Why Every Online Business Should Invest in Conversion Rate Optimization

Today, marketing teams usually focus on driving traffic onto websites and hoping that the traffic converts into qualified leads or sales. However, that’s just half the battle.

Getting more from existing traffic and leads (versus whole new traffic) can boost companies toward long-term and sustainable growth. This is where conversion rate optimization (CRO) comes in. In this article, you’ll learn more about CRO’s power and why your business should focus on improving conversion rates.

What’s a good conversion rate?

What we call a “good” conversion rate depends on your industry, goals, niche, audience demographic, and traffic channel, among other factors.

For example, e-commerce sites worldwide had an average of 2.17% conversion rate in the third quarter of 2020, over 2% down from the previous year. However, the e-commerce conversion rate in the US was higher at 2.57%.

The average doesn’t only depend on the country or by year; it also differs by niche. For example, the average rate of e-commerce sites in the food and beverage (F&B) industry is 5.5%, while the average in the haircare industry is around 3%.

Suppose your conversion rate is lower than expected, such as below average in your industry, below your main competitors, or simply underperforming on your own goals. In that case, you should consider optimizing it.

Conversions can happen in all aspects of your website, including your homepage, blog section, pricing page, and landing pages. You’ll need to optimize every page to maximize your opportunity to convert your visitors into paying customers.

So, what is conversion rate optimization (CRO)?

The answer to optimizing your site is conversion rate optimization (CRO) which is the process of enhancing your site to boost the number of leads or sales you generate. CRO is achieved by doing content enhancements, workflow improvements, and experiments. Once reached, your campaigns can result in high-qualified leads, lower acquisition costs, and increased revenue.

However, keep in mind that you’re improving the page’s user experience to guide your visitors to take a single action. CRO aims to improve your overall ad campaigns’ return on ad spend (ROAS). Therefore, your end goal should be transforming your “visitors” into customers.” This goal may vary a little depending on the business you’re running.

Why Should You Integrate CRO with SEO

In its simplest form, SEO remains a strategy that brands use to increase their site’s traffic. On the other hand, CRO is a crucial practice for converting traffic by encouraging people to take action.

Have you ever visited a landing page you’ve found via Google and purchased the product suggested on the page, as it offers everything you need? Have you ever landed on an article after searching a specific topic on Google? And when you’ve finished reading the article and reached the bottom of the page, does a box to subscribe to a newsletter appears, offering similar pieces in your inbox? These are examples of how you can bring traffic and convert them and it’s how SEO and CRO work together.

If SEO works to bring visitors in, CRO works to retain them and prompt them to take action. SEO stimulates and fulfills your visitor’s basic needs while CRO ensures to satisfy their needs, engaging them to take action.

Where should you implement a CRO strategy?

Let’s look at the areas of your site that will primarily benefit from conversion rate optimization.

1. Homepage

Homepages are the prime candidates for conversion rate optimization. Besides making a first impression on your visitors, the homepage is also a great place to retain your visitors and guide them further into your site.

This is possible by emphasizing links to your product or service information or offering a free signup button. You can also incorporate a chatbot that asks questions from visitors at any time while they’re browsing your site.

2. Blog page

A blog offers a big chance for conversion optimization for a website. Besides publishing helpful and informative content revolving around your industry, blogs can use CRO that converts readers into leads.

This process usually incorporates calls-to-action (CTA) throughout an article or gets readers to learn more about a topic by inviting them to submit their email addresses in exchange for an ebook.

3. Landing pages

Landing pages have the highest average conversion rate of any signup forms (around 23%), which makes sense as they are inherently created for people to take action.

For example, a landing page for an annual event can be optimized with a video of the previous event, which encourages visitors to sign up for this year. A landing page that offers a free resource can be optimized using preview content from that resource which encourages visitors to download it.

4. Pricing page

A website’s pricing page is the make-or-break point for many visitors. CRO can help pricing pages convert visitors into customers by altering the pricing intervals (such as price-per-year vs. price-per-month) and describing the product features associated with every price. This includes a phone number so visitors can call for a price quote or add a pop-up form.

Final thoughts on conversion rate optimization

From figuring out the importance of site optimization to strategizing ways to improve site performance, doing A/B tests and using results to boost marketing efforts, CRO has become a crucial factor in any online business.

Conversion rate optimization lets companies understand how customers think, use and perceive their brand and what they offer. It also exposes their wide range of data that help shape their business strategies.