While rapid-fire testing and optimization are common practice on the web, mobile apps are behind when it comes to updating the user experience.
App publishers have a lot to learn from the web. Where rapid-fire testing and optimization are common practice for website developers, mobile app managers are still stuck in the slow lane when it comes to updating the user experience. That’s a problem because testing and optimization drive business results such as conversions and revenue.
According to the most recent Conversion Rate Optimization Report published by Econsultancy, companies that improved their conversion rates year over year were performing an average of 24 percent more tests than companies that saw no conversion rate improvements. Organizations cited A/B testing – the process of testing two different layouts against each other – as the preferred method for improving website performance, and nearly half (46%) reported using the technique to increase conversions.
There’s more evidence to support the value of testing too. At the recent Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition, Craig Oldham, vice president for the American Red Cross, announced that the non-profit had increased its site revenue 22% quarter over quarter as a direct result of testing and optimization practices. And David Katz, vice president and general manager at Groupon, emphasized how important optimizing the user experience is for overall performance noting that the company can live or die based on the location of its “buy” button online.
The same lessons that web optimization experts have learned over the last decade apply to the mobile app world. App publishers have to adapt to user behaviors in order to improve mobile outcomes. That means first understanding what user behaviors look like, and second, being willing and able to make changes on the fly without waiting for the next major software release. Changes may be as simple as adjusting the location of a “buy” button or adding links to Twitter and Facebook. But the results are often dramatic.
When it comes to optimization, the mobile app market is slowly starting to mature. But if companies want to push conversion rates further, they’ll take their lead from the web. Testing + Optimization = Success.
Author
Becky is the Senior Content Marketing Manager at TUNE. Before TUNE, she led a variety of marketing and communications projects at San Francisco startups. Becky received her bachelor's degree in English from Wake Forest University. After living nearly a decade in San Francisco and Seattle, she has returned to her home of Charleston, SC, where you can find her enjoying the sun and salt water with her family.
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