You’ve built a landing page on your website to drive conversions and increase sales for your business.
However, when you check your page analytics, things are quieter than a ninja wearing slippers. What do you do?
If this is the case, you could benefit from conversion rate optimisation, also known as the CRO process.
CRO is when you adjust your landing page to increase the chances of conversion.
So, for example, let’s say you want to encourage prospective customers to complete a lead capture form. CRO looks at everything you can tweak to boost the odds of visitors giving you their contact details.
This can include anything from changing the images on your page to the colour of your call to action button.
The thing we love about conversion rate optimisation is that it’s very scientific. There’s lots of looking at data, writing hypotheses, and carrying out experiments. If you love being logical and analytical, CRO may be right up your street!
Here’s our guide to the CRO process and how you can take advantage of conversion rate optimisation to get your customers to click!
CRO process steps: five simple ways to smash conversion rate optimisation on your website
Step 1: Understand your audience
Before you jump in and start tweaking your landing pages, you need to think about the people who use them. This will steer the changes you make, for example, the copy you use and the images you upload.
The target audience for a specific landing page is usually more precise than the general target audience for your business.
For example, your target audience might be Gen-Z females. However, the target audience for your landing page might be Gen-Z females aged 24-26 who live in the south of England and work in the fashion industry.
If you haven’t already, ask yourself the following questions about your target audience.
- Where are they in the customer journey? Are they ready to buy right now, or do they need a little extra nurturing beforehand?
- What drives their decision-making? Are they looking for the best value, the highest quality, or the most convenient option?
- What type of content do they prefer? Videos? Images? Do they want to read content that is detailed and in-depth, or short and sweet?
- What are your target audience’s pain points? What emotions will these pain points make them feel, and how do you want them to feel when you present your solution?
Step 2: Gather your data
Before conducting an experiment, a scientist will carry out research to determine the connections between variables and make sure the experiment they plan to carry out is viable.
The same logic applies to the CRO process! The more data you have available, the better the end results will be.
What data can you use in CRO testing? Take your pick!
An excellent place to start is Google Analytics. You can use it to identify landing pages with low conversion rates and see which problems people are having on these pages.
Another fantastic way to gather data is through heat mapping. Heat mapping shows user behaviour on a page, including where visitors have clicked, and how far they have scrolled down a page. It’s an easy way to see at a glance how users are interacting with your landing page.
Hotjar and Crazy Egg provide heat map technology you can apply to your site. Microsoft Clarity also offers free unlimited heatmaps.
Other good sources of data you can use include:
- Customer surveys
- Emails and social media messages from customers
- Chat logs
- User testing feedback
Step 3: Build your hypotheses
Once you’ve got your data, it’s time to start identifying potential hypotheses to test on your website.
Let’s say you have a landing page that lots of people are engaging with, but aren’t converting on. The heat map on the page has shown that people scroll all the way through to the bottom of your page but aren’t clicking on your call to action. This indicates that making a change to your call to action is likely to increase conversions.
Your hypothesis should specify how to solve the problem you are experiencing, and what the end result should be. The easiest way to write a hypothesis is by saying, ‘If……. this’.
So, your hypothesis in this scenario could be: ‘If I change the call to action text from ‘learn more’ to ‘start free trial’, this will lead to an increase in conversions.’
Start with the lowest hanging fruit – the easiest changes to implement that will drive the best results. And, of course, make sure your hypothesis aligns with your marketing goals and overall business objectives.
We know, there’s a lot to think about!
Step 4: Test, test, test!
Now the fun part… putting your hypothesis into practice!
The most effective way to carry out a CRO test is through an A/B test, often called split testing. To do this, you:
- Create two identical versions of your landing page, with one thing changed (for example, the call to action button text)
- Send half your customers to one page and the rest to the other (for example, if you run an email marketing list, create two different emails with two different page links)
- Run the test for a set amount of time (we recommend between two to six weeks)
- Analyse the results and see which version of the page resulted in the most conversions
You can use tools like VWO or Optimizely to carry out A/B testing. Alternatively, you can set up two different pages in your content management system of choice.
Step 5: Implement your changes and repeat
Once you’ve identified a winning hypothesis, it’s time to implement the changes across your website. Keep an eye on your metrics to keep track of what this does to your conversion rate.
Time to put your feet up and relax, right? Nope! It’s time to create another hypothesis and run a new test!
CRO is an ongoing process – it’s not something you do once and forget about. The onus is on lots of little tests rather than one big experiment.
We recommend running at least one hypothesis at a time on your site. Keep track of which experiments you’re running in a spreadsheet and which pages you’re running them on, so your marketing team always knows what’s happening.
Continuous improvement for the win!
What is the ideal conversion rate for CRO?
It depends on the industry you’re in, what you want to achieve, and your target audience. In essence, what may be considered a ‘good’ conversion rate can vary significantly, ranging from 2% to a staggering 40%, depending on the unique dynamics of your business.
Here are some examples of the type of goals for conversation rates you might encounter in different industries:
- E-commerce: Aim for 2-5% conversion, though niche boutiques may exceed 10%.
- Software as a service (SaaS): 5-15% is respectable, but industry leaders may surpass 20%.
- Finance and insurance: Consider 1-3% satisfactory, with more targeted services reaching higher rates.
- Travel and hospitality: Target 2-8% conversion, with luxury resorts possibly achieving higher rates.
- Health and wellness: Aim for 5-15% conversion, adjusting based on product effectiveness and marketing strategies.
While these industry-specific benchmarks provide a starting point, it’s crucial to emphasise the significance of internal benchmarking. Regularly assess your current conversion rate and implement iterative experiments to enhance it over time.
Additional conversion rate optimisation tips to supercharge your CRO strategy
We always love to give a little bit extra at Bubblegum Search. We asked our CRO experts to provide some CRO process tips to give your landing pages that little bit of extra oomph!
- Think outside the box when deciding what to test. Sometimes something we think won’t work can be a resounding success!
- Keep an open mind. Confirmation bias is when we put more value in data that supports our pre-existing beliefs. Be objective, and don’t dismiss a hypothesis just because you don’t like the idea of it
- Conversion rate optimisation doesn’t just work for landing pages – you can use it across all your marketing channels. For example, you can use it to see which copy works best on Google Ads, or which day you should send emails to get the best clickthrough rate
- Always base your CRO testing on insights and data rather than hunches. This will ensure you get the best results that lead to more conversions
- Don’t be frustrated if CRO testing fails; for example, you don’t get enough web visitors to validate a hypothesis. As long as you learn something, that’s what matters!
Bubblegum Search: your CRO process experts
We hope you found this CRO process guide helpful. Even the smallest businesses can take advantage of conversion rate optimisation to increase leads and sales!
Of course, if you want all the benefits of CRO without poring over datasets, we can help. We’ll use our skills, alongside fantastic technology like heat mapping and A/B optimisation software, to create a CRO strategy that ensures you’re always one step ahead of the curve.
Want to know more? Get in touch today, and we’ll show you how to optimise your landing pages to get the best results!