CRO & Usability Testing: Optimising Website UX for Future Students

At the Australian Institute of Management (AIM), my role as a Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) Specialist extended to encompass significant UX design responsibilities. My primary objective was to enhance the website experience for prospective students, driving higher conversion rates through data-informed design and continuous iteration. This involved a blend of strategic design, meticulous performance tracking, and collaborative teamwork.

A/B Testing Success Stories

Here are two key projects where my design and CRO efforts led to significant improvements in conversion rates. These examples highlight my process of using data, competitor analysis, and UX principles to drive tangible results.

AIM MBA Landing Page Optimisation

Objective: Increase form submissions for the AIM MBA course guide download.

Original Strategy: The existing landing page was designed by a Senior Graphic Designer. My challenge was to create a test variant that would outperform this control.

Variant A (Control) - Existing landing page

Variant B (Test) - My Redesign

My Process:

1. Data Analysis: Began by thoroughly reviewing Crazy Egg heatmaps to understand user click activity on the existing page. Simultaneously, I analysed Google Analytics data to gain deeper insights into user behaviour patterns.
2. Competitor Research: Conducted a comprehensive competitor analysis, examining MBA program pages from other universities and colleges. This provided valuable insights into common page structures, content priorities, and effective design choices that resonated with prospective students.
3. Hypothesis & Design Strategy: My hypothesis was that a page tailored to users unfamiliar with AIM, emphasising the institution's credibility and unique benefits, would lead to higher conversions.

Results:

• 📉 Original Landing Page (Control): 9.80% Conversion Rate (CVR)
• 🏆 Winning Variant (My Redesign): 18.18% Conversion Rate (CVR)
• ✅ Conversion Lift: +85.4% CVR

Leadership and Management Qualifications Landing Page

Objective: Increase downloads of the course guide for Leadership and Management Qualifications.

Original Strategy: Like the MBA project, the goal was to improve upon an existing page's performance.

Variant A (Control) - Existing landing page

Variant B (Test) - My Redesign

My Process & Key Changes:

Leveraging learnings from the MBA success, I applied similar principles to this page:

• Visual Cues & Clarity: Used descriptive icons in the banner and prominently displayed bold text of the available qualifications to quickly draw user attention to the course offerings.
• Building Trust: Introduced a background section about AIM early on, establishing brand trust before delving into specific course details, a significant departure from the original page's immediate course focus.
• Enhanced Value Proposition: Collaborated with a graphic designer to create a compelling visual asset: a brochure image representing the digital course guide. This visually demonstrated the depth and value of the guide, enticing more downloads.

Results:

• 📉 Original Landing Page (Control): 6.32% Conversion Rate (CVR)
• 🏆 Winning Variant (My Redesign): 12.86% Conversion Rate (CVR)
• ✅  Conversion Lift: +103% CVR

Website User Testing: Uncovering Key UX Insights

Following the launch of the new AIM Business School (ABS) website, I took the initiative to organise and conduct user research to evaluate its initial impressions and overall usability. The aim was to identify areas for improvement that could enhance customer satisfaction, aid student acquisition, and ultimately contribute to revenue growth through increased enrolments.

Impression Test (Five-Second Test)

Purpose: To gauge users' immediate reactions and understanding of the ABS website within a very short exposure period. This helps ascertain if the site effectively communicates its core message and creates a positive initial impression.

Methodology:

• Platform: Used TryMyUI to recruit 5 participants. The platform's automated selection process ensured a representative sample based on demographic information.
• Procedure: Each tester was shown the ABS homepage for 5 seconds, then immediately asked a series of questions:
• "Say 3 words that you remember from the site, or that you would use to describe the site."
• "What is this site about?"
• "What services and/or products are offered on this site and for whom?"
• "What is the feel of this site? (e.g., professional, fun small-company, corporate?)"

Usability Test

Purpose: To evaluate the user-friendliness of the ABS website by observing how real users interacted with it online while completing specific tasks. This unmoderated online testing helped identify pain points and areas for improvement to enhance overall user experience.

Methodology:

• Platform: Utilised TryMyUI to conduct unmoderated usability tests, receiving videos of participants navigating the website.
• Scenario: Participants were given the following scenario to set the context for their tasks: "You are a business professional looking to progress in your career by completing postgraduate education. You’re currently in the process of comparing different education providers and have found this website."
• Tasks: Starting from the ABS website homepage, testers were asked to:
• "Find a course that you may be interested in."
• "What are the entry criteria for this course?"
• Observation: I thoroughly reviewed the recorded videos, observing user interactions and listening to their spoken thought processes as they attempted to complete the tasks.

Research Findings:

• Clear MBA Pathway: Multiple users praised the clarity of the MBA pathway section, with comments like, “I like the way they clearly explain who the course is for and for what level.”

• Professional Design & Navigation: Most users provided positive feedback on the professional design and ease of finding content, with one user stating, “Easy to navigate; the homepage was very organised which made for optimal navigation.”
• High Usability Score: All users successfully found a course of interest and rated the website's usability at an average of 5.6/7.

• Course Discoverability: Initially, most users only noticed the top 3 courses listed in the MBA pathway section, failing to see the full range of available courses until later in their exploration. Comments such as, “Oh I see... Aside from these top three there are other certificates" (Tester 1) and "So I assume these are the only courses they do [MBA Pathway section]..... Ah they have more courses” (Tester 2) highlighted this.

• Menu Navigation Confusion: Some users were confused why the "Graduate Certificate in Management" was not listed under the "Graduate Certificates" menu item. This led to uncertainty about where to locate specific course information.

• Detailed Course Content: A couple of users sought more detailed information about specific unit content within courses but struggled to find it on the site.