The Top 5 CRO Mistakes Beginners Make When Starting an Optimization Program
cro podcast ep1

The Top 5 CRO Mistakes Beginners Make When Starting an Optimization Program

Link to the podcast on Apple Podcasts

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Welcome to Test Everything, the podcast dedicated to conversion rate optimization split testing and making decisions with data. 

On the first episode of Test Everything, I speak with Matthew Pezzimenti of Conversion Kings to discuss the basics of conversion rate optimization and A/B split testing for those who are looking to get into CRO or start their own consultancy. With over 8,000 individual A/B split tests done for over 250 different companies under his belt, Matthew discusses the top five pitfalls that new CRO specialists have a tendency to fall into.

Timestamps:

[01:35] Matthew’s CRO story and the origin of Conversion Kings

[11:50] The first mistake

[18:40] The second mistake

[24:11] The third mistake

[31:39] The fourth mistake

[39:06] The fifth mistake

[51:32] Resources for CRO marketing

[56:30] Matthew’s CRO toolbox

[1:05:43] Lessons learned from an unexpected losing test at the beginning of Matthew’s career

[1:08:52] What Matthew does differently from others in the CRO industry

[1:12:43] Matthew’s advice for smaller websites who aren’t quite ready for a CRO program

[1:16:26] Reach out to Matthew

Mistake #1: Talking a Game Bigger Than What You Really Are

Would you feel confident sitting in front of a doctor giving you a “fake it till you make it” attitude? Reading a few blogs or watching a bunch of YouTube videos does not make an expert. CRO specialists must understand that they are incredibly influential when it comes to the outcomes of people’s businesses, and because of this, they need to be honest and transparent when speaking to their clients. Gut feeling isn’t enough when your claim is that you’re “data-led”. It all starts with being real with your current level of skill.

“The way I look at it,” says Matthew, “is if you’re starting out in CRO, you actually need to enjoy being a beginner.” CRO isn’t a tacked-on service.

Proficiency requires a world of study and a heightened awareness of where you’re getting your information.

Mistake #2: Falling Down the Rabbit Hole of Analysis

It pays to start off with a clear objective as to what you’re looking for in approaching optimization. CRO professionals hear that they need to be “data-driven”, but they often don’t quite know where to start. Typically, Google Analytics is the first step, but then “they build out all these great analyses that are fantastic to read and very insightful, but have no net impact on what a testing program should be.”

Know what information you should be looking at. Google Analytics is Matthew’s recommended starting point; but again, know first what you’re looking for. Matthew recommends understanding the current performance of all the different customers on the website. Once you have this understanding, ask how people actually got to this particular conversion point to get to this particular conversion figure. This is where analytics truly shines, as it helps identify where the fallout points in users’ journeys are, which then gives you a high-level roadmap of what you need to be focusing on as an optimization expert.

Mistake #3: Not Segmenting Your Customers

Without segmenting your customers, you end up with inconclusive tests. Segment based on a targetable group of people. Matthew pulls all the raw data out of analytics and creates different segments of users with their own individual conversion rates. For instance, he uses three main groups: user type (new and returning), device (desktop, mobile, tablet), and traffic source (paid, organic, social, affiliate, email, etc.).

Matthew looks at a combination of every single one of these segments. For example, he will look at the conversation rate of “new users on a mobile device via PPC, landing on a particular area on the website” and so on for every other combination. This enables him to find the actual conversion rate for each of these specific users, on these specific devices on these specific channels. All in all, this allows him to be hyper-focused and diligent in the way he approaches optimization.

Mistake #4: Putting Too Much Importance on Transactions or Leads

In Matthew’s experience, many who are starting off in CRO typically assure clients or managers something along the lines of “doubling” their revenue or lead count. Proper optimization leads to an increase in revenue or leads, no doubt; but this is only a small part of conversion rate optimization.

Bounce rates is an often overlooked metric. When spending considerable amounts on paid search say $10 a click to get people to your site with a 50% bounce rate, this effectively means you’re spending $20 for engagement.

Reducing the bounce rate reduces your expense. Higher bounce rates also negatively impact your visibility on Google search results.

Another factor to look at when running your PPC campaign is Google’s Quality Score. This score is affected by your landing page experience. If your experience is too low, your quality score will be low, which means that Google will charge you a premium for Cost Per Click.

Mistake #5: Overlooking the Importance of Statistical Significance

Statistical Significance is the mathematical formula that determines whether or not the results you achieve in a test are due to getting lucky or they are the result of the changes you made to the site.

Running specific tests for different device types and different sample sizes has led to Matthew hitting significant levels when running tests. Without segmentation, you get “the tyranny of averages”. That’s to say, averages mean nothing.

Says Matthew, “I think this mistake is a bit rampant, especially when people start, because it is difficult to get your head around it. So what most people do—which is what I did—is to just ignore it.”

Statistical significance is important based on the client, the opportunity, and the risk at hand. When looking at a page layout and seeing that you’re getting 85-90% significance on it, then you can conclude that the impact is not costly and be confident living with that 10% risk.

“I believe it’s on a case-by-case basis. It’s a little bit about the client and knowing their risk appetite. It’s a little bit about the customer journey. And it’s a little bit about the cost to implement the revenue opportunity.”

When you are looking at your conversion rate, understand what is a standard deviation above and below that conversion rate that’s important to note. Noting this will give you so much more appreciation towards the data you’re looking at and gives you the right information to know when and when not to act.

Matthew’s Recommended Resources for CRO Marketing

  1. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  2. Dave Chaffey of Smart Insights
  3. Dr. Flint McGlaughlin of MECLABS

Matthew’s CRO Toolbox

  1. Google Analytics
  2. Browser Console on Google Chrome
  3. SurveyMonkey
  4. FullStory
  5. Google Optimize
  6. VWO
  7. SiteSpect
  8. Dynamic Yield

Contact Matthew and His Team

Matthew on LinkedIn

Conversion Kings

Join the discussion

Josh Panebianco

Josh Panebianco

Josh Panebianco

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