Heuristic Analysis in CRO

Table of Contents

• What is a heuristic analysis?
• Heuristic analysis within the CRO process
• Advantages of heuristic analysis
• Disadvantages of heuristic analysis
• The 5 keys to heuristic analysis

What is a heuristic analysis?

In short, it is the art of finding, inventing, making discoveries.

In historical science, it is the branch concerned with the search for documents. Its goal is to identify, select and prioritise all documentation related to a given topic.

In philosophy and sociology, it is the discipline that studies scientific research and discovery processes. Heuristics carries out a methodological reflection on these topics to establish the rules that favour scientific research. It is more a reflection on the intellectual activity of researchers than on the methodological processes for obtaining solutions.

In computer security, heuristic analysis relates to the search for programming code corresponding to the functions of a virus. That is, it is focused on discovering still-unknown viruses. Heuristic analysis is passive. It considers code as simple data and never authorises its execution.

An analyst looks for code whose action may appear suspicious. In this case, they are not looking for fixed sequences of instructions specific to a virus, but rather a type of instruction. For example, instructions for modifying a file. This method moves towards an “intelligent” approach to virus research.

Finally, in psychology, it refers to a rapid and intuitive mental operation (judgement heuristic).

Heuristic analysis within the CRO process

Within the CRO (conversion optimisation) process, we focus on several tasks whose objective is the identification of potential problems. These friction points can be examined both quantitatively (e.g. Google Analytics) and qualitatively (e.g. behavioural observation).

Low friction

Heuristic analysis is part of the qualitative component of the CRO process. Much of the content covered in a heuristic analysis in CRO is related to usability, design and psychology.

Heuristic analysis is a knowledge-based analysis that uses experience-based techniques for problem-solving, learning and discovery.

Finally, when done well, it saves time and money, and also helps us find opportunities that we cannot see through analysis or user research alone.

Advantages of heuristic analysis

1. Low cost. Few people and tools are needed.

2. Compared to other tasks in the CRO process, the time required is less significant.

3. Moreover, it is particularly useful for pages with low traffic. If you do not have much traffic or monthly conversions to run an A/B test, a heuristic analysis can be perfect for finding friction points and proposing possible solutions and improvements.

4. It can also be carried out before presenting the page to the general public. In fact, many potential problems can be discovered before people use the page and complain, have difficulties or struggle to carry out certain tasks. Therefore, it is an excellent way to do something before launching a new product.

5. Easy to carry out multiple times. It is relatively straightforward to repeat this process whenever you want to optimise a part of your funnel, launch a new product or evaluate something else in your customers’ journey on the website.

Disadvantages of heuristic analysis

1. The main disadvantage stems from the essence of a heuristic analysis: our own knowledge. We can become victims of cognitive biases, having tendencies/preferences towards certain designs and certain products, or certain features. This is why it is recommended to conduct a heuristic analysis with 3 to 5 people.

2. Certain knowledge of usability, design, marketing and psychology is required.

3. User opinion is not taken into account. For this reason, we cannot take the results of the heuristic analysis in isolation from the rest of the analysis in the CRO process.

!(https://adkonversion.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/bias.gif)Watch out for cognitive biases

The 5 keys to heuristic analysis

We focus on 5 key points; here are examples of topics to analyse for each:

1. Clarity Your visitor must be immediately clear that they are in the right place and must be able to find what they are looking for to solve their “problem”.

   1. The user is able to determine in less than 5 seconds what we offer and its value.
   2. The user is clear about where they are on the site and what they can do.
   3. Visual hierarchy helps the user. The user is clear about what the next step will be.

2. Relevance People must always feel that they are in the right place and heading in the right direction to achieve their goals. The information they receive on each page should only be relevant to the page they are on, and the next steps should be very clear. That means it is also relevant.

   1. The page offers the same design and language as the traffic source (Google Ads, landing page).
   2. The necessary information is visible on the page, without having to navigate to other parts.
   3. The vocabulary used is correct for the audience.
   4. Images complement the texts, add value and help the user.

3. Motivation Your customers are motivated to buy by an inherent need, whether consciously or unconsciously. Since the ultimate goal of the CRO process is to match this behaviour as closely as possible, your heuristic evaluation should focus on having that aspect covered.

   1. The difference with the competition is clear.
   2. There are discounts, offers or other incentives.
   3. The design is attractive and fun to use. It is pleasant to navigate.
   4. The user perceives the value of what they will receive for their money.
   5. Emotions are used in the copy.
   6. Social proof is visible.
   7. The site offers security.

4. Friction The heuristic analysis process basically helps to identify elements on your website that create friction. Your goal is to find these friction points and eliminate them.

   1. Are there unresolved issues/questions on the page?
   2. It is simple to complete a task. Few clicks are needed.
   3. Are there technical issues? For example, videos that do not work, dead fields, mobile problems.

5. Distraction Any action or element on the page that does not directly contribute to helping people achieve their desired goal is a distraction. Imagine trying to focus on a task at work, and being constantly distracted by emails, chat windows, phone calls and colleagues’ jokes. That is exactly what we want to avoid in terms of website experience.

   1. The user is asked to share the site with their friends (too soon).
   2. Other products are offered before the user has chosen a main one.
   3. Too many options available.
   4. Irrelevant animations.
   5. Irrelevant pop-ups.

To complement the heuristic analysis, we can use one of the references in terms of design and usability analysis: 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design by Jacob Nielsen.

Sources

1. 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design — Nielsen Norman Group — Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics, a foundational reference in interface design.
2. Heuristic analysis — Wikipedia — Definition and context of heuristic analysis in computer security.