Every day, well-funded think-tanks and scientific research firms conduct tests of hypotheses that are no more than educated guesses. There is little skepticism about this process, and for good reason: Our modern society benefits in countless ways from our culture of testing. So why is it that the same faith in this process is not readily applied to internet marketing and website usability?

For most of the history of this new and critical marketing channel, web designers and creative agencies have put forth a vision of what a company’s web presence should be, based largely on hubris. Because of this, businesses have paid dearly — not just for the price tag of the new website, but for the lack of performance that follows the launch of the site. A business cannot benefit from a website that does not effectively transform visitors into customers. We live in a time of a great and emerging wisdom concerning the unique challenges of website usability and online marketing.

What is it that separates scientific research firms from web marketers? The willingness to fail. The expense of optimizing a website has also been a deterrent, but as the science of conversion optimization progresses, the costs associated with it are decreasing. In our culture of testing, we learn that without risk there is little reward, and every test that we perform teaches us something new about our clients.

What is this insight worth? Making changes to a landing page can result in lower conversions, even if the test is based on solid reasoning and research. However, this experience provides us with valuable knowledge that we can apply in the future towards a continually streamlined action plan for conversion optimization and website usability.

It is essential to make a plan in the beginning. The business model must be clear to those involved in the online marketing processes. After the team has identified the elements that are essential to website usability in regards to presenting the sales proposition and making it actionable for the visitor, an action plan that can extend for months can be generated. Be sure to take seasonality into account and any other outside factors that can affect sales for the business in question. Additionally, you should be realistic about internal buy-in and work immediately to head off any dissention from within. There are certainly going to be those within the organization that will feel threatened by this process of refining website usability, especially those who are responsible for the site’s current state.

It is a good practice to involve stakeholders in this process – allow them to help make decisions about what should be tested. Ask for feedback about the challenges that the business faces in regard to sales. It is important for those involved with conversion optimization to be viewed as partners, working together towards a common goal. Handing down commandments from atop a mountain of “web wisdom” will not endear those conducting the tests to those who may have their finger on the “stop” button.  The strategies of offline marketing channels are not to be wholly ignored and can only serve to broaden the scope of website conversion optimization. The synergy created by reinforcing effective messaging throughout all channels is bound to be advantageous for brand perception.

However, the following is vital: the web marketing team should not promise a specific increase in conversion rate as a result of a given test to find the ultimate factors of website usability and conversion optimization. Instead, reinforce the following idea that ultimately strengthens the values behind the culture of testing: You are performing tests on variables in order to determine where to specifically invest time and resources for maximum gain. If a landing page enhancement, such as landing page optimization, fails to provide an increase in the conversion rate, it simply means that the next test on a variable will be more likely to succeed. If all parties involved are in agreement and are cooperating successfully, continuous testing is bound to increase website usability and add value to the web presence, justifying the costs associated with set-up and maintenance by demonstrating a steadily increasing return on investment.