{"id":313,"date":"2016-01-07T08:12:28","date_gmt":"2016-01-07T08:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/2016-five-predictions-for-the-conversion-optimization-industry\/"},"modified":"2024-08-14T09:07:12","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T09:07:12","slug":"2016-five-predictions-for-the-conversion-optimization-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/2016-five-predictions-for-the-conversion-optimization-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"2016: Five predictions for the conversion optimization industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<section class=\"c-post-content\" data-ref=\"case-content\">\n\t<div class=\"post-content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"post-content__container container container--medium\">\n\t\t\t<aside class=\"post-content__sidebar post-content__sidebar--links\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sticky-menu\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"sticky-menu__title\">Contents<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"sticky-menu\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link  active\" href=\"#introduction\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">Introduction<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#therellbeahighprofilewebredesigndisaster\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">There\u2019ll be a high-profile web redesign disaster<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#personalizationwillbethenewbattlegroundforwebsitesandtestingplatforms\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">Personalization will be the new battleground for websites and testing platforms<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#googlesnewoptimizationplatformwilldisruptthemarket\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">Google\u2019s new optimization platform will disrupt the market<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#testingwillspreadoutsideofwebsiteoptimisation\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">Testing will spread outside of website optimisation<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#atestingpersonalizationvendorwillipo\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">A testing\/personalization vendor will IPO<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/aside>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-content__sections\">\n\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"introduction\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every January for the last five years, I\u2019ve thought to myself: \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This year <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is the one when conversion optimization will become mainstream.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not just another process that\u2019s occasionally bolted on to marketing or web design \u2013 but a mindset that\u2019s core to how every company operates and grows.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it\u2019s never quite worked out like that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conversion optimization has come a long way: data-driven companies like Facebook are leading the way, and more companies than ever are embracing testing. Conversion optimization has become huge business: not just for the brands who embrace a \u201ctest and learn\u201d philosophy, but also the software and service companies that support them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But there\u2019s still a long way to go. Here are my predictions for the year ahead\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__index\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"post-content__index-title\">Contents<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-content__index-links\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#introduction\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIntroduction\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#therellbeahighprofilewebredesigndisaster\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThere\u2019ll be a high-profile web redesign disaster\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#personalizationwillbethenewbattlegroundforwebsitesandtestingplatforms\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPersonalization will be the new battleground for websites and testing platforms\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#googlesnewoptimizationplatformwilldisruptthemarket\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGoogle\u2019s new optimization platform will disrupt the market\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#testingwillspreadoutsideofwebsiteoptimisation\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTesting will spread outside of website optimisation\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#atestingpersonalizationvendorwillipo\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA testing\/personalization vendor will IPO\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"therellbeahighprofilewebredesigndisaster\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">#1 There\u2019ll be a high-profile web redesign disaster<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><h3 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #009fe3;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMost brands are still redesigning their websites on a 3\u20135 year cycle\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re not a fan of redesigns. They\u2019re typically unfocused, unmeasured, \u201cbest practice\u201d-riddled disasters \u2013 and the antithesis to the concept of continual improvement that we promote. (That\u2019s why our creative team don\u2019t do redesigns \u2013 they focus on tests instead.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s been two years since Marks and Spencers famously <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2014\/jul\/08\/marks-and-spencer-shareholders-attack-website-online-sales-fall\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">botched their redesign<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It cost them \u00a3150 million and lowered their sales 8%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But they won\u2019t be the last \u2013 most brands are still redesigning their websites on a 3\u20135 year cycle. Meanwhile a company like Amazon continually optimizes, tests, iterates \u2013 without ever really appearing to \u201dredesign\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"personalizationwillbethenewbattlegroundforwebsitesandtestingplatforms\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">#2 Personalization will be the new battleground for websites and testing platforms<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><h3 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #009fe3;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPersonalization can become a brand\u2019s competitive advantage.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I have a love\/hate relationship with personalization. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It offers a huge opportunity to companies with a strong foundation of split-testing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if you don\u2019t have this foundation \u2013 if you don\u2019t know which user segments to target, what motivates them and what stops them \u2013 then you risk forking your website and creating multiple suboptimal experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But personalization can and should be huge \u2013 both for brands and the software vendors that support them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For brands with a mature testing program, personalization offers a way to drive even more value from every visitor. They already know from their A\/B tests that their visitors behave differently: some will respond positively to a test, while others may be neutral or negative. Personalization offers a way to fix this \u2013 and opens up huge new opportunities for growth. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most importantly, it can become a brand\u2019s competitive advantage<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: while a competitor may be able to learn from or copy your website\u2019s testing, they can never fully discover your personalization strategy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Likewise for the testing platforms themselves, they will live or die by the success of their personalization offering. A\/B testing platforms are all based on the same premise \u2013 and it\u2019s easy to switch out one with another. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But personalization offers a huge opportunity for software vendors. They can differentiate with the sophistication of their platform, its ease of use, and potentially the AI that supports it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And most importantly for software vendors, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">it\u2019s difficult to swap one personalization setup for another<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: the more data they collect, the more complex the setup, the more value they add, the harder it\u2019ll be to move away from \u2013 and the more they can charge. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t                            <div data-target=\"post-newsletter-anchor\" data-device=\"mobile\"><\/div>\n                        \t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"googlesnewoptimizationplatformwilldisruptthemarket\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">#3 Google\u2019s new optimization platform will disrupt the market<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><h3 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #009fe3;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cGoogle\u2019s biggest opportunity is to create a full-funnel testing platform.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some time in 2016, Google will publicly launch a testing platform that will disrupt the market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was ten years ago that they launched Google Website Optimizer \u2013 allowing anyone to A\/B test, without a five-figure monthly pricetag. GWO has since been retired \u2013 replaced by a much weaker product, Content Experiments \u2013 but all that is set to change. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google\u2019s new testing platform is rumored to be in beta, and its release is set to disrupt the market. At minimum, it\u2019ll bring a huge amount of interest and attention as more people discover the opportunities for optimization. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But we don\u2019t know yet whether it\u2019ll be a \u201cme too\u201d product \u2013 possibly with some additional features (like Content Experiments\u2019 multi-armed bandit model) \u2013 or whether it\u2019ll be a game changer like GWO was ten years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google\u2019s biggest opportunity is to create a full-funnel testing platform: spanning acquisition, conversion and analytics. They have a huge competitive advantage \u2013 Google has the market share on analytics and online advertising. With two-way integrations for both, they can not only bring more people to testing, they can also bring the rigor and theory of optimization and testing to online advertising.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Right now, conversion optimization and testing is focused on websites \u2013 but brands are spending 99x as much bringing traffic to their website as they are on optimizing the website itself. Google is perfectly positioned to take advantage of this. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"testingwillspreadoutsideofwebsiteoptimisation\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">#4 Testing will spread outside of website optimisation<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><h3 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #009fe3;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;There are opportunities throughout the funnel: from advertising through to CRM.<\/span><\/i><\/span><span style=\"color: #009fe3;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The concept of testing and continual improvement isn\u2019t unique to conversion optimization. What\u2019s interesting is how conversion is starting to have an impact on complementary disciplines \u2013 like SEO and PPC.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This has already started. In January 2015, Pinterest posted about their success with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/engineering.pinterest.com\/blog\/demystifying-seo-experiments\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">split-testing for SEO<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Then in December, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/blog\/seo-split-testing-a-b-test-changes-google\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Distilled announced a server-side solution<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for companies looking to split-test their SEO strategy. Meanwhile in PPC, Brainlabs have developed <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brainlabsdigital.com\/ab-labs\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A\/B Labs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, allowing you to split-test campaign structures, bidding software and even different PPC agencies. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2016, this will gather pace. There are opportunities throughout the funnel:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the top of the funnel, advertisers can leverage the insight and process of website optimization. By analyzing the same qualitative data that informs testing on the website \u2013 as well as the content that is proven to motivate users \u2013 advertisers can create more appealing, persuasive creative. Then, they can increase the sophistication of their ad testing: not just in PPC, but even TV and outdoor \u2013 traditionally untested campaigns that would fall into the category of &#8220;Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don&#8217;t know which half.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the bottom of the funnel, brands can increase customer satisfaction, loyalty and lifetime value by again leveraging the insight and process of website optimization. By understanding the principles that motivate users to become customers \u2013 and by applying principles of testing to CRM \u2013 brands can test and optimize every customer touchpoint. \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"atestingpersonalizationvendorwillipo\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">#5 A testing\/personalization vendor will IPO<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><h3 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #009fe3;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOptimizely have the market share in optimization, and the investment to push heavily on personalization.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the predicted \u201csoftening\u201d of the tech market allows, we\u2019ll see one of the pureplay testing and personalization vendors preparing to IPO.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The prime contender is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchbase.com\/organization\/optimizely\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optimizely<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. They have the market share in optimization, and the investment to push heavily on personalization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s a chance they could be an acquisition target instead. Interestingly, as of October 2015, Salesforce Ventures is hedging its bets with investments in both Optimizely and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchbase.com\/organization\/qubit\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qubit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. (It\u2019s only been a few months since <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2015\/08\/20\/oracle-buys-maxymiser\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maxymiser was acquired by Oracle<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in August 2015.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any IPO or acquisition will depend on the success of either company\u2019s personalization offering \u2013 as above, their monthly recurring revenue can increase exponentially if they get it right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to make these ideas a reality \u2013 and help brands exploit the potential of optimization and personalization \u2013 please look at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/conversion.workable.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">our careers page<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">! <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t                            <div data-target=\"post-newsletter-anchor\" data-device=\"mobile\"><\/div>\n                        \t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<aside class=\"post-content__sidebar post-content__sidebar--form\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sticky-newsletter\" data-target=\"post-newsletter-anchor\" data-device=\"desktop\">\n                \t<div class=\"post-newsletter\" data-target=\"post-newsletter\">\n    <h4 class=\"post-newsletter__title\">Real-world growth experiments. In your inbox. Every week. <\/h4>\n            <div class=\"post-newsletter__form post-newsletter__form--world kam-world\">\n        <script charset=\"utf-8\" type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/js.hsforms.net\/forms\/embed\/v2.js\"><\/script> <script>   hbspt.forms.create({     region: \"na1\",     portalId: \"9358319\",     formId: \"4e927e03-4f90-466a-8646-7f94947f860c\"   }); <\/script>\n    <\/div>\n            <div class=\"post-newsletter__form post-newsletter__form--uk-us kam-uk-us\">\n            <script charset=\"utf-8\" type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/js.hsforms.net\/forms\/embed\/v2.js\"><\/script><script>hbspt.forms.create({ region: \"na1\", portalId: \"9358319\", formId: \"03e799e7-ee63-4857-9182-cb3a687dba40\" });<\/script>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"post-newsletter__terms\"><p>Join 5,000+ optimizers who subscribe to our content<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n            <\/aside>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>2016: Five predictions for the conversion optimization industry | Conversion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/2016-five-predictions-for-the-conversion-optimization-industry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2016: Five predictions for the conversion optimization industry | Conversion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/2016-five-predictions-for-the-conversion-optimization-industry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Conversion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-07T08:12:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-14T09:07:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/2016-Conversion-Predictions-v1-amended.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"805\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"502\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephen Pavlovich\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stephen Pavlovich\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/2016-five-predictions-for-the-conversion-optimization-industry\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/2016-five-predictions-for-the-conversion-optimization-industry\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Stephen Pavlovich\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8d4381f5367e7489e4d074d6c6951d7b\"},\"headline\":\"2016: Five predictions for the conversion optimization industry\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-07T08:12:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-14T09:07:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/2016-five-predictions-for-the-conversion-optimization-industry\/\"},\"wordCount\":7,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Tech &amp; 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