Ever wondered why your website traffic doesn’t translate into sales?
Or why your email campaigns aren’t generating enough leads? You can find answers in your conversion rate – the percentage of visitors who take (or don’t) an action on your website.
What is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)?
The term describes the process of enhancing your website or marketing strategy to encourage more people to take desired actions like:
- Signing up for a newsletter
- Completing a purchase
- Downloading your mobile application
The options are endless.
Lower conversion rates often stem from slow website speed, unclear value propositions, or broken call-to-action forms.
Optimizing the website and creating compelling content for a pleasant user experience can improve the rates. At its core, CRO is strongly based on understanding audience behavior and removing any barriers preventing them from converting.
Why CRO is Important?
CRO maximizes the value of your existing traffic. Simply put, instead of spending money or driving new website visitors, you concentrate on getting action from those already visiting.
Let’s take a SaaS company as an example. If they improve their landing page conversion rate from 2% to 4%, they will effectively double their sign-ups.
Easier said, than done.
How to Calculate Conversion Rates?
CRO involves multiple calculations to help businesses set actionable goals.
Here are a couple of the most common formulas:
CRO Formula 1: Conversion Rate
Conversion Rate = (Conversions / Total Visitors) × 100
For example, if your blog receives 20,000 visitors and 200 subscribe to your newsletter, your conversion rate is 1%.
CRO Formula 2: Number of Net New Customers
Net New Customers = Net Revenue Goal / Average Sales Price
For example, if your revenue goal is $50,000 and your average sales price is $500, you’ll need:
$50,000 / $500 = 100 new customers
CRO Formula 3: Lead Goal
Lead Goal = Net New Customers / (Lead-to-Customer Close Rate / 100)
For example, if you need 100 new customers and your lead-to-customer close rate is 20%, the calculation is:
100 / (20 / 100) = 500 leads
What Is A Good Conversion Rate?
It depends.
A “good” conversion rate greatly varies by industry, audience, and business goals.
For some businesses, minor interface changes may increase conversion rates, while for others, more significant redesigns may be required. Implement realistic A/B testing to define a good conversion rate for your business.
What Is The Average Conversion Rate?
It may be higher than you think. Based on a benchmark report, the average conversion rate for websites across various industries is 2.35%, with the top 25% of businesses having a conversion rate of around 5%.
Use this only as a reference. Don’t let the numbers limit your goals. Focus on consistent testing and optimization to achieve rates that align with your business objectives.
Where to Implement a CRO Strategy
While developing a CRO strategy, pay attention to areas where user engagement and decision-making occur. Each section of your website has unique potential to drive conversions, and optimizing these touchpoints can significantly improve performance.
Landing Pages
As the name suggests, a landing page is where users “land” after clicking a link. The primary goal is encouraging visitors to take specific actions and become leads.
If you’re running a PPC campaign, your landing page should reflect the offer or solution you promised in the ad. To build trust, add trust signals like certificates, customer testimonials, and other forms of credibility.
Testing can help you define the key working elements like:
- Headline
- Call-to-action placement
- Form design
- Images & media
- Copy
Homepage
CRO for homepages depends on having a clear information hierarchy, helping visitors go toward the desired actions quickly.
Personalization plays a huge role here. Display dynamic content based on user behavior, location, or referral source. Incorporating engaging elements like video introductions or success stories can captivate users and increase dwell time.
For example, if a user visits your homepage after reading a blog post on marketing strategies, suggest a related service or eBook.
Calls-to-Action (CTAs)
Many people see CTAs as just buttons. Yet, these also include:
- Banners
- Links in copy
- Pop-ups
CTAs act as visual triggers and, when placed strategically, can make a significant impact. Tools like heatmaps and scroll maps can help you identify the best placement for CTAs. This is especially helpful for understanding your audience’s behavior on different devices.
CTAs should be clear and action-oriented. Use strong, compelling language directly communicating the value proposition and what users can expect after taking the desired action.
Blogs
Analyze your blog data to see if it has hidden opportunities for conversions.
Blog articles are a great source for thought leadership and educational content. They can also have hidden text-based CTAs. Contextually relevant and well-crafted CTAs can direct users to other relevant resources or encourage them to take action.
For instance, an article about top social media strategies could have a CTA to download a free social media calendar template. That’s how you collect leads without being too salesy.
Product Pages
Unlike landing pages that drive visitors to take action, your website should also have product pages that demonstrate what you offer. Of course, you can still list features and benefits.
High-quality product visuals, such as 360-degree views or videos, are crucial for CRO. Detailed descriptions and real-life demonstrations help customers visualize how a product or service can benefit them.
Live chat features or chatbot assistance on a product page can also address buyer hesitation, further increasing conversions.
Pricing Page
This is where a visitor decides whether your product or service is worth the investment. You can make this decision easier by emphasizing value in pricing.
For example, highlight features in each plan and use tiered pricing comparisons to show customers exactly what they’re getting. “Most Popular” or “Best Value” labels can subtly nudge users toward higher-tier options.
Testimonials also play a huge role in justifying their decision and making it easier for them to move forward.
User Experience (UX)
Last but not least, a seamless user experience underlines the success of a CRO strategy.
The goal is to remove any friction that might prevent users from converting.
Start by improving site performance by decreasing load times. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, with forms and CTAs easily accessible on smaller screens.
Strategies for Conversion Rate Optimization
CRO is a continuous process with constant testing, refining, and trying to find a working strategy for your business. From landing page optimization to featuring social proof and improving copywriting, there are things to try at different levels of your funnel.
Identify High-Traffic Pages
Monitor your website performance to identify pages that attract the most visitors. These are the ones with prime opportunities to optimize your conversions.
For instance, if a blog article on marketing tips drives significant traffic, you can embed a lead magnet like a webinar sign-up form. Additionally, consider adding clear CTAs that guide visitors toward the next step and thus drive conversions.
Optimize Worst-Performing Pages
While high-traffic pages hold promise, don’t overlook pages with poor conversion rates. Pages with high bounce rates or low engagement often signal usability issues or mismatched content.
Conduct an audit to identify friction points:
- Are the CTAs unclear?
- Is the design cluttered?
- Do you provide sufficient information about your products and services?
A poorly performing pricing page, for instance, could benefit from detailed pricing tables or customer testimonials to build trust and reduce hesitation.
Improve CTAs
Test with different placements and designs like floating CTAs or buttons with contrasting colors to see what attracts your audience. People don’t always read until the end of an article, meaning you may need to get creative with your content to entice calls to action (CTA).
Banner blindness is a real thing, meaning we tend to ignore any ads or banners on websites that don’t seem interesting to us. That’s why you must ensure your CTA stands out or is gracefully hidden between the lines.
Implement Lead Flows on Blog
Businesses often need to pay more attention to blog post optimization while developing CRO strategies, but this is an untapped goldmine for quality lead generation. Blog posts are where your audience actively seeks solutions and insights, making them a natural fit for lead capture.
Strategically placed lead flows, such as slide-ins, pop-ups, or inline forms, can transform passive readers into engaged prospects. However, to avoid being intrusive, ensure the flows are contextually relevant and appear at logical moments, such as after a reader scrolls halfway through an article.
Conduct Tests on Landing Pages
As discussed earlier, a landing page is where a website visitor becomes a lead, or an existing lead converts to a customer. Getting them just right is crucial to the success of your CRO strategy.
A/B or split testing is simple. Create two or more versions of a landing page, each with minor differences, and see which one resonates better. Tracking how people respond, whether they click, stay, or leave, can help you determine which version increases conversions.
Testing doesn’t end after one experiment, though. Our preferences can change over time, so it’s important to keep testing and refining. To get the most out of this process, consider having a reliable partner. After all, running smart and meaningful split tests can make a massive difference in performance.
Optimize Subheadings for Better Reader Engagement
Subheading optimization doesn’t only refer to SEO. They play a crucial role in making your blog post easy to read and navigate for the reader.
More and more people prefer skimming through text rather than going deep into every paragraph. That’s where subheadings help you attack a reader’s attention and say, “Hey, keep reading this.”
Incorporate power words or emotional triggers to evoke strong emotions and lead readers to take action. You can also break up the text into smaller sections and use subheadings to help with readability and improve retention.
Add Social Proof and Trust Signals
Social proof is a game-changer for conversions because people trust others. Seeing testimonials, reviews, or case studies from real customers reassures people that they are making the right choice.
For instance, adding a “Rate 5 starts by 200+ customers” badge next to a CTA banner can nudge hesitant people toward taking action.
Incorporate Messages on Pages with High Conversion Rates
High-converting pages are already doing something right, so why not amplify their impact?
Adding clear, tailored messages to these pages can guide visitors toward even more actions. For instance, if your pricing page performs well, a message like “Join thousands of businesses boosting their sales with our solution!” can encourage decision-making.
The key is relevance. Messages should align with the page’s intent. On a testimonial page, for example, a simple prompt like “Ready to see results like these? Let’s get started!” can direct users to the next step without being pushy.
Use Retargeting to Re-Engage Visitors to Your Website
Only some website visitors convert during their first visit. And that’s okay.
Retargeting techniques give you a second chance to win them over. Show personalized ads to users who interact with your content to bring them back to your site.
Retargeting works best when it’s thoughtful. Instead of generic messages, use dynamic ads that match the visitor’s behavior. If someone browsed your service page, show them a testimonial or a free consultation offer. These subtle reminders can turn a missed opportunity into a conversion.
Understanding the CRO Process
You may feel overwhelmed by all the information and strategies for effective CRO, wondering “How do I deal with all this?”
Indeed, CRO immensely depends on trial and error, so there is no guaranteed formula for success. Instead of being discouraged by this fact, remember a simple truth:
CRO is a systematic approach to understanding your audience and creating a smoother customer journey for them.
Analyzing User Behavior
CRO begins with understanding how users interact with your website.
It may involve tracking clicks to see what people like or not. But it also relies heavily on uncovering patterns to understand their preferences and pain points.
Suppose you notice users frequently abandon a form midway. This may indicate that the form needs to be shorter and clearer. It may also suggest that a particular section is causing hesitation. Identifying such minor things can help you make data-driven adjustments to improve user experience and increase conversions.
Setting Conversion Goals
Do your business goals align with your website goals?
If you want to increase product sales, but your website focuses more on blog content instead of product pages, then you need to optimize for conversions. A SaaS company may want to increase demo requests, while an e-commerce store focuses on reducing card abandonment.
Knowing your end goal is crucial to creating effective CRO strategies.
Identify Important Conversions
Ask yourself: what actions drive real business value?
Your online course platform may generate hundreds of free trial sign-ups, but the end goal is probably converting those trials into paid subscriptions.
Prioritize high-value conversions in your CRO efforts. Understand why people convert and use that insight to optimize your website for those actions.
Identifying Conversion Barriers
Every drop-off in your funnel has a reason.
Conversion barriers can be as obvious as a broken form or as subtle as unclear messaging. CRO involves systematically removing these obstacles.
For instance, are users hesitant because your pricing page doesn’t convey value? Or is the checkout process too complicated?
Once identified, address the barriers to help a potential customer feel confident about taking the next step with you.
Research
Start by collecting qualitative and quantitative data.
Surveys, interviews, and usability tests can offer insights into user behavior and expectations. Observing how people interact with your site can highlight any frustrations or obstacles they encounter, providing actionable feedback.
As for the quantitative data, certain tools can help you track user behavior metrics, like:
Analyzing this data helps identify patterns and pinpoint where users typically drop off in the conversion funnel.
Combine your research findings to understand user behavior and preferences comprehensively. You can systematically improve key conversion metrics and optimize the user experience by continually updating your research and testing hypotheses.
Hypothesis
A successful CRO strategy starts with forming a strong hypothesis.
It’s not just guesswork but a well-structured statement about what you believe will improve conversions.
A good hypothesis is specific, measurable, and can be tested with data. It also addresses a specific barrier identified through research and aligns with your overall business goals.
Create Hypotheses
Creating effective hypotheses involves blending creativity with research. Start with identifying a specific problem. If users frequently abandon your pricing page, the hypothesis may be “If we make pricing clearer by adding side-by-side plan comparisons, people will feel more confident and complete their purchase.”
A hypothesis should include:
- The Problem: What’s preventing users from converting?
- The Change: What adjustment will you make to address this problem?
- The Expected Outcome: What measurable improvement do you expect?
By making your hypothesis specific and actionable, you set the foundation for meaningful testing.
Test Your Hypotheses
Once you have one, the next step is to put it to the test.
This is when you validate or invalidate your assumptions via real user data. Try focusing on a single variable at a time. Multiple changes can make it hard to identify which adjustment drove results.
A/B Testing and Experimentation in CRO
Have two versions of a webpage (A and B) and start showing them to different segments of your audience.
While comparing two different pricing pages, show the traditional version to one group of users, and the new version to another. Decide on a metric to track, like click-through rates or conversions.
You will validate the hypothesis once the results reveal a significant increase in conversion rates, proving that clearer plan comparisons enhance decision-making.
Setting Up A/B Tests
This requires attention to detail and careful planning. You should have a clear end goal and a variable to test (headline, page layout, or button color).
Have dedicated digital marketing experts on your side to create and manage your test variations. Moreover, ensure that you have a large enough sample size for your experiment while running the test for a significant amount of time.
Interpreting A/B Test Results
You want to find a “winner”. That’s obvious.
Interpreting A/B results can also help you define patterns and insights for future tests. For instance, if the version with short text copies increases conversions, it could indicate that your audience likes simplicity. Use this knowledge to create content similar to that on other pages.
Common Mistakes in A/B Testing
Even the best tests can only go right with careful execution. Common mistakes can include:
- Having too many test variables at once
- Ending tests too early
- Concluding without sufficient data
- Not accounting for external factors that may influence results
Analyze Your Conversion Funnel
Start with mapping out the stages (awareness, considerations, conversion, and retention). This will help you understand if there are any bottlenecks requiring immediate action.
For instance, if people abandon their carts frequently, your checkout process may need improvement. Analyzing the conversion funnel can also reveal potential areas for optimization and A/B testing.
Think of your funnel as a journey, where every step should guide you toward the destination. You cannot improve conversions without having solid awareness and consideration strategies in place.
Prioritization: Choose The Most Promising Tests
A good prioritization framework considers factors like potential ROI and the likelihood of success.
For instance, testing a headline change on a high-traffic landing page may have a greater impact than going through a rarely visited blog post. In any case be careful with the tests, as you don’t want to lose the already-gained traffic. Sometimes changing things that work is not a good idea.
The main purpose of A/B testing is to improve your website’s effectiveness, not just change things for the sake of change.
Testing: Gather User Data
Data is the backbone of an effective CRO. Gather as much information as possible before creating hypotheses and running tests.
Combine everything you have, from heatmaps to surveys and analytics, to form a clear picture of your user’s behavior. This will help you design smarter experiments because the more data you have, the clearer the path forward becomes.
Learn And Iterate: Analyze and Refine Your Approach
CRO is an ongoing process of learning and improvement. After each test, take the time to analyze the results thoroughly.
💡Ask yourself: Did the change achieve the expected outcome? Were there any unexpected behaviors?
For instance, if shortening a form increases sign-ups but lowers the quality of leads, you may need to strike a better balance in future updates. Use your findings to refine your approach, ensuring each test builds on the last.
Such an approach will transform CRO from a single experiment into a continuous growth cycle.
The CRO Toolkit: Essential Tools for Success
Developing a successful CRO strategy takes time and effort. The process requires a combination of experience, knowledge, and specialized tools for precise analytics and actionable results.
Of course, you can experiment on your own, but the right guidance from marketing professionals can maximize your efforts. Experts who live and breathe marketing conversion rate optimization can help you avoid common pitfalls and deliver actionable changes.
Web Analytics Tools
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of tools to help you study visitor behavior on your website. Find one that will help you identify the best-performing landings as well as those causing users to bounce. Analytics tools help you pinpoint where things go wrong so you can address those issues strategically.
Worth Considering
- Hotjar: Offers heatmaps, session recordings, and visitor feedback tools.
- Google Analytics: Helps track visitor behavior, traffic sources, and conversion paths.
- Semrush: Great for keyword research, competitive analysis, site audits, and backlog tracking.
A/B Testing and Multivariate Testing Tools
While A/B testing tools can tell you which headline would work better for your landing page, multivariate testing tools further the game. You can test combinations here, like matching headlines with different call-to-actions or layouts. The more advanced options don’t just tell you what works; they show you why it works so you can apply those insights across your website.
Worth Considering
- Optimizely: Allows experimenting with page layouts, headlines, and CTAs.
- VWO (Visual Website Optimizer): Simplifies A/B testing with visual editing and comprehensive reporting.
- Adobe Target: Allows you to create ad variants, target them, and customize your goals.
User Feedback Tools
Numbers can show you the current picture, but working with user feedback reveals the “why”-s. Heatmaps and scrollmaps give us a visual representation of how users interact with the different elements on our websites.
Are they clicking, scrolling, or ignoring your CTAs?
As most tools provide session recording, it is a great opportunity to see the actual impression people get from your content.
Worth Considering
- Qualaroo: Customer and user feedback solutions powered by AI.
- Zonka Feedback: Helps create surveys via email, SMS, QR codes, etc.
- Pendo: Allows creating in-app walkthroughs and provides tools for sentiment analysis.
Measuring and Analyzing CRO Success
Conversion optimization doesn’t end with implementation. The real work begins in measuring and analyzing its impact. While tracking conversions and revenue is a good starting point, it’s essential to look beyond those numbers and dig deeper into the data.
Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Never neglect metrics like bounce rates, average session durations, and cost per conversion. Gathering real-time data and examining it closely will show whether your optimizations are working.
For instance, if your bounce rate drops after redesigning the homepage layout, it’s a clear sign that people begin liking the new version more. A consistently decreasing bounce rate indicated improved user engagement and satisfaction.
Conversion Funnel Analysis
Visualize users’ path from landing on your website to completing the expected action. By breaking down this journey into stages, you can find places where users drop off and why.
Get granular about your funnel, and you’ll see which pages require a more targeted approach to improve conversions.
Reporting and Continuous Optimization
Reports turn raw data into actionable insights. Regularly consult with your marketing managers to highlight successes and uncover areas for improvement. Each report should spark ideas for what to test next. Consider testing button placement or wording if a CTA redesign boosts click-through rates.
Working on conversion rate optimization involves more than crunching numbers. Dedicate your time and effort to finding high-impact areas, experimenting with different solutions, and continuously measuring results.
With a strong focus on CRO and collaboration with an expert digital marketing agency like Andava Digital, you can achieve significant growth for your business.
