TARA.AI CASESTUDY

Turning Clicks to Customers

Overview

Tara.AI is a productivity platform for product and engineering teams to plan sprints, align specs, and track delivery. I led the design vision for a growth initiative to improve new-user acquisition by creating intent-aligned landing pages for campaign traffic, streamlining CTAs, and reducing onboarding friction in partnership with product, engineering, and growth. Using rapid research, competitive benchmarking, and iterative A/B testing, we launched a scalable landing-page framework that increased conversions by 30% and lowered CAC.

Goals

  • Improve conversion rates from paid/SEO campaigns

  • Reduce acquisition costs vs. industry benchmarks

  • Clearly communicate Tara’s value propositions tailored to visitor intent

Role

Product Designer


End-to-End UX & UI Design, User Research & Competitive Analysis, Journey Mapping & Wireframing, Visual & Interaction Design A/B Testing & Iteration

Responsibilities


Collaborators

VP of Product, CTA, Engineering, Growth/Marketing, Analytics


+30% increase in conversions from marketing traffic

Lower customer acquisition costs (CAC) compared to industry benchmarks

Established a scalable landing page framework for future growth campaigns

Impact


Timeline

6-8 Weeks

The Challenge

Tara’s marketing campaigns successfully brought traffic to its homepage, but the conversion rate to sign-ups was low. The homepage tried to serve multiple audiences and goals, creating distractions for users who had arrived with specific intents.

USER NEED

Help users quickly understand Tara’s value proposition and onboard with minimal friction.

BUSINESS NEED

Reduce the high cost of acquisition by improving the efficiency of marketing campaigns.

List of SEO and marketing metrics with upward and downward trend indicators, including Paid SEO/Traffic, Generic Home Page, Drop offs, Few Sign ups, Customer Acquisition Cost, and New ARR.

In Person Kick off

We began with a workshop to define key questions:

  • Why are users dropping off after landing?

  • What intent do users bring from different marketing channels?

  • How can Tara’s product value be surfaced faster?

Insights from talking to users

Icon of a person with a speech bubble.

Home Page overload

Users were distracted by too much information not directly relevant to their search intent.

A logo with three connected circles, arranged horizontally.

Friction in Onboarding

Too many steps before users could try the product. For example user’s need to signup for a free trial.

Abstract pattern of dark blue dots on a black background.

Distraction

Users were distracted by too much information not directly relevant to their search intent. Campaign keywords and homepage content didn’t always align, creating cognitive dissonance.

Competitive Analysis

Click Up

  • Intent-specific, compact landing pages that mirror ad/SEO keywords.

  • Clear, benefit-led headline and a single primary CTA above the fold.

  • Minimal distractions; supporting proof appears only after the CTA.

Takeaway: Match message to intent and keep the hero focused on one action.

Screenshot of a webpage for ClickUp, a project management app, featuring sections about team productivity tools and customer logos.

Notion

  • Uses a long, multi-purpose homepage as a landing destination.

  • Dense content and motion/animation, but value proposition is very clear.

  • Great for exploration, less optimal for conversion-focused campaigns.

Takeaway: Rich storytelling builds clarity, but campaign traffic benefits from tighter, conversion-first pages.

A webpage for an AI workspace platform featuring a header, sections with images of productivity tools and team collaboration interfaces, promotional quotes, and product descriptions.

Linear

  • Dark-mode aesthetic that resonates with developers/engineers.

  • Minimal copy, precise visuals, and a decisive single CTA.

Creates curiosity and feels “built for coders.”

Takeaway: Audience-aligned tone/style (e.g., dark mode) can lift engagement.

A dark-themed webpage showcasing a product management tool called 'Linear,' with sections on planning, setting product direction, issue tracking, and AI-assisted development, including charts and interface screenshots.

[How Might We]

How might we use tailored landing pages to better align with user intent, reduce distractions, and improve sign-up conversion rates?

Generating Iterations

Multiple Iterations

I rapidly explored landing page variations, starting with quick sketches and moving into high-fidelity mocks.

Key Experiments:

  • Dark Mode: Inspired curiosity and performed better in early tests with technical audiences.

  • CTA Simplification: One clear primary CTA (“Sign up with email”) with supporting CTAs directing into onboarding.

  • Keyword-driven Content: Pages tailored to reflect campaign messaging for alignment and trust.

Co-Design

Collaborated closely with marketing and product teams to refine copy, messaging hierarchy, and visual direction.

Iteration A — Light Mode + User Feedback

What we heard
Approachable and clean, but the primary action wasn’t obvious. Users scanned the hero and asked for a direct CTA to try the product immediately.

Action
Kept the light palette and tightened the hero copy. Tested placement of a single, explicit CTA (“Start free”) in the hero, with a secondary path (“See how it works”).

Takeaway
Clarity improved, but the light theme still felt less compelling to technical audiences compared to a darker, product-centric look.

✅ Approachable visual tone
✅ Clearer, single primary CTA
❌ Still felt “marketing-y” for dev/PM audiences

Screenshot of a website promoting project management tools, featuring sections on defining work, team testimonials, and integrations with communication tools like Slack and Github, with options to book a demo or sign up.

Iteration B — Dark Mode + User Feedback

What we heard
Dark theme felt more product-forward and credible for engineers/PMs. Strong preference for direct CTAs and concise copy.

Action
Switched to a dark hero with high contrast and prominent CTAs (primary “Start free” in hero; optional secondary “See demo”). Reduced copy to essentials.

Takeaway
The dark variant became the default for technical campaigns; the direct CTA pattern was adopted as a standard across landing pages.

✅ Prominent, direct CTAs above the fold
✅ Tone resonates with technical users
✅ Concise, scannable copy
⚠ Ensure WCAG contrast; keep light as an alternate when needed

Screenshot of Tara software website promoting project management tools with a laptop displaying a project plan, client testimonials, and options to book a demo or sign up.

Ensuring Visual Consistency

I extended Tara’s design system to support new landing page modules.

  • Dark Mode Palette: Created new visual styles while maintaining Tara’s core identity.

  • CTA Components: Designed reusable CTA patterns for consistency across campaigns.

A design style guide with color palettes, call to action buttons, icon illustrations, background gradients, pricing toggle options, and emoji representations

After multiple iterations and discussions. We finalized our landing Page

Final Design

  • Keyword-tailored Landing Pages: Aligned directly with campaign messaging.

  • Singular CTA: Reduced friction per fold, sending users straight to onboarding.

  • Dark Mode Option: Adopted for campaign pages targeting technical users.

A digital marketing webpage promoting project management software. The page has a dark background and showcases features like task management, automation, status updates, and subscription plans with a call-to-action button for sign-up.
View Full Figma prototype
Screenshot of a project management or development tool interface with sections for Define, Sprint, Progress, and Get Premium, and a sidebar menu with Work, Tasks, Requirements, and Repositories
Screenshot of a project management dashboard with tabs labeled Define, Sprint, Progress, and Get Premium. The Progress tab is active. The dashboard displays a task list with columns for task number, description, status marked as 'Doing', and completion dates, along with sections for last check-in and open pull requests. There are various user interface elements including icons, profile picture, and navigation links.
Screenshot of a project management board with tasks categorized under 'New feature' and 'Sprint 25', showing task details, statuses, and filters.
An infographic comparing different screens of project management software, showing login, onboarding, and task management interfaces.

Impact

+30%!

Conversion Improvement

Less

Customer Acquisition Cost

High

User Engagement from campaign traffic

Learnings and Takeaways

Landing pages with one goal perform better than multipurpose homepages.

  1. Keyword alignment between campaigns and landing experiences builds trust.

  2. Personalization based on marketing channels increases relevance.

  3. Small UX changes — like CTA design, form length, or messaging — can yield major conversion lifts.

  4. Design is most powerful when data-driven and iterative, grounded in testing.

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