

Visual Website Optimizer: Bootstrapped, Profitable, and over 4,000 users - g0atbutt
http://thestartupfoundry.com/2011/02/07/visual-website-optimizer-bootstrapped-profitable-and-over-4000-users/

======
il
Congratulations on your success Paras! It's really inspirational. You entered
a competitive niche where most customers don't even know they need your
product, took on huge players like Omniture and Google, and gained market
share by building a superior product and excellent execution.

I get the sense this is only the beginning of VWO's growth :)

~~~
paraschopra
Thanks. Yes, every month I sort of worry if we have reached the the inflexion
point (after all, A/B testing is B2B and even by standards of B2B not that
large). But thankfully number of users and customers keep growing every month.
I, now, think that all the top 100k sites from Alexa could be potential
customers, so yes this is just the beginning!

------
paraschopra
I'm (founder of Visual Website Optimizer) on HN. In case any one has any
questions, comments, or suggestions please shoot!

(BTW: the number of users figure is closer to 5000 now!)

~~~
nhebb
@paras: I was surprised when I saw your ad running on Drudge Report. What does
it cost to run an ad on a very high traffic site like that, and more
importantly, did it covert well?

~~~
paraschopra
We are using re-targeting using Adroll (though other providers are also
there). If you are on <http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/> they drop a cookie
and then identify you as you travel on different sites on web. They bid across
ad networks to show you the ad of VWO.

It costs approximately $1 per click and is perhaps the best investment you can
make. But you have to be careful not to spook your users. Have a cap on how
many times a person can see that ad in a day.

It converts OK but is great from branding point of view. People tend to
remember VWO because they have been on site before.

~~~
nhebb
I think a lot of us fall into the Adwords or nothing trap. I'd love to see a
write-up of the different advertising options available on the web. I've
looked around in the past, but too many of the write-ups are geared toward the
affiliate marketing crowd.

------
Datasta
I've used Visual Website Optimizer for a few weeks now, and I'm loving it.
It's no wonder they're doing so well. Software is easy-to-use, for coders and
non-coders, and it sheds some light on A/B testing. Personally, I think their
product may help make A/B testing more main stream.

~~~
g0atbutt
I talked with several startups about Visual Website Optimizer and I heard this
same sentiment repeatedly. Their app is really great to work with. I will be
using it on all projects going forward.

~~~
Datasta
I can't say I'm surprised. I mainly use it on blogs, and e-commerce stuff and
it has been great!

------
citricsquid
I know of this company because of the great articles they publish about A/B
testing, I guess this proves that when you produce good content it can help
drive business! Congratulations, keep up the good work :D

------
retube
No diss to VWO, but that article just reads like an advert.

~~~
g0atbutt
Hi retube,

I tried to just present the facts in my article, and then give my take in the
closing paragraph. I truly believe it's a great tool so perhaps that's what
you're picking up. If you have any suggestions to improve my writing style I
would be happy for you to share your thoughts with me.

All the best, Paul

------
aresant
Loving VWO - worth nothing that they're doing a webinar with Conversion Voodoo
and GazeHawk this Thursday ->

[http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/split-testing-
blog/landing...](http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/split-testing-blog/landing-
pages-free/)

