#69: Making PROFITABLE Website Experiences

Welcome to Conversion Party. This week, we’ve got…

• 🔥 Heatmap Update: Surveys Customization

• 🕳️ CRO Deep Dive: Building Experiences That Don’t Suck

• 🗺️ Goings On: Not nothin’

• 🤟Community love spotlight - from @SamMendelsohn4

Let’s ride.

🔥 HEATMAP UPDATE
Surveys Customization

Discover the strategies and tactics you need to optimize for more revenue in ecommerce. In this in-depth essay we explore data-driven approaches, real-world examples, and proven best practices to help you drive more sales and revenue.

Surveys just got a glow up!

You can now customize your heatmap Surveys with your own logo and brand colors (hex included) — live and ready to use. 

✨ Why it matters: Branded surveys build trust. They feel more polished, more personal — which means higher response rates and better data.

Just head to the survey builder and you’ll see new options to:

• Upload your logo

• Add your brand hex color

Look sharp. Stay on brand. Get better data.
It’s live now — go make it yours.

🕳️ CRO DEEP DIVE
Making PROFITABLE Website Experiences

Discover the strategies and tactics you need to optimize for more revenue in ecommerce. In this in-depth essay we explore data-driven approaches, real-world examples, and proven best practices to help you drive more sales and revenue.

🔥 The Foundations of Personalization: Build Experiences That Don’t Suck Insights from Dylan Ander, Founder & CEO at Heatmap

🚨 Why Personalization Matters (More Than Your Homepage Design)

Let’s get one thing straight: personalization isn’t just some AI buzzword to toss in a pitch deck. It’s one of the most profitable levers in your entire marketing stack. And if you’re not using it, congrats — you’re lighting money on fire.

But here’s the kicker: personalization doesn’t start with algorithms. It starts with customer research.

Real, gritty, human insights. Because without understanding your customer, “personalization” is just educated guessing in a fancy outfit.

🧠 Personalization vs. Split Testing (One’s Strategy, the Other’s a Tool)

Split Testing (aka A/B testing):

• Prebuilt tests to determine the highest performing version

• Typically limited to 5-6 variants

• Applies "blanket tests" to all or most users

Personalization:

• Tailored experiences by cohort or individual

• Unlimited variations

• Targeted content that hits different

Think of it like this: Split testing is a buffet. Personalization is a private chef.

💬 The Secret Weapon: Customer Feedback Surveys

Want to know the key to killer personalization? It’s not AI. It’s customer research.

Specifically: surveys that don’t suck.

Here’s why:

• Guesswork is for rookies

• Quickest path to deep, actionable insights

• Surveys tell you what your customers actually care about

• They make your personalizations laser targeted and crazy effective

• Direct from the customer’s mouth (not your marketing team’s guesswork)

• They tell you what matters before you waste time testing what doesn’t

Rules for High Impact Surveys:

1. 6–8 questions, max — no one likes homework

2. Start with “How” or “What” — not “Why” (unless you want defensive responses)

3. Make it all about them — not your brand, your ego, or your KPIs

🔥 New in Heatmap: You can now launch surveys right from your dashboard.
No excuses. Just log in and start gathering gold. Click here to try it →

🎯 Who to Personalize For First (High-ROI Cohorts)

Don’t waste time trying to personalize for everyone.

Start here:

• Channel-specific users (Meta vs. Google = different intent, different messaging)

• First-time vs. repeat / loyal buyers

• New vs. returning sessions

• Entry page-specific traffic (because context matters)

🧪 What to Personalize First (Low Effort, High Impact)

Start where attention is highest:

• Popups (easy win)

• Headlines & subheads (control the narrative)

• Hero images (your first impression)

• Collection page tiles (help them discover faster)

• Announcement bars (set the tone)

Start here, see results, then go deeper.

💡 Real Examples That Print Money

Popup Magic:

• New users: “FIRST TIME HERE? GET 25% OFF”

• Returners: “BACK AGAIN? YOU KNOW THE DRILL — 25% OFF”

Hero Images by Traffic Source:

• Google = performance (running shoes) → show a sweaty athlete mid-stride

• Meta = lifestyle (daily walking) → show chill morning stroll vibes

Headline Vibes for a CBD Brand:

• Daily users: “FEEL BETTER. EVERY. DAMN. DAY.”

• “As-needed” users: “ONLY WHEN YOU NEED TO CHILL THE HELL OUT”

🤖 When AI Makes Sense

AI is amazing after you've built a personalization foundation. Here’s the right order:

1. Run surveys (heatmap can help 👀)

2. Manually build and test variants

3. Scale the winners with AI

If you skip to step 3, you’re not “innovating” — you’re just automating the suck.

🛠 TL;DR: How to Start Today

1. Run surveys (seriously, go check out heatmap’s new tool)

2. Identify and segment your top cohorts

3. Personalize your biggest conversion levers

4. Scale with AI once you’ve got proven winners

Done right, personalization can 10x your RPS. Done wrong, it just wastes dev time and looks cute in a slide deck.

👀 Ready to stop guessing and start converting?
Surveys are now live in heatmap. Go launch one, gather real data, and build a site that speaks to your customers. 👉 Run your first survey now

🗺️ GOINGS ON
Not Nothin’

Stay in the loop with our latest partner activations—from webinars and in-person meetups to fresh content collaborations. We’ll highlight upcoming events, share key takeaways from recent gatherings, and give you an inside look at what’s brewing in our network.

🤑 Conversion Rate Conference - A virtual event focused entirely on conversion — across CRO, email, ads, and more

Conversion Rate Conference is back – and it’s 100% FREE 🎟️

Join us on May 28 – 29 for the only virtual event dedicated entirely to Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), where thousands of marketers, founders, and growth experts come together to learn what’s working in 2025.

What you can expect: 

• 20+ expert speakers including Ezra Firestone, Nik Sharma, Drew Marconi, and many more

• Real insights across 8+ topics like landing pages, testing, copy, data + more

• Never before seen CRO benchmarks based on trillions of data points from heatmap

Whether you're running paid traffic, optimizing funnels, or scaling a DTC brand — you need to be there.

 🤟 COMMUNITY LOVE

Our featured tweet of the week, where we share bite-sized insights or a quick tip that’s making waves in the world of e-commerce. Consider it your fast track to staying updated on what’s trending.