(Editor’s observe: This submit is the third in a 4 half sequence that discusses experimentation at GoDaddy. You’ll be able to learn half one right here and half two right here.)
Innovation is not born from a single stroke of genius. It is constructed, check by check, perception by perception, till one thing outstanding takes form.
In half one, we shared how GoDaddy shifted from opinion to proof. In half two, we confirmed how experimentation turned a unifying drive throughout groups. Now, partially three, we discover how A/B testing fuels innovation, serving to us take bolder bets and switch sparks into merchandise that stick.
Innovation challenges
At GoDaddy, earlier than experimentation turned a behavior, innovation usually bumped into acquainted roadblocks:
- Concern of failure and the reputational danger of getting it unsuitable
- Lengthy growth cycles that locked groups into unvalidated concepts
- Excessive stakes that pushed groups towards protected, incremental modifications moderately than daring bets
These boundaries slowed exploration of recent concepts and pivots away from failed assumptions. To deal with this, our group makes use of the Zone to Win mannequin, which divides operations into 4 distinct zones, every with its personal administration priorities.
The next diagram illustrates how the zones align with various kinds of innovation and efficiency:
For instance, the Incubation Zone nurtures rising alternatives and experimentation, making it well-suited for A/B testing and piloting new concepts (huge swings). For us, Airo® was that instance. It was incubated by way of experiments that turned a easy area into an immediate on-line presence.
In distinction, the Productiveness Zone emphasizes effectivity and scalability. As soon as Airo gained traction, experiments shifted to optimizing job velocity and adoption (incremental enhancements) that ensured reliability at scale. The identical A/B testing framework utilized, however the strategic end result was completely different.
Tradition Shift
A tradition of experimentation reframes these challenges. As a substitute of treating innovation as one huge gamble, A/B testing breaks daring concepts right into a sequence of learnable practices:
- Flip sudden outcomes into insights that gasoline innovation
- Use fast, iterative A/B checks to switch sluggish, high-stakes launches
- Make every check a protected setting to discover
This shift gave GoDaddy groups the liberty to assume greater whereas decreasing the dangers that after held them again.
Innovation By Iteration
Daring merchandise hardly ever arrive absolutely shaped. They’re formed by many small checks that add readability, take away friction, and reveal what actually resonates.
From immediate to presence with Airo
Airo helps entrepreneurs go from concept to on-line in minutes, suggesting domains, producing logos and starter web sites, drafting social posts and adverts, and even serving to U.S. clients register an LLC. Companies utilizing GoDaddy AI instruments have reported 28% extra gross sales.
For our groups, Airo has additionally served as a sandbox for fast studying throughout the whole buyer journey, serving to them: validate enterprise concepts, discover the proper area identify, construct full-stack web sites/apps, information advertising and marketing and progress initiatives, talk with their clients, and troubleshoot.
For instance, considered one of our A/B experiments confirmed that figuring out clients with a propensity for WordPress throughout Airo onboarding and providing them a WordPress web site drove a 35% carry in Managed WordPress conversions for that consumer section. This drives innovation by displaying how data-driven onboarding can uncover new alternatives, higher match options to buyer intent, and gasoline steady enhancements throughout the product journey.
LLM-powered area discovery
Choosing the proper identify is each emotional and complicated. GoDaddy’s Generative AI Area Search integrates LLMs with an enormous vector database of a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of names, balancing relevancy and variety so clients see choices which can be each obtainable and galvanizing.
“Generative AI brings the human contact to our area search — like chatting with an knowledgeable who immediately will get what you are after. We have lengthy identified that clients who speak to our brokers discover names they love extra usually. Now, AI lets us ship that very same expertise immediately, for everybody.”
— Jyothi Prakash Trishuleshwar, Product Director, GoDaddy
The Enterprise Ahead 2024 survey discovered that 44% of microbusinesses imagine GenAI helps them compete with bigger companies. For our groups, this opens the door to experiments with rating methods, acceptance cues, and question dealing with that measure not simply click-through however the high quality of buyer selections.
For instance, a special A/B experiment confirmed that personalised Generative AI will increase relevance and improves the shopper journey, driving ~17.8% extra domains bought in comparison with the baseline consumer section. This exhibits how AI-driven personalization makes our clients’ selections extra related and helps them succeed sooner.
Turning a website right into a checkout
Payable Domains reimagine what a website can do by letting clients settle for funds by way of a branded “pay” hyperlink virtually instantly after buy, with no web site required. Entrepreneurs can share Payable Domains by way of textual content, QR code, or social media.
For instance, one other A/B experiment confirmed that including reside preview to Payable Domains drove a 5% enhance in activation. This illustrates how small however considerate product improvements, like giving clients rapid visibility into what they’re creating, can take away friction and speed up adoption.
Empowering Daring Concepts
A/B testing not solely helps us refine present merchandise, it encourages us to pursue concepts that after may need felt out of attain.
Security breeds braveness
By containing danger, experiments give groups the liberty to strive. As a substitute of debating within the summary, we flip “too dangerous” into “let’s check it.” That easy reframing unlocks creativity that may in any other case stay bottled up.
For instance, rolling out modifications as a managed experiment lets the crew de-risk the transfer whereas utilizing guardrails to observe conversion, income, and different buyer success metrics. If it succeeds, the payoff is huge; if not, we acquire precious insights into why.
Management’s position
Leaders at GoDaddy champion curiosity over certainty. We’ve invested not solely in instruments however in habits that normalize studying and make experimentation the anticipated path to progress.
“We don’t debate the long run—we experiment our method into it. Proof beats opinion, each time.”
— Travis Muhlestein, Product and AI CTO, GoDaddy
Leaders emphasize that outcomes aren’t about wins and losses—they’re about insights. This mindset, strengthened from the highest, creates psychological security throughout groups and makes daring considering a pure a part of our tradition.
Studying from sudden outcomes
There aren’t any “failed” experiments, solely solutions to questions we would have liked to ask. Generally the lesson eclipses the unique purpose. This mindset treats each end result as an information level, not a verdict. Groups change into desirous to ask “why,” and that curiosity is fertile floor for innovation.
Programs that Help Innovation
Innovation at scale isn’t nearly courageous concepts, it’s about dependable methods that make creativity simple to strive.
Instruments and templates
GoDaddy’s in-house experimentation platform Hivemind standardizes configuration, randomization, and evaluation so groups can give attention to studying, not logistics. For instance, the Hivemind platform requires experimenters to categorize scorecard metrics into three distinct teams earlier than launching an A/B/n experiment:
| Determination Metrics | Guardrail Metrics | Informative Metrics |
|---|---|---|
| Immediately measures success or enterprise worth | Ensures the experiment does no hurt to the enterprise | Offers further insights however should not crucial to decision-making |
Platform options had been deliberately designed to affect tradition, guiding good habits and discouraging weak checks—proof that tooling can form conduct for the higher.
From friction to circulate
Playbooks, post-rollout evaluation, and shared studying areas scale back reinvention and assist insights journey. For instance, groups throughout GoDaddy can immediately entry any ongoing experiment to grasp its setup and derive insights from the outcomes:
Enhancements reminiscent of a gamified high quality scoring system (awarding Bronze by way of Platinum badges) nudge groups towards higher-quality experiments with out slowing them down.
Innovation on repeat
The extra we embed experimentation into our processes, the simpler it turns into to show sparks into scalable outcomes. An A/B experimentation cycle illustrates how every check feeds into the subsequent, making a self-reinforcing loop of innovation:
This flywheel impact compounds over time, making certain that each check makes the subsequent one stronger.
Conclusion
A/B testing has advanced from a validation instrument to an innovation engine that empowers groups to discover daring concepts with confidence. By breaking boundaries, reframing failure, and scaling studying, we’ve constructed a system the place creativity and buyer influence go hand in hand.
Innovation isn’t magic—it’s a behavior. Construct it, nurture it, and watch your boldest concepts take flight. At GoDaddy, we’ve found that probably the most modern groups aren’t those with probably the most artistic folks, they’re those with the most effective studying methods.
In our closing article, we’ll discover learn how to scale experimentation so each crew, all over the place, can innovate with confidence. Keep tuned!
