Say out loud, “ I care more about how pretty my web page is than how much money it makes.” Let that sink in and prepare to change. Like many 12-step programs, the first step is to acknowledge you have a problem. You will face them again, and you want to be prepared when you do. Applying this discipline is critical in understanding the unique functionality of your website and what increases or decreases conversions.įailing to learn from a “failed” experiment is like failing to learn the tactics of your Monopoly opponent. It is important to learn from each experiment regardless of the results. Did the new icon and copy add anxiety or distraction?.Did the new icon and copy add clarity and relevance?.Would alternate copy change the site performance?.Did the new copy corresponding to the new icon have a negative impact?.What was the net gain/loss of each individual conversion metric?.Why did higher clicks on the replaced icon also correspond to a higher bounce rate? (Hint: something else didn’t get clicked as much!).To better understand the behavior we observed, we sought to learn more by asking some basic questions: Just as every Monopoly opponent is unique, our clients and website visitors are unique. In the same way that losses are our teachers in Monopoly, losses should be our teachers in web optimization experiments. It would be easy to walk away from the second experiment and view it as a total loss. But I put on my Monopoly head and determined the measurable results of the change should trump how I felt about the change. My initial inclination was to ignore the results and push the change through. Two nearly identical hypotheses with two nearly identical changes led to opposite results. This experiment shows why it is essential to test and scrutinize the results. However, both the bounce rate and the conversion rate took a hit. More clicks do not necessarily mean more conversions.Īs shown on the heat map above, replacing the 3 rd icon attracted many more clicks on the “B” version of the page. The experiment executed quickly with the following results:įig 2. ![]() We found that the 2 outer icons had low activity and decided to test them against alternate icons. This website has 4 clickable icons that take the user to additional content. We used click-tracking software heat mapping to identify content that was not getting clicked.We set up Google to score on bounce rate while watching conversions.We followed this process to find out which elements led to conversions: Such was the case for one client’s site, when we set out to improve the home page. How to Optimize for Scarcity: Testing to see which properties are performing Is there an element on your web page that isn’t pulling its weight? As optimizers, our job is to identify the converting elements on a page and remove the non-converting elements. The properties’ job is generating revenue. They have a job to do and we expect them to do it well. Without emotion, we require properties to pay their way. If you don’t pull your weight, you’re gone! If you try this approach, either in Monopoly or on your website, you lose. If we played Monopoly the same way, we would focus on acquiring and building hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place and be done. In contrast, it is the very rare individual who walks into a web planning meeting without being focused on making the most beautiful page possible. In Monopoly, we quit caring about how glamorous a property is and instead focus on how much money it will make for us. Something amazing happens on the Monopoly board that doesn’t naturally happen on our web page. Vigorously compete against these opponents on your site with the same vigor you compete in Monopoly, and you’ll be more likely to “pass GO and collect $200.” How to Optimize for Scarcity Negative emotional association with specific words or imagesĪs you think about the opponents listed above, you will recognize scarcity working against your ultimate goal.Lack of common reference and knowledge base.In fact, we usually have more opponents than competitors. In reality, we do have opponents in our web strategy. Again, do we think about our web page the same way? Examples of Scarcity on our Web Pages We do this because we know we have an opponent that is actively working to undo us. The desire to compete brings out our analytical nature and we scheme to make the most of the resources we have as opposed to the resources we want. Our money supply is limited, as is our opportunity to buy properties. In Monopoly, we can’t own all the properties and have hotels on all properties. Scarcity means having less resources than needed to achieve a goal. ![]() ![]() Discover how to optimize for scarcity and grow your business.
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