Contents 4
Sufficient consensus
Conversion rate optimization raises the share of visitors who complete a defined action. The settled instruments are A/B tests, form reduction, clearer calls to action, faster loading, trust signals and funnel analysis.
The measurement is simple and that is a large part of its appeal.
If more options on display meant more completed purchases, the table with 24 jams would have sold more jars. It drew more shoppers and sold fewer.
Markup changes how the result looks, and the page still has to do the rest. See Organic Conversion Rate.
| Tasting table in a grocery store | 24 jams | 6 jams |
|---|---|---|
| Passing shoppers who stopped | 60 % (145 of 242) | 40 % (104 of 260) |
| Shoppers who stopped and later bought a jar | 3 % (4 of 145) | 30 % (31 of 104) |
Iyengar, S. S. and Lepper, M. R., When choice is demotivating: Can one desire too much of a good thing?, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2000. Study 1, field experiment in a grocery store in Menlo Park, California, 502 passing shoppers.
What the result pages leave out
These belong to the subject. People ask about them. They are missing from the agreed coverage.
- Decision load. People who arrive with too many open questions do not convert faster when the form gets shorter. They convert when the questions are answered.
- The reason for leaving. Exit rates record that someone left. They record nothing about what was missing at that moment.
- Regret after the conversion. Refunds, cancellations and silent non-use are the real result of many optimized funnels. They are booked in a different department.
- Choice overload. More options on the page can lower the completion rate while every single option tests well on its own.
- The unasked objection. Buyers carry an objection they never type into a form. A page that names it converts without touching the button.
What people actually want to know
- Which question did my visitor still have when they closed the tab?
- Are the people who convert the people I want as customers?
- How many of last quarter's conversions are still customers today?
- Does my test tell me what works, or only which of my two ideas was less wrong?
Conversion is the goal. A conversion that survives the following six months is the measurable version of that goal.