I've seen time and time again owners and marketing managers change the homepage and whatever homepage creates the best conversion, that's what wins. That's an ok (an antiquated) way of testing but there is way too much activity between the homepage and the order placed (even if you are selling just one product/service) to tie orders to the homepage. And even if it is the only thing you have tested that week, the likelihood some other external or internal factor (even accuracy of the test data) didn't affect the results is slim to none these days.
The fact is that homepages have the job of getting customers to the next step and so on and so on. When you know what buyflow creates your best conversions, you know how to analyze your tests. For example, you might have 3 main buyflows:
1. Buyflow Scenario 1 (The Browser): Homepage, Category Page, Category Page, Product Pages, Category Page, Product Pages, Cart, Checkout, Cart, Checkout, Order Confirmation Page.
2. Buyflow Scenario 2 (Get In and Get Out): Homepage, Search, Product Page, Cart, Checkout, Order Confirmation.
3. Buyflow Scenario 3 (I Want a Discount): Homepage or Clearance Page, Clearance Category, Product Pages, Cart, Checkout, Order Confirmation.
You get the hang of this I hope. There are usually 5-7 key buyflow scenarios which you can designate as personas. Buyflow Scenario 1 might be Bob, the Browser and Buyflow Scenario 2 could be Sam, Get In and Get Out.
If you make a homepage change, you need to know how your homepage change ultimately affects all of your key scenarios because you may have really made it easy on Bob, The Browser to make a purchase but you've lost traction with Sam, Get In and Out guy that was giving you a high overall LTV.
The fact is that website testing must be done with a 360 view. It's not linear by any means. What you do to the homepage has affects down the line that can then create ups or downs on orders. Know your main scenarios before you set up a test and test each page through buyflows to see where the improvements and breaks happen.
As always, I'm available at heartlandgirl21 on yahoo mail.
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