In this article, we’re going to do a deep dive into what Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is. We’re also going to look at effective strategies and insights that can improve your conversion rate, and online performance.
By the end of the article, you’ll be completely clued up on conversion rate optimizaion. Plus, you’ll have some key tips, tricks and hacks to take away with you, ready to implement on your own website.
Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/conversion-rate-optimization-guide/
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) 101
What is conversion rate optimization?
Conversion rate optimization, commonly referred to as CRO, is the process of increasing the number of website visitors (on your site) who take a desired action. A desired action could be:
- A purchase, if you own an e-commerce site
- A phone call, if you’re a tradesperson
- A free trial sign up, if you’re a SAAS company
- A marketing email sign up, if you run a blog
- A meeting booking, if you’re a lawyer or agency
You get the idea. A conversion can be any ‘thing’ you want it to be. Conversion rate optimization is the process of getting more of ‘things’ you want.
As a CRO agency, this is something we say a lot. But let us just say it again. The importance of CRO cannot be exaggerated. It directly impacts your business performance by maximising the value of your existing traffic.
What this means? More revenue without more spend.
Let’s look at some numbers to illustrate.
- Imagine you spend $150 per month on paid advertising.
- For that ad spend, you land around 100 website visitors per month.
- Of those visitors, you convert 5%.
- So for a spend of $150 per month you convert 5 website visitors.
One way to get that conversion rate up would be to spend more on ads. However, without changing anything on your website, you’ll probably still only convert around 5% of visitors. Meaning your cost per conversion will be around the same.
Now we’re going to look at a different way to get the conversion rate up. That way is conversion rate optimization.
- You still spend $150 a month on ads, but you set up two different landing pages with a slight differences between them.
- You send 50% of the leads to landing page A and 50% to landing page B.
- After a period, you check the results to see which landing page is converting more.
- If the ‘new’ landing page performs better, you make that your main landing page and send all leads there.
Whilst you might only gain a small increase in conversion rate each time, you can keep on repeating this process to see the rates grow and grow. Plus, you haven’t spent any more on advertising, you’ve just made a few changes on your site. So, no more investment.
The CRO process
The audit
You can’t dive into CRO optimization without completing a CRO audit to understand where you are. Here are the steps to complete a CRO audit:
- Look at your current conversion rate, this is your base level. It’s important to understand what your current conversion rate is, so you can see whether your changes increase or decrease from your base levels.
- Identify and understand user behavior. You can use tools like Google Analytics and Hotjar to see how visitors interact with your site.
- Look at your sales funnel, and find where the drop-off points are. These are super important!
Average conversion rates by industry
Source: https://www.ruleranalytics.com/blog/insight/conversion-rate-by-industry/
What’s a drop off point?
A drop-off point is the point a visitor drops out of your sales funnel.
An e-commerce example of a drop-off point: By looking on Hotjar, you might see that visitors are landing on your site, navigating to a product and checking if it’s available in their size, but they’re not adding it to their basket.
This is a drop-off point. Once you understand where your drop-off points are, you can think of ways to fix them.
The A/B testing
After you’ve spotted your drop-off points, you can start A/B testing how to fix them. We touched on A/B testing earlier, but we’re going to go into more detail here.
- Create variants: Develop two versions of a webpage, changing one element (like a headline or button color).
- Split your traffic: Direct half of your visitors to Version A and the other half to Version B.
- Analyze results: Use statistical analysis to determine which version had a higher conversion rate.
Going back to the e-commerce example, you know that website visitors are dropping off just before they add something to their basket.
Here are a few ideas you could A/B test to rectify that.
- The position/size/style of your ‘add to basket’ button
- Trialling a ‘buy now’ button instead of a ‘add to basket’
- Adding a pop-up to tell people items are selling out fast
Best practices for conducting A/B tests include testing one variable at a time and ensuring a sufficient sample size and test time, so you can make an informed decision about the results.
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The implementation
Once you’ve finished your A/B testing and you understand which version is landing better results, you’ll know which to implement as your new normal.
An important thing to remember about the implementation phase is that it’s not the end. Once you’ve A/B tested one thing, implemented it, and seen the results coming in, you can start thinking about the next thing to trial.
The CRO hacks
There are a few key areas that make a big difference when it comes to CRO. You can use these to help guide you on what to test…
User experience (UX)
User experience is at the heart of CRO. A positive UX can massively improve conversion rates. Likewise, bad UX is bad for conversions.
Here are a few factors to bear in mind when aiming to improve the UX of your website.
- Fast loading times: Make sure your site loads quickly to reduce bounce rates.
- Mobile responsiveness: Optimize your site for mobile users, as a significant portion of traffic comes from mobile devices and bad mobile responsiveness means higher bounce rates.
- Clear navigation: Make it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for.
Tips for improving site navigation and design include simplifying your menu structure and using clear, concise labels.
Compelling calls-to-action (CTAs)
CTAs are the thing that guides your website visitors towards a conversion. They’re the big red buttons you want your users to submit.
When designing CTAs:
- Clarity: Use straightforward language that tells users exactly what to do.
- Visibility: Make your CTAs stand out on the page.
- Urgency: Create a sense of urgency to encourage immediate action.
Examples of high-converting CTAs include “Get Started Today” or “Claim Your Free Trial Now.” In each CTA, you’ll see there’s a time-sensitive word, this helps drive the urgency.
CRO mistakes to avoid
As well as some key areas to look at, there are also some key things to avoid.
Ignoring mobile users
This is a problem that happens time and time again when it comes to website design. The problem is, as a web designer, you design on a laptop, review on a laptop and test on a laptop. So, it’s easy to forget about all the mobile users! But that’s bad practice. The traffic is actually around 50%, 50%, so don’t neglect your mobile design.
Source: https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet/united-states-of-america/
Overcomplicating forms
Long and complex forms can deter potential customers. Try to grab only the information you really need. People don’t want to be writing War and Peace to fill out your form.
Recognizing and rectifying these mistakes is crucial, as is continuous testing and optimization.
Slow loading times
Most users expect a site to load within 2 seconds, and a large percentage will abandon sites that take more than 3 seconds to load (WebFX). If your site’s not loading quickly, people will abandon it before they’ve even looked at all of the copy, images and buttons you’ve created.
Conclusion
This article is a guide to how things stand at the moment. But the landscape of CRO is changing all the time. In the future, the impact of AI and machine learning is likely to change CRO, allowing website designers to offer even more personalised user experiences.
But, in the meantime, these key strategies will help you enhance your CRO practices.
