Conversion Rate OptimizationOr: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love A/B Testing

Andrei Marinescu

Agenda

● What’s Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)?

● Landing Pages: Examples & Best Practices

● The Rest of the Funnel: Best Practices

● Case Study: Hulu

● A/B Testing

● Walk-through: Ring

● AMA

Version A

Version B

Which version won out?

● Version B!○ Increased completed trial submissions by 38%

● Why?○ One-line headline

○ Sub-headline

○ Tweaked copy

Conversion Rate Optimization

“Get as many leads as possible to take your

intended action.”

Why is CRO important?

● This is your funnel:

● > 90% of your traffic abandons

● Change = impact○ Not just traffic; acquisition cost!

Landing page best practices

● Short, succinct value proposition(s)

● Clear, compelling hero image

● Prominent, single CTA

● No exit paths out of funnel

● Sufficient information to drive conversion

Sample Landing Pages

Broader funnel best practices● Capture email up-front● No/limited exit paths● Price presentation: simple, clear, and comparable● Anticipate & address customer objections● Use breadcrumb trail to set expectations● Forms

○ Only ask for minimum necessary info○ Place labels above fields○ Align fields, labels along a straight line (left-justified)○ Define field criteria and syntax requirements

● Use free trial/sample to reduce perceived commitment

Sample Funnel Elements

Case Study: Hulu

Home Page Evolution

Landing Page Evolution

Funnel Evolution

A/B Testing● Process is KEY

● Create a pipeline of testing hypotheses (force-rank)

● ID & remove operational bottlenecks○ Design, front-end development, data analytics

● Have solid analytics in place

● Optimize your cadence○ Build

○ Test

○ Analyze

○ Repeat

Walk-through: Ring

AMA

THANK YOU

Andrei Marinescuandrei@500startups.com

@malaparte

Appendix