DTC Podcast Ep 559: 3 High‑Leverage CRO Moves Before Black Friday – with Jordan Gordon

Date: November 14, 2025
Host: DTC Newsletter and Podcast (Eric Dick)
Guest: Jordan Gordon, host of TWA Burp and revenue-driving leader at Pilothouse
Theme: High-impact, last-minute Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) strategies ecommerce brands can implement before Black Friday (and beyond).

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the most effective, fast-implementing CRO moves to boost revenue before the high-stakes Black Friday/Cyber Monday rush. Special guest Jordan Gordon—expert in email, retention, and now CRO at Pilothouse—shares practical, data-backed tactics ranging from technical site improvements to on-site bundling and homepage optimizations. The discussion is geared toward actionable strategies brands can execute in just weeks to achieve significant conversion gains, with a focus on integrating these moves into the broader post-click customer journey.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. CRO Benchmarks and Direct Conversion Tracking

• Start With Benchmarks:
  • Jordan emphasizes the importance of knowing where you stand: monitor add-to-cart, total conversion, and direct conversion metrics in Shopify.
  • Benchmarks to target:
    • Add to Cart: 5-7% from sessions
    • Total Conversion: Little over 2%
    • Direct Conversion: ~1.25% ([03:44])
  • Why Direct Conversion Matters:
    • Less volatility than headline conversion, which is affected by channel mix and unqualified traffic.
    • "If you want to trend something over time, you want to look at that direct as well... the direct one will be less volatile." — Jordan ([04:58])

2. High-Leverage CRO Move #1: Lightning-Fast Product Pages

• Focus On Your Top Five Product Detail Pages (PDPs):
  • These serve as a critical "choke point" since most revenue flows through them.
  • Use a tool (like Niche) to dramatically speed up these pages by stripping backend bloat.
  • Even small load delays (over 1-3 seconds) cause major drop-offs in conversions. ([07:09])
• Real Impact Example:
  • "The Niche page is running twice as many conversions as the incumbent. So you can get quite a crazy boost on that." —Jordan ([08:00])
• Tactical Advice:
  • "Just make that PDP better and your whole site is better, right?" — Jordan ([08:00])
  • Get these fixes in before Black Friday – or even make a difference by Christmas.

3. High-Leverage CRO Move #2: On-Site Bundling & Personalization

• Implement Bundling and Dynamic Recommendations:
  • Tools like Rebuy (with case studies cited for brands like KM Tools) can increase Average Order Value (AOV) by 8% or more, quickly ([09:13]).
  • "Let's just say you were $12 million brand... that's an extra million dollars a year for no ad spend." —Jordan ([09:43])
  • Bundling works best when solutions are visible across many site touchpoints.
• Difference from Manual Bundling:
  • More flexible, integrated, applied across more pages (not just hard-coded).
  • Automated “complete the look” and “other people like you bought…” style recommendations replicate effective in-person shopping tactics.
• Realistic Timeframes:
  • "We use this to take clients from here to here really fast. Like within a month you can have results." —Jordan ([11:25])
• Case Study:
  • "32% KM Tools using Rebuy's personalization post-purchase tool." —Eric ([26:16])

4. The 8 Website Choke Points – And Why They Matter

• Definition:
  • "Choke points" are those spots users must interact with to move toward purchase or where user attention is most focused (from heatmaps).
• 8 Choke Points:
  • Homepage, Category Page, PDP, Cart/Checkout—each with (1) must-click progression and (2) areas of intense user attention ([12:55]).
• Insight:
  • "If you put attention on that, you've got high leverage for your time." —Jordan ([14:45])
  • Optimize both actual progression buttons and visual hotspots identified by heatmaps.

5. High-Leverage CRO Move #3: Headline & Copy Optimization

• Why Copy Matters Most at Choke Points:
  • Headlines and call-to-actions (CTAs) at these critical progression points drive user behavior.
  • Supporting evidence from guests on Jordan’s own podcast; design and imagery set context, but copy compels conversion.
  • Example:
    • Seed Pants—a brand selling organic cotton pants—uses “Feel Organic Again” as a headline.
    • "One, it's feel the organic clothing, but then also you yourself feel real. Don't feel fake, don't feel the office." —Jordan ([19:35])
• Homepage Copy Tactics:
  • Put the most compelling, customer-focused headline and CTA above the fold.
  • On mobile, ensure product visibility is not obscured by overlays.
  • "That sentence and maybe a subhead is all you get. That is what's going to make your homepage work or not." ([20:27])
  • Progress button should lead to category (large catalogs) or product (small catalogs).

6. Real-World Homepage Critiques & Observations

• Uniqlo Example:
  • The hosts review Uniqlo’s homepage as extremely “busy”—offering lots of content, with little explicit progression.
  • Takeaway: homepage is the place to swing big on creative assets (videos, campaigns) because user intent is unknown.
  • However, always include progression buttons: "The reason people use buttons is because they work." —Jordan ([24:43])

Memorable Quotes

• "If something's taking more than three seconds to load, people are bouncing... and it just gets worse and worse." — Jordan ([07:09])
• "If you've got huge targets... what you want is, what's the one thing I can do to make this number? Bundling could be your whole growth lever." — Jordan ([09:57])
• "Everything must go through the add to cart on the PDP—it's a critical choke point. Just make that thing better and your whole site is better." — Jordan ([08:00])
• "It's the text, it's the copy that optimizes... it actually puts the idea into someone's mind: you have to use language, you require words." — Jordan ([15:41])
• "That sentence and maybe a subhead is all you get. That is what's going to make your homepage work or not." —Jordan ([20:27])
• "Homepage is your widest net. Try your widest reaches and progress them to another page." — Jordan ([22:44])

Notable Timestamps & Segments

• Benchmarks and Direct Conversion: [02:12] – [05:19]
• Lightning-Fast PDPs With Niche: [06:57] – [09:03]
• Bundling & Rebuy Case Study: [09:13] – [10:44] & [25:35] – [26:16]
• Choke Point Deep Dive: [12:43] – [15:17]
• Copywriting Strategy: [15:41] – [20:27]
• Homepage Observations & Uniqlo Critique: [21:13] – [24:43]

Closing Thoughts

This episode is a tactical CRO masterclass on how to:

• Audit your store’s key metrics and benchmarks
• Improve critical chokepoint pages, with a special focus on loading speed and mobile experience
• Rapidly increase AOV through bundling and recommendation tools
• Leverage copy at progression points for maximum impact
• Turn high-traffic but low-intent homepages into effective conversion gateways

Actionable Next Steps:
With weeks to go before Black Friday (and still time before Christmas), brands can implement or iterate on these high-leverage plays right now to win outsized results in Q4.

Further Listening:

• Jordan Gordon's podcast: “TWA Burp – The World’s Best Email and Retention Podcast”
• Subscribe to DTC Newsletter at directtoconsumer.co
• Learn more about Pilothouse services at pilothouse.co

End of Summary