Posts Tagged ‘testing’
Websites Testing
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
The Importance of Website Testing
Conversion optimization is pretty straightforward, right? Identify elements of your website that make it more difficult or confusing for a visitor to progress through the conversion funnel and change them so they’ll propel that visitor toward the next step you want him to take. When you actually get started, however, the process isn’t quite so simple. Not only must you identify problem elements, but you must also determine what changes you can make to those elements to increase your conversion rates.
The Problem with Intuition
When it comes to conversion optimization, many companies go with gut instinct when determining what elements should change and how they should change. They ask themselves, “If I were visiting this page, what changes would help me reach my goal faster?”
The problem is that your visitors aren’t you. They don’t have your prior knowledge, your goals, or your understanding of your company and the way it operates. If you look at the page from your point of view instead of from theirs, your redesign will reflect your needs and tastes and not those of your potential customers.
When Knowledge Becomes a Burden
The reason it is difficult for web marketers to succeed at conversion optimization is because they know too much. Knowledge can actually prevent you from understanding things from the customer’s point of view, because once you know something, it’s impossible to imagine what it’s like not to know it.
If you know, for instance that your call to action button is at the bottom left hand corner of your screen, it’s impossible for you to imagine what it’s like to land on your web page and not know where to look for that button. You might think the button is obvious, but your visitors might spend precious seconds searching for a place to click, and you might actually be losing visitors due to poor button placement or visibility.
Why Testing Gives you the Best Kind of Knowledge
The only way to truly understand what customers’ impression of your web page is to begin strategic testing. By systematically testing the various elements of your page you can discover what elements work well for your customers and what changes should be implemented to make your website work better and easier for your visitors. Testing gives you knowledge that lets you see your web page from the customer’s point of view and allows you to adapt your ideas to incorporate your viewers’ shopping and searching preferences. Don’t overlook the value of testing throughout the entire conversion optimization process. Take advantage of one of the most powerful tools available to you for improving your website’s conversion rate.
About the Author
Learn more about Website conversion Optimization and Attracting your Target Market
Vlog- Google Adwords test, City.vi websites, testing Sony a55
