Sit! Stay! Click! Making Your Users Beg for More

Startonomics ‘09

Ted Rheingold Top Dog, Dogster, Inc.

blog.dogster.comtwitter: @tedr

First Things First

Is your product used?

Are happy customers creating new happy customers?

Do new visitors engage?

OKRs must be determined in advanceOKRs will show transformative growth (revenue, users, partners, etc.)Must be collectively agreed to by all stakeholdersYour resources must be allocated to achieve your OKRs

Ready Set Objectives & Key Results Go!

Key Performance Indicators

KPIs: metrics that define and measure progress toward organizational goals (OKRs)KPIs are often ratios (ARPU, bounce rate, actives rate, etc.) KPIs can and will change over time, do so conscientiouslyEverything else in info-porn

“So What?” & Actionablility

Put everything through a triple “So What?” testActionable insights are everythingDon’t do anything for less than a 25% gain. Shoot for 100%

Much More to Testing Than Being In Beta

Test, Test, TestA-B TestingMultivariate TestingClick-Density TestingUser Experience Testing

User Experience Testing FTW

Doesn’t require expensive expertsFind target users from your networks ($15-$40/hr)Set up quiet environ: record screen, voice, faceLead everyone through same script & tasksAfter 10 users you’ll get 98% of insightsDo user exp. testing before final production cycles. Build in post-test change time

Best Practices

Be disciplinedHave a clear line of sightMinimize stats review, fight info-pornDo not dilute responsibility among stakeholdersTest that your data is soundFilter user types

Case Study

Marketing Initiative Feb ‘07Goal: 2,000 New Registrants a Day

Marketed sites via AdSense and BlogAdsAt launch we linked ads to our homepagesQuickly made a general landing page with intro info and big link to registerThen made dynamic landing with relevant text and registration form.This significantly increased percentage of ad clickers that became registrants

LANDING PAGE Welcome

Landing Page Cute Overload

LANDING PAGE Daily Candy

LADING PAGE Dog Info

REGISTRATION PAGE -Activate

Quantitative Success Doesn’t Mean Qualitative Success

We hit OKR of 2,000 registrants a dayBUT only 60% were activatingOnly 8% we’re making profile pages vs. 80% that found site on their ownReal members were generating a $4 ARPU, these were worth $0.10

Final Result

Within 3 months we halted all ad spending.

But we were sitting on a treasure trove of what topics engaged pet people the most.

HOMEPAGE - Current

CRAZY EGG Searchers

Dogster Search Traffic

Great Reads

Web Analytics Avinash Kaushik

Advanced Web Metrics

Brian Clifton

Free/CheapTools

Google AnalyticsGoogle Trends, Adwords Keyword ToolGoogle Website Optimizer (A/B Multivariate)

Silverback (experience testing)

Awstats (free server-side webstats)

CrazyEgg (click tracking heat maps)

Kissmetrics (social space analytics)

Medialets (iPhone apps)

Ted Rheingold Top Dog, Dogster, Inc.

blog.dogster.comtwitter: @tedr

Sit! Stay! Click! Making Your Users Beg for More

Startonomics ‘09