There are so many marketing tools in today’s digital world; it’s no wonder a person, not close to this sphere of business, would feel simply lost in all the acronyms and jargon. Nevertheless, all these unknown words are of great importance, for behind the complicated terminology, lie your profits and clients. How could this be, you ask? In order to provide you with an answer to this question, Lasting Trend has created an article on one of the most crucial terms in digital promotion – conversion rate optimization.
However, before we dig deeper into what conversion rate optimization is, its benefits or meaning, let’s stop for a second and define what a conversion is?
Generally, it is a simple term that indicates that a visitor of your website has completed a particular goal. Which goal exactly? This depends on the specifics of your site. For example, if you are selling goods via the Internet, then the main purpose (also called the macro-conversion) is to make the potential customer buy something from you. There also are micro-conversions. They usually take place before a user proceeds with the primary goal. A good example would be creating an account or just adding products to the cart.
Now that we know what a conversion is, we can proceed further. A conversion rate is basically the number of times a customer has completed a specific goal divided by your traffic.
So, finally, we have reached the main question. What is CRO? Conversion rate optimization, aka CRO, means the steady process of increasing the number of users who have completed a goal. Conversion rate optimization helps you understand what visitors do on your website, which pages they open more, at what point they leave and much more.
You may have heard the terms CX and UX and have seen the heated arguments on which is more important. There are plenty of companies that value one over the other, and it seems to be absolutely unclear, should one focus on CX or UX?
At Lasting Trend, we tend to think that both of these criteria are important if you want your company to thrive. First, let us look at the difference between CX and UX.
User Experience – basically, it is what the user thinks or feels when he or she is using your website. Is your user satisfied with the navigation, how quickly and easily can one find the necessary information, is everything practical, which emotions does your site invoke? The first seconds’ impression of the website is vital, as it is the time when the user decides whether he will continue browsing the net, or will stay on your page. Good UX is beneficial for your conversion rate optimization.
Customer Experience – it is a broader term than UX. CX is more focused on the people, who are already your customers, who have once (or more) bought anything from you or used your services. The main goal is to increase the customer’s satisfaction and loyalty to the brand. UX is just a small part of the extensive and big process called CX. The best service, unique product, bonuses for loyal clients – all this would make the Customer Experience only better. Hence, your conversion rate optimization will improve too.
Conversation Rate Optimization and Search Engine Optimization are two very different yet, so interconnected tools. Also, one cannot say that CRO, for example, is more important than SEO. Choosing only one and altogether abandoning the other is like walking with one leg – you can do it, though it will be hard, right?
Benefits of conversion rate optimization would be more leads and sales, while SEO is more concentrated on getting you listed on the search engine. However, the majority of businesses prefer to focus on SEO because it gains traffic and is generally cheaper and easier.
However, getting a high rank in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is not enough. Sure thing, you will get more clients. But it doesn’t mean that your conversion rate will increase as well. Maybe you got the keywords wrong, and Google is showing your page to a different audience, not your target one. Or the content of your website is great, but the registration form or some other document is too complex, and users do not want to spend their time figuring it out and leave your site. All this you can find out only if you have your conversion rate optimization monitored.
Now that we know everything about CRO let’s try to understand how to calculate the conversion rate. So, how does one do this? Actually, calculating the conversion rate is pretty simple. You just divide the number of conversions during a certain time by the total amount of visitors and multiply it by 100%. For example, your totals amount to 1800 visitors, and you have 300 conversions. That makes your conversion rate 16. It’s not that hard, is it? Moreover, certain analytics platforms like Google Analytics or AdWords can do the entire math for you, just make sure the settings are right.
CRO is an extremely handy tool in your marketing box. And it will be as full or as specific as you want it to be. For example, here is a very approximate list of things you get to know from examining the data of different CRO:
What is CRO’s good result, and what is its bad one? What is a good conversion rate? How can a business determine whether you’re doing right or wrong? What is your average website conversion rate?
First, a good conversion rate is different for various types of businesses, traffic quality, products, and industry. A study by Unbounce claims that 12% is a very good conversion rate for a landing page. However, it all depends on the business industry. For example, guess what a good conversion rate in real estate is? 5.3%. And more than 10% is an unbelievably good result. So, before you start making false assumptions about your results, find out what outcome is suitable for your industry.
Conversion optimization requires information on several points, like what you should optimize, where, when, how, and for whom do you optimize? Without knowing this, your CRO won’t be as effective as it could be. Gathering information is crucial. Otherwise, you risk wasting time and money.There are several ways to collect data – first, quantitative data analysis.If you want to have solid numbers, then this method is just right for you. For example, use Google Analytics, one of the top conversion rate optimization tools. Then add tracking for your conversions. By doing so, you can get answers about user’s behavior on your website, such as:
CRO helps you to locate the problematic areas. Put some time and effort into it, and you will see the improvement.
Qualitative analysis is also called a people method of conversion optimization. It helps when you already know a bit about your website conversion, but now you want to understand people’s interests better. You can do it in the form of on-site surveys or user testing. Ask them, why did they choose your site? What product did they like? What makes you better than your competitors? Is there something they want to add to your website?
Your users can tell you a lot of interesting things if you listen to them. After all, who knows them better? Listen to them and use this knowledge to improve your website conversion. If you do not feel like you can conduct this type of survey, Lasting Trend can do this for you. We have just the right tools and specialists for the task!
HADI cycles are marketing research, which is carried out according to a clear algorithm: Hypothesis -> Action -> Data -> Insights. HADI cycles are most commonly used by startup internet marketers. However, this technique can also be used in offline environments. For example, to study consumer behavior, to analyze current channels for attracting customers and finding new ones. And in all cases, the HADI-cycle starts with the advancement of a significant hypothesis.
The hypothesis is formulated according to what we want to study: whether it is information about the existing market or the market we want to reach; about consumer demand by consumer group; about the reasons for purchasing or refusing to buy; and other such aspects. The hypothesis is based on “if…, then…” We can formulate any hypothesis. But the most important thing is that we can check it objectively. To do this, we need to use all kinds of incoming data and rely on the most objective results – numbers, metrics.
If you are having trouble with making a hypothesis or just do not want to spend time on it, ask our experts at Lasting Trend to conduct a conversion rate optimization audit.
So what is an A/B testing? It is a marketing method used to evaluate and manage the effectiveness of a web page. It is also called split testing.
A/B testing allows you to evaluate the quantitative performance of the two variants of a web page, as well as to compare them with each other. Split testing also helps to evaluate the effectiveness of page changes, such as adding new design elements or calls to action. The practical sense of using this method is to find and implement components of the page that increase its effectiveness. A/B testing is a marketing method that can be used to influence conversion, stimulate sales, and increase the profitability of a web project.
There are a lot of conversion rate optimization services you can use:
After you’re done testing, it will be time to collect your conversion rate optimization statistics. Learn and analyze them. CRO is about hard data, not guesses or feelings. Most of the top conversion rate optimization tools usually inform you if the results have reached statistical significance.
When you are done with it, try answering the following questions:
It is not always enough to have a pretty design on your web page. Your site is the face of your company, not only should it be flawless, it should be: unique, easy to navigate, and seamlessly acquire information. And for your own sake, your CTA should be more than well recognizable.
Below we provide you with 15 conversion rate optimization tips, that may come in handy:
If the question “what is CRO” still isn’t clear to you, do not be afraid: it is absolutely normal if you are not a professional marketer. After all, this is science! At Lasting Trend, we have specialists, who can create your CRO strategy, implement it, analyze and decrypt it for you! Contact us, and let’s get it started!
