What is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)?

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is an important tool for any business with an online presence. By exploring how customers use your website, CRO analysis helps you to spot patterns of behaviour that could signify deeper issues, allowing you to make changes based on evidence rather than assumptions. Identifying and addressing these issues can help you increase the number of visitors to your website who take desired actions, such as filling out a contact form or downloading a brochure.

Whatever industry you’re in, conversion rate optimization can help you increase profits by maximising the effectiveness of each visit to your website. This is essential if you’re using paid marketing strategies such as PPC or social media advertising, which can be costly if the visits you’re paying for don’t result in a sale.

In this article, we’re going to explore conversion rate optimization in more detail, explaining what conversion rate optimization is, and how it can benefit your business. We’ll cover the following topics about CRO in marketing:

Ready to get started with a powerful conversion rate optimization strategy for your website? Head over to our digital experience page to learn how we deliver results by combining CRO analysis with behavioural science and user research, or speak to our team today for a consultation.

What is CRO?

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of measuring, analysing and improving the number of visitors to a website who take a desired action. This action, known as a conversion, could be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, completing a contact form, or any other goal that aligns with business objectives.

Making customer-centric, data-driven decisions

CRO in marketing can help your business make the most out of each visitor to your website, using data-driven research to enhance customer satisfaction and increase profitability. By analysing on-site data, you can develop theories for any conversion issues you’re experiencing, which you can then explore through CRO experiments like split testing.

Addressing the issues highlighted by your CRO analysis can boost desired conversions and directly impact your overall website performance. For example, simplifying the website navigation and reducing page load times can benefit your conversion rate and may also help improve your bounce rate.

One key area of conversion rate optimization is user research. By analysing how visitors currently interact with your website, you can identify friction areas preventing them from taking the desired action. You can then incorporate these findings into your conversion rate optimization strategy, making improvements backed by data to achieve the desired results.

Types of CRO experiments

As CRO in marketing relies on informed decisions, it’s important to analyse conversion rates before, during and after any changes you make. This helps your business to better understand the reasons behind any successes or failures, and allows you to test multiple options at once for efficient implementation.

Various experiments can support conversion rate optimization, including A/B testing, multivariate tests, and even eye tracking studies, which we’ll explore in more detail below.

Split testing

Split testing is a simple yet effective analytical process used for website conversion optimization. It involves creating a separate web page version and comparing its performance against the original version, which acts as a control. The two versions are usually hosted on different URLs, making it easier to analyse user behaviour.

Sometimes, split testing is used for big changes as part of a conversion rate optimization strategy, such as significant alterations to a webpage’s layout or design. Rather than making these changes permanently and risking a negative impact on website performance, split testing allows you to keep the control page, and use it as a baseline for analysing the changes. There are several different types of split testing including A/B testing, A/Bn testing and Multivariate testing (MVT).

A/B testing and A/Bn testing

A/B testing is a similar method of trialling changes to a website used for CRO analysis. It’s often used to determine the most effective option for smaller changes, such as the headline, main image, or font colour. This type of testing might be implemented following a larger split test, allowing for deeper analysis of the finer details to optimise performance as much as possible.

A/B testing is carried out using specialist conversion rate optimization software, which automatically separates traffic between the different versions of the webpage. Regardless of which one they see, the page will still be served on the same URL. Only one variable is changed at a time for each version, making it easier to understand the impact of this change. 

A/Bn testing occurs when more than one page is compared with another. This allows for multiple pages to be tested at the same time. This is not to be confused with MVT testing whereby multiple changes are experimented with in combination. 

Multivariate testing

While A/B testing is used to analyse the effectiveness of a single change on conversion rate optimization, multivariate testing involves changing a combination of page elements. While the data that they provide is less clear cut than A/B testing, they allow marketers to run multiple tests simultaneously, rather than following a laborious process of changing one element and analysing it over time before testing something else.

Multivariate testing for CRO in marketing works best for websites with a high volume of traffic, as the visits are split equally between the different versions. Before undertaking and form of experimentation, it’s important to understand the sample sizes required to run an experiment. Generally the lower the traffic the higher the shift in conversion rate needs to be to make sure that the results are significantly significant. 

Conversion Research

Before running experiments, a hypothesis must be created, which can then be tested in order to prove to disprove the insights. These insights are drawn from conversion research. Conversion research similar to UX Research, gathers insights around how users interact with websites. The focus is usually on understanding the friction points that drive users away from the website. Another focus is understanding the goals that the users are trying to achieve when visiting the website.  Conversion research can take the form of both qualitative and quantitative research. Quantitative research is often descriptive and seeks to understand how traffic is behaving on a website. Qualitative insights are often described as the voice of customer insights. The goal is to understand why users behave as they are; forms of conversion research include heatmaps, web analytics, user and usability testing, UX Lab Studies, surveys, questionnaires, form analytics, and heuristic analysis. Biometric methods are also used to understand user’s philological reactions to using websites. These include Eyetracking, Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), and  Electoenphlogram (EEG). Facial Expression analysis has also been used but its validity has been questioned in certain circumstances. 

User and usability testing

User and usability testing is a powerful tool for CRO analysis, It includes a variety of sub-disciplines, such as preference tests, first click tests, flash testing and design surveys, in which real human users are shown different versions of a webpage and asked questions about them.

User and usability testing can be used alongside split, A/B and multivariate testing to provide highly detailed insights on how real people interact with your website. While extremely beneficial, it can be a complex and resource-heavy method of website conversion optimization. Businesses therefore tend to employ professional user testing services to ensure access to expert CRO specialists, as well as the latest tools and best practices.

Eye-tracking studies

Eye-tracking studies are a sophisticated form of testing that can support a conversion rate optimization strategy by measuring and analysing how people actually look at and read a webpage. They can help to identify which elements draw attention and which are overlooked, giving a clear indication of user focus and intent. The most complex eye-tracking software is able to measure eye movement, point of gaze, blinking and even pupil dilation, providing valuable, in-depth insights to support CRO analysis.

Key focus areas for CRO in marketing

Conversion rate optimization is a highly multifaceted discipline, as it can involve experimenting with just about any element of a website. Essentially, suppose it’s part of your website. In that case, it can affect your CRO, meaning marketing professionals need to be well-versed in a wide range of skills for effective analysis and optimization.

Let’s look at some key elements you should focus on when implementing CRO in marketing.

Landing page design

By its very nature, a landing page exists to convert, presenting a particular offering that meets a user’s search intent. Whether advertising a product for purchase, sharing valuable content for download, or introducing a service that aligns with their search query, this type of page intends to turn visitors into customers.

Landing page design is therefore very important when it comes to your conversion rate optimization strategy. In many instances, this page will form the first impression that a user has of your brand. Ensuring that the webpage clearly presents your offering, is intuitively laid out, and presents obvious next steps for a visitor to take will help to boost its performance and bring in more conversions.

Images

In an age of content saturation and instant gratification, where attention spans seem to be at an all-time low, it’s important to engage audiences quickly. The images that you use on your website have a huge impact on its overall look and feel, and simply changing the main image on a webpage could make or break its performance. Research shows that we process images 60,000 times faster than text. 

However, attention-grabbing images aren’t always enough; they need to be relevant, and suitable for their intended purpose. For ecommerce conversion rate optimization, make sure that all product photos are clear, accurate representations that show the item from a variety of angles. This will help to build trust and show customers exactly what you’re selling, encouraging them to make a purchase.

Images are the primary source of motivation on a website. They signal that the user’s goals will be met. Images can be soaked in emotion which can help to boost the stickiness of landing pages and nudge users towards achieving their goals. 

Website copy

When users first land on a website it has a very limited time to convince them to stay on the page. The value proposition (usually a combination of hero image and copy) convinces a person to stay on the website. The copy should quickly and clearly outline what the website does and how it will satisfy the user’s goals. 

While there are many statistics suggesting that website visitors skim rather than read your website, don’t be fooled into thinking that you can get away with low-quality content. If it’s boring, poorly written, full of mistakes or too complicated, visitors may be put off. When your competitors are just a click away, attention to detail in your website copy is essential.

Additionally, search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of getting visitors to your website in the first place. By using keywords throughout your copy, you signal to search engines that your webpage is relevant to certain queries. However, it’s important to remember that your website is for human users, not for search engines, and craft your content accordingly. Understanding how SEO and CRO can work together will help you to attract more visitors to your website and convert them into paying customers.

Calls to action

Another key element to analyse as part of your website conversion optimization is calls to action. A call to action, or CTA, is just that; an invitation for a visitor to carry out a certain activity. This could be filling out a contact form, making a phone call, signing up for your newsletter, or downloading a brochure.

You should use unambiguous CTA text to ensure that visitors understand what they need to do, and why. For example, ‘click here to download our brochure’ explains exactly what action to take, and what the user will gain by doing it. Other important checks include ensuring that your CTAs stand out visually and that the target page accurately reflects the expectations set up by the CTA.

Affordances are highly important when considering interaction design for conversion rate optimisation. Affordances indicate how an object should be used. For example, if you look are a hammer it’s clear which end is the handle and which end is mallet. The grip indicates where you should place your hands. The same is true for CTAs and any other area of a website that can be interacted with. Buttons should look clickable on desktop this can be done by providing rollover effects. 

Once a CTA has been interacted with the interface should provide clear system feedback to communicate that an action has been taken. This helps to better orientate the user and keep them motivated. 

Navigation and site structure

Unique website design can help your brand to stand out in a saturated market, but make sure to balance this with your conversion rate optimization strategy. While there’s room for innovation and experimentation, consumers have come to expect websites to look and behave in certain ways. Taking too many steps away from the norm can leave visitors confused, and could lead to them exiting the site without converting.

Experiment with tried-and-tested layouts such as hamburger menus, clear CTA buttons, and intuitive navigation. A menu that is always displayed at the top of the page makes it easy for users to move between pages, clear headings and page categories help them find the content they want, and search functions provide quick and easy solutions to user needs.

Site speed and performance

How quickly your site loads is a key Google ranking factor, but it also has a noticeable impact on your conversion rate. Sites that are slow to load can be frustrating, and users may leave before even viewing a single page. If you notice a high bounce rate for certain pages, or for your website in general, you could face loading times issues. Knowing how to improve page speed can help to minimise the risk of visitors abandoning your site without converting.

As well as load times for individual pages, analyse how long it takes content such as images, videos and animations to load while browsing your site. Compressing images, removing unnecessary videos and animations, and adopting a clean, simple site design can help to speed things up. You can also take many steps within the backend of your website, such as minimising page redirects, combining scripts or even migrating to a faster server.

Product and category pages

Analysing the performance of product and category pages is a key element of ecommerce conversion rate optimization. Whether comparing underperforming products against others that sell well, or working to improve conversion rates across all items, there are a lot of changes and improvements that you can make to boost sales.

For example, ensuring that add to cart buttons are prominently displayed, clearly labelled, and properly functioning can help to streamline the purchasing process and encourage more conversions. Writing detailed product descriptions including dimensions, weights and materials will provide more information for visitors, minimising doubts and unanswered questions that could put them off purchasing.

Website forms

Lead generation campaigns effectively allow businesses that don’t offer products or services to gain relevant enquiries and new customers. Unlike e-commerce conversion rate optimization, these strategies often require testing and analyzing forms on your website. These could include contact forms for general enquiries, callback forms, quote tools, or account sign-up forms.

If your lead generation tactics require visitors to fill out a form on your website, it’s important to ensure that the form is intuitive and functional. Having too many fields can make a form too time-consuming to fill out, and some users are wary of sharing a lot of personal information. Make sure your forms only include the essential details you need to complete the user’s request, and regularly test and update them to check for any errors in functionality.

Squeeze pages

Squeeze pages are designed to capture email addresses from users who visit your site. They’re a specific type of landing page that incentivises visitors to provide you with their email addresses. This could be a discount code, a free whitepaper download, or a newsletter subscription. In return, you get a valuable piece of data that you can use for ongoing marketing purposes.

Most squeeze pages use a popover or a banner on the website to capture email addresses, and conversion rate optimization ensures they are engaging and enticing. Ways to do this include testing different copy for headlines and CTAs, experimenting with the length of time a user is on the site before a popover appears, and changing the incentive offered in exchange for providing their email address.

Use cases for website conversion optimization

Implementing CRO in marketing offers real value for businesses, allowing them to make strategic decisions backed by data rather than assumptions. CRO can analyse and improve a wide variety of factors, meaning marketing and design professionals can confidently improve the design, content, and functionality of each website page in line with conversion goals.

Here are some key outcomes you can achieve using a targeted conversion rate optimization strategy.

Building basket value

E-commerce conversion rate optimization ensures a smoother browsing experience, helping to encourage users to spend more time on your website. This makes it more likely that they will purchase additional products, increasing the average spend per customer.

Strategies that can help build basket value include writing enticing, descriptive product descriptions, including a variety of clear, detailed product images, and using tags and categories to support onsite search functionality.

Increasing checkout rates

A large part of CRO in marketing is encouraging website visitors to make a purchase. Whether they’ve found your website through organic search, paid social media marketing or simple word of mouth, every visit is an opportunity to make a sale.

To increase checkout rates, make sure to proactively answer concerns that could prevent customers from completing a purchase. For tangible items, include size guides, delivery costs and return policies in every listing. For digital products or SaaS, clearly display specification requirements and any ongoing fees prior to checking out to prevent cart abandonment.

Encouraging form fills and sign-ups

Revising your conversion rate optimization strategy is a great way to increase the number of form fills and sign-ups generated by your website. Whether you want visitors to request a quote, sign up to your email newsletter or obtain a discount code, CRO can help you to drive more enquiries and meet your business goals.

Strategies that encourage form fills tend to involve optimising the forms themselves, as well as the associated CTAs. Keep forms short and straightforward, and avoid asking for unnecessary personal information. For lead magnets and squeeze pages, experiment with offering different incentives to see which ones yield the best results.

Decreasing subscription cancellations

If your business operates on a subscription basis, encouraging customers to stay with you for as long as possible is essential to maximise revenue. While subscription services used to be just for magazines and gyms, this model has expanded into just about every industry, including ecommerce, SaaS and entertainment.

Website conversion optimization strategies that can decrease subscription cancellations tend to fall into two categories. The first is delaying cancellation. You can achieve this by offering temporary breaks from your service and using member portals that allow customers to manage their subscriptions. The second focuses on providing incentives for customers to stay with you. This could be a discounted price for members, free delivery or access to exclusive products.

Increasing revenue per user

A great way to boost revenue is by increasing the lifetime value of each customer. Once you’ve managed to direct a warm lead to your website, ecommerce conversion rate optimization helps you to not only increase the value of each sale but also to create repeat customers who spend more money over time.

To increase revenue for a single transaction, consider offering free shipping or a percentage discount for baskets of a certain monetary value. When it comes to nurturing long-term loyalty, membership discounts, reward schemes and access to exclusive products can encourage customers to return to your website on a regular basis.

Decreasing CPA and CPC

Cost per acquisition (CPA) and cost per click (CPC) are important metrics that help businesses to understand how much money they’re spending on bringing in new customers. These costs are then weighed up against revenue to provide insights into the effectiveness and profitability of certain marketing activities.

Conversion rate optimization can help to keep these costs down by encouraging visitors to stay on your website for longer and take desired actions such as completing a form or making a purchase. Tailor your website to particular conversions by implementing landing pages, analysing the quality and accuracy of content, and providing a smooth, intuitive browsing experience.

Improving advertising effectiveness

CRO in marketing helps to increase the effectiveness of your wider advertising campaigns. Whether online or offline, advertising requires money and resources, so it’s important to make sure you get a good return on this investment.

Your website design and content should be consistent with any advertising materials to ensure a smooth customer experience. You might even consider creating a specific landing page for each campaign, using a short, easy-to-remember URL. Following the best practices we’ve been looking at throughout this article will help to encourage visitors to stay on your website and convert.

The future of conversion rate optimization

The digital world is fast-moving, and current best practices are constantly changing. As technology and consumer behaviours continue to develop, so will CRO and marketing, meaning businesses must stay on top of the latest strategies and techniques.

Let’s explore what to expect from the future of CRO in marketing.

Psychology and behavioural science in CRO analysis

Psychology and behavioural science have long been part of conversion rate optimization practices. This includes concepts such as colour theory, an example of which would be an eco-friendly brand using colours like green and brown, and writing copy with a positive focus, such as saying “our customers are always satisfied” rather than “we never disappoint our customers”.

The human mind is a complicated thing, and scientists continue to make new discoveries about how they work, and what drives us to make certain choices. The more we can understand the emotional and psychological triggers behind these decisions, the better we can optimise websites and other applications to ensure successful, positive outcomes.

Affective computing

Affective computing refers to devices and systems that can recognise and interpret human moods and emotions and then respond dynamically. As this technology continues to develop, we will see it implemented as a powerful conversion rate optimization tool.

In practice, this could work the same way as the current eye-tracking technology already used for CRO purposes. However, effective computing would allow for a much more sophisticated analysis of the user experience. In future applications, it’s possible that websites could be developed that adapt automatically in response to a user’s perceived moods and emotions.

Biometrics and EEG testing

Similarly, advanced biometrics and EEG testing have begun to be used in recent years to better understand actions and decisions during user testing. Test subjects can also be fitted with an EEG cap, which uses metal electrodes to measure electrical signals and monitor brain activity while they browse.

 EEGs allow for brainwave data to be collected to understand the neurophysiological impact of websites and advertising on the human brain. This can allow for measuring emotions, motivation, cognitive loads, stress, alertness, attention and memory. 

Although there’s scope for this technology to become more widespread in the future, the cost and constraints may limit its accessibility to larger companies with higher CRO analysis budgets.

Psychographics and behavioural analytics

While the digital age offers unprecedented reach to a global audience, it also means countless different paths to purchase, which can be extremely complicated to analyse and predict. Drafting ideal customer personas and segmenting audiences used to be enough to create successful advertising campaigns, but with so many customer journeys to consider, modern marketers need more nuanced targeting to develop an effective conversion rate optimization strategy.

Psychographic data refers to a person’s psychological characteristics, such as their values, interests and personality traits. Behavioural analytics offer a real-time view of a person’s online behaviour, encompassing information about keyword usage to better measure actions and needs. All of this information can be used for audience segmentation in much the same way as demographics like age, gender and geographic location, while offering a much richer view of what drives each individual.

AI analysis and dynamic websites 

Of course, conversion rate optimization is yet another practice that can be supported by artificial intelligence. From creating predictive models that anticipate user needs to optimising landing page copy for an intended outcome, there are many applications that can help marketers to save time and increase profitability.

As AI continues to develop and find its place within the modern marketing mix, we’ll be able to personalise marketing messages based on live feedback delivered by users. This will help brands to build better relationships with their customers, understand their motivations, and provide tailored, proactive solutions that deliver an exceptional user experience.

Conversion rate optimization strategy by Impression

As we’ve seen, CRO in marketing is a vast topic, and a discipline that takes a lot of time, knowledge and skill to deliver great results, which may feel overwhelming.

Impression’s multidisciplinary marketing team is on hand to create and deliver an effective conversion rate optimization strategy designed specifically to target your desired outcomes. Get in touch today to discover how our CRO services can support your goals through behavioural science and user research.