What if I told you there’s a simple, repeatable strategy that can lift every key metric in your business—conversions, engagement, retention, even customer satisfaction?

Better conversions, deeper engagement, higher retention—you name it. It works across SaaS, ecommerce, content sites, and mobile apps.

It takes 1–2 weeks, costs only a few hundred dollars, and you can run it with tools you already use.

No gimmicks. No guru playbook. Anyone can do it.

It’s called a usability test. You recruit 5–10 real people, watch them use your site or app while they think out loud, and then fix the issues they hit. That’s it—and it’s shockingly effective.

Usability Testing is the Fastest Way to Outperform Your Competitors

Here’s a hard truth: most teams skip the fundamentals. A few do them; most don’t. That’s why small, basic improvements often create outsized gains.

Usability testing is the perfect example. It’s not flashy or trendy, so people underestimate it. But that simplicity is exactly why it works.

“You mean if I just talk to 5–10 people, I’ll boost revenue?”

Yes—exactly that. When you remove friction and confusion that real users encounter, results move quickly.

If your competitors aren’t doing this, you get a massive edge. You’ll find what’s working (and what’s broken) faster than anyone else in your space.

Years ago, I helped optimize an ecommerce site selling used golf balls. Strong margins, decent traffic, site looked fine—no obvious bugs. Instead of guessing, I asked ideal customers one question: “What, if anything, would stop you from buying today?”

About 80% mentioned concerns about quality. Boom. I rewrote the copy to highlight the company’s rigorous quality control. Their process was already excellent—I just made it unmistakable.

The result?

Sales jumped 45% overnight. No hype—just fixing the right problem.

All from asking a handful of people the right question and acting on it.

How Usability Testing Works

It’s dead simple.

Recruit 5–10 participants who resemble your target users. Ask them to complete key tasks while you observe silently and they narrate their thoughts. Record the sessions.

You don’t need a research agency or fancy lab. A Zoom or Google Meet screen share works great. Tools like Lookback or similar platforms are optional.

UX pros may debate terms—user testing vs. usability testing vs. customer research. Don’t overthink it. The point is getting honest feedback from real users so you can remove friction.

You can hire a service to run tests and deliver recordings, or DIY. Either way, prompt users with realistic tasks and ask them to think out loud. You’ll quickly see where people get stuck, what they ignore, and what delights them.

Here are go-to tasks that consistently surface actionable insights:

  • Have users walk through your homepage and describe what they think you do and for whom. This reveals clarity gaps in your core value prop.
  • Ask them to review your pricing page and explain what’s confusing or risky. You’ll uncover objections that block sales.
  • Take them through your main conversion funnel—signup, checkout, demo request. Hidden friction points will appear instantly.
  • Test new features or launches before release to catch usability flaws early, when fixes are cheap.
  • For early ideas, test wireframes and mockups to validate direction before you build.

Each task exposes real issues that hurt performance. You’ll know exactly what to fix next.

Why 5–10 People Is Enough for Usability Testing

“Can we really learn that much from just 5–10 people?”

Absolutely. You’ll see the biggest patterns fast. By the fifth participant, the same issues repeat; by the tenth, you’ve covered nearly everything critical. Outliers happen, but core problems are obvious with small samples.

The goal isn’t statistical proof—it’s practical evidence to guide high-impact fixes.

Usability Testing Isn’t Just for Apps—It’s Incredibly Useful for Websites Too

Product teams often test at mockup, beta, and launch. Marketers? Rarely. That’s the opportunity.

If your competitors ignore marketing usability tests, you’re sitting on low-effort, high-impact wins. Even a single round can reveal messaging gaps, confusing navigation, weak CTAs, and checkout blockers that directly affect revenue.

I still have to remind myself to run them. Most marketers I know have never done one—which is wild, because website fixes often pay off immediately.

At minimum, test these areas:

  • Homepage
  • Pricing page
  • Main signup or conversion flow
  • Upgrade and cancellation processes
  • Top 3–5 product pages (for ecommerce)
  • Top 3–5 traffic-driving blog posts

How to Recruit People for Usability Testing

Depending on your stage, recruiting is either simple or a bit scrappy. Start with the path of least resistance.

Ask Your Existing Customers or Audience

If you have customers, ask them. Send a short email inviting 5–10 volunteers for a 15-minute feedback session. You’ll be surprised how many say yes—especially if you offer early access or a small thank-you.

Active audiences also work—email subscribers, engaged social followers, or community members. The key word is active. If a channel already responds to you, it’s a great recruiting pool.

Buy Usability Tests

Years ago, usertesting.com was the go-to. Today it’s primarily geared toward larger contracts, but it’s still excellent if you have the budget.

Fortunately, there are affordable self-serve options. usabilityhub.com (rebranded as Lyssna) offers flexible pricing and pay-per-test options, so you can run a full round of testing for a few hundred dollars.

If you don’t have an audience yet, paid recruiting is a reliable fallback.

Cold Outreach

This one’s tougher—but it works.

The basic process:

  • Find people who fit your target customer profile
  • Reach out via email or LinkedIn with a short, respectful message
  • Ask for 15 minutes of feedback on a prototype or key flow
  • Make it clear this is not a sales pitch—you’re trying to improve

Incentives (gift cards, discounts) help, but many people are happy to share opinions if your ask is clear and considerate.

The grind is real: send 100 messages, get 10 replies, land 2–3 calls. I use this most for early-stage interviews; once you’re doing usability tests regularly, your own users become the best source.

Run Lightweight Usability Tests on Mechanical Turk

Mechanical Turk lets you pay small amounts for quick feedback.

Quality varies widely—some testers move fast to maximize earnings, and many aren’t native English speakers. Don’t expect deep qualitative insights.

It’s fine for simple checks like:

  • Can users articulate what your homepage offers?
  • Can they complete your signup or checkout without help?
  • Do they notice and use your primary CTAs?

Be crystal clear with tasks, iterate prompts, and adjust bids if responses are slow.

I still prefer higher-quality testers from dedicated platforms, but Turk works in a pinch.

Use Crazy Egg to Support Your Usability Testing

Watching real users is powerful—but it’s not the only lens. If you want deeper behavioral data alongside your sessions, Crazy Egg is a strong companion.

It gives you visual evidence of how people experience your pages—so you can see where attention goes, where friction lives, and where visitors drop off.

See Where People Click

Heatmaps reveal clicks on buttons, images, text, and even dead zones. If users click non-clickable elements—or miss your primary CTA—you’ve found a fix.

Pair this with your test notes to prioritize copy, layout, and CTA improvements.

Watch How People Navigate Your Pages

Session recordings show real navigational behavior—hesitation, confusion, rage-clicks, and backtracks. This is invaluable when you can’t schedule live sessions.

Use recordings to validate whether the issues you heard in tests also happen at scale.

Run A/B Tests to Improve Key Pages

Once you identify problems, launch A/B tests in Crazy Egg. Adjust copy, images, layouts, or CTAs and let the data decide the winner.

No heavy dev lift required—marketers can configure tests, ship variations, and measure impact.

Segment User Behavior with Confetti Reports

Confetti reports break clicks down by traffic source, device, browser, location, and more. You’ll learn how different segments behave so you can tailor pages to each.

Example: mobile visitors may ignore your navigation while paid traffic skips your intro. Now you know what to change for each segment.

Understand Scroll Behavior

Scrollmaps show how far people read before they bail. If your best content or CTAs sit below the fold, move them up and tighten your intro.

Combine this with usability feedback to reorder sections based on actual attention.

Set It Up in Minutes

Crazy Egg installs with a small script and works smoothly with WordPress, Shopify, and Google Tag Manager. Turn it on before your testing sprint so you can compare qualitative insights with quantitative behavior.

If you’re already running usability tests, Crazy Egg gives you a second layer of evidence. If you’re not testing yet, it’s an easy place to start.

Pro Tip: Run a 1–2 Week Usability Sprint

Keep it lightweight and outcome-driven:

  • Day 1: Define 3–5 business-critical tasks (e.g., “find a plan and check out”). Write a short script and success criteria.
  • Days 2–3: Recruit 5–10 participants. Schedule 15–20 minute sessions and send calendar invites with instructions.
  • Days 4–5: Run and record sessions. Take timestamped notes on confusion, errors, and quotes.
  • Day 6: Synthesize findings. Cluster issues by theme (navigation, copy, forms, pricing). Prioritize by severity and impact.
  • Days 7–9: Ship fixes (copy changes, layout tweaks, CTA placement, form simplification).
  • Days 10–14: Validate with Crazy Egg and a quick follow-up test. Keep what works, roll back what doesn’t.

What to Ask During Sessions (Fast Script)

  • “Tell me what you think this page is about.” (Homepage clarity)
  • “Who is this for? What would you do next?” (Audience fit and next-step clarity)
  • “Pick a plan you’d actually buy and explain why.” (Pricing comprehension)
  • “Please sign up / check out.” (Friction in forms and payments)
  • “What, if anything, makes you hesitate?” (Objections)

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

  • Leading questions (“Do you like this?”). Ask open-ended prompts instead.
  • Explaining or defending the design mid-session. Observe; fix later.
  • Testing with the wrong audience. Recruit people who match your actual buyers.
  • Skipping mobile. Most funnels break on small screens first.