For most ecommerce, SaaS, or digital media companies, you\u2019re probably beginning some sort of holiday campaign that was planned months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The end of the year is mapped out, so make time on your calendar next quarter to start considering your roadmap<\/a> for next year. What are your goals for your digital experience? And how are you learning from the past year to inform the next steps to reach them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many companies, the best way to start answering these questions is with a three-step optimization process that reviews your digital experience and tests from the past year to help inform your plan for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We recently went through this optimization process with a client, so let\u2019s take a look at what this looks like in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step in the optimization process is to review progress from the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Specifically, run a data report in Google Analytics for a 12-month period and pay special attention to the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This helps you understand where there was growth and where to focus your efforts next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are what some of the key learnings from the analysis might look like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning:<\/strong> Traffic trends show the highest session count in X month<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details: <\/strong>Breakdown by source and medium shows a decrease in session count YOY from Google organic and CPC, with a larger increase in traffic associated with social campaigns, email, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opportunity<\/strong>: Prep for email campaign for mid-year<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning:<\/strong> X% increase in goal conversion rate compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details:<\/strong>\u00a0There was an increase in overall goal completions compared to the previous year, slowing down in X months. We see similar growth in mobile and desktop conversion rates (+X%, X%)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opportunity<\/strong>: Examine mobile experience to continue growth in this area<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning:<\/strong> Form submissions increased<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details:<\/strong>\u00a0Looking at the form submission trends, we see an increase across all goals with the largest impact on X form submissions<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opportunity<\/strong>: Revisit form analysis on key landing pages<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n These learnings and the associated details give the context that will inform any seasonal opportunities, growth areas, or sticking points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, if you have an active conversion optimization or experimentation program, review:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each learning can become a follow-up concept, with the metric results gathered from the test helping prioritize<\/a> a roadmap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if a test on a certain element of the site did not produce a huge impact on conversions, the learning may be that you need to make bigger changes in that area of the site in order to have an impact. This is something you want to pull out and keep in mind if you decide to test other optimizations<\/a> to that element next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A good process for this step is to outline all of the tests that you have run, then one-by-one refresh yourself and your team on the hypothesis, background, and learnings from the experiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re presenting this to the C-suite or other organizational stakeholders, we\u2019d recommend you start with an overview slide with site area and key metrics<\/a> and then one slide per test to get into the details. Review the main highlights and only get into the details if they are particularly relevant (or if your stakeholders are interested).<\/p>\n\n\n\nStep 1: Review Key Analytics Data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
![\"sample](\"https:\/\/thegood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/image2-1-1-1024x459.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nExample Key Learning #1<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Example Key Learning #2<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Example Key Learning #3<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Review Tests From The Past Year<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
![\"tests](\"https:\/\/thegood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/image1-1-1-1024x381.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n