CXL Institute Conversion Optimization Mini-Degree Review (Week 11)

CXL Institute’s Conversion Rate Optimization Mini Degree program offers a wealth of information for marketing professionals seeking to understand the fundamentals of conversion optimization. For the past four weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from leading experts in the field on a range of topics. The details presented in each course have added layers of in-depth knowledge and skills to my repertoire.

I’m excited to share my experiences and some of the knowledge gained in Week 11. I’d encourage anyone who is looking to grow their skills, particularly in website and conversion rate optimization, to consider enrolling in this course.

Heuristic Analysis Frameworks For CRO Audits

Let me say this. CXL is a big believer in Heuristic Analysis. That phrase and analytical construct has found its way in soooo many CRO mini-degree modules and has been covered by soooo many instructors that I was shocked (not really:) to find it covered again in Andre Morys course on Heuristic Analysis Frameworks For Conversion Optimization Audits. Of course there’s a good reason, at least in my estimation, for the level of repetition. As an advertiser, I understand the power of frequency and how using it in apt dosages can help move users further down the conversion funnel, or at the very least keeping your product or service top of mind. I can say they’ve succeeded in the latter, though each time the course instructor finds a way to add new perspectives and useful/practical insights. Morys delivered on both fronts.

What distinguished Morys’ approach from others was the intense focus on user empathy and consideration. Not saying that previous instructors were lacking in the user empathy department. In fact, Megan Kiersteads course on User Research — though not entirely on the topic of heuristic analysis — was awesomely focused on user empathy. But most of the guidance in other modules focused on Heuristic Walkthroughs cover it from an optimizers’ perspective, with some level of focus on consumer empathy. Morys’ course module was almost entirely focused on the user journey, which was extremely refreshing and insightful.

Right off the bat, Morys provides a very user centric understanding of how heuristic analysis should work in the context of navigating the user journey. As he put it, most optimizers spend the bulk of their time focusing entirely on elements of the website. They mine the data and look to make improvements in form and functionality that will hopefully result in some type of long lasting behavioral changes. While form and functionality are important pieces of the puzzle, it’s “best to understand what happens in the brains of your users.” Websites, though important, act as stimulants that, if done well, can trigger/activate innate desires within the brains of your users. Super insightful insight and something that can easily be lost in the endless shuffle of traffic-focused media buying.

When starting your heuristic analysis of any given web property, Morys cautions optimizers to view heuristic analysis as:

• A method that focuses on user behavior to facilitate expect evaluation
• A way to provide answers on why users are not clicking/buying. Analytics data has high validity but does not tell you why users aren’t taking particular actions on your website.
• Focusing on the users reality
• Conscious level
• Subconscious level (cognitive biases)

After providing those core evaluative principles, he then devotes the entirety of the course to showing you how to execute user-centric heuristic analysis by analyzing various aspects of your site. The base of the heuristic analysis starts at the appearance level. As he describes it, every website has body language that helps define the user experience. There’s an energy in the copy, the colors, the choice of layout and illustrations used that can either draw users in (if done well) or repel them (if done poorly). It’s why Nike sells millions of shoes. There’s energy that flows through every aspect of their creative executions. Every page, image, string of copy is designed to draw in the user. It’s the power of branding in its strongest form. As an advertising professional (and a major Nike consumer), it’s something that I can appreciate. And I appreciate Morys’ practical advice on how to maximize the principles of branding through a heuristic lens. He walks you through the process of evaluating a website on the basis of its body language. Asking questions like:

1) What message does the imagery on your site convey to the end user?

2) How are you using color to stimulate action from your users?

3) How are the illustrations on your site being used to speak to your core users?

4) What words are you using to describe your products?

All these variables can contribute to poor or excellent first time impressions. Ignore them and you run the risk of losing potential customers. Focus on them and you’re likely to keep folks coming back for more.

But of course there’s more to a website than just appearance. There are various factors that work in conjunction to stimulate action among potential users/customers. Several of those factors deal directly with trust, security and convenience. And Morys covers each of those areas in great detail. To help counter user trust issues, it’s extremely important to use social proof as a mechanism to help users take the leap across the chasm. Herd mentality, as Morys describes, helps get users over the trust hump, especially if they see that multiple users have purchased and provided affirmation by way of reviews or ratings. Making sure that’s prominently displayed on your site is a perfect way to stimulate action or, at the very least, deeper consideration.

Security and convenience are factors that can also act as barriers to users. Morys provides an evaluative framework to help counters those issues as well. Using Zappos as a case study, he shows how one line of text about the company’s return policy, added at the right point in the checkout process, helped counter a common concern among their users. That one line of text addressed the worry that most consumers have when they purchase something online i.e. can I get my money back if the product isn’t exactly what I expected. Whoever optimized that section of the checkout form was honed in on the user experience. That change got to the heart of the “why” and not just the “what”. That approach to heuristic analysis — focused on the “why” and not just the “what” — was incredibly useful.