou.
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Conversion:TheGoldStandard
Knowinghowmanypeoplecametoyourwebsiteisimportant,butfromabusinessstandpoint,
theresamuchmoreimportantquestion:Areyourvisitorstakingaction?Intheindustry,we
callthatConversion,theprocessofturningvisitorsintobuyers.Thisisexpressedasametric
calledtheConversionRate,whichissimplytheratioofgoalsreachedtovisitors(expressedasa
percentage)foranygiventimeperiod.Inotherwords,yourConversionRateisthepercentage
ofvisitorswhotookaction.Thegeneralformulalookssomethinglikethis:

Althoughecommercesitesoftenmeasurepurchasesastheultimateendresult,conversioncan
refertoanymeaningfulgoal,suchasapurchase,arequestforproposal,adocumentdownload,
orevenastepalongthepathtoalargergoal(sometimescalledaMicroConversion).
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Letstakealookataconcreteexample.Saythat,afteramonthofmeasurement,yourecord
10,000visitorsand250ofthemreachthegoalyouset:

Inthiscase,yourconversionrate(abbreviatedasCR)wouldbe2.5%.Peopleoftenquotean
averageecommerceconversionrateof23%,butthisnumbercanvarywildlyacrosssitesandis
relativetothegoalyouremeasuring.Themostimportantthingistofigureoutwhereyoustand
todayandbegintoworkonimprovement.
Conversionispartofalarger(andgrowing)groupofmetricssometimescalledKeyPerformance
IndicatorsorKPIs.ThegoalofKPIsistomeasureresults,especiallyresultswitheconomic
impact.ManyKPIsgobeyondconversionandlookatdatasuchastheaveragepurchaseprice
percustomerorthelifetimevalueofthatcustomeracrossmultiplevisits.Theseareadvanced
topics,butillustratejusthowdeepyoucangowhenmeasuringperformance.
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III.Usability:WhatDoPeopleWant?

WhatIsUsability?
Nowthatyouremeasuringyourwebsitesperformance,itstimetofocusonimprovement.
Thatswhereusabilitycomesintoplay.Usabilityis,simplyput,thescienceofmakingtechnology
workbetterforpeople.Websiteusabilityistheartandscienceofbuildingsitesthatare
efficient,easytouse,meetvisitorsexpectations,andultimatelyhelppeopleaccomplishtheir
goals.Whenyourvisitorsaccomplishtheirgoals,youwin.Yourjobistomaketheirjobeasier.
Thissectionwillcoversomeofthebasicsofhowpeoplethinkandactontheweb,andhowto
usethatknowledgeeffectively.
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Habits&Expectations
Itsabitclich,butpeopleare,withoutadoubt,creaturesofhabit.Whetheritsourbrain
wiring,ourcommonexperiences,orourtechnologydrivenhabits,websitevisitorssharesome
commonbehaviorsandhavedevelopedcertainexpectations.Tapintothosehabits,andyoull
convertmorebuyers.Violatethoseexpectations,andyoulllosecustomers.
TheFshapedGazePattern
Oneofthetoolsusabilityresearchersuseiseyetrackingliterallytrackinginrealtimewhere
peopleseyesmovewhentheylookatawebsite.Oneconsistentfindingisthatpeopleview
pagesinaroughlyFshapedpattern,scanningalongthetopandleftandthenprogressively
skimmingmoreastheymovedownthepage.Consideratypicalwebpage:
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Givenourpreinternethabitofreadingtoptobottomandlefttoright(intheWesternworld),it
onlymadesenseforwebsitestofollowasimilarpattern.Manysiteswerebuiltwithbranding
andidentificationonthetop,navigationontheleft,andthemostimportantcontentfirst.This
tendency,combinedwithourbroaderreadinghabits,createdandreinforcedtheFshaped
pattern.Ofcourse,notallwebsiteshavetolookalikeanddesignhascertainlyevolvedover
time,butthefartheryoudeviatefromthispattern,themorelikelyyouaretoviolatethe
expectationsofyourvisitors.Forexample,puttingnavigationonthetoporrightmaybefine,
butwouldyoueverputyourcompanylogoatthebottomofthepageorleadwiththeleast
importantcontentandsavethebiggestheadlinesforlater?Ofcoursenotyouwanttoputthe
mostimportantelementswherepeopleexpectthemtobe.
TheHumbleBlueLink
Ifanythinghascometosymbolizetheworldwideweb,itstheubiquitousbluehyperlink.Text
basedlinksarestillavitalpartoftheinternetandthewayweconnectinformation,butas
designhasevolved,wevegottenalotmorecreativewiththewaylinkslookandact.Thisisfine,
toapoint,buttheunderlined,bluelinkhasbecomesuchacommonfeaturethatstrayingtoofar
fromitstylisticallytendstoconfusevisitors.Considertheexamplebelow:
Heres a paragraph of linked text. What if the link were just underlined?
How about only blue? Does this text look like a link? How about this text?
Technically,youcanchooseanystyleyoulikeforlinks,butasyoucansee,thefartheryouget
awayfromthestandardblue,underlinedlink,theharderitisforpeopletointerpretyourintent.
SettingYourOwnStandards
Assoonasavisitorentersyourwebsite,youalsobegintosetyourownexpectations,by
decidingwheretoplaceimportantcontentandnavigation,whattextstylestouseforheaders
andemphasis,etc.Asimportantasitistobeawareofwebstandards,makesureyoudont
violateyourownstandards.Internalconsistencyisveryimportant,andifyoursiteuses
inconsistentpresentationandstyles,youllprobablyconfuseandirritatepeople.Dontmake
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peoplethinktoohardorhavetofigureoutyourwebsiteeverytimetheylandonanewpage
theylleventuallyjustgiveup.
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PatienceIsNotAVirtue
Notwhenitcomestowebsitevisitors,anyway.Thespeedandconvenienceoftheinternethas
givenconsumersanitchytriggerfinger,andtheyllclickawayfromawebsiteasfastasyoucan
sayWelcome,forahundreddifferentreasons.Youcantforcepeopletostayonyoursite,but
thereareafewthingsyoucando(oravoid)toencourageandrewardpatience.
SayItin8Seconds
Theresaruleofthumbinusabilitycalledthe8secondrule,whichbasicallysaysthatyouhave
8secondstocaptureavisitorsinterest.Althoughtheactualamountoftimevarieswiththesite
andvisitor(theirpersonality,motivation,trustlevel,etc.),thecoreconceptiscriticalcanyour
visitorsunderstandyourwebsiteinjustafewseconds?Specifically,canthosevisitorsquickly
answerthecorequestionsof(1)Whoyouare,(2)Whatyoudo,and(3)Whatyouoffer?A
strong,descriptivetaglinecanansweroneormoreofthosequestions.Alsoconsiderreducing
copy,especiallyonyourhomepage,andusingshort,descriptiveheadersandsubheaders.This
willdrawattentiontoimportantfeaturesandmakeyourwebsiteeasiertoscan.
MindTheFold
Manywebsitestakeupmoreverticalspacethanasinglescreenandgetcutoff,requiringthe
visitortoscrolldown.DesignerscallthatcutoffpointtheFold.Althoughitsfinebycurrent
designstandardstohavepagesthatscrollvertically,makesurethatanycriticalcontent,
especiallyonyourhomepage,isabovethefold.Visitorsarentgoingtoscrollunlesstheythink
theyreintherightplace,andanimpatientvisitor(inotherwords,everyvisitor)isonlygoingto
botherlookingatwhattheycanseeonthatfirstscreen.
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Intheexampleabove,anewvisitortoyoursitemaymissthatlastparagraph,somakesureits
notcriticaltogettingtheirattention.Itsimportanttoleadwithyourbestmaterial.Keepinmind
thatthefoldisabittheoretical;webpageswillcutoffatdifferentplacesondifferentscreens.
Youranalyticscantellyoumoreaboutwhichscreenresolutionsyourvisitorsusethemost.
OrientYourVisitors
Itusedtobeasafebetthatanewvisitorwouldlandonyourhomepage.Thesedays,though,
peopleandsearchenginesaremorelikelytolinkdirectlytointerestingcontentandlanddeeper
inyoursite.Astheydo,itsbecomingmoreimportanttoorientthosevisitorsquickly,creating
theinternetequivalentoftheYouAreHerearrowonthemalldirectory.Considerthefictional
webpagebelow,aproductpagefromAlsWidgets:
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Thereareanumberofcuesonthispagethatavisitorcanusetoorientthemselves:
(1) BrandingThecompanylogoandsitenamequicklyletspeopleknowwheretheyare.
(2) NavigationActive,tabbasednavigationseparatessectionsofthesite.Byhighlighting
theactiveProductstab,visitorsknowwhatsectiontheyrecurrentlyin.
(3) BreadcrumbsNavigationallinks,oftencalledBreadcrumbs,givethevisitorasimple
mapofwheretheyareinthesite,andallowthemtoeasilybacktrack.
(4) HeadersAclear,boldheadertellsvisitorswhatthecurrentpageisabout.
(5) ImagesAproductimagequicklycommunicatesthepurposeofthispage.
Asyoucansee,therearemanywaystoorientavisitor.Thekeyistoclearlycommunicatea
senseofplaceandpurposeandtoallowvisitorstoeasilyconnecttodesiredcontent.
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KeepItSimple
Itseasytofallintothetrapofthinkingthatyoursiteiseasytouse,butnewvisitorsdontknow
whatyouknow,andoddsareprettygoodthatyoureunintentionallydoingsomethingto
confusethem.Herearesomewaystosimplifyandmakeyourpotentialbuyersliveseasier.
ImproveReadability
Readabilityisstillamajorproblemformanywebsites.Wehaveabadhabitoftryingtocramas
muchinformationaswecanonapage,andassitesevolveandeveryonewantstheirsay,the
problemusuallyonlygetsworse.Unfortunately,themoreinformationyoupackontoapage,
thelesslikelyanyoneistonoticeeachindividualpiece,andiffindingtheimportantbitsistoo
tricky,visitorswillprobablyjustabandonyoursitecompletely.Keythingstowatchforare:(1)
Fontsize,(2)Linespacing,and(3)Contrast.
This is an 11-point, standard font. Its pretty easy to read for most people.
Heres an 8-point font. Can you read this one? Now imagine that the entire document looked this way.
How about a 7-point font? What if you were reading this sentence on your laptop or, worse yet, your mobile phone?
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Itsprettyeasytoseehowfontsizequicklyaffectsreadability,butevenfontsthatwethinkofas
normalcanbehardtoreadforoldervisitorsorpeoplebrowsingonsmallerplatforms,suchas
amodernlaptoporinternetenabledmobilephone.
Heres that first sentence again, but with the line spacing set way too low: Readability is
still a major problem on many websites we have a bad habit of trying to cram as
much information as we can on a page, and as sites evolve and everyone wants their
say, the problem usually only gets worse.
Anothercommonmistakeistosetlinespacingtoolow,squeezingtexttogether.Similarly,we
squeezeinformationbypushingittooclosetothemarginsandremovingwhitespace.Sure,you
canfitmoreonthepage,butimaginereadinganentirepagethatlookedliketheboxabove.
White on black Black on white Gray on gray Pink on purple
Thethirdcommonreadabilityissueiscontrast.Whiteonblacktextmayseemalittleboring,but
peopleareusedtoit,andhighcontrasttextiseasytoread.Blackonwhiteispopularamong
somedesigners,butwithalargeamountoftext,itsnoticeablymoredifficultforvisitors.The
othertwoexamplesarejusttoproveapoint,butvariationsofgrayongrayarebecomingmore
andmorepopularandcanreallycreateaproblemformanyvisitors.
FocusonWhatsImportant
Weallhaveelementsonourwebsitethatwethinkareespeciallyimportantandneedtostand
out.Unfortunately,especiallyinacorporateenvironment,bythetimeeveryonegetstheirsay,
weoftenendupwithpagesthatemphasizeeverything.Haveyoueverseenaparagraphonthe
weblikethis?
NEW!!! Best product ever released!! You *cant miss* this exciting new
product. FREE SHIPPING available now! First 100 new customers get
20% off! Hurry and order online now supplies are limited!!!
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Emphasisisfine,andbythemselvesalloftheseelements(coloring,bolding,italicizing,
capitalizing,underlining,etc.)arevalid,buttogethertheyonlyoverwhelmandconfusepeople,
and,insomecases,hurtyourcredibility.Itsthenatureofthehumanbrainthat,bydrawing
attentiontoeverything,youeffectivelydrawattentiontonothing.
RemoveRoadblocks
Mostpeoplewouldneverknowinglyputupobstaclesforpotentialcustomers,butitsinevitable
thatotherpriorities,suchasmarketingandsecurity,willcreateunintendedroadblocksfor
visitors.Often,marketingissuescomedowntocopyeitherwritingtoomuchofitorfocusingit
oncorporateprioritiesinsteadofwhatcustomerswanttohear.Anothercommonconflictarea
formarketingandusabilityisinformsanddatacollection.Marketingpeopletendtolikelong
formsthatcollectalotofinformation.Visitorslikeshortformsanddontwanttotellyou
anythingthattheydontthinkyouneedtoknow.Theresoftenaneedforbalancesome
informationisnecessarybut,beforeyoustartaskingalotofpersonalordemographic
questions,makesurethatdataisworthpotentiallyscaringoffcustomers,especiallyifyoure
collectingitduringthepurchaseprocess.
Anothercommonproblemareaiswhensecurityrequirementscreateroadblocksthatbeginto
affectlegitimateusers.Forexample,manysitesaddlayersofsecuritytoblockspam.One
commonexampleisCAPTCHA,thewordpuzzlessomesitesusetoblockautomatedvisitors.
EvenifyouveneverheardofaCAPTCHA,youveprobablyseenoneinaction:
ThisrecentexamplefromreCAPTCHAdemonstratesjusthowtrickythetaskcanbe(thewords
areSHOWandunpaid).Asthesetasksareforcedtobecomemoresophisticatedtofightthe
latestspammingtechniques,theyalsobecomemoredifficultforhumanusers.Unfortunately,
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nomatterwhatthejustificationis,makingavisitorjumpthroughhoopsisntgoingtohelpsales.
Insomecases,securityconcernsmaymakeCAPTCHAandsimilarprecautionsunavoidable,but
usethemasalastresort.Dontsimplypassyourproblemsalongtoyourcustomers.
Usabilityvs.Accessibility
Websiteusabilitytendstoseesitesfromthepointofviewoftheaverageuser(asomewhat
mythicalideal),butmanysitesfailtoconsidertheneedsofvisitorswithspecialrequirements,
suchastheelderlyandvisuallyimpaired.Accessibilityfocusesoncreatingsitesthatmeetawide
varietyofneedsandareasinclusiveaspossible.Manyaspectsofgoodusability,suchas
improvingreadabilityandremovingobstaclestovisitors,alsocreatemoreaccessiblesites,butif
youserveawideaudienceoranichewithspecialrequirements,doyourhomeworkandmake
surethatyoursitemeetstheuniqueneedsofyourpotentialcustomers.
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BuildConfidence
Goodusabilitysetsthestageforeffectivepersuasion,andoneofthekeystopersuading
potentialcustomersisbuildingtheirtrustandconfidence.Althoughpersuasionisbeyondthe
scopeofthisbook,confidenceandtrustaresoimportanttoonlinesalesthattheydeserveat
leastabriefdiscussion.
EstablishYourIdentity
Weallassumethatourcustomersknowwhoweareafterall,weknowwhoweare,sowhy
shouldntthey?Theproblemonthewebisthatestablishingapresenceissoeasy(relativeto
settingupabrickandmortarretailstore,forexample)thatpeopletendtomistrustunknown
entities.Beyondthebasics,suchasaprofessionaldesignandsolidlogoandbrand,dontforget
toestablishyourcompanybyputtingtimeintoyourAboutpageandlinkingthatinformation
totherealworldwhereverpossible(picturesofyourbuildingandemployeeshelpmakeyou
seemmorereal,forexample).Also,dontrelytooheavilyononlinecommunicationsevenif
peopleneverusethem,itsimportanttohaveanaddressandphonenumber,ifonlytobuild
confidencethatyourealegitimateorganization.
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ReassureCustomers
Duringtheonlineconversionprocess,therearemanypotentialpointsofassurance,decision
pointswhereyouneedtoaddressyourvisitorslingeringdoubts.Makesureyourvisitors
understandthatyoursiteissecure,thatyouvalueandprotecttheirprivacy,andthatyoucanbe
contactediftheyhaveanyproblemsorconcerns.Also,consideranyadvantagesthatyoucould
makevisitorsawareofearlierintheconversionprocess.Forexample,promotingfreeshipping
notonlyalleviatesapotentialcustomerconcern(highshippingcosts)butisacompetitive
advantage.Similarly,donthidesurprises,suchasadditionalfeesorminimumorders.Saving
conditionsliketheseuntilthelastminutemaynotonlyscareoffcustomers,itmaydestroytrust,
reducingfuturevisitsandcreatingnegativewordofmouth.

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IV.Testing:WhatReallyWorks?

WhatIsWebsiteTesting?
Whatif,insteadofguessingwhetherachangetoyourwebsitewouldimprovesales,youcould
knowforsure?Whatifyoucouldavoidallofthoseargumentswithinyourcompanyaboutwhat
mightworkandgetconcretedatafromrealcustomers?Thatswhatwebsitetestingisallabout:
presentingyourvisitorswithoptionsandlettingthemdecidewhattheylikebest.Althoughpast
visitorbehaviorandgeneralusabilityprinciplesareastrongfoundation,everywebsiteand
industryissomewhatunique,andonlyyouraudiencecanreallytellyouwhatworks.
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TheBasicsofTesting
Itseasytogetscaredoffbytesting,butthebasicsareprettysimple,andwithtodaystools
(someofthemfree),evenhandlingthemathisntastrickyasitusedtobe.Thissectioncovers
themajortypesoftestingandthelogicbehindwhyweusethem.
SequentialTesting
Letssaythatyouhavetwoversionsofawebsite(AandB)andyouwanttodetermine
whichoneismoreeffective.Thesimplesttestmightlooksomethinglikethis:
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Essentially,youllrunversionApastacertainnumberofvisitors,measuretheresults,thenrun
versionBpastthesamenumberofvisitors,andcomparethoseresults.This,inanutshell,is
sequentialtesting.Soundssimpleenough,right?
LetssayyourunatestandfindthatversionBperforms20%better.Thatseemslikegreatnews,
but,unfortunately,theresamajorflawinsequentialtesting.Whatif,inadditiontothechanges
youweretesting,somethinghappenedduringthosetwotimeperiodstomakeAandBappear
different?Inotherwords,whatiftheimprovementinversionBhadnothingtodowiththe
changesyoumade?Forexample,whatifoneofthetwotestperiodscontainedamajorholiday
orimportantnewsinyourindustrythataffectedeveryonessales(eitherpositivelyor
negatively)?Withsequentialtesting,theresnogoodwaytotellwhathappenedbecauseof
yourchangesandwhathappenedduetotimingandoutsideinfluences.

Split(A/B)Testing
So,howdowegetaroundthisproblem?Onesolutionistodoasplittest(sometimescalledan
A/Btest),whichlookssomethinglikethis:

InsteadofrunningVersionAandthenVersionB,werunbothsitesatthesametime,splitting
thevisitorsbetweenthetwoversions.Thediagramisabitoversimplified:ideally,wed
alternatevisitors,routingthemrandomlytooneversionortheotherastheyarrive.
20
MultivariateTesting
Ideally,insteadofsimplytestingtwocompletelydifferentversionsofawebsite,youdtest
individualchangestosomeaspectsofthatsite.Thosevariablesmightincludethefontsize,
buttoncolor,buttonshape,asnippetofcopy,etc.,eachofwhichcouldhavemanydifferent
options.Asplittestessentiallytestsonlyonevariableatatime.Multivariatetestingallowsyou
totestmorethanonevariablesimultaneously.Itsoundsalittleintimidating,soletstakealook
atasimpleexample,testingchangesonabuybutton:
Inthiscase,wedbetestingtwovariables:ColorandShape.Colorhasthreevalues:nRed,o
Green,andpBlue.Shapehastwovalues:cRoundanddSquare.Wecallthisa3x2test,and
ithassixpossiblecombinations.Inamultivariatetest,youwouldtesteachofthesesix
combinations,splittingwebsitevisitorsevenlyamongthem.
UnderstandingInteractions
Whynotjustruntwotests,oneonthebuttonsshapeandoneonitscolor?Thatway,you
wouldonlyhavetosplityourvisitorsupfiveways(3+2)insteadofsix(3x2),potentiallysaving
yousometestingtime.Youcouldtakethisapproach,buttheresanimportantconceptintesting
designthatyoushouldbeawareofcalledanInteraction.Theclassicexampleofaninteraction
comesoutofpharmaceuticalresearch.LetssaythatyouhaveDrugAandDrugB,eachcreated
tolowerhighcholesterol.DrugsAandBarebotheffectiveindividually,butwhathappenswhen
youcombinethem?Thecombinationmightbetwiceaseffective,itmightbenomoreeffective
thaneitherAorB,orifthingsgoreallypoorly,itmightkillyou.Theinteractionofthetwodrugs
isntthesameassimplyaddinguptheirseparateeffects.
21
Now,oddsareprettygoodthatyourwebsitetestingisntgoingtokillanyone,butinteractions
canhaveunpredictablenegativeeffects.Say,forexample,thatyouwanttotesttheeffectsof
backgroundcolorandtextcolor.Yourunatestwiththreebackgroundcolorsandfindthatyour
visitorspreferagraybackground.Then,yourunaseparatetestwiththreefontcolors,andfind
apreferenceforgraytext.Fromtheseseparateresults,youmightlogicallyconcludethatgray
ongrayisyourbestoption,proceedtocreateasitethatsvirtuallyunreadable,andendup
seeingyoursalesplummet.
Ifyouhadrunamultivariatetestliketheoneaboveinstead,youwouldhavebeenableto
measuretheeffectsofthecolorcombinationsandhaveeasilyseenthatthegrayongray
versioninteractedinanegativeway.Wheneveryoususpectsomerelationshipbetweenthe
variablesyouretesting,amultivariateapproachisprobablybest.Asyoucanseefromthe
diagramabove,sometimesjustmappingouttheoptions(beforeyouevenrunatest)canput
yourowncommonsensetoworkandpreventbadchoices.
...............................................................................................
WhatShouldYouTest?
Nowthatyouunderstandsomeofthebasicsofwebsitetesting,itstimetothinkaboutthekind
ofchangesyoumightwanttotestonyourownwebsite.Althoughtherearetoolstohelpmake
testingeasier,onlyyourexperienceandjudgment(hopefullyinformedbypastdata)canbuild
teststhathavethepotentialtoimproveconversion.
22
ThinkLikeAScientist
Awebsitetestisessentiallyanexperiment,andyoushouldapproachitlikeascientist.Ideally,
yourtestswilldevelopoutofyourwebsiteanalyticsorvisitorobservationsandwilladdress
potentialproblemareas.Inaddition,youshouldhaveahypothesisabouttheoutcome
developinganinformedopinionwillhelpyoulearnmorefromthefinalresults.Theoretically,
youcantestwhateveryoulike,butthrowingversionsofyourwebsiteatthewalltoseewhat
stickscannotonlywastealotoftimebutmaysubjectyourvisitorstochangesthathurtyour
websiteintheshortterm.Remember,websitetestsarerunningliveonrealcustomers,soyou
needtothinkcarefullyaboutwhatyoullbetesting.
BigChangesvs.SmallChanges
Whatscopeofchangesshouldyoubetesting?Theresabitofadebateintestingcirclesover
thisissue,butitboilsdowntotwovalidpoints.Ifyoutestbigchanges,youremorelikelytosee
bigimpact.Ifyoutestsmallchanges,youremorelikelytounderstandlaterhowandwhythose
changesmadeadifference.Taketheexamplebelow:
IfVersionAisouroriginalsite,VersionBrepresentsaminorchange(addinganimage),whereas
VersionCrepresentsmultiplechanges.Visitorsareverylikelytonoticethedifferencebetween
AandC,butifCwins,itwillbehardtotellwhy.VersionBseffectsareeasytoisolate,butthe
relativelyminorchangemightnotmattertomostvisitors.
So,whatstherightapproachforyou?Ultimately,itcomesdowntoaquestionofrisk.Ifyour
currentsiteisperformingpoorly,youmightwanttoriskbigchanges.Testingtakestime,and
youcantspendmonthstryingoutincrementaladjustments.Ontheotherhand,ifyoursiteis
relativelysuccessfuloryourelyheavilyonitscurrentrevenue,aslower,moreevolutionary
23
approachprobablymakessense.Themultivariateapproachdiscussedabovecanbeahappy
middleground,allowingyoutotestmultiplechangesbutstillunderstandtheirindividual
affects.Ifyoucanbreakapartbigchangesintoseparatecomponents(variables),thenyour
situationwillprobablybenefitfromamultivariateapproach.
HighImpactChanges
Ofcourse,whetheryourchangesarebigorsmallinapurelyphysicalsense,theyshouldbe
highimpact.Testcriticaldecisionpointsandactionareas,suchasshoppingcartbuttons,which
mayhaveasmallfootprintonyoursitebutrepresentkeystepsintheconversionprocess.Dont
getintothehabitoftestingjustfortestingssakefindoutwhereyourelosingvisitorsanduse
testingtotackleyourworstperformingareas.
...............................................................................................
AFewStatistics
Manypeopledontlikemath,andmoderntestingsoftwarewillhandlemostofthemathfor
you,butitscriticallyimportanttounderstandjustacoupleofthebasicstatisticalprinciples
behindwebsitetesting.Thisisaverybriefdiscussionofsampling,errorandconfidence
intervals.
SampleSize
Inanytest,youreonlygoingtobeabletotryoutyourchangesonasmallpercentageofyour
visitors,alsoknownasaSample.Letsconsideranextremeexample:SayyoushowVersionAof
awebsitetoBobandVersionBtoSally.BobbuyseverythinghepossiblycanonlineandSally
nevershopsonline.Nomatterwhatyoutest,BobisjustmorelikelytoconvertthanSally.To
overcomethisinherentpersonalitydifference,yoursamplehastobelargeenoughtomakesure
thateachtestversionisseenbyadiversegroupofpeople.Unfortunately,theresnoeasyrule
forexactlyhowmanypeopleyouneedtotest,buttestingsoftwareandonlinecalculatorscan
helpyoudeterminetheappropriatenumbers.
24
MarginofError
LetssaythatyourunasplittestandfindthatVersionAproduces2%conversion,whileVersion
Bproduces2.5%conversion.VersionBrepresentsa25%improvement,asshownbelow:
Soundsprettygood,butwhatdoesthisreallymean?Goingbacktothediscussionofsample
size,doweknowanythingabouthowlargethesetwogroupswereorhowdifferentthepeople
withinthemwere?Statisticsisallaboutsortingoutwhetherthisdifferenceisrealorjusta
numericalaccident,andoneofthemeasurementsweneedtodeterminethisisthestatistical
error.Weseethisallthetimeinsurveyresultsthatlistthemarginoferror,suchas3%.Lets
takeasecondlookatourexample,butnowletsimaginethateachversionhasanerrorof1%:
ThelightercoloredareasrepresentthepossibleconversionvaluesthatVersionsAandBmight
haveactuallyproduced.Asyoucansee,theoverlapbetweenthemisconsiderable,andwhat
lookslikeabigdifferencemayjustbetheresultofnoiseinthesystemormeasurementerrors.
Theseerrorsaregenerallyreducedbycollectingmoredata.Testingsoftwarewillusetheproper
statisticstohelpyoufigureoutwhenyourtestisstrongenoughtoovercomethesepotential
errorsandreachameaningfulconclusion.
25
ConfidenceIntervals
ArelatedconceptistheConfidenceInterval.Statisticiansexpressmeasurementsatacertain
levelofconfidence,whichreallyjustmeansthatthemeasurementsarestrongenoughto
overcomeanyerrorsornoise.Theconfidencelevelalsotellsyouwhenitssafetoendatest.
Themostcommonconfidenceintervalis95%,whichsimplymeansthatwehavea95%chance
thatourtestresultisreallywithinthemarginoferrorthatwethinkitis.Inotherwords,even
ourmarginoferrorhasamarginoferror.Withoutworryingtoomuchaboutit,thekeyisthat
youwanttoberelativelyconfident(95%,infact)thatyouremakinggooddecisionsbasedon
yourtestdata.Fortunately,testingsoftwarewilldomostofthatworkforyou.
...............................................................................................
TestingTools
Unfortunately,howtoimplementtestingcomesdowntotheparticularsoftwarethatyoure
goingtouse,butthegoodnewsisthatthesetoolsarenowmuchmoreaccessibleand,insome
cases,evenfreetouse.Ifyourenewtotesting,youcantgowrongwithGoogleWebsite
Optimizer,awebbasedsystemtoeasilysetup,run,andevaluatebothsplitandmultivariate
tests.GoogleWebsiteOptimizerrequiressometechnicalknowledge,butcanbeimplemented
fairlyeasilywithminorintrusiononyourwebsite,andarmedwithknowledgefromthissection,
youshouldbeabletosetupandinterpretadecentwebsitetest.SeetheRecommended
Resourcessection(ChapterVII)foralinktoGoogleWebsiteOptimizerandsomerelated
resources,includingadoityourselfsplittestcalculator.

26
V.Summary:WhatsInItforMe?

WhyTestingMatters
Sometimes,talkingabouttestingandthemathbehinditstartstosoundalittleacademic.Its
importanttorememberthattestingisultimatelyaprocesstoimproveconversionandsales.By
testingchanges,youcanquicklyavoidthewrongchoices,adopttherightchoices,andknow
exactlyhowmuchimpactthosechoiceshave.Letsmakeitmorespecific.Sayyouhaveonline
salesof$50K/month.Youtestthreeversionsofyourwebsite(A/B/C),andfindthatVersionB
resultsina5%dropinconversionovertheoriginal(VersionA)whileVersionCyieldsa10%
increaseinconversion.Inrealdollars,implementingVersionBwouldvecostyou$30K/year;
VersionCwillmakeyou$60K/year.Testingjustmadea$90,000differencetoyourbottomline.
...............................................................................................
ConvertYourBelievers
Itsnotenoughtocreatebelievers.Marketingdrivesbelieverstothedoor,butyouronlinesales
processputstheproductintheirhandsandwalksthemtothecheckoutcounter.Analytics,
Usability,andTestingformasystemofongoingprocessimprovementthatcansystematically
andcontinuouslyconvertmoreofyourbelieversintobuyers.Dontworryaboutallofthedetails
ortheperfectapproachfigureoutwhereyoureattoday,listentoyourvisitors,andstart
makingthechangesnecessarytoconvertthosevisitorsintobuyers.
27
VI.AuthorInformation

AboutTheAuthor
Dr.PeterJ.Meyers(AKA"Dr.Pete")isthePresidentofUserEffect,aformerstartupexecutive,
cognitivepsychologist,andlifelongprogrammer.Forthepast11years,Dr.Petehasworked
directlywithbusinessownersandexecutivestounderstandtheirgoals,gettoknowtheir
customers,andimprovetheironlinereturnoninvestment.
...............................................................................................
AboutUserEffect
UserEffectisaconsultingfirmspecializinginstrategicusabilityforcommercialwebsites.Put
simply,wehelpbusinessesconvertbelieversintobuyers.Weachieveresultsthrougha
combinationofusabilitybestpractices,analyticsandtesting,andunderstandingthefulllife
cycleoftheconsumer,includingsearchengineoptimizationandonlinemarketing.Contactus
formoreinformationaboutourstrategicusabilityservices.
UserEffect
501N.ClintonSt.
Suite1406
Chicago,IL60654
Phone:(847)7086007
Email:peter@usereffect.com

28
VII.RecommendedResources

RecommendedBooks
AlwaysBeTesting:TheCompleteGuidetoGoogleWebsiteOptimizer,byBryanEisenberg&
JohnQuartovonTivadar(2008)
DontMakeMeThink:ACommonSenseApproachtoWebUsability,SteveKrug(2005)
HomepageUsability:50WebsitesDeconstructed,JakobNielsen&MarieTahir(2001)
Influence:ThePsychologyofPersuasion,RobertCialdini(2006)
WebAnalytics:AnHourADay,AvinashKaushik(2007)
...............................................................................................
RecommendedTools
GoogleAnalyticsGooglesfreescriptbasedanalyticstool
GoogleWebsiteOptimizerGooglesfreewebbasedsplitandmultivariatetestingsoftware
SplitTestCalculatorUserEffectssimpleonlinecalculatorforyourownsplit(A/B)tests
...............................................................................................
RecommendedBlogs
FutureNowsMarketingOptimizationBlog
GetElastic:TheEcommerceBlog
OccamsRazor:WebAnalyticsBlog
UserEffect:StrategicWebsiteUsability

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