Australian SMEs often miss opportunities to improve their website’s performance, and ultimately, their return on investment. A key reason? Not enough testing. We see businesses making decisions based on gut feel rather than data, and that’s a risky approach. Fortunately, a range of tools can help you understand how visitors interact with your site and identify areas for improvement. The good news is, many are surprisingly affordable and easy to implement.

So, what testing tools work best for Australian businesses focused on website conversion? It really comes down to what you want to learn. Here are a few we consistently recommend to our clients:

• Google Optimize: This is a fantastic starting point, especially as it integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics. It allows you to run A/B tests – showing different versions of a webpage to different visitors – to see which performs better. It’s free to use for many features, making it ideal for businesses on a budget.
• Hotjar: Hotjar provides heatmaps, session recordings, and feedback polls. Heatmaps visually show where users click, move their mouse, and scroll, revealing what’s grabbing their attention (or not). Session recordings let you *watch* real users interact with your site, uncovering usability issues you might otherwise miss.
• Crazy Egg: Similar to Hotjar, Crazy Egg focuses on visual data. Their ‘Confetti’ reports are particularly useful, showing you where clicks are coming from based on referral source, search terms, and more. This helps you understand if different marketing channels are attracting users who behave differently on your site.
• UserTesting: For more in-depth insights, consider UserTesting. This platform allows you to recruit real people to complete tasks on your website while recording their screen and voice. You get direct feedback on usability, clarity, and overall user experience.

It’s important to remember that testing isn’t a ‘set it and forget it’ activity. You need to continually analyse the results, make changes based on the data, and then test again. As customer behaviour evolves, so too should your website. We anticipate that by 2027, AI-powered testing tools will become even more prevalent, automating much of the analysis process, but the core principle – data-driven decision making – will remain crucial.

The best next step is to choose one tool – perhaps Google Optimize to start – and run a simple A/B test on a key landing page. Even small improvements can have a significant impact on your bottom line. Don’t be afraid to experiment and learn what works best for *your* Australian audience.