Mohamed Ali Aguel reveals to Philipp Schoeffmann game-changing conversion rate optimization tactics, and more at Affiliate World Europe 2018 in Barcelona.

Interview with Mohamed Ali Aguel | CEO, Digital Marketing Triumph

By Philipp Schoeffmann

Interview Transcript

Phil:
Let’s start with the end in mind. Meaning, the last speech. And what you shared onstage. Maybe you could give us like the three main takeaways.
Mo:
Yeah, so conversion rate optimization it’s all about getting free money. So imagine this, and this is the case study that I shared on the stage. We had a website converting at 2.8% and then we increased it to like 5.3% and that’s double. We literally doubled the conversion. So let’s say you’re spending $1,000 a day on ads right and you’re bringing in $2,000 at 2.8% now that you’ve increased it to 5%, that $1,000 will bring in $4,000. So it’s free money. You’re not spending any more on ads, but your website is converting more. So cheaper CPAs, more margins, higher AOVs, more money and more to your bottom line. And that was the whole subject of this presentation.

Three things you need for Conversion Rate Optimization

So I guess the top, main three things I would say that you need for CRO is number one you need to understand it’s a process. It’s not changing your call to action button from green to orange. And it’s all about data. So your opinion does not really matter, as weird as that sounds, I’m sorry but it really doesn’t. And assumptions are your worst enemy in this part of the business. It’s all about data.
Phil:
The way that I do that usually is I formulate, I hypothesise, I structure, design and then I test it out but maybe I’m too academic about that. How do you do it?
Mo:
Same thing — I actually do it in a step by step process — But in a nutshell, you build your pages, you install your heat maps, your recording and all that tracking pixel and stuff. You send traffic, you collect the data, you look at your recordings, you come up with theories. Why people are clicking that, why people are not clicking here, what if we change this so we can get that. And then you make these changes and you send more traffic and then you find the winner. Okay this split test is the winner, then you take that, you rinse and repeat. So the idea is to always be trying to be the control. Be the control day and night. That’s your job as a marketer, as CRO, as a media buyer. Even in the media buy side, you have an ad on Facebook, your job is to have a better ad. Same thing with the CRO, your job is to have a better converting page.

Where to look first for CRO

Phil:
If you look at your funnel and you look at conversion rate optimization, what are the three top things you should look at?
Mo:
So it depends where people are leaving in your funnel. When we’re talking about funnel, we’re talking about landing pages, the checkout page, the upsell page, the downsell page, the thank you page, which is also important but most people ignore. So let’s say people are dropping off your checkout page, right. They add to cart but at the checkout, you’re building a funnel, whatever platform you’re on. And people are dropping out at checkout. Why? I mean, we know they liked that, they clicked, they went to the page, they read more or less your copy, they liked what you’re selling, they went to the checkout page. Usually people drop out of the checkout page because you don’t aspire confidence to buy from you. People read the checkout page and there is nothing that pushes them. Like that emotional authority is non-existent. Like no money-back guarantee, no FAQ, no phone numbers, no who you are, no logo, no what do you call them, the trust seals, you know, Visa, Mastercard. All of that, that helps. So when they are dropping at the checkout page, you know it’s more or less an emotional problem or the flow of your checkout page is bad. Or what I see is your offer on the landing page doesn’t match you offer in the checkout page. So this happened a lot on Shopify. “Click the ad, free shipping today.” They go to the page, “free shipping if you buy today,” okay, add to cart, they go to the checkout, $4.95 shipping. Doesn’t work.
Phil:
Not ideal.
Mo:
You know what I mean? So the checkout is either an emotional thing or your offer is not congruent with what you actually have in the checkout page. And that’s how you break it down. So, most people look, “Oh my god, my product is not working. My funnel is not working again.” You need to know what is not working.

Three Tools For Key CRO Data

Phil:
What’s the fastest way to find out how you’re broken?
Mo:
So yeah, basically what you do is you install your heatmaps. You install your recordings using Hotjar or Crazy Egg or whatever software you’re using and sending the traffic there. And here is another thing, most people will settle for less. “Oh, I’m good, I’ve got 4% conversion rate, I’m good.” No you’re not! You need to be trying to beat that, get to five, get to six, get to seven. You know what I mean. You’re never good. There is someone else who will outwork you, who will convert more than you, who can afford to spend more to acquire the customer because his conversion rate is double than you and then you will be out of business.
Phil:
Fantastic. That was Mo. Thank you.
Mo:
Thank you! Always a pleasure.