When it comes to optimising your website for conversions, one of the most important steps is to build a test hypothesis. A test hypothesis is a statement that predicts how a change to your website will affect conversion rates. It’s the foundation of any good CRO (conversion rate optimization) test, as it guides the test design, helps to prioritise which changes to make, and provides a framework for analysing the results.
There are a few key elements to building a solid test hypothesis:
- Identify the problem: Before you can create a test hypothesis, you need to understand the problem you’re trying to solve. This could be a low conversion rate on a particular page, a high bounce rate on a specific traffic source, or any other issue that’s preventing your website from reaching its full potential.
- Define the goal: Once you’ve identified the problem, you need to define the goal of your test. This should be a specific, measurable outcome that you want to achieve. For example, “increase the number of people who complete a purchase on our e-commerce site” or “reduce the number of people who abandon their shopping cart.”
- Formulate the hypothesis: With the problem and goal defined, you can now formulate a test hypothesis. This should be a statement that predicts how a specific change to your website will affect conversions. For example, “if we change the color of the call-to-action button from green to red, we will see an increase in the number of people who complete a purchase.”
- Test your hypothesis: Once your hypothesis is formulated, you can design a test to put it to the test. This could be an A/B test, a multivariate test, or any other type of test that allows you to compare the performance of the original version of your website to the version with the change.
- Analyse the results: After the test is complete, it’s important to analyse the results to see if your hypothesis was supported or disproved. If your hypothesis was supported, you can make the change to your website permanently. If not, you’ll need to go back to step 1 and start again.
In summary, building a test hypothesis is a crucial step in the CRO process. It helps you to identify problems, set clear goals, and design effective tests that will help you optimise your website for conversions. By following these steps, you’ll be able to make data-driven decisions that will improve the performance of your website and increase conversions.
What makes a good test hypothesis for CRO?
A good test hypothesis for CRO (conversion rate optimization) should have the following characteristics:
- It should be specific and measurable: The hypothesis should clearly state the problem you’re trying to solve and the desired outcome. It should also be measurable, so you can determine whether the change had the desired effect.
- It should be based on data and research: A good hypothesis should be based on data, such as website analytics, user feedback, or industry research. This will increase the likelihood that the hypothesis is accurate and will lead to meaningful results.
- It should be testable: A hypothesis should be testable, meaning it should be possible to design an experiment or test to determine whether the hypothesis is true or false.
- It should be relevant: The hypothesis should be relevant to the problem and the goals of the test. It should also be relevant to the audience and the type of website or product that you’re trying to optimise.
- It should be actionable: A good hypothesis should be actionable, meaning it should be possible to make a change to the website or product based on the results of the test.
In summary, a good test hypothesis for CRO is specific, measurable, based on data and research, testable, relevant and actionable. It should clearly state the problem you’re trying to solve, the desired outcome, and the change that you think will lead to that outcome. By following these guidelines, you’ll be able to create hypotheses that will help you optimise your website for conversions.
Is there a template for what makes a good test hypothesis for CRO?
A template for creating a good test hypothesis for CRO (conversion rate optimization) would include the following elements:
- The problem: Clearly state the problem you’re trying to solve. This could be a low conversion rate on a particular page, a high bounce rate on a specific traffic source, or any other issue that’s preventing your website from reaching its full potential.
- The goal: Define the goal of your test. This should be a specific, measurable outcome that you want to achieve. For example, “increase the number of people who complete a purchase on our e-commerce site” or “reduce the number of people who abandon their shopping cart.”
- The change: Describe the specific change you plan to make to your website. This could be a design change, a copy change, or a change to the user experience.
- The prediction: State your prediction of how the change will affect conversions. For example, “if we change the colour of the call-to-action button from green to red, we will see an increase in the number of people who complete a purchase.”
- The reason: Explain the reason or the rationale behind the change. This could be based on data, research, or past experience.
A template for a good test hypothesis for CRO could look like this:
“We believe that [problem] on [page/traffic source] is causing [negative impact on conversions/engagement].
Our goal is to [goal] by [change].
We predict that [change] will lead to [prediction] because [reason].”
For example:
“We believe that the current design of the product page is causing confusion among users and resulting in a high bounce rate. Our goal is to reduce the bounce rate by redesigning the product page layout. We predict that the redesign of the product page layout will lead to a significant decrease in the bounce rate because user research has shown that the current design is confusing.”
It’s important to note that this is just a template and it should be adjusted according to the specific test and the website or product that you’re trying to optimise.
