My guest on this week’s episode of Suds & Search is Els Aerts, Co-founder of AGConsult.

Els and her team work with brands on user research, behavioral psychology and testing. She has developed a reputation as one of the most rigorous researchers in the industry. She’s spoken at numerous conferences, including Yoast Con, CTA Conference, CXL Live, and Conversion Hotel.

This is not a “trust your gut” conversation. This is not a feature dump about the latest trend. If you’re interested in a blunt conversation about how to perform user research based on years on experience from a seasoned pro, then stay tuned.

Els will point out that user research has never been more popular. There’s more money and attention going to collecting good data than ever before. Despite the excitement, user researchers are making all sorts of mistakes. In some cases, bad research and testing can even be dangerous.

What are some common pitfalls of user research? What the first few steps to a good test? What about the thorny issue of bias? I’m going to ask Els these questions and many more.

Grab something cold to drink and join me for a conversation with Els Aerts. We’ll talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of user research, we’ll spend a little time talking about how smaller companies can collect clean data, and we’ll also chat about the best practices of reporting.