This sparked a transformation in Dell’s approach, incorporating customer feedback to improve.

Today, Dell utilizes surveys extensively, soliciting feedback on innovation and content relevance. This has solidified Dell’s position as one of the top computer brands driven by customer feedback.

Surveys aren’t merely checkboxes; they’re essential tools for growth-focused brands. 

With VWO Insights – Web,  you can harness surveys to understand customer needs. 

This blog explores how to create surveys efficiently to drive innovation and customer-centric improvements. 

Keep reading to learn more.

So, what exactly are on-page surveys?

Surveys are excellent for gathering customer feedback across industries and formats. 

On-page surveys are those that are shown on a website. They are qualitative research tools for collecting feedback from visitors while they browse websites. They come in various formats, such as pop-ups or embedded forms, and use different question types like multiple-choice or rating scales to gather insights and improve visitor experience.

What are some benefits of using on-page surveys?

Some argue that surveys can be intrusive, and it’s tough to sift through responses. With VWO’s help, you can tackle these challenges and enjoy numerous benefits. Let’s explore the benefits of using on-page surveys.

Get to know your visitors

By understanding who your visitors are, where they come from, and what brought them to your website, you can tailor your content and offerings to better meet their needs. Analyzing visitor demographics, such as age, location, and interests, helps you create targeted marketing campaigns and personalized experiences.

Discover what they love (and what they don’t)

You learn what visitors love and where you can improve your website through survey responses. Understanding why visitors like or dislike something enables you to make informed decisions about website design, content strategy, promotional offers, and more. 

Watch how you can use website surveys to gather insights, address challenges, and meet customer satisfaction.

Spot the problem areas

Survey responses offer insights into product or page performance.  You can inquire if visitors are satisfied with their experience on a particular page or if they have benefited from any recent product updates. Alongside tracking metrics like bounce rate and session duration,  survey responses add depth and clarity, guiding your next steps effectively.

Enhance customer engagement

Understanding your visitors’ preferences allows you to create personalized experiences that enhance engagement, foster loyalty, and build trust. Ultimately, this solidifies their long-term relationship with your brand, turning them into your brand advocates.

Improve upon customer experience

Net promoter score (NPS) and customer satisfaction score (CSAT) surveys show how customers feel about your brand, helping you stay focused on their satisfaction. Use this feedback to fix issues and keep customers happy and loyal. Sometimes, it’s not just about marketing. You might need to improve customer service, streamline operations, or create better feedback mechanisms.

How to conduct a successful on-page survey quickly (Yes, it’s possible with VWO)

Setting up a survey might seem like a daunting task – you have to decide on the questions and time it just right. But with VWO, it’s simpler than you think. Let us guide you on how to smoothly conduct your on-page survey while leveraging all the advanced features in our survey capability.

1. Target questions to specific visitor segments

Tailoring surveys to specific segments ensures that the feedback obtained is more accurate and reflective of the needs and expectations of a particular segment.

With VWO, you can target surveys using predefined visitor segments like landing page URLs, new vs. returning visitors, browsers, and more. Further, you can create custom segments by adding attributes.

Let’s say, as an eCommerce conversion expert, you notice most of the traffic comes from mobile users, and you’d want to enhance the mobile experience on the website. You can customize surveys for mobile users, asking questions like ‘Was it easy to find what you wanted?’ to address issues and enhance mobile browsing.

Pro-tip – How do you decide which page to run your survey on? Prioritize pages with underperforming metrics by leveraging web analytics tools. For example, if your SaaS pricing page shows high bounce rates, you can consider setting up a survey to understand visitor feedback and reasons for drop-offs. 

2. Trigger surveys at the right time for maximum impact

Timing surveys ensures they don’t interrupt what visitors are doing, making it more likely for them to actually answer. For instance, if a visitor has spent more than two minutes on a product page, it may be an opportune moment to trigger a survey to gather feedback on their browsing experience or purchase intent. 

Or if a user scrolls to at least 75% of an article, it could be a suitable time to prompt a survey to gauge their interest in the topic or gather opinions on the content quality. 

VWO lets you choose triggers and show on-page surveys at the precise moment. See some standard triggers it offers in the image below. 

See how Bodyguardz, a retail company, gathered qualitative insights through surveys. Achieving a near 54% revenue increase in one year proves the impact of adding surveys to their CRO program.

3. Get AI-generated questions based on your goal

Every survey you implement has a specific goal to achieve, whether it’s to improve customer experience, reduce bounce rate, measure satisfaction, or address pain points. 

With VWO, you can not only choose a goal for your survey but also get AI-generated questions based on that goal. If your survey goal is not listed, you can enter a custom goal to receive tailored questions.

This feature helps you overcome any sort of mental block when creating relevant survey questions. 

Let’s say you’re running a SaaS website and you’re curious about how your customers are feeling about your latest feature update. Instead of spending hours brainstorming survey questions, you can rely on AI in VWO Surveys.

You can just enter your goal, for example, experience evaluation, and the AI generates a bunch of questions tailored specifically for your goal. If you’re not happy with the questions, you can keep regenerating them until they’re right.

4. Ask questions in various formats

Based on the questions you select, you can choose the format for displaying them. 

Use single-line text boxes for open-ended questions, allowing respondents to provide detailed feedback in their own words. Opt for formats like radio buttons for single-choice responses and checkboxes for selecting multiple-choice options. With VWO, you can choose from a variety of formats to suit your survey needs.

In one of the VWO webinars, Ali Good, Global Head of Strategy & Product Marketing at Quiziz, suggested adding a variety of question types to prevent ‘survey fatigue’. By mixing open-ended and closed-ended questions, you can gather both detailed feedback and specific data without overwhelming participants.

Find out how Britannica surveyed visitors to understand their interests, then developed accordion features containing top Q&A for each article. Over 23% of visitors clicked to view answers and delve into additional content. Take a free trial and see how you can get started with our surveys to meet your goals. 

5. Organize the flow of your survey questions

Open-ended questions reveal detailed visitor feedback, while follow-up questions are even more effective for clarifying their responses. When executed tactfully, this approach helps unearth valuable insights without overwhelming visitors.

VWO Surveys’ survey logic feature helps you set up follow-up questions systematically, choosing sequential or conditional displays based on earlier responses.

Let’s understand with an example. As a product manager at a travel company, imagine implementing a survey with a question like: ‘Are you planning your first international trip?’ You may want to ask about the expectations only to visitors who responded ‘YES’ to the question. 

If respondents mention that they are looking for cheap deals and easy booking, show them specific questions related to their answers. Something like: ‘Have you checked our latest discount offers?’ However, if their concern revolves around something your company can’t address, like discounted flight fare, you can conclude the survey.

Such a feature certainly gives you better control over how you want to ask questions to your website visitors and in what order. 

Check out more about survey logic in our article. 

6. Decide the appearance of your survey

To appear more authentic and trustworthy, design your survey according to your brand guidelines. 

Choose from prebuilt themes in VWO or create a custom theme to match your website. Additionally, decide where to display the survey—lower left-hand or right-hand corner of your landing page—to maximize responses.

Additionally, you can show your survey in any preferred language.

Consider a global health organization wanting to understand healthcare access in Latin American countries like Brazil. By creating a survey in Portuguese, they can better connect with the Portuguese-speaking population, uncovering their unique healthcare needs.

This way, multilingual surveys ensure that respondents who speak different languages can participate, making the survey more inclusive. 

7. Streamline survey analysis with AI-generated summaries

Sorting through hundreds of survey responses to identify patterns or gain a unified understanding of visitor behavior is taxing and time-consuming. Simplifying response analysis would undoubtedly save time. 

That’s why we’ve incorporated AI to provide summarized survey insights, helping you make informed decisions. With just a click, you can get summaries, key insights, and actionable steps. 

Let’s say you surveyed visitors on your OTT platform. The AI-generated summary shows key insights like viewers expressing a desire to download their favorite shows. Further, the summary reveals that only 10-15% of viewers would recommend shows. And the majority haven’t even noticed the share button.

Based on these findings, you would also be shown actionable steps to take, such as displaying a download option to meet viewer preferences. To encourage viewers to share shows with friends and family, they could be offered a free 30-day top-up on their current subscription. Moreover, making the share option more prominent could improve user engagement with the feature.

8. Efficiently filter and analyze survey responses

Sometimes, you may want to dive into responses by specific segments instead of just an overview of all responses. As we mentioned earlier, responses from a specific segment can provide personalization opportunities, and interesting insights may emerge during the process.

Yes, it’s possible with VWO Insights for Web!

Let’s continue with the OTT example. Imagine you discover that viewers from the UK have shared the most positive reviews and are most likely to recommend shows within their network. Now, you can tailor your marketing strategies like partnering with UK influencers for promotions, extended free trials, and exclusive content access to engage this segment. 

In VWO, you will have various segments such as traffic source, device, browser, visitor type, location, and language to filter your responses. If you don’t find a specific segment you want to filter responses for, you can create your filters using custom attributes.

Pro-tip: Combining surveys with tools like heatmaps, session recordings, and form analytics helps understand what visitors don’t share but end up doing anyway. Observing what they don’t say is vital. Read our article on visitor behavior analytics for collecting deeper insights.

Watch Arjun Kunnath talk about how you can convert visitor insights into effective results for your website. 

Way forward

So, are you impressed with all that on-page surveys can do for you? 

But remember, surveys are only as effective as the effort you invest in them. If you craft a subpar survey without proper planning, it will fail to deliver the desired results.

With VWO, you will never create a shoddy survey. And when your surveys hit the mark, you’ll never doubt their effectiveness again.  From effortless setup to cutting-edge AI features, we’ve got you covered. 

Now that you’ve read about them in this blog, are you ready to see them in action? Sign up for a free trial today!

While they may follow similar paths, the journeys and experiences they have are entirely unique for each of them.

This makes it all the more difficult for businesses to build a website experience that not only caters to the unique needs and wants of their target audience but also helps them seamlessly achieve the desired goal. 

Although the challenge is difficult to overcome, it is not impossible, especially with the help of customer journey maps.

A customer journey map is basically a graph or map that provides a visual representation of the experience that a customer or buyer persona has with your business.   

The purpose of creating this map is to understand the various stages of a customer’s journey and also to gain insights into their interactions with your brand at each of these stages.

In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at how you can create a customer journey map, and also understand how you can use behavioral analytics to enhance this process and optimize visitor experiences. 

Why is it important to map the customer journey of your website?

Mapping the customer journey offers a wide range of benefits, especially when it comes to improving the overall customer experience.

However, the most important reason why you should map the customer journey is that it gives you a clear representation of how a typical visitor or buyer persona navigates through your website.

Marketers and business owners are often unaware of how the actual visitor interacts with a website. While we all want the visitor to reach the final stage of conversion as easily as possible, the journey is often more complex and layered. 

For example, when new visitors land on your website, they would typically want to know more about your brand, offerings, strengths, and benefits. 

However, whether or not visitors will take the desired action depends on various other factors such as their intent, motivation, awareness level, and the stage of their buying process.

With the customer journey map, you can segregate your visitors into different stages and address their specific challenges and motivations at each level.

This not only allows you to optimize each stage, but it also allows you to identify potential roadblocks that prevent them from moving ahead in the buying journey.          

How to make a customer journey map?

Creating a customer journey map involves a lot of research, analysis, and iterations. 

The goal of this process is to visualize how visitors or customers experience your website, allowing you to optimize and improve every stage of their journey.

While there are a lot of different ways to go about it, here is a simple process that will help you get started and create a comprehensive customer journey map.

1. Establish clear goals for your customer journey map

Just like any other business strategy, mapping a customer journey requires a certain level of research and collaboration between different teams in the organization.   

With the amount of effort that goes into creating a customer journey map, you must be clear about what you want to accomplish with it.

Do you want visitors to sign up for a free demo? 

Are you trying to optimize a conversion funnel? 

Do you want to target a specific buyer persona? 

Setting clear goals will help you build a solid customer journey map that is effective, and reliable and also gives you an accurate representation of a customer’s journey.

2. Identify the most important buyer personas

Once you’ve established clear goals for the customer journey map, the next step is to create buyer personas and identify the most important ones.

Most businesses define their buyer personas based on demographics or specific market segments. 

However, an ideal buyer persona should also be based on qualitative factors like motivation, mindset, and challenges faced by a segment of visitors or customers. 

With this approach, you get a deeper understanding of what drives visitor behavior, how they like to make decisions, and also what prevents them from converting into customers.    

To create effective buyer personas, you need to talk to your potential and existing customers through methods like surveys, or questionnaires. 

Implementing A/B testing is also a great way to understand how your audience reacts to changes on the website, giving you insights into their behaviors and preferences.

By defining the buyer personas, you can identify the most common or important ones and start tracking their journey on your website. This will help you to focus on a limited number of personas at a time and track their experience more accurately on the map.

3. List down the touchpoints for each persona

Visitors and customers interact with your business at different points during their entire buying journey and even after that. 

These points of interaction are known as touchpoints, and it is crucial to identify every touchpoint so that you don’t miss out on any aspect of a customer’s experience.

Also, by listing down the touchpoints of your key buyer personas, you can optimize every interaction and build an experience that matches their goals, challenges, and needs.

4. Map the journey of the selected buyer personas

As soon as you’ve identified the key touchpoints, you can list them down on a graph or timeline to visualize their journey from the first point of contact till they become paying customers.

On this customer journey map, you should also define their motivations and emotions at every touchpoint. This gives you a clear overview of how these buyer personas proceed through a conversion funnel and allows you to optimize them with a data-driven approach.

Also, once you’ve prepared the customer journey map, your next action should be to take this journey yourself and analyze whether the customer’s needs and requirements are being satisfied at each touchpoint.

This approach will also help you identify previously unknown roadblocks or challenges that visitors face on your website, giving you a chance to optimize these areas and build a seamless experience.

5. Refine and optimize the customer journey map

Once you’ve created the map, you can start optimizing the customer experience to make it more seamless and effective. 

Since this is an ongoing process, you will have to refine and optimize the customer journey map according to the evolving behavior and preferences of your visitors and customers.

This will not only help you stay on top of the customer journey, but it will also help you discover new ways to optimize their experience and improve customer satisfaction.

Using behavioral analysis to improve customer journey mapping

The customer journey map provides a visual representation of how visitors interact with your website, however, you still need to analyze every touchpoint to identify the common trends and patterns that drive user behavior. 

Although quantitative data like time spent on the page, bounce rate and session duration do give you an indication of how users are interacting with a page, they fail to provide deeper insights about the ‘why’ behind each visitor action.

This is where visitor behavior analysis comes into the picture.

At its core, behavioral analysis is the practice of tracking visitor interactions on your website to gain valuable insights into the behaviors, challenges, roadblocks, and preferences of every visitor.

With the use of powerful analytics tools like website heatmaps, session recordings, surveys, and form analytics, you can closely observe how users interact with different elements of your website and use these insights to optimize their experience. 

Let’s take a look at how your business can leverage the power of behavior analytics to optimize the customer journey map.

Identify roadblocks and pain points at various touchpoints

One of the major benefits of behavior analytics tools like heatmaps and session recordings is that they allow you to pinpoint specific areas where visitors encounter difficulties or frustrations. 

For instance, let’s say that a user arrives on your website after clicking on a Google Ad. Now, the next touchpoint for this visitor is the landing page of your website where the primary CTA is the “Start a free trial” button. 

However, you notice that the bounce rate of the landing page is quite high even though data shows that visitors are spending a considerable amount of time on it.

This indicates that users engage with the page but do not feel confident enough to click on the CTA. Here, the quantitative data shows you that a potential friction point exists within the landing page, but it does not reveal the cause behind it.

In this scenario, you can opt for behavior analysis and analyze the heatmap of this landing page. During this analysis, you notice a lot of activity in the pricing section, which is located at the bottom of the page.

The heatmap also shows that the features & capabilities section does not receive high interaction. 

These insights show that visitors are interested in knowing more about the pricing details, and it also indicates that they might be facing some issues with the features section.

Based on these insights gathered from heatmaps, you can make certain changes like improving accessibility to the pricing section and also optimizing the other important sections.

With behavior analytics, you can gain in-depth insights into visitor behavior at every touchpoint on the customer journey map, allowing you to guide visitors more effectively through their journey.

Understand customer intent at different stages of the journey

A customer journey map shows you the different stages that a customer goes through during the buying process. 

Understanding the user intent at each of these stages can help you deliver optimized experiences that match their motivations and goals. 

With behavior analytics tools, you can not only track visitor interactions but also identify common engagement patterns to understand user intent better.

For example, let’s consider that you are creating a customer journey map for a fashion eCommerce website. During one of these stages, visitors browse through different products and categories as they try to find the perfect item.

However, data shows that a lot of visitors are dropping off after browsing through various product pages. This is a major concern as it indicates that visitors are interested in your offerings, but are not proceeding to the next stage for some reason.

Here, you can opt for behavior analysis to further understand this issue. A good way to do this is to run on-page surveys and to learn more about their hesitation to proceed further.

One of the questions that you can ask in this survey is “What additional information would you need to purchase this product?” 

Moreover, with VWO’s on-page surveys, you can use the power of AI to generate relevant, engaging questions that align with the goals of each survey. 

With this approach, you can discover the challenges your visitors are facing, and more importantly, you can also build a strong connection with them by showing a willingness to understand their problems and improve their experience.

Discover trends and patterns in customer behavior

The goals, motivations, and preferences of your visitors and customers change at every stage of the buying journey. 

Understanding these changing behaviors and trends is key to building a seamless, optimized experience. 

Here, the best strategy you can follow is to analyze visitor behavior at every touchpoint and identify recurring trends, patterns, or shifts in their interactions.

For example, a banking website can use session recordings to analyze visitor behavior on key conversion points such as the loan application form or the investment calculator page.

Here, they can watch recordings of how visitors interact with these pages and look for common drop-off or abandonment patterns. 

Based on this behavioral analysis, the banking website can make the necessary changes to align the website experience with emerging behavioral trends.

With this approach, you can analyze every customer touchpoint, gain deeper insights into their behavior, and optimize the entire buying journey.

Boost retention and customer loyalty

The customer journey doesn’t end after a purchase. 

It continues to grow and evolve as the customer interacts with the business, makes more purchases, and expects the business to know everything about their preferences and buying behaviors.

The post-purchase experience is equally important as it determines whether the customer will remain loyal to your brand or switch to your competitor.

At this stage, you need to leverage all the data and insights you’ve gathered so far to further improve their experience and provide a personalized touch to every interaction. 

This phase is crucial for fostering customer satisfaction, building loyalty, and encouraging repeat purchases. 

To do so, you can opt for on-page surveys or feedback forms to understand how you can continuously improve the overall customer experience.

This is crucial as it helps you build a strong connection with existing customers and it also encourages them to speak positively about your business. 

For example, let’s say you wish to improve the cross-selling aspect of your eCommerce business. To do so, you analyze the buying behaviors of existing customers and use the data to recommend similar products when they reach the checkout page. 

Here, you observe the heatmap of this page to understand how customers interact with the recommended products section. During this analysis, you notice that the section does not receive enough engagement as compared to the other sections.   

To further understand this problem, you watch the session recordings of these customers and realize that the images in the recommended products section are not loading quickly.

This is probably why customers are skipping this section entirely and just going ahead with their regular purchases. Based on this crucial insight, you can now optimize this section and ensure that customers can easily view the recommendations.

By continuously monitoring customer behavior and gathering feedback, you can identify areas for improvement and implement iterative changes to streamline the customer journey. 

This ensures that the customer experience remains aligned with evolving customer needs, resulting in long-term loyalty and customer retention.

Types and examples of customer journey maps

As you prepare to build a customer journey map, it is important to choose a map type that matches your business requirements and customer goals. Here are a few of the commonly used customer journey maps.

1. Experience maps

This is the simplest form of a customer journey map as it visualizes the experience, emotions, and needs of different buyer personas and predicts the actions they might take at each stage.

Using an experience map is a great way to start the customer journey mapping process as it gives you a general overview of how typical visitors or buyer personas interact with your website at different stages.

2. Day in the Life

One of the most popular customer journey maps is the ‘Day in the Life’ map. This map visualizes a broader set of actions that a person performs in his daily life, even if it does not involve your brand. 

The goal is to discover the thoughts, feelings, and pain points that potential customers experience and identify the touchpoints where they might interact with your brand. 

3. Current state

Unlike the previous type, the ‘Current state’ map deals with the journey that visitors and customers currently have on your website. 

It helps you to identify the varying levels of awareness and emotions that your customers experience while interacting with your brand. 

4. Future state

As the name suggests, the ‘Future state’ map visualizes how customers will interact with your brand in the future. This is done by analyzing their current behaviors and understanding where they might need your business later on.

5. Service blueprint

This type of customer journey map provides a layered and detailed view of every interaction that a customer has with your business. Moreover, the map also highlights the teams or functions that are responsible for each interaction, giving you more clarity on how you can align the customer journey with your business goals.

Final thoughts – How to use VWO Insights – Web to optimize customer experiences

Building a customer journey map is only half the battle. The other half begins when you try to analyze visitor interactions, observe their behaviors, and identify potential friction points at each stage of their journey.

VWO Insights – Web should be your ideal companion when it comes to boosting the customer journey maps with qualitative data and analyzing the behaviors and patterns of every visitor. 

With powerful behavioral analytics features like website heatmaps and session recordings, you can analyze visitor behavior at every stage and discover previously unknown roadblocks that impact their experience.

Moreover, the platform also helps you conduct AI-powered surveys to gather feedback and insights from your visitors and customers at crucial touchpoints. 

The form analytics feature allows you to perform a field-level analysis of key conversion forms, giving you a clear picture of where your visitors are struggling and helping you identify the reason behind abandonment.

By using these behavioral analytics features, you can enhance the quality of your customer journey maps and also make informed decisions to improve the overall experience of visitors on your website.

Take a free trial of VWO Insights – Web to try out these crucial features and discover in-depth insights about your customers at every stage of their journey.

Leader: Taciana Serafim Noqueli de Oliveira

Role: Product Management Analyst at Serasa Experian

Location: Brazil 

Speaks about: Conversion optimization • eCommerce • User experience (UX) • Product management • Business Strategy

Why should you read this interview?

Taciania is a seasoned professional boasting extensive experience in sales, marketing, and growth. She thrives on challenges, injecting fresh ideas into business strategies with her strategic acumen and collaborative approach. Her journey includes exposure to diverse business models, and fostering continuous learning. Notably, she founded CRO Brazil, a thriving community with 500+ professionals focused on experimentation. As a partner at Kamelus Academy, an ed-tech specializing in CRO, Taciana, along with her partners, contributes significantly to Brazil’s experimentation landscape. In this interview, we delve into Taciana’s commitment to professional development, community building, and innovation, shaping Brazil’s experimentation landscape.

Professional journey and passion in CRO

Taciana: About 15 years ago, I began my career in the digital world, initially working in a commercial area involving a lot of interaction with digital marketing. This initial experience sparked my interest in exploring the scientific method applied to marketing more deeply. Motivated by this interest, I decided to make a career change.

To dive into this new path, I joined an agency in Brazil. This environment provided a valuable experience, allowing me to work with methodologies and techniques that were fundamental for my professional development. However, I felt that something was still missing.

Driven by this feeling, I founded a community, CRO Brazil, which currently gathers more than 500 professionals specialized in experimentation. My mission became to help these professionals to improve themselves. In addition to the community, I am a partner at Kamelus Academy, an edtech focused on CRO, which I founded with my partners Gabriele Lavreca and Pedro Andrade. We have knowledge about experimentation in Brazil.

At Kamelus Academy, our work goes beyond teaching. We strive to connect professionals and celebrate innovation in experimentation fields. Through the community I created and the school, I can contribute to preparing experimentation professionals in Brazil, equipping them with knowledge and skills to face market challenges.

Memorable A/B tests and their impacts

Taciana: Once I conducted a test following our in-depth behavioral studies to enhance the number of subscriptions for a particular service. I chose to explore various formats for presenting subscription options to users. Horizontal options, which I believed could simplify users’ quick comparison of plans, and the vertical slider format, which I thought could be effective in providing more detailed insights into each plan.

We ran the test for 4 weeks, and it became evident that the horizontally formatted plan stood out as the grand winner. When compared to the vertical slider format, the horizontal table layout resulted in approximately a 15% growth in subscriptions.

Definition of CRO success and metrics to measure

Taciana: In measuring the success of our Conversion Rate Optimization efforts, I place significant emphasis on a set of metrics that not only quantify the direct outcomes of our tests but also reflect how the culture of experimentation is taking root within our organization.

These metrics go beyond traditional conversion rates to include:

1. Winner/loser/inconclusive test ratio:

This metric provides insight into the effectiveness of our testing hypotheses and the overall direction of our experimentation efforts. It helps us understand the proportion of tests that result in positive, negative, or neutral impacts on our objectives.

2. Rate of tests yielding new learnings:

One of the core values of CRO is the continuous learning and improvement it fosters. This metric tracks the percentage of tests that contribute new insights into user behavior, preferences, or website usability issues. It’s a testament to the value of even those tests that don’t directly improve conversion rates but enhance our understanding of the customer journey.

I place significant emphasis on a set of metrics that not only quantify the direct outcomes of our tests but also reflect how the culture of experimentation is taking root within our organization.

3. Rate of tests generating shared learnings across departments (recommendations):

This metric is crucial for fostering a culture of experimentation across the entire organization. It measures the extent to which the insights gained from CRO activities are shared beyond the immediate team, influencing strategies and tactics in other departments. It underscores the collaborative nature of optimization and its role in driving company-wide improvements.

In addition to these CRO-specific metrics, we closely monitor business-related metrics tailored to our company’s goals, with a particular focus on the Return on Investment (ROI) of our initiatives. These business metrics vary depending on the specific objectives we’re aiming to achieve but are essential for ensuring that our CRO efforts contribute to the overall success and growth of the business.

By balancing these two sets of metrics—those focused on the proliferation of a testing culture and learnings, and those tied to direct business outcomes—we can more holistically evaluate the impact of our CRO program. This approach allows us to refine our strategies continually, foster a culture of data-driven decision-making, and ultimately, drive meaningful improvements across the organization.

Common A/B testing mistakes to avoid

Taciana: A/B testing is crucial for conversion rate optimization, but incorrect use can lead to misleading interpretations. A common mistake is not setting clear objectives, which makes analyzing the results difficult. Testing multiple variables at once without proper design can prevent identifying the variable responsible for the results. Choosing an inadequate sample size, either too small to be significant or too large, wasting unnecessary resources, is also a frequent error. Moreover, overlooking seasonal variations can skew A/B test results, as can focusing on vanity metrics, which sound good but don’t impact business objectives. Another misconception is not repeating tests, which can lead to implementing changes based on unreliable data.

To avoid these mistakes, it’s crucial to establish a clear hypothesis and specific objectives before beginning. Simple tests, which change one variable at a time, help identify what truly impacts user behavior. It’s important to calculate the sample size in advance to ensure the statistical validity of the test. Planning tests considering seasonality and specific events prevent distortions. Prioritizing metrics that directly impact business objectives and repeating tests when necessary are recommended practices to ensure decisions are based on reliable data and effectively boost business performance.

A common mistake is not setting clear objectives, which makes analyzing the results difficult.

Building an experimentation culture for Brazil businesses

Taciana: In a landscape as dynamic and diverse as Brazil’s, embedding an ethos of continuous improvement and strategic experimentation can significantly propel business objectives forward in a meaningful and consistent manner.

Embracing a culture of optimization allows us to learn from past mistakes, ensuring they are not repeated in the future. This approach not only saves invaluable time but also streamlines the development of innovative strategies. It’s about creating a cycle of learning and growth that continually refines our methods and outcomes, making every iteration more informed and effective than the last.

By committing to such a culture, organizations can navigate the complexities of the Brazilian market with agility and insight, turning challenges into opportunities for advancement. It’s a journey that requires persistence, flexibility, and a willingness to experiment, but the rewards — enhanced efficiency, increased inclusivity, and stronger, more sustainable growth — are well worth the effort.

The future of A/B testing and CRO

Taciana: I believe that with the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning, A/B testing will become more autonomous, capable of identifying complex consumer behavior patterns in real-time and dynamically adjusting the test variables to maximize effectiveness. Personalization will reach new heights, allowing for unique experiences that adapt to the individual preferences of each user, almost in real-time.

The integration of technologies such as augmented and virtual reality into A/B testing will open doors to assess how consumers interact with products and services in immersive digital environments, offering deep insights into the user experience that was previously inaccessible.

Furthermore, as consumers become more aware of their data privacy, A/B testing will evolve to be more transparent and ethical, ensuring that data collection and analysis are conducted with respect for user privacy and consent.

In summary, the future of A/B testing is bright, marked by an era of hyper-personalization, enhanced autonomy through AI, digital immersion, and a renewed commitment to ethics and privacy. We will be navigating a world where experimenting is not just about optimizing conversion rates, but about creating experiences that deeply resonate with each individual, transforming the way we interact with the digital world.

The integration of technologies such as augmented and virtual reality into A/B testing will open doors to assess how consumers interact with products and services in immersive digital environments.

Advice for CRO professionals and businesses

Taciana: For businesses that are starting in the world of Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and A/B testing, it’s crucial to begin with a deep understanding of their target audience, as this will guide the creation of more accurate hypotheses for testing. Starting with small and simple experiments can make managing and analyzing tests easier, allowing for progressive learning. It’s essential to establish clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of tests and to choose appropriate tools that fit the needs and budget of the company. 

Fostering a culture of testing within the organization encourages viewing tests as a continuous process of learning and optimization, not just isolated experiments. It’s also important to learn from each test, regardless of the outcome, using the collected data to refine future strategies. Prioritizing user experience ensures that optimizations contribute to lasting improvements in conversion.

Lastly, patience and persistence are crucial, as CRO is an iterative process that requires time to show significant results. By adopting a strategic approach from the start, businesses can ensure that their efforts in CRO and A/B testing are more effective, contributing to long-term success.

For businesses that are starting in the world of Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and A/B testing, it’s crucial to begin with a deep understanding of their target audience, as this will guide the creation of more accurate hypotheses for testing.

The impact of VWO on testing programs led by Taciana

Taciana: Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to explore various A/B testing tools, each with its unique set of features and capabilities. Before Google Optimize announced its end, I was already navigating the A/B testing waters in agencies that preferred to use VWO. This choice was not random; VWO has always stood out for its comprehensive testing capabilities, from simple A/B tests to more complex multivariate ones and beyond. However, my real dive into VWO began about two years ago, and I currently use it frequently in projects for the CRO Brasil community.

Unlike other platforms I have used, VWO offers an incredibly user-friendly interface that does not compromise depth and functionality. This combination of ease of use and robustness has allowed me to set up, execute, and analyze experiments with far greater efficiency than ever before.

Moreover, VWO’s feature set goes beyond testing. The platform offers insight and feedback tools that enable a deeper understanding of user behavior, which is invaluable for creating and effectively testing hypotheses. This holistic approach to optimization has not only simplified my workflow but also led to more informed and impactful decisions.

In essence, the transition to VWO has been a significant upgrade in my testing approach. It’s not just about the tool itself, but how it has enabled me to be more strategic, collaborative, and ultimately, more successful in my optimization efforts. 

VWO’s feature set goes beyond testing. The platform offers insight and feedback tools that enable a deeper understanding of user behavior, which is invaluable for creating and effectively testing hypotheses.

How? 

Let me explain. 

You’ve carefully crafted and arranged the content of your webpage but tucked away some golden nuggets of value at the bottom. 

The idea is that visitors will effortlessly glide down the page, soaking in every detail. But in reality, visitors don’t always follow this script. 

Are visitors even diving deep enough to find them? Why would they care to scroll down your webpage? Do they wish they found information at their first few glances? 

Finding answers to these questions makes tracking scroll-depth in your webpage so important. 

In this blog, we’ll explore how tracking scroll-depth can improve visitor experiences and boost conversion rates, helping you make informed decisions about your website’s layout and content.

What is scroll-depth?

Scroll depth tells you how far down a webpage a visitor scrolls before they bounce off or take some other action, like clicking a button or visiting the next page. It is usually measured as a percentage of the page length or in pixels. 

Interpreting scroll depth as a percentage of the page length means that we’re measuring how far down the page a visitor has scrolled relative to the entire page length. For example, if a visitor scrolls three-fourth down a page, then it is 75%. 

We can measure scroll depth in pixels, which directly refers to the distance a visitor has scrolled down the page in terms of the number of pixels from the top of the page. For example, if a visitor scrolls 512 pixels down a page, the scroll depth would be 500 pixels as these values are rounded. 

What is a good scroll-depth?

Determining what identifies as a good scroll-depth depends on a couple of factors. Let’s try to understand them:

Set clear objectives

Ask yourself what you want visitors to accomplish when they visit your site. Your web page’s scroll-depth should complement these objectives. 

Consider a SaaS homepage featuring a lead-gen form above the fold. In this case, a lower scroll depth may suffice, especially if the rate of form submissions meets your satisfaction and the page’s drop-off rate remains manageable. 

Now imagine you’re managing an eCommerce website selling sporting goods. If your primary objective is to drive conversions, you’ll want visitors to scroll far enough to view essential product details and ultimately add products to the cart. To encourage visitors to act promptly, you might want to reduce the need for extensive scrolling and enable quick access to CTAs. Hence, a low scroll-depth is desirable.

On the other hand, if your objective is to increase engagement, you’d rather visitors scroll through the entire product description, browse through customer reviews, and interact with multimedia content like product videos or image galleries. In this case, a higher scroll depth would indicate deeper engagement with the content. 

This holds true when your page is delivering information or insight through the content. For example,  if your blog page features lengthy articles, you’d want visitors to scroll down enough to engage with valuable information. In this scenario, a scroll depth above 50% is considered good, while exceeding 75% is fantastic. 

Analyze industry benchmarks

Achieving a 100% scroll depth would be the gold standard, but let’s be realistic. Visitors often don’t scroll all the way down the page due to distractions or shifting priorities. They might get sidetracked by social media, notifications, or simply lose interest. Instead of fixating on pushing visitors to the bottom of the page, it’s more practical to understand the average scroll-depth in your industry.

Knowing where you stand compared to industry norms is key. By benchmarking your own scroll-depth against industry averages, you can gain valuable insights. This understanding helps you develop strategies to improve if your scroll-depth is below or at par. These strategies could include tweaking content placement, refining navigation, or crafting better CTAs to encourage deeper engagement with your webpage.

How do you measure scroll-depth?

By now, you’ve likely recognized that scroll depth is a valuable indicator of visitor engagement on your website. 

But how exactly do you analyze or determine scroll-depth? 

Studying scroll maps provides invaluable insights into visitor behavior, helping you understand how far visitors scroll down your webpages.

Many folks confuse heatmaps with scrollmaps, but here’s the lowdown: while all scrollmaps are a type of heatmap, not all heatmaps are scroll maps. 

Scroll maps highlight the most viewed sections of a page using colors, creating a vertical rainbow effect. It’s a bit different from traditional heatmaps, which typically focus on clicked or tapped elements through a similar color scheme.

While Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics can help track scroll-depth, for an in-depth analysis, they may need integration with other tools. To get the complete picture of your visitor behavior, count on VWO that assists you with its comprehensive robust features. 

Heatmaps of VWO Insights – Web lets you track scroll levels on your webpage as well. The scrollmap report highlights the most scrolled sections of your webpage with brighter colors. It shows the number of views and the percentage of visitors scrolling down your webpage. 

And what’s even more advantageous? VWO provides a plethora of other behavior analytics tools, enabling you to get a comprehensive view of visitor behavior. With this approach, there’s no need to hop from one tool to another, piecing together insights. You can seamlessly obtain a complete picture in one platform. To watch them in action, take a free trial now. 

How do scrollmaps meet the needs of different user personas?

Given their importance in understanding visitor behavior, scrollmaps are becoming a must-have in most companies’ martech stack. Let’s understand how different professionals may find scrollmaps helpful in the context of respective use cases. 

CRO marketers

Imagine you work as a marketer for a travel website. You check your analytics and see that bookings haven’t increased lately, and more people are leaving the site from the checkout page. You want to address the issue, so you turn to behavior analytics to understand what’s wrong.

You focus on scrollmaps to confirm a hypothesis: the checkout button’s placement below the fold, coupled with additional information, might be hindering easy access to the button, affecting bookings. The scrollmap confirms this suspicion as it shows less scrolling below the fold, indicated by cool colors, unlike hotter ones above it.

You realize that bringing the checkout button above the fold is the first low-hanging fruit you must catch. Next, you can make other changes, such as making the button more prominent and removing unnecessary information. This way, even if the scroll-depth isn’t great, tweaking the CTA button placement can still help increase sales and prevent high bounce rates.

Product managers

Suppose you’re a product manager at a B2B consulting company. You recently introduced a feature to allow visitors to create custom bundle service plans and receive personalized prices on the pricing plans page. 

However, your analytics tool indicates that the exit rate on that page remains high, as it was before. This is surprising because you anticipated that giving more power to visitors to customize their services would make the page more engaging and conversion-friendly. 

With the help of a scrollmap, you observe that visitors are not scrolling past the typical pricing plans with set offerings. The bundling option is buried deep within the page, so they may not realize it’s there. Now, you understand that it’s important to change the position of the bundling services feature to get more visitors to interact with it. 

UX researchers

Consider you’re a UX researcher at a gaming company that has just launched an online gaming website. At present, your company’s main objective is to grow a community around this game. They aim to organically spread awareness far and wide, prioritizing audience engagement without resorting to overly aggressive tactics to drive revenue right now. This is why researching visitor experience plays a monumental role for the company. 

It gives you a chance to comprehensively understand how visitors navigate the interface and interact with different elements. This will help you resolve UX issues proactively.

During your regular analysis of visitor behavior, you notice in the scrollmaps that visitors aren’t scrolling down enough on the home page. The cool blue colors toward the bottom of the page suggest they’re not reaching the area where social media share buttons are located. 

You realize that it’s crucial to make these social media share buttons more visible to visitors, as sharing these games on social media can significantly contribute to building a community.  Based on these insights, you might want to bring up the placement of the social media icons and improve visitor flow to them.

Top ways you can use VWO for scroll-depth tracking

Visitors often miss out on valuable content and experiences when they stick to the surface of a webpage. No matter how much we encourage them to explore further, they tend to follow their own instincts rather than our prescribed navigation paths.

The key realization? Visitors bring their own mental models of navigation to the table. Our task isn’t to force them into our navigation schemes but to adapt our designs to match their existing expectations. Now let’s understand how VWO Insights – Web helps you in this journey.

Leverage the collective power of behavior analytics

Yes, scrollmaps help you see how far visitors scroll on your website. But you should also use other tools to get a comprehensive view of visitor behavior. 

Let’s consider another type of heatmap – Clickmaps. They provide clear insights into which areas of your website receive how many clicks. Moreover, you can compare the clicks on two different areas. Unlike full-screen scrollmaps, typical heatmaps offer a detailed view of visitor interactions with different elements.

Additionally, session recordings show you exactly where visitors click and move around the page. Which element are they clicking the most? Are they clicking any non-clickable elements? They help you find these nitty-gritties. 

Let’s say you observe that visitors aren’t scrolling down and hence can’t see a form at the bottom of your page. Just moving it up might not be enough if there are usability issues within the form itself. This is where form analytics becomes valuable for field-level analysis. 

Further, surveys allow you to directly gather feedback from visitors on how to improve their experience. Using these insights, you can make more holistically informed decisions about content arrangement on your web pages.

And you guessed it right, VWO has all these features that simply make your visitor behavior research a well-connected exercise, saving you a lot of time and giving you ample insights.

Decide a strategic placement of key information

When armed with a reliable scrollmap report from VWO, you can strategically organize your page content based on its importance and the desired visitor actions.

For instance, if scrollmap reports reveal that visitors are not engaging with sign-up buttons below the fold, consider placing these CTAs prominently at the top of the page. Alternatively, arrange the content in a logical sequence that addresses visitors’ primary needs and inquiries first, with supplementary details presented further down the page.

Similarly, if a poor scrolling pattern is observed on your product page, prioritize showcasing product details and images above the fold, followed by testimonials. Visitors often seek reviews after examining the product closely. By placing testimonials within immediate view, you can ensure visitor engagement without the need for scrolling. Adopting such strategies across all your webpages can enhance visitor experience and drive desired actions.

Ensure content quality and relevance

Every piece of content on your website should add value for visitors. If scrollmaps show visitors scrolling past content you thought was valuable, it’s a sign your copy needs to deliver more value. This is especially important if you notice more visitors bouncing from that page.

Do you know what copies are turn-offs? Talking about your company instead of focusing on solving visitors’ problems. For instance, if you run a family-owned agency and have a home page with self-centered details like ‘We’ve been in business for over 50 years’ – save that for your ‘About Us’ page maybe. On the homepage, you should focus on addressing how you’ve been meeting visitors’ needs and highlight the benefits they’ll gain from your services. 

Quality content and relevance are paramount in keeping visitors engaged and interested in exploring further, encouraging them to continue scrolling and discover more about your offerings. Scrollmaps help you understand the pulse of your visitors by revealing whether they are connecting with your content through colored patterns.

Understand the placement of visual cues

Visitors often think they’ve reached the end of a webpage and leave, missing out on more content—a ‘false bottom’ effect. VWO can help spot these tricky areas with cooler colors.

Based on the insights gathered, you can place visual cues to encourage visitors to keep scrolling. You can do this by adding subtle animations or arrow icons to indicate more content below. Parallax scrolling effects can also create an engaging experience. 

Break up your content with appealing section dividers or progress indicators to show visitors their progress. Use vibrant images and graphics to capture curiosity and keep visitors exploring. Consider scroll-triggered animations or pop-ups to maintain engagement. 

For instance, on a fashion website, scrolling is preferable to switching pages for browsing apparel. To encourage prolonged scrolling, you could add a “load more” button after visitors have scrolled and viewed numerous products.

Additionally, ensure swift page load speed to prevent visitors from prematurely leaving due to slow loading times, mistakenly believing there’s no content left to explore.

Brands that have benefited from using scrollmaps

Scrollmaps benefit brands across various industries. We have selected three brands that utilized our scrollmaps to delve into behavior insights for shaping their optimization plans.

Elegant Steps improved conversions by 200%

Elegant Steps, a UK-based shoe retailer, observed low conversion rates on its mobile website. To address this issue, its digital marketing agency conducted a thorough investigation using data from Google Analytics, along with heuristics and VWO’s scrollmaps and heatmaps solutions, to uncover key insights. They found:

1. Limited engagement with the “Shop by Brand” section on the homepage suggested low visibility or interest.
2. Key USPs, like free shipping, were not prominently featured above the fold on mobile, along with text readability issues due to image overlay.

Based on these findings, adjustments were made, increasing conversions by 200%.

Therefore, we see that scrollmap analysis provided insights into visitor behavior, indicating areas of limited engagement and visibility on Elegant Steps’ mobile website. Accordingly, the team made adjustments that improved experiences and ultimately resulted in a significant increase in conversions.

Ubisoft increased sign-ups by 12%

Ubisoft Entertainment, a prominent French video game publisher, is known for managing successful franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Far Cry, and For Honor. To improve lead generation and conversions on the Buy Now page of their website, they started with an in-depth analysis of visitor behavior. 

By leveraging insights from scrollmaps, they hypothesized that streamlining the purchasing process and minimizing vertical scrolling would enhance visitor engagement, addressing a current issue identified in scrollmap analysis. Subsequently, a test aligning with this hypothesis yielded a notable 12% increase in sign-ups.

Sometimes, we think that to increase lead flow, we need to make significant changes, such as redesigning the entire website, launching a new marketing campaign, or offering substantial discounts. Yet, just by enhancing the scrolling experience based on scrollmap insights, along with a few other tweaks, they managed to increase sign-ups.

Bandwidth increased visit-to-lead conversion rate by 12%

Bandwidth, a company based in North Carolina, is a leader in Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS).  They noticed that the SMS API page on their website wasn’t performing well in turning visitors into leads. This insight came from studying heatmaps and scrollmaps provided by VWO, showing low engagement and scrolling on the page.

Their hypothesis centered on enhancing the above-the-fold experience, optimizing information architecture, and refining value proposition messaging to drive overall conversion rate improvement. Implementing these changes resulted in a noteworthy 12% increase in visit-to-lead conversion rate for the product page.

As you can understand, leveraging insights gleaned from scrollmaps, the company strategically tailored their web content to better meet the needs and preferences of their audience, ultimately driving higher engagement and conversion rates.

Conclusion

Businesses sometimes use the ‘Guess and Check’ method to validate visitor problems they believe exist, but it may not always be effective.

They keep delaying research thinking they need to start perfect, with all the tools and expertise at their disposal. Well, you may start with something simple yet effective, like analyzing scrollmaps. If needed, you can complement them with more advanced behavior analytics tools later. 

VWO offers a range of behavior analytics tools to assist you. The key is to get started and tap into these valuable reservoirs of visitor behavior insights. Because if you don’t do it now, your competitors will get miles ahead of you. 

If you’re interested in exploring all the features of VWO Insights – Web, you can take a free trial and prepare to uncover intriguing details in your site’s scrollmaps.

The above case study proves that behavior analysis is the cornerstone of conversion rate optimization, anchoring your efforts in data rather than guesswork. It’s the bedrock upon which successful experimentation is built, providing invaluable insights that drive measurable improvements in conversion rates. Thus, it is an inevitable part of a comprehensive CRO strategy.

However, does behavior analysis come with its fair share of challenges? Absolutely.

Behavior analysis can be time-consuming and arduous, particularly when dealing with vast amounts of sampled traffic. This labor-intensive aspect often compels many functions to scale back on behavior analysis due to bandwidth constraints—a silent struggle faced by many organizations.

But why is it so taxing? Let’s delve deeper into this aspect.

Diving in: The tedious aspect of behavior analysis

Let’s try to understand the challenge through a scenario, where a business’s website suddenly hits a snag in its conversion rates. The CRO team gets on high alert, eager to unearth the underlying cause using their trusty behavior analytics tool. But in the process of behavior analysis, here’s what it has to undergo:

a. Sift through each session recording

After pinpointing the consideration funnel stage, the CRO team delves into reviewing session recordings of those pages. Here’s a glimpse of the session recordings list it needs to scrutinize:

Reviewing such a comprehensive list to uncover mouse flow and click patterns demands a significant amount of time for CRO team members. They often find themselves rewatching sessions to ensure accurate conclusions.

It’s important to note that if the CRO identified multiple funnel stages, the task would become even more laborious. All of this complexity may increase the likelihood of missing crucial insights, impacting the later stages of the CRO campaign.

b. Read each survey response

In their quest to diagnose the issue, the team also implemented surveys to gather feedback from visitors about their experiences and areas of difficulty. Now that the responses are in, the team member responsible for surveys must sift through each response, particularly the open-ended questions, to identify common pain points or glean insights for future action.

However, this process became incredibly burdensome as the responses flooded in, numbering in the hundreds. The CRO team member found juggling this task alongside the regular workload, making it all a bit challenging to manage effectively.

c. Perform the arduous task of periodic behavior analysis

Customer behavior is inherently dynamic, evolving over time. What was once a standout feature or website element may become outdated as user preferences shift. To stay abreast of these changes, the CRO team conducts quarterly audits, meticulously analyzing multiple pages at each sales funnel step to detect any shifts in mouse flow patterns.

This means delving into session recordings, heatmap reports, and form analytics for every stage of the funnel. Moreover, if there’s a new feature adoption or a significant overhaul in the current user experience, the team must once again undertake this exhaustive process or pinpoint underperforming pages through web analytics. 

So you see, behavior analysis is a relentless cycle that demands constant vigilance to ensure continued optimization and alignment with evolving user behavior. But, is there a way to streamline this process and simultaneously stay attuned to evolving user behavior?

With the VWO Insights Dashboard, this dilemma becomes a thing of the past.

Solving the challenge with VWO’s Insights Dashboard

VWO Insights Dashboard consolidates all visitor behavior data into one convenient location, eliminating the need to analyze individual pages, funnel stages, or sift through countless session recordings.

But how?

Quantifying behavior analysis

The Insights Dashboard employs a unique approach by quantifying behavior analysis through an experience score, graded on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 signifies an optimal experience. This score is derived from various visitor interactions, such as dead clicks and rage clicks, providing a comprehensive overview of each page’s performance.

How does this help?

This feature eliminates the need to tediously sift through each page report, analyze them individually, and draw insights. Instead, you’re presented with a curated list of pages flagged with poor experience scores. This targeted approach allows you to focus your attention solely on pages that require optimization efforts, streamlining your workflow and maximizing efficiency.

Adding to its capabilities, the feature also provides segment-level experience scores. For instance, if segments consisting of returning mobile visitors exhibit poor experience scores, you can dive into those specific session recordings for deeper insights. This strategic approach streamlines session recording analysis, allowing you to focus on areas that require immediate attention, rather than sifting through all recordings indiscriminately.

Furthermore, this quantification fosters internal clarity within your business communication. You can establish a percentage goal to enhance the user experience or present the numbers to senior management to illustrate the comparative quality of experiences across different pages.

Additionally, you can consistently monitor the user experience through the experience score graph, enabling instant identification of any declines. This facilitates precise analysis without the need for laborious periodic audits, making the process significantly less tedious.

But wait there’s more.

Making survey analysis a breeze

The Insights Dashboard allows you to see the performance of your two recent surveys. On the survey reports, you get a concise summary of the open-ended questions and responses with a word cloud and response list to identify patterns in them easily. 

Therefore, there’s no need for a back-and-forth analysis of survey responses; everything is accessible from the same dashboard. You can also view the form analysis of the two recent forms on the dashboard. 

So you see, VWO’s Insights Dashboard becomes a central hub for swiftly grasping visitor behavior nuances. Should there be any deviations, you can delve deeper into specific pages rather than analyzing everything, pinpointing areas for improvement more effectively and swiftly. 

If you believe this could substantially enhance your visitor experience analysis, seize the opportunity to access a 30-day full-featured trial and witness its impact firsthand.

[Note: The Insights Dashboard is evolving to make behavior analysis more easy and swift. Stay tuned here for upcoming updates.]

To conclude

Behavior analysis stands as a pivotal component of conversion rate optimization, yet its labor-intensive nature often presents challenges for organizations with limited bandwidth.

Fortunately, VWO’s Insights Dashboard revolutionizes this process by centralizing all visitor behavior data, offering a streamlined approach to optimization. By consolidating data into one accessible platform, teams can efficiently identify areas for improvement and focus efforts where they are most needed.

Moreover, the dashboard’s innovative experience score quantification provides a holistic view of page performance, enabling organizations to adapt to evolving user behavior and drive tangible enhancements in conversion rates.

They’ve woven A/B testing into their DNA, thriving as hubs for innovation, embracing both success and failure for learning and growth. A/B testing empowers them to make decisions after assessing the audience’s response to changes introduced on their websites. The success of ideas is then measured based on audience reactions. It’s no wonder they attribute a significant portion of their success to A/B testing.

Now, many eCommerce companies aspire to test, but they lack a solid starting point—something these big brands have already figured out as is evident by their success. 

Establishing a strong testing program requires a well-defined hypothesis-creation process. Skipping this step leads to guesswork – a ‘let’s try this and see’ approach. Successful businesses grasp the importance of understanding what they’re doing, why, and the changes they aim to bring about.

This is where building logical hypotheses plays a big role. Linking actions to expected outcomes ensures you know the direction in which your test is going. A hypothesis should tell that if you take a certain action, you should see a specific outcome for a particular reason. Constructing hypotheses for tests isn’t rocket science once you grasp the logic behind it and understand how to do it.

In this blog, we’ve curated 63 hypotheses for eCommerce companies to get started with well-planned tests on their websites. Drawing from our successful optimization of over 40 billion experiences through 1.1 million experiments on 450,000+ websites, we present these hypotheses using a proven template that has delivered great results for the best brands we’ve collaborated with. 

A quick look at a hypothesis template

Let’s understand what this hypothesis template comprises. It consists of three parts: The action you need to take, the expected results, and the underlying rationale. Here’s a hypothesis as an example: 

Providing a straightforward, action-oriented CTA copy will increase clicks on the CTA button because visitors can easily understand the next step to take in their journey on a website. 

The simplicity of the instruction will reduce friction that might arise from complex wording. The anticipated outcome is that a clear CTA copy will motivate visitors to take action, ultimately improving the number of clicks on a CTA button. 

This format ensures clarity in understanding the proposed action, the expected outcomes, and the underlying logic in a test idea. By focusing on specific areas for improvement, businesses have a clear-cut plan to start with and can invest time and effort strategically for maximum results.

1. Image repositioning increases add-to-cart click rates

Action: Changing the placement of the image will

Result: Increase the add-to-cart click rate because

Reason: It enhances the visibility of the element and encourages users to click it.

2. Countdown banner increases conversions

Action: Showing a sticky countdown banner across the website during the sale period will

Result: Increase conversions because

Reason: It creates an urgency in the visitors’ minds to purchase items before the sale ends. 

3. Enhanced mobile filter bar for easy navigation

Action: Positioning a sticky mobile filter bar at the top of the screen, featuring clear and consistent labels will 

Result: Boost filter usage and conversions. 

Reason: Users will find it more intuitive and accessible, encouraging them to navigate further and increase conversion rates.

4. Streamlined checkout creates seamless user journeys

Action: Removing extra steps and guiding customers directly to the shopping cart upon clicking the cart icon will 

Result: Result in increased conversion rates. 

Reason: This streamlined approach reduces friction in the user journey, facilitating a quicker and more seamless checkout experience.

5. Cross-sell section improvement boosts AOV

Action: Implementing a redesigned cross-sell section on product detail pages will 

Result: Boost revenue and Average Order Value. 

Reason: The enhanced presentation encourages customers to add complementary items to their cart. 

Bear Mattress increased revenue by 16% through testing this hypothesis on their website. Check out their testing strategy to inspire your own testing ideas.

6. Promotional scrolling banner boosts traffic

Action: A site-wide scrolling banner for special promotions will 

Result: Increase traffic to the promotional landing pages because 

Reason: This prominent feature attracts attention and generates interest.

7. Homepage first-fold ensures easy navigation

Action: Adding more information about services, products, and offerings on the first fold of the homepage will 

Result: Increase transactions. 

Reason: This reduces visitors’ cognitive load, helping them navigate and understand the offering, leading to a smoother decision-making process.

8. Discounts on the checkout page reduce drop-offs

Action: Offering upfront discount promotions on the checkout page will 

Result: Reduce drop-offs.

Reason: By minimizing uncertainties for users through a transparent pricing strategy.

9. Revamped site search experience for more conversions

Action: Improving the experience of the site search bar will 

Result: Lead to higher purchases. 

Reason: This is because visitors will easily find what they want, resulting in increased conversions.

10. Page revamp increases checkout rates

Action: Revamping a page design with subtle changes will 

Result: Boost checkout button engagement.

Reason: Guiding more users to the checkout page and reducing drop-offs.

Canadian company Hush Blankets redesigned their mobile cart page, increasing visits to the checkout page by 10.52%, resulting in a 23% uplift in revenue.

11. Upfront information encourages more purchases

Action: Displaying the return policy and shipping cost below two main CTAs will 

Result: Nudge visitors towards completing a purchase.

Reason: Strategically addressing common concerns and fostering commitment.

12. Homepage sub-categories enhance access to products

Action: Showing sub-categories on the homepage will 

Result: Lead more visitors to the listing pages because 

Reason: This direct navigation facilitates quicker access to specific product categories.

13. Clear CTA copies improve engagement

Action: Changing ambiguous CTA copies to clear ‘Quick Buy’ and ‘Add to Cart’ will 

Result: Encourage visitors to click through to the next page.

Reason: Providing them with a clearer understanding of the subsequent action.

14. Enhancing menu improves for engaging experience

Action: Improving the menu UI will 

Result: Lead more users to the product page.

Reason: Positively affecting eCommerce conversion rates. This enhanced menu design provides a more intuitive and engaging browsing experience.

15. Prominent review starts boost revenue

Action: Enhancing the review star size above the text reviews will 

Result: Increase value per visitor or revenue per visitor because 

Reason: Visitors will be encouraged to take action reading positive feedback. 

RubberStamps, a custom stamp seller, tested a hypothesis on their website, leading to a 33.20% increase in RPV. Explore their problem statement, observations, and learnings in the case study.

16. View product button piques visitors’ interests

Action: Including an extra ‘View Product’ button beneath the main CTA on the product listing page will 

Result: Motivate visitors aiming to explore the product description page. 

Reason: This additional option caters to diverse visitor preferences and encourages further exploration.

Watch CRO expert Rich Page examine the live websites of some top eCommerce brands in this webinar. Learn about common mistakes and what you should be doing on your website. 

17. Optimizing filters boosts interaction

Action: Enhancing filter presentation by dividing them into ‘sort’ and category-specific filters, and keeping them fixed at the top will 

Result: Increase visitor interaction with the feature. 

Reason: This improves accessibility and usability, leading to more visitors landing on desired product pages.

18. Improved search accessibility improves engagement

Action: Highlighting the search bar so that it opens when the user lands on the website and merges with the top navigation upon scrolling down will 

Result: Encourage visitor engagement with the feature. 

Reason: This enhancement improves convenience and visibility, leading to an increased ability to search and find desired products.

19. Redesigning carousels boosts engagement

Action: Redesigning an image within a carousel and incorporating a static CTA button at the bottom, which becomes visible only when the page’s CTA button is not, will 

Result: Boost clicks on the image. 

Reason: This, in turn, will drive more clicks on the main CTA button, as the dynamic design actively encourages interaction and engagement.

20. Prominent search enhances product discovery

Action: Making the search bar prominent and displaying popular searches made by others will 

Result: Direct visitors to the desired landing pages.

Reason: Facilitating the easy discovery of relevant content.

California-based Best Choice Products tested this hypothesis of making the search bar prominent for its mobile website, leading to a 30% increase in clicks on the main CTA.

21. Colorful display of USPs attracts attention

Action: Introducing green color to the icons displaying the USPs will 

Result: Create a positive impression because 

Reason: This color addition attracts attention and conveys positivity.

22. Layout experimentation improves conversion rates

Action: Experimenting with page layout, different product images, and various CTAs will 

Result: Yield valuable insights for improving conversion rates. 

Reason: These tests provide essential data on visitor preferences and how they behave on a website.

23. Right USP placement guides visitors in their journey

Action: Showing the USPs in two parts with keywords in the first row and related important content in the second will 

Result: Nudge visitors along their journey on a website. 

Reason: Highlighting USPs allows visitors to easily understand the benefits offered and proceed confidently in their journey.

24. Header USP bar encourages conversions

Action: Adding a USP bar below the header will 

Result: Motivate visitors to convert because 

Reason: This prominent placement brings benefits to visitors’ notice.

25. Prominent CTA button placement drives checkout

Action: Adding a CTA button at the top of the mini cart will 

Result: Help visitors quickly transition to the cart page because 

Reason: This addition streamlines their journey, facilitating a smoother checkout process.

Grene, a Polish company, moved the CTA above the mini cart, resulting in a 2x increase in the quantity of purchases on its website. Read the case study for more details.

26. Enhanced cart layout boosts purchase completions

Action: Crafting a well-organized layout featuring a ‘remove’ button on the right and displaying the multiplied value of products on the cart page will 

Result: Motivate visitors to complete the purchase. 

Reason: This modification results in an enhanced layout that offers detailed information and an intuitive path to conversion.

27. Prominent CTA positioning spurs visitor interaction

Action: Implementing bigger CTA buttons will 

Result: Motivate visitors to go further down the conversion funnel and complete their journey because 

Reason: This prominent button encourages visitor interaction.

28. Personalized checkout elevates conversions

Action: Personalizing the checkout page for each visitor based on their country will 

Result: Improve conversions because 

Reason: Personalization strikes a chord with visitors, making them feel important and valued.

29. Free shipping promotes upselling

Action: Adding a free shipping strip on the product pages will 

Result: Result in increased upselling, with the ultimate goal of increasing revenue. 

Reason: This promotional element encourages additional purchases.

30. Improved homepage navigation boosts engagement

Action: Improving the homepage layout for better navigation will 

Result: Enhance visitor engagement.

Reason: Making it easy for them to find the products they need.

Flos USA improved the homepage layout, which increased visits to the category page by 6.77%. They created and tested hypotheses for the full-funnel journey on their website, improving the checkout rate by 125%. Read the case study to learn how they did it.

31. Add CTAs for increased product page visits

Action: Adding a CTA to the product listing tiles will 

Result: Prompt more visits to the product page. 

Reason: Easy access to CTA enhances product findability and prompts visitors to quickly advance to the next steps in their journey.

Listen to this podcast episode where experts discuss how to design winning experiments with data-backed hypotheses. 

32. Displaying swatches allows product customization

Action: Updating the ‘Choose Finish’ option to view color swatches on product pages will 

Result: Remove confusion among visitors about product customization. 

Reason: Clear visual cues will encourage them to use this feature.

33. Clear navigation streamlines engagement

Action: Retaining only the essential details and incorporating a header with a link to the cart page will 

Result: Enhance visitor engagement. 

Reason: This approach reduces information overload and improves navigation, providing a smoother and more focused visitor experience.

34. Feature highlights drives more sign-ups

Action: Improving the display of core features on the homepage, during the comparison journey, and at checkout will 

Result: Motivate more visitors to sign up. 

Reason: This highlighted information emphasizes the value proposition and helps prevent visitors from choosing a competitor.

35. Simplifying navigation improves visitor engagement

Action: Replacing “Wholesale” with other marketing categories (like “super saver” bazaar) and moving it to the left navigation bar will 

Result: Attract better-qualified visitors to each of the category pages because 

Reason: This repositioning enhances the visual appeal.

ShopClues, an eCommerce company in India, tested this hypothesis on its website and observed a 26% increase in visits-to-order. Learn about the other tests they conducted that improved conversion in this detailed success story.

36. Testimonials build trust, increase conversions

Action: Adopting eCommerce best practices like adding real customer testimonials will 

Result: Lift conversions on the homepage because

Reason: These testimonials build trust and credibility.

37. Removing distractions improves visitor journeys

Action: Removing distracting videos that hinder users from clicking through to the product page will 

Result: Streamline the visitor journey and boost conversions.

Reason: As users can then focus on the desired action.

38. Security affirmations increase checkout clicks

Action: Adding security affirmations to the eCommerce checkout page will 

Result: Encourage visitors to click “checkout” because 

Reason: This addition instills trust and reassures users about the safety of their transactions.

39. Product finder drives visitors through a sales funnel

Action: Providing a “product finder” tool on the product page will 

Result: Push more visitors into the sales funnel

Result: By replicating the salesmen and fitting room experiences online.

40. Decluttering cart page reduces abandonment

Action: Removing the ‘special offer’ and ‘gift card’ code boxes from the shopping cart page will 

Result: Reduce cart abandonment because simplifying the checkout process 

Reason: Minimizes potential points of friction.

UK-based Bionic Gloves removed gift card/special offer code boxes from their cart page against the common belief that adding these offers increases purchases on a website. Testing this hypothesis helped them increase revenue by 24.7%. 

41. Detailed descriptions aid informed decision-making

Action: Providing detailed product descriptions will 

Result: Increase conversions because 

Reason: Comprehensive information helps visitors make informed purchase decisions.

42. Streamlined interface reduces distractions

Action: Reducing the number of CTA buttons and the number of links will 

Result: Lower the bounce rate and get more visitors into the sales funnel because 

Reason: A streamlined interface minimizes distractions and improves user focus.

43. Seamless buying journey reduces bounce rates

Action: Reducing distractions in visitors’ buying journey will 

Result: Decrease the bounce rate because 

Reason: A focused visitor experience helps retain their attention.

44. Incentivizing encourages more visitor actions

Action: Providing customers with an incentive to make a purchase will 

Result: Captivate and motivate them to take action on a website. 

Reason: This strategy leverages the psychological impact of incentives, encouraging customers to make decisions that benefit both them and the business.

45. Above-fold product display boosts sales

Action: Keeping the display of products above the fold on the homepage will 

Result: Encourage visitors to proceed with their purchase. 

Reason: This strategic placement enhances visibility and prompts quicker decision-making.

Muc-Off, a UK-based retail company, changed the position of their product images, bringing them above the fold on the homepage. Testing this hypothesis not only reduced drop-offs but also increased purchases by 106%.

46. Promotional banners improve visitor engagement

Action: Placing commercially-focused banners on top of all the information pages of the website will 

Result: Enhance visitor engagement by 

Reason: Attracting attention and conveying promotional messages.

47. Showing competitive pricing increases conversions

Action:  Displaying competitors’ higher prices on 5,000 product pages will 

Result: Increase clicks on ‘Add To Basket’ and boost the overall website conversion rate. 

Reason: This is because showcasing competitive pricing influences purchase decisions.

48. Prominent CTA buttons increase checkout clicks

Action: Enhancing the prominence of the main CTA button on the cart page will 

Result: Increase click-throughs to the ‘Continue to checkout’ button, encouraging more visitors to complete their orders. 

Reason: This design modification improves user navigation and prompts desired actions, reducing the likelihood of users leaving the page.

49. Clear product information boosts conversions

Action: Providing relevant, detailed product information will 

Result: Increase conversions because 

Reason: Visitors can comprehend the key features and benefits of different products available on a website.

50. Showing discounts increases conversion rates

Action: Emphasizing the discounted price shown on the product page will 

Result: Increase conversions because 

Reason: Highlighting savings gives visitors a sense of achievement that they bought something at a much lower rate than they actually would have.

Royal Discount, an online computer software seller, increased revenue by 10.21% by testing this hypothesis on its website using VWO. Take a free trial and discover how easy it is to set up a test on VWO.

51. Facebook Connect boosts checkout rates

Action: Offering checkout with Facebook Connect will 

Result: Increase the checkout rate because

Reason: This convenient login option simplifies the checkout process.

52. Bulk discounts improve profit margins

Action: Offering bulk discount deals on select products will 

Result: Increase the profit margin from the website because 

Reason: Enticing promotions encourage larger purchases.

53. Easy product selection process boosts revenue

Action: Streamlining the initial product selection process, by replacing the drop-down with a complete product category page, will 

Result: Boost revenue by 

Reason: Enticing more interested visitors to buy.

54. Free shipping reduces bounce rates

Action: Displaying  “Free Shipping” above the fold will 

Result: Reduce the bounce rate and encourage users to continue down the conversion funnel. 

Reason: This prominent positioning attracts attention and communicates a compelling offer.

55. Relevant logos and icons increase add-to-cart clicks

Action: Adding product quality certification logos and payment icons near the ‘Add to Cart’ CTA button on the product page will 

Result: Increase clicks on the button, as

Reason: This visual reinforcement builds trust and credibility.

Manna, a Hungary-based online store, tested the above hypothesis, resulting in a 490% increase in clicks on the ‘add-to-cart’ button.

56. Showing review widgets increases sales

Action: Enlarging the TrustPilot widget on the website will

Result: Increasing sales from the site because

Reason: Positive reviews and trust signals build confidence and decrease buyer anxiety

57. Product badges boost trust and credibility

Action: Introducing the ‘WOW’ badge on a website will 

Result: Convey a higher level of trust and credibility than just the count of followers on Twitter because 

Reason: A distinctive badge enhances the perception of authenticity.

58. Optimized lead forms encourage more interactions

Action: Introducing changes to the lead enquiry form will 

Result: Increase the conversion rate because 

Reason: An optimized form encourages user interaction.

59. Simplifying layout leads to higher conversions

Action: Reducing distractions like too many outbound links on the webpage will 

Result: Encourage more people to buy from them or submit the enquiry form because 

Reason: A cleaner layout improves focus.

60. Highlighted product USPs drive more orders

Action: Articulating the product-related USPs will 

Result: Encourage more people to place orders or at least submit the enquiry form because 

Reason: A clear value proposition resonates with the target audience.

Cocohanee added product-related USPs to its product page, resulting in a 40% increase in transactions. Learn how they achieved this now.

61. Informative videos increase conversions

Action: Creating a video that explains a business’s products or services will 

Result: Increase conversion rates because 

Reason: Visual content enhances engagement and understanding.

62. Streamlined forms help improve submissions

Action: Reducing the number of form fields will 

Result: Increase form submissions because

Reason: A shorter form is more user-friendly and reduces friction in the submission process.

63. Prioritizing product in visual hierarchy improves engagement

Action: Emphasizing a particular product in the visual hierarchy of a page will 

Result: Drive greater visitor engagement with it because

Reason: Doing so will overshadow other elements of secondary importance.

Watch this video to learn more about generating high-quality hypotheses for higher conversion uplifts.

How Amazon Attributes a Part of Its Success to Testing

There is a reason we say successful eCommerce brands owe a part of their success to consistent testing. Amazon exemplifies this approach better than anybody else. Experimentation is key to Amazon’s incredible success. How? Through testing, they figure out which ideas resonate with their audience and which do not. This way, they fail fast, learn fast, and grow fast. 

The ideas receiving positive customer feedback move forward, while those that don’t align with customer expectations are discarded, saving the company valuable time and resources. This process allows the eCommerce giant to innovate and deliver experiences ahead of their time. 

If an experiment fails, Amazon learns what doesn’t work and swiftly moves on to the next one. Amazon’s website stands as a product of such continuous experimentation, setting a benchmark that any eCommerce brand aspires to follow. Further, Amazon listens to customers through data, creating great offerings by anticipating their preferences before they know it.

The combined power of listening to customers and a commitment to testing is what makes the stage for experimentation fertile for eCommerce growth.

Conclusion

Just a heads up – these hypotheses are inspired by the awesome eCommerce brands we’ve worked with. This compilation is here to spark ideas and help you build empirically testable, specific, and precise hypotheses. However, the key is to understand your visitors’ behavior and craft your unique hypotheses accordingly. If you spot any similarities with your goals, feel free to draw inspiration. 

That’s probably the mission statement of every single streaming platform we have today. 

Whether it is Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, Peacock, or any other OTT player, each of them is involved in a never-ending race to attract more viewers and retain existing subscribers. 

However, what started as a unique form of content consumption has now turned into a highly competitive market as these platforms struggle to keep their viewers hooked while also dealing with problems like user churn, lack of customer engagement, and loss of revenue. 

While there might be different reasons for each of these problems, a large part of it can be attributed to the quality of experience that users are offered on these platforms.

Improving the user experience at every stage of interaction is the best way to counter these challenges and stay ahead of the competition.

But, how do you go about it? 

Understanding the importance of behavioral analysis

Be it award-winning documentaries, viral TV shows, or the latest star-studded action flick, viewers are bombarded with every possible content right from the moment they arrive on a platform.

On the other hand, Netflix, which is currently the largest streaming platform, lost close to one million subscribers in a single quarter of 2022.   

This shows how platforms are struggling to retain subscribers, which makes it all the more important for them to continuously improve user experiences.

Understanding how these users interact with your platform, observing the kind of actions they take, and identifying friction points in their journey are key to building an optimized experience.

This is what behavioral analysis is all about. 

For example, let’s consider that an OTT platform displays a section called ‘Watch More Like This’ whenever a user has finished watching any content. However, data from their analytics tool shows that the section is not receiving enough clicks.

This is quite concerning as it indicates that users are probably not interested in the recommendations being shown and as a result, they are just leaving the website immediately after finishing an episode or movie. 

While this may not seem like a major issue, getting a viewer to binge-watch as much content as possible is something that OTT platforms thrive upon. 

To overcome this challenge, the platform can adopt behavioral analysis to track how these users are interacting with the ‘Watch More Like This’ section. 

For starters, they can observe the heatmap of this page to identify the areas that receive the most attention, while they can also watch the session recordings to see what actions users take after they’ve finished watching something. 

Based on these insights, the platform can then discover different ways to engage users at this stage and optimize this particular section. 

Leveraging customer behavior insights at every step of a user’s journey

While the primary goal of users on an OTT platform is to stream content, not all of them have the same preferences, challenges, and mindset. 

Some are new to the platform and are just trying to figure out how it works, while others might be regular users who know exactly what they want to watch. 

Building an optimized experience for every type of user is a challenge that every business has to deal with consistently. This is why you must have a robust strategy in place to leverage behavioral analysis and get deeper insights into user behavior. 

One of the key strategies is to define the important stages of the user journey on an OTT platform and implement behavioral analysis according to the specific goals and challenges of users at these stages.

1. Discovering the platform

In the initial stage of the user journey users arrive on your website to not only explore the platform but also to get an idea about the content you are offering. Based on what they see and experience, these new users will decide whether or not they want to become paying customers.

Here, businesses can closely analyze the behavior of new users to understand their perception of the platform and discover important patterns or trends in their decision-making process.

For example, new visitors who arrive on an OTT platform are often trying to find one specific movie or show, and they just want to know whether the platform has it or not. 

Suppose Gary, a new visitor, arrives on a streaming platform looking for a popular crime-thriller show called ‘Mindhunter’. 

If the show is available, Gary will most likely convert and become a paid subscriber. However, if he cannot find this show, he will just leave the page and move on to another platform. 

This is a lost opportunity for the business and can lead to even more drop-offs in similar cases. 

To prevent this from happening, the streaming platform can opt for behavioral analytics tools like session recordings to see how visitors like Gary interact with the platform once they realize that it does not have their preferred show or movie.

Do visitors immediately leave the page? 

Do they stop and explore the other shows or movie recommendations? 

How far do they scroll on this page?

Through session recordings, the platform can find answers to all of these questions and can also discover interesting insights about visitor interactions at this stage of their journey.

Based on these insights and observations, the platform can then improve its content recommendation algorithm and also make sure that its best content is displayed within the area that receives the most attention on this page.     

By fine-tuning these crucial aspects based on visitor behavior, you can significantly impact the decision-making process, enticing users to move from consideration to subscription.

2. The consideration stage

Another crucial aspect of a visitor’s journey is the consideration stage. Here, the visitors are convinced of the platform’s offering but are still trying to learn more about it before they become customers. 

When it comes to streaming services, visitors want to experience the platform before they even convert into paid subscribers. This is why most streaming platforms offer a free trial period where users can access most of the available content for a limited period.

For instance, let’s assume that a streaming platform offers a 14-day free trial to new visitors. However, there has been no growth in this number and it has remained within the same range for the past 6-8 months. 

The platform then decides to conduct a thorough analysis using website heatmaps and starts to observe visitor behavior on its home page. 

During this analysis, they realized that even though the home page displays a wide range of shows, movies, and documentaries, new visitors hardly interacted. 

Also, since there was no clear CTA on the home page, a lot of visitors were clicking on the navigation bar to probably get more information about the platform. 

So, based on these crucial website heatmap observations, the company can now either optimize its home page to guide new visitors or display relevant information about the pricing, benefits, and other important FAQs. 

Also, instead of displaying all the available content at once, the platform can instead promote only its most popular shows and movies to new visitors. 

This is how businesses can leverage website heatmaps to gather actionable insights and use these observations to guide changes and improvements on important pages.

3. Onboarding new visitors

Now that the visitor has finally become a paid subscriber, the onboarding process sets the tone for the entire relationship. 

Crafting a user-friendly interface and recommending relevant content that aligns with their preferences is a great way to improve the onboarding journey. 

Additionally, analyzing customer behavior becomes all the more important as the business now has the opportunity to learn more about the user’s preferences, likes, dislikes, interests, and so on.

For example, let’s say that a user has just become a paid subscriber and is ready to explore the platform and watch all their favorite content. 

However, as we saw in the previous example, users often feel overwhelmed when there are many options to choose from. To avoid this problem you can opt for a crucial part of behavior analytics – on-page surveys. 

When a new customer is about to explore the platform, you can prompt a survey with questions about their favorite genres, categories, formats, or preferences.

As soon as the user shares their answers, you can recommend content that aligns with the preferences they just shared. Also, based on these survey responses, you can predict content formats or genres that they might like and optimize their recommendations accordingly. 

By doing so, you create a continuous cycle of content recommendations that perfectly match the user’s taste and liking.

Moreover, you can also use these on-page surveys at different stages to understand whether or not the users are enjoying their experience and also ask for feedback and suggestions to make further improvements.  

4. Engagement and content consumption

As users continue to watch content and interact even more with your platform, you need to focus on improving user engagement and ensuring they remain satisfied with the available offerings. 

Again, behavioral analysis is a great way to achieve this and learn more about important aspects such as watch patterns, consumption trends, and viewer preferences.

Ever wondered why certain shows or movies become binge-worthy favorites? 

Apart from a lot of social media promotions, streaming platforms heavily recommend these shows to their existing customers based on their watch patterns and viewing trends. 

Also, they analyze various behaviors such as whether users prefer shorter episodes over lengthy ones, or whether they prefer movies over TV shows. 

All of this research and behavioral analysis gives them valuable insights into viewer preferences, based on which these streaming platforms try to promote relevant content. 

One of the best ways to do this is by analyzing heatmaps of different pages and understanding how users interact with important sections. 

For example, a streaming platform can use website heatmaps to observe the ‘What Others Are Watching’ section and identify the areas that receive the highest clicks and interaction. 

Based on these insights, the platform can then strategically place popular shows or new releases in these areas, ensuring that users are drawn to their best content effortlessly.

As we saw in one of the previous examples, streaming platforms can opt for session recordings to observe user behavior and identify potential friction points in the recommendations section. 

These insights can help refine their algorithms, and can also enable businesses to offer more accurate and appealing content suggestions, ensuring that users stay engaged throughout their time on the platform.

5. Burnout and retention

Be it eCommerce, B2B, or even on-demand streaming, retaining customers is the key to the success and growth of any business.

Using a combination of different behavior analytics tools, you can develop a strategy to avoid customer burnout and find effective ways to retain outgoing customers.

For example, you can look at your analytics tool to identify users who have been using the platform less frequently. These users might be potential churners who are no longer interested in the streaming platform for some reason. 

To make sure that they continue to use the platform, the business can prompt pop-up surveys whenever these users interact with the website and either offer plan extensions or try to understand why they are not as active anymore.

Moreover, some streaming platforms also offer breaks to customers where they can stop their subscription temporarily and join back after a few months for no extra cost.

By understanding the intention of your customers through on-page surveys, you can implement either of these strategies to show empathy and offer assistance at different points to your customers. 

Another key strategy is to analyze user behavior on account exit pages.

For example, if users wish to deactivate their account, streaming platforms usually prompt personalized offers or benefits to prevent them from taking this action. 

You can take this a step further by watching the session recordings on this page and understanding how users are interacting with these offerings. Also, you can analyze the heatmaps to identify click patterns on this page.

This should be an ongoing activity where you gather actionable insights from these pages and use them to optimize the content and placement of your offerings. 

By monitoring watch history, survey responses, heatmaps, and session recordings, streaming services can optimize their content libraries, introduce loyalty programs, and offer exclusive previews to keep viewers hooked and invested in the platform.

Discover the ‘why’ behind every user action with VWO Insights – Web

User expectations are at an all-time high. 

No matter what industry you belong to, users expect you to provide an optimized experience that not only matches their needs, and preferences but also offers innovative solutions to their problems. 

This is where VWO Insights – Web comes into the picture. 

Unlike the traditional analytics tools that only offer data about what actions a user is taking, VWO Insights – Web provides the tools that are necessary to discover the reason behind these actions.

Be it AI-powered surveys that help you understand the customer’s voice better or advanced form analytics that help you identify friction points in crucial lead generation forms, VWO Insights – Web offers everything you need to optimize roadblocks and improve the overall website experience.

Moreover, VWO’s website heatmaps and session recordings help you to see exactly how visitors interact with every page on your platform, enabling you to uncover actionable insights and optimize every stage of a user’s journey. 

Take a free trial of VWO Insights – Web to experience all of these features in action and discover in-depth insights to boost your website’s performance.

Interestingly, Ulta Beauty isn’t standing alone in this trend. The numbers for in-store shopping soared to a staggering 1 trillion dollars.

It appears that in the post-COVID era, people are stepping out to local shops. But here’s the digital twist – before hitting the pavement, 2 out of 3 American consumers are firing up their devices and typing something like “XYZ near me” in search of the perfect shop and product combo. (Quote and stats from holiday shopping insights by Think with Google)

This means that for businesses with brick-and-mortar stores, it’s high time to focus on conversion rate optimization (CRO) for local search and enhance the customer journey for local customers. You wouldn’t want the majority of consumers searching for the products you sell and not finding your store or visiting your website only to drop off.

In this blog post, we’ll delve into the concept of CRO for local search. You will also get to read some tips to elevate your strategy and learn how to leverage VWO for effective optimization. Let’s get started!

What is conversion rate optimization for local search?

The typical customer journey for local search usually kicks off with typing in casual queries like “near me”, or “best XYZ store in the city”. Alternatively, individuals may explore online directories. From there, it’s all about sifting through ratings and reviews, ultimately shortlisting businesses with the highest number of positive reviews and favorable reviews. 

Following this, they may choose to either visit the website or get directions to the store. When on the website, the usual practice is to seek additional information about the business before taking desired action such as completing a form, scheduling a call, or any other desired conversion method as outlined by the business.

CRO for local search starts with dissecting the customer journey mentioned earlier. It involves identifying any leaks in the conversion process and then implementing targeted campaigns to enhance it. Picture it like a detective story for your business – finding the weak points and strengthening them.

For instance, you might launch an SEO campaign aimed at boosting ratings, ensuring that positive experiences are prominently showcased. Simultaneously, improving the website’s user interface becomes crucial – making it a smooth and engaging experience for visitors. A/B testing different versions of the homepage is another smart move, figuring out what resonates best with your local audience.

In the world of local search, CRO is about understanding the journey, plugging any leaks, and fine-tuning each step to turn potential customers into happy patrons. Now, let’s delve into some effective strategies to inspire and elevate your local search CRO efforts.

Strategies to implement for local search CRO

a. Run campaigns to get more reviews as part of local SEO optimization

When a potential customer searches for your business or service in their city—say, by entering “Top salons in Akron”— they receive local search results of Google business profiles of salons with the best ratings and the highest number of reviews are prominently featured in the list.

Therefore, for a business aiming to excel in local search, it’s crucial to prioritize the accumulation of positive reviews and high ratings. To kickstart this process, consider implementing the following strategies:

i. Offer incentives

Provide coupons or discount vouchers for future purchases as a reward for customers who share a review or rating. This not only encourages feedback but also builds customer loyalty.

ii. Digital prompting

Apart from face-to-face requests to share a review, you can ask customers for their contact information during the transaction. Then, you can follow up with emails or messages, kindly requesting them to share their experience through reviews or ratings.

iii. Contests and draws

Engage your audience by running contests. Encourage participation by asking people to share their experiences for a chance to enter a lucky draw. This not only boosts reviews but also creates a sense of excitement among customers.

These are simple steps to kickstart your efforts. But is it all worth it? Let me share a compelling case study that illustrates the reasons to invest in this endeavor.

Ted’s Montana Grill, an American restaurant chain, discovered that a staggering 92% of their potential customers relied on online reviews to inform their decisions when choosing a local outlet. This significant statistic underscores the importance for any company to pay attention.

To enhance the local conversion rate, the team collaborated with a customer acquisition tool to monitor and respond to reviews across 41 Ted’s Montana Grill locations, spanning 466 online listings and business pages. A dedicated team of 61 employees oversaw review tracking for these restaurant locations and online pages.

The company implemented a multi-pronged approach to encourage customer reviews, utilizing channels such as email, SMS, in-store kiosks, printed receipts, QR codes, and online landing pages. An example of the email communication sent to customers is shown below.

This concerted effort resulted in an impressive 60,000+ reviews within six months. This not only optimized their local search presence but also provided valuable insights for the corporate team to identify locations requiring attention and enhance their overall operations. This case study on local SEO best practices underscores that gathering positive reviews and ratings is crucial not only for small businesses but also for large corporations.

By prioritizing customer feedback and employing strategies to encourage reviews, companies can enhance their local search visibility, foster customer loyalty, and ultimately drive more conversions.

b. Customize website landing page experience for local search

The heart of a potential customer’s local search intent lies in understanding the business’s relevance to the locals and how it is perceived by others in the city or area. Therefore, it is crucial to customize the page experience to be exclusively relevant to the local audience. Here are some effective ways to achieve this:

i. Build trust with testimonials and reviews

Add testimonials and reviews directly on the landing page to instill trust. Consider incorporating a widget that prominently displays ratings and reviews received.

ii. Localize your copy

Craft the copy of the landing page using local keywords and phrases. This creates a sense of familiarity for visitors, making them feel more connected to your business.

iii. Highlight local initiatives

Showcase your conducted events in the city through a dedicated section featuring carousel photos. This visual representation emphasizes your local presence and involvement.

iv. Quantify local impact

To further build trust, provide statistics on the number of clients served in the city, if data is available. Highlighting your local impact adds credibility and reinforces your commitment to the community.

A stellar example of a global brand optimizing its website for local search is Nike. The keyword “Nike NYC,” a popular local search term in New York, garners thousands of searches monthly. In response, Nike has tailored the visitor experience with a dedicated landing page for this specific query.

Upon visiting the page, the first fold features an image of New Yorkers running with Nike gear on a local street. The accompanying copy promotes a reward program exclusive to the city, creating immediate interest and showcasing the brand’s impact on the local community. This approach not only caters to the local audience but also reinforces Nike’s connection and commitment to the vibrant energy of New York City.

Additionally, the landing page features a section highlighting weekly running events in the city, accompanied by a social media widget displaying photos from previous meets. This not only enhances the brand’s image but also underscores its active involvement in serving the local community.

Towards the bottom of the page, there is a clear call-to-action (CTA) encouraging website visitors to locate Nike stores in New York. The CTA provides specific details about the types of products available in these stores, ensuring that potential customers have the information they need for an informed decision. This strategic placement aligns with local search intent, helping users seamlessly transition from online engagement to in-store visits.

Nike’s approach serves as a prime example of how attuning to local search intent elevates brand perception, fosters community engagement, and smoothly navigates potential customers from online interest to offline action. This comprehensive strategy positions businesses to thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of local search.

c. Monitor and test website experiences to improve local search experience

The website is optimized for local SEO and provides a tailored experience, successfully attracting traffic from both organic and paid searches; however, there’s more to be done. The next crucial step involves understanding how visitors from specific locations interact with the website through behavior analytics. Utilizing tools such as heatmaps, session recordings, form analysis, and surveys allows for a detailed examination of the reasons behind particular visitor behaviors.

To help you understand the scope of the behavior analysis, let’s delve into a hypothetical example. A company aimed to assess the engagement rate of its homepage, prompting the backend team to employ scrollmap tracking—a type of heatmap. This analysis aimed to understand how many visitors engaged with the page relative to its scroll depth. Here’s a snapshot of the scrollmap report from VWO:

The report reveals a noteworthy observation: 96% of visitors drop off at the 50% scroll depth. This insight prompts the team to consider hypotheses for enhancing user engagement. For instance, if a crucial CTA is positioned just below this point, they might contemplate moving it upward on the page or incorporating an eye-catching element or widget to encourage users to continue scrolling.

Other tools, such as session recordings, provide insights into the mouse flow patterns of visitors. Form analytics offer a detailed report on user pain points during form submissions, while surveys enable direct feedback from visitors.

These tools collectively provide a qualitative report on users’ experiences. Leveraging this information, you can create new and improved experiences or experiments (A/B test, Split test, Multivariate test) with innovative features to enhance overall user satisfaction.

Now, let’s delve into another hypothetical scenario. Imagine a brand with multiple coffee shops in different cities, aiming to generate leads for its upcoming coffee festival in New York and New Orleans. Take a look at the registration page:

Suppose the form analysis reports indicate hesitations at the address fields, and the scrollmap report aligns with most visitors leaving the page at the address field.

In response, the marketing team can hypothesize that users might be abandoning the registration form due to privacy concerns about sharing their addresses. To test this hypothesis, the team decides to run an A/B test with a variation that removes the address fields, anticipating an uplift in the form conversion rates.

It’s important to note that this is a one-time optimization. For sustained improvement in website experience and alignment with visitor expectations, periodic behavior analysis becomes crucial. For such, long-term optimization strategies, such as an experimentation loop, can prove invaluable. (You can dive deeper into the concept of an experimentation loop in our dedicated blog post to know more.)

Having explored strategies from the search results page to landing page experiences, let’s now examine how VWO can significantly contribute to the success of your local search optimization campaign.

Using VWO for local search optimization

VWO is an all-encompassing experimentation platform designed to enhance the entire digital touchpoint experience. When it comes to local search optimization, VWO Insights proves invaluable by providing robust behavior analytics features such as heatmaps, form analytics, session recordings, and surveys.

If your website attracts visitors from various cities and you specifically aim to optimize the experience for a particular city, VWO has you covered. The platform offers a segmentation option for both VWO heatmap and VWO session recordings. By selecting the desired city through the custom segment option, you can effortlessly generate targeted reports and insights.

As you navigate through the reports, you can make a note of your observations on the right side of the dashboard, leveraging them for hypothesis creation in preparation for an A/B test.

Now, the question arises: Can VWO facilitate A/B testing and rollout new experiences directly from the same dashboard and specifically for the chosen city? The answer is a resounding yes.

Building upon the insights gleaned from behavior analytics, you can execute an A/B test using VWO Testing, tailored for the selected city with the help of the pre-segmentation feature. Within the test setup section, under “Audience and Traffic,” you can designate the city for your A/B test. This precise targeting ensures that you optimize the experience for locals in that specific area without impacting users from other locations.

To deploy a new experience, VWO offers VWO Web Rollouts. Where you can just create your new experience with an intuitive visual editor and deploy it for your location via the custom segments. Here is a quick overview of VWO Web Rollouts:

Isn’t local search CRO a breeze with these features? The amazing part is that you can test it out for free, gaining firsthand experience of how seamlessly it aligns with your distinct business goals and website requirements. If you’re intrigued, here’s your opportunity to seize a 30-day free trial.

Conclusion

Local search conversion rate optimization proves to be a crucial strategy for businesses with physical stores in the post-COVID landscape. By gaining a comprehensive understanding of the customer journey and identifying conversion bottlenecks in digital marketing strategy, businesses can effortlessly convert potential customers into satisfied patrons. CRO campaigns for local search not only result in increased sales but also fortify customer loyalty, positioning local businesses for sustained success in the competitive local market.

Yes, that’s an astounding fact. 

But here’s the scoop – it’s not just a marketing tech fiesta; every corner of the B2B world is buzzing with competition, especially in the post-COVID digital boom.

What does this mean?

If you’re steering a digital ship in the B2B sea, you’ve got to be tip-top in what you offer and how you offer it. Any hiccup in meeting your website visitors or potential customers’ expectations along the sales cycles is an open invitation for your rivals to swoop in.

That’s why, more than ever, it’s high time to bet big on conversion rate optimization (CRO) to plug leaks in your conversion funnel and ensure your competitors don’t sneak in and snatch your share. 

In this blog post, you’ll delve into essential concepts, effective strategies, and the utilization of VWO as a powerful tool for B2B conversion rate Optimization (CRO).

So, buckle up, and let’s dive in.

What is B2B conversion rate optimization?

Conversion rate optimization in B2B entails fine-tuning the website or any digital touchpoint experience. This optimization is rooted in behavioral or analytical data, aiming for a substantial uplift in the website’s overall performance. The desired improvements extend to key metrics, be it ROI, lead generation, or achieving any other specific business objective. 

Given the elongated purchase cycles in B2B scenarios, CRO takes on added significance. Maintaining a consistent and relevant digital experience is paramount. On top of this, even a minor dip in conversion rates can reverberate significantly in terms of monetary value. So, optimizing for success is not just a preference; it’s a strategic imperative!

Let’s delve into how conversion rate optimization campaigns are practically executed, using the example of VWO, a B2B SaaS product that is into CRO and experimentation.

After creating a hypothesis for increasing conversion based on behavior and web analytics data of the home page, you can run several CRO campaigns like,

• Content optimization campaign: Crafting new H1 heading (Optimize digital experiences & maximize conversions) and text to enhance keyword ranking, focusing on primary terms such as A/B testing, personalization, etc.
• A/B test campaigns: Experimenting with new colors or text for “Request Demo” and “Try VWO for Free” calls-to-action (CTAs). Testing variations in the navigation menu or lead generation forms that pop up after clicking both CTAs.
• Personalization campaigns: Tailoring content based on client backgrounds, personalizing H1 heading based on the client’s industry like Edtech, eCommerce, etc.
• Server-side experimentation campaign: Conducting complex experiments, especially after visitors transition to paying customers, like testing the B2B product features.
• Website experience enhancement campaign: Enhancing the SaaS website experience by adding interactive widgets, chatbots, pop-up forms, etc.

These CRO campaign types are just to give you an idea and are not exhaustive. All these campaigns aim to make the visitor’s experience delightful and increase the likelihood of conversions. Now let’s explore some strategies to inspire your B2B conversion rate optimization efforts.

Five B2B conversion rate optimization strategies

Exploring the B2B landscape involves a distinct set of challenges, especially given the significant financial stakes in play. In B2B scenarios, a lead’s decision to sign up or engage with a salesperson is a result of careful research and a detailed analysis of the capabilities and success track record of the B2B product. Additionally, they seek a seamless experience that allows them to efficiently move to the next steps, such as scheduling a call or accessing valuable resources like whitepapers. In light of this distinctive context, here are some effective B2B CRO strategies.

a. Use a customer data platform (CDP) for comprehensive data insights

A CDP consolidates data from multiple sources, processes it, combines it, and cleans it, providing a comprehensive view of individual customer profiles or datasets for behavior trends.

The significance of a CDP lies in laying the foundation for all your CRO programs. By deriving insights from data-backed hypotheses, you gain the ability to monitor the entire customer journey and identify weaknesses within it. This is instrumental in crafting effective CRO strategies.

While a CDP itself might not directly pique the interest of potential clients or address their queries, it serves as a powerful tool for understanding the reasons behind challenges in engaging or converting them. It acts as a diagnostic tool, allowing you to uncover insights to inform targeted strategies to enhance customer experience and drive conversions. 

For example, your CDP report highlights an underperforming segment from Japan, identified through data from web analytics tools like GA4. To delve deeper into the issues faced by this segment, you integrate your CDP with a behavior analytics tool. On the behavior analytics tool, you can watch heatmap session recordings for the corresponding segment to gain deeper insights. 

For instance, if the heatmap reveals a significant drop-off in the testimonial section, it indicates a potential trust issue. In response, you can tailor your content strategy by adding testimonials from Japan or incorporating ratings from trusted sources in the region. Alternatively, if the drop-off occurs in the first-fold, you may need a dedicated landing page for the Japan geography.

So, you see, the CDP serves as a central hub for streamlined data management. It allows you to speed up the process of pinpointing user problems, understanding their behavior intricacies, and derive actionable insights. Armed with this information, you’re well-equipped to create targeted and engaging CRO campaigns that directly address the pain points identified through the data analysis process.

b. Showcase the product’s credibility through the copy and website elements.

Potential clients often delve into the history and past performance of a company during the early stages of product research. Therefore, your landing pages should strategically convey the credibility of your product through compelling copy.

Take, for instance, the landing page of Semrush.

Semrush strategically showcases that its product is trusted by a multitude of companies, including a significant number of Fortune 500 companies. What’s noteworthy is that the credibility isn’t merely asserted through text; it’s backed up with compelling statistics.

As a B2B company, crafting copy for your website landing page that effectively highlights your credibility is a crucial step. Consider A/B testing different variations of your copy to gauge the impact it makes on your audience. For example, Basecamp, a project management software, conducted A/B tests with a variation of their landing page featuring a copy showcasing their client base in the first fold. The result? An average uplift of 7.82% based on four tests.

c. Utilize generative AI tools to scale up CRO

Generative AI is rapidly transforming various business functions, and CRO is no exception. This innovative technology is revolutionizing key aspects of CRO, such as data collection, customer feedback/delight, experimentation, and personalization, leading to faster and more effective results in meeting customer expectations and enhancing their experience.

Take, for instance, Intercom’s use of generative AI in the form of a chatbot named Fin. Visitors can interact with Fin to seek answers to their queries. While promoting Fin is one goal, it also serves the purpose of providing potential leads with quicker resolutions to their inquiries.

With this approach, potential leads experience shorter waiting times—seconds rather than minutes. This automation contributes to optimizing human resources by reducing the workload on the marketing and sales teams. Furthermore, potential clients benefit from quicker doubt resolution, streamlining their research process and increasing the likelihood of moving forward with free trials, demos, or sales calls.

Another example of a generative AI-based tool for CRO is VWO Testing-Web. It allows you to generate optimization ideas based on website pages, reducing the time spent on the idea generation stage and easing the strain on the CRO team. This tool provides actionable hypotheses for pages, streamlining the CRO team’s work and increasing the A/B test rate while ensuring test quality.

If you are interested, you can learn more about this AI-based product update.

Embracing generative AI in your CRO strategy brings forth a wave of efficiency, innovation, and quicker responses, ensuring a seamless journey for your potential leads. Whether it’s Intercom’s Fin providing instant answers or VWO Testing-Web streamlining hypothesis generation, these AI-powered tools open doors to faster optimization and enhanced user experiences. As you venture into the realm of CRO, consider integrating these cutting-edge solutions to stay at the forefront of technological advancements and elevate your conversion optimization initiatives.

d. Build an experimentation loop for lead generation

For any B2B organization, inbound marketing lead generation from the website is a pivotal aspect. Instead of conducting random A/B tests, relying on an experimentation loop proves more effective. 

But what exactly does the experimentation loop entail? It’s a systematic process where you conduct an initial A/B test and then proceed to run a subsequent experimentation campaign based on hypotheses derived from the results of the preceding test. Let’s understand it through an example.

Imagine you have a standard first-fold landing page featuring an H1 heading, followed by subtext, and a clear call-to-action (CTA) prompting visitors to either book a demo or avail of a free trial. It might look something like this:

Now, let’s say you conduct a standard A/B test, perhaps altering the H1 heading or subtext. Upon concluding the test, you observe an improvement in the conversion rate of the CTA. Instead of concluding the experimentation process, the experimentation loop approach involves delving deeper into the A/B test reports using various filters and segments. 

For example, your analysis may unveil that a particular geographical segment is lagging in performance compared to others. In response, you can kick off a personalization campaign specifically tailored to this geography. Alternatively, you might initiate another A/B test, adjusting headings to incorporate keywords relevant to the target audience in that specific region or include product information that resonates with this particular segment. This strategic iteration is likely to deliver an additional boost to your conversion rate. 

By adopting the experimentation loop approach, you not only capitalize on the positive outcomes of your initial A/B test but also harness the insights gained to refine and optimize further. This iterative process ensures a more nuanced understanding of user behavior, allowing you to implement targeted strategies that address specific challenges or opportunities uncovered during the initial testing phase.

e. Make your lead generation form less overwhelming with a multi-step format

At the heart of any digital interaction lies the lead form—a pivotal element that marks the initiation of a potential business relationship. To foster a seamless journey for customers venturing into this realm, the lead generation process must be user-friendly and facilitate progression to the next steps, such as booking a demo call or accessing a free hands-on demo.

While the ideal scenario involves a concise form with fewer fields, many B2B companies face the challenge of seeking extensive information to deliver a highly personalized experience in subsequent stages. However, presenting a single form with numerous fields may overwhelm visitors, resulting in drop-offs.

To address this dilemma, a strategic approach involves implementing a multistep lead generation form. This innovative solution breaks down a multi-field form into manageable segments, mitigating the perceived intimidation and creating a positive user experience. By allowing customers and leads to input their information in smaller, more digestible chunks, this approach enhances user satisfaction and, ultimately, boosts conversion rates.

A compelling illustration of the effectiveness of a multistep lead generation form is evident in the case of VentureHarbour, a bootstrapped venture studio. The firm strategically implemented a multi-step signup form on its website, orchestrating the sequence to commence with steps that demanded minimal effort to complete.

The impact was remarkable. The transition from a single-step to a multi-step form made their conversion rate vary from a modest 0.96% to an impressive 8.1%, underscoring the potency of this approach in significantly enhancing user engagement and average conversion rate.

Moreover, incorporating periodic analysis of the form using form analytics tools allows you to closely monitor its performance. By leveraging insights gained through analysis, you can formulate hypotheses to further improve the form and initiate targeted CRO campaigns for continuous optimization.

When it comes to achieving success in B2B CRO, crafting a solid plan is imperative. The strategies discussed above can greatly enrich and guide you toward your goals. However, having the right tool is crucial for effective implementation. If you’re still in search of the ideal tool or considering alternatives, here’s essential information about VWO that you shouldn’t overlook.

Using VWO for effective B2B conversion rate optimization

From behavior analysis to personalization, VWO stands out as a comprehensive CRO platform, offering a diverse set of features to elevate your CRO endeavors. Leveraging VWO Insights, you can employ scrollmaps, heatmaps, form analysis, and surveys to gain insights into visitor behavior and understand the reasons behind drop-offs. The seamless integration allows you to transition from behavior analysis to creating hypotheses directly within the same dashboard. Subsequently, you can execute A/B tests using VWO Testing or run a FullStack A/B test. 

Also, VWO enables you to launch personalization campaigns through VWO Personalize. What sets VWO apart is its incorporation of VWO Data 360 (CDP), facilitating easy data management.

Adding to its impressive array of capabilities, VWO embraces generative AI to generate optimization ideas, create survey reports, suggest text, and promise much more in its evolving pipeline of features.

Curious about the success track record for B2B organizations? Let’s delve into a compelling case study involving VWO Experimentation Suites.

Hubstaff, a B2B company specializing in time tracking and project management software received hundreds of thousands of visitors on the homepage. Thus, even a slight dip in the conversion rate could translate to significant revenue loss. To address this concern and elevate its conversion rate, Hubstaff turned to VWO.

The Hubstaff team kicked off the improvement process by conducting a comprehensive behavior analysis of the homepage using VWO Insights. The insights derived from this analysis prompted them to embark on a complete redesign of the homepage.

Here’s a glimpse of the original homepage:

And here’s the variation with the new design:

The test ran for three months, encompassing a total of 259k visitors across the two pages involved. The result? The variation recorded a remarkable 49% increase in sign-ups, showcasing the effectiveness of VWO experimentation suites.

If these results have piqued your interest and you’re eager to explore more of VWO’s capabilities, here’s a 30-day free trial for you. It grants access to all the features and capabilities that VWO has to offer. So, do give it a try. 

In conclusion

B2B CRO is a must for any business looking to thrive in the post-COVID digital landscape. Fine-tuning the website or any digital touchpoint experience based on behavioral or analytical data can lead to a significant uplift in the website’s overall performance. 

By implementing effective CRO strategies like using a CDP, personalization, A/B testing, content optimization, and website experience enhancement, businesses can provide relevant and necessary information to the B2B lead along with a hassle-free experience to move forward in the sales funnel. With the help of powerful tools like VWO, businesses can drive measurable results, keep up with conversion rate benchmarks, and stay ahead of the competition.

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