Last updated Thu Nov 07 2024
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): How to Get Started
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is how you transform your visitors into loyal customers.
This strategy is about increasing your present conversion rate above average to drive more sales, boost customer engagement, and maximize the value of every visitor to your website.
In this article:
Powerful CRO tools shouldn't break the bank
Get advanced A/B testing, CRO experiments, and conversion analytics at a fraction of the cost of leading platforms.
What is conversion rate optimization (CRO)?
Conversion rate optimization is an approach to improving the website to boost the percentage of your visitors who take desired actions such as making purchases or subscribing to a newsletter. By testing various elements like page structure, messaging, and signup forms, CRO aims to remove obstacles that prevent visitors from converting into leads or customers.
The State of Visitor Engagement on Shopify
Find out conversion optimization tactics of 500 Shopify businesses:
Key benefits of doing CRO
Better conversion rates translate into:
Increased revenue. Higher conversion rates directly translate into more sales and revenue for your business, without the need to increase website traffic or marketing spend.
Enhanced user experience: An optimized website offers a smoother, more intuitive experience for users, making it easier for them to find what they need and complete desired actions.
Improved return on investment (ROI). By maximizing the value of your existing traffic, CRO helps you get more out of your marketing efforts, leading to a better ROI.
Here's an example of how conversion rate optimization can help improve performance:
See the list of Shopify businesses with the most effective CRO strategies:
How to calculate your conversion rate
The average website conversion rate is about 2%.
Is that high or low?
Well, universal conversion rate benchmarks don't exist. It is a classic case of misleading statistics, similar to saying, "My dog and I have three legs on average."
There is, however, a conversion rate formula you can use:
Conversion Rate = (Total visitors / Number of conversions) × 100
For example, if 50 people made a purchase out of 1,000 visitors, the conversion rate of the entire website would be:
(50 / 1000) × 100 = 5%
Additionally, the pricing of your products plays a significant role. If your average order value is above $50, expect a decline in conversions. Some purchases also require customers to take more time before deciding.
Nonetheless, there are certain CRO strategies that prove effective regardless of whether you occasionally sell a $500 item or hundreds of smaller orders on a daily basis.
🗒 Note: you should always calculate conversion rates in the context of a specific action. For example, your website can have a high conversion rate of about 5% for newsletter sign-ups but a lower rate of measly 1% for actual purchases. The goal of CRO is to identify goals that are most important for your business and maximize your website's effectiveness.
Conversion rate optimization case study
A popular French clothing brand increased the CTR of lead generation forms from 15% to 25% thanks to A/B testing.
CRO best practices
Although CRO can be intricate and demands effort, it's essential to find the strategies that work best for your online store. Here are some of the most effective techniques to optimize your conversions.
Identify your conversion goals
Time your forms effectively
Use clear and compelling calls-to-action
Optimize your website conversion funnel
Use AI to recommend products
Remove friction points
Use A/B testing to optimize conversion
Leverage the power of social proof
Reduce bounce rate through relevant content
Retarget visitors with tailored offers
Set up exit-intent popups to reduce cart abandonment
Use heatmaps and other tools for CRO analytics
Let’s take a closer look at each of these.
1. Identify your conversion goals
Before you can begin optimizing your website for conversions, it's crucial to identify your conversion goals. These goals will guide your optimization efforts and help you measure the effectiveness of your strategies.
| Ecommerce | SaaS | Content and education |
|---|---|---|
| Completing a purchase | Signing up for a free trial | Following your social media profile |
| Adding products to the shopping cart | Upgrading to a paid plan | Downloading a whitepaper or ebook |
| Creating an account | Completing onboarding | Registering for a webinar or event |
| Signing up for a newsletter or promotional emails | Using in-app features | Sharing content on social media |
| Using a wishlist feature | Providing user feedback | Leaving comments |
| Leaving a review | Engaging with live chat or chatbot | Making a donation |
It is important to align your conversion goals with user intent. Consider what actions your website visitors are most likely to take. For example, if your target audience is primarily seeking information, your conversion goals might include downloading a whitepaper or signing up for a webinar. If your visitors are ready to purchase, your primary goal should be driving sales.
Click-through rate (CTR) is a widely applicable metric, as it can encompass various actions taken by visitors. For example, a CTR can represent the number of email addresses collected through a form on your website.
Regardless of the goals you select, it's essential to set specific and measurable targets for each conversion goal. Remember, that your CRO goals will eventually become your CRO metrics.
Establishing clear targets enables you to monitor your progress and evaluate the effectiveness of your optimization strategies. For instance, if you aim to boost newsletter subscriptions, determine a target number of new subscribers you want to get within a set period.
Learn how 10 ecommerce businesses optimize conversion rates:
2. Time your forms effectively
Ecommerce popups and forms can be a powerful tool for CRO, but their effectiveness heavily depends on the timing. To avoid annoying your visitors and improve the chances of them taking the desired action, it's essential to display popups at the right moments.
💡 A good rule of thumb is to set your popup timing as about 50% of the average engagement time on your website.
Here are a few tips for timing your popups:
Delayed popups. Set a time delay before the popup appears, giving visitors a chance to explore your website and get acquainted with your content or products before being presented with an offer or call-to-action. Popup timing is one of the most important factors that affects their click rate.
Scroll-triggered popups. Show popups when users have scrolled down a certain percentage of the page. This ensures that visitors have engaged with your content and are more likely to be interested in your offer.
Click-triggered popups. Display popups when visitors click on a specific call-to-action (CTA). This type of popup (on-click popup) allows users to express interest in an offer or promotion by interacting with the CTA, which in turn helps to enhance their engagement and improve conversion rates.
Based on our popup benchmark study, popups activated by "on-click" events demonstrate the highest conversion rates. On average, these rates are around 37%, but by optimizing your calls-to-action, it is possible to surpass a click-through rate of 50%.
Set any timing easily with these tools:
3. Use clear and compelling calls-to-action
Calls-to-action (CTAs) play a vital role in guiding website visitors towards desired actions and improving conversion rates. To maximize their effectiveness, it's crucial to create clear and compelling CTAs that encourage users to take the next step.
Use action-oriented language. Instead of writing generic CTAs like "Learn More," try a more specific phrase like "Download Our Free Ebook" or "Sign Up Today." Encourage users to take immediate action by incorporating urgency-inducing phrases, such as "Limited Time Offer."
Here's a great example of how to apply this CRO tactic creatively. Instead of a generic newsletter subscription campaign with "Sign up," this store asks a question and adds an answer to every button. That also helps to collect valuable data!
Ensure that your CTAs stand out on the page by using contrasting colors, bold fonts, and eye-catching designs. Remember that an optimized call-to-action can significantly increase click-through rates and drive more conversions, so it's essential to invest time and effort into perfecting your copy.
Learn how to convert more visitors with marketing offers:
4. Optimize your website conversion funnel
A website conversion funnel consists of specific pages designed to guide visitors as they become customers. To prevent potential drop-offs, it's crucial to streamline the funnel, ensuring a seamless conversion process for users.
A typical website conversion funnel has four stages: awareness, interest, desire, and action.
To optimize you conversion funnel:
draft a customer journey map to understand user behavior and identify areas for improvement.
set conversion goals aligned with your business, like increasing sales or signups.
create customer-focused content (e.g., blog posts, quizzes) to engage and nurture leads.
encourage conversions with incentives like discounts, free trials, or limited-time offers.
qualify leads with optimized signup forms, gathering data to identify high-potential prospects.
📕Learn more:
5. Use AI to recommend products
Eighty-five percent of shoppers aren't satisfied with their shopping experience, and 50% want real-time suggestions. That’s where AI steps in—its smart algorithms learn as they go, giving personalized recommendations to each visitor in real time.
Check out apps like Wisepops AI Wishlist, Bloomreach, and Dynamic Yield. For a full rundown, here's the list of popular product recommendation tools to explore.
Here's AI Wishlist from Wisepops in action—
This algorithm uses data from browsing activity, visitor profiles, and sales performance to rank viewed products based on the probability of purchase for each visitor:
CRO case study
Learn how emoi emoi achieved an 11.4% order rate from the cllicks into AI Wishlist recommendations
6. Remove friction points
When optimizing your website's conversions, it's sometimes beneficial to adopt a fresh perspective. Instead of focusing solely on enhancing the "good" aspects, consider addressing conversion obstacles that may be hindering your sales.
For instance, incorporating social media logins for account creation can boost average signup rates anywhere between 5% and 30%, according to multiple sources. Many users find creating new accounts using emails and passwords tedious. If they can't sign up via their Facebook or Google login, they may simply leave your site.
Here's this CRO technique in action on De'Longhi:
Another potential barrier is the absence of preferred payment methods. A significant number of online shoppers utilize unique mobile payment systems, so accommodating these options is crucial.
In fact, Baymard research suggests that up to 13% of online shoppers don't finish purchases because of the lack of a preferred payment method.
Finally, don't forget to enhance the user experience for mobile devices. The majority of your website visitors likely access your site through their smartphones or tablets. By addressing these concerns and removing friction points, you can effectively improve your website's conversion rate.
Case study
Learn how Charlotte Bio made 17% of monthly sales in one day thanks to a clever strategy to engage both mobile and desktop visitors:
7. Utilize A/B testing to optimize conversion
Experienced marketers and CRO experts understand that achieving exceptional sales results often comes from trial and error. Since no one-size-fits-all solution exists, A/B testing plays a crucial role in optimizing your website. Surprisingly, according to a recent report by HubSpot, only 17% of marketers use A/B tests to optimize conversions.
AB testing, or split testing, involves comparing two or more variants of a single element (e.g., headlines, CTAs, or landing pages) to determine which version performs better. By analyzing the data and making data-driven decisions, you can fuel growth, lower customer acquisition costs, and maximize your ROI.
What does it look like in practice?
Let's say you're an ecommerce business and you want to optimize your sales by offering discount codes. You decide to test two versions of your discount popups. Version A is a basic campaign while Version B uses a timer countdown that creates a sense of urgency. You can set up an A/B test with 50% of your website visitors seeing Version A and the other 50% seeing Version B.
After a month of testing, you measure the conversion rates for each version. Version A yielded a 6% CTR and 200 sales out of 10,000 visitors, resulting in a 2% final conversion rate. In contrast, Version B generated a 12% CTR and 400 sales out of 10,000 visitors, amounting to a 4% conversion rate.
In this CRO example, the results are quite clear-cut. A higher number of visitors and significant differences in conversion rates increase the certainty of the A/B test. Nonetheless, in most scenarios, it's advisable to use an A/B testing statistical significance calculator to validate your results.
8. Leverage the power of social proof
In the realm of CRO, social proof plays a crucial role, as people tend to follow the actions of others. Showcasing testimonials, reviews, and case studies builds trust and credibility, leading to improved conversion rates.
Incorporate social proof on your website by:
Featuring customer testimonials or reviews. Share genuine and relatable customer experiences, with photos or videos, to highlight the benefits of your products or services. Use rotating carousels or dedicated pages for maximum impact.
Highlighting industry awards or certifications. Prominently display these achievements, providing third-party validation to boost your brand's credibility.
Showcasing well-known clients or partners. Build trust by demonstrating that reputable organizations rely on your products or services.
Displaying real-time sales or customer activity. Create a sense of urgency and FOMO by showcasing recent purchases, reviews, or sign-ups.
Ensure your social proof elements are genuine, relevant, and regularly updated for optimal results. If you are using an ecommerce platform like Shopify, utilize dedicated plugins. Showcasing your product reviews can be a critical part of your Shopify marketing strategy.
9. Reduce bounce rate through relevant content
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing just one page. A high bounce rate can negatively impact your conversion rate, as it indicates that users are not finding the information they need or engaging with your content. To reduce bounce rates and improve conversions, ensure your website provides relevant and valuable content that meets your target audience's needs and expectations.
To create content that resonates with your audience, it's essential to understand their needs, preferences, and challenges. Conduct thorough research to develop a comprehensive understanding of your target market, including demographics, interests, and pain points. Use this information to create targeted content that speaks to your audience and addresses their needs.
For example, if you sell eco-friendly activewear, you can write in-depth product guides and comparisons that help your customers make informed purchase decisions. Include information on the sustainability features, materials, and benefits of each product, as well as how they compare to other similar products in the market.
Pro-tip: Videos are becoming the dominant content type. Some studies indicate that incorporating a video on your landing page could increase conversions by more than 86%. It's important to note that this means an increase from 2% to 3.7%, not to 88%.
10. Retarget visitors with tailored offers
Retargeting is a powerful marketing strategy that involves reaching out to website visitors who have left your site without completing a desired action. Retargeting campaigns can significantly improve your conversion rates by reminding potential customers of your products or services and enticing them to return to your site with personalized offers.
You can even engage visitors by recommending them product or encouraging to take one more look at those they viewed before with AI Wishlist:
To create an effective retargeting campaign, consider the following tips:
Segment your audience. Categorize your website visitors based on their interactions with your site, such as the pages they visited or the products they viewed. This will allow you to create tailored messages and offers that resonate with each audience segment.
Personalize your ads. Use dynamic ads that display products or services your visitors have already shown interest in. This level of ecommerce personalization can help increase the likelihood of re-engaging potential customers.
Offer incentives. Entice visitors to return to your site by providing exclusive offers or discounts. For example, you could offer a 10% discount on their first purchase or free shipping on orders over a certain amount.
Pro-tip: You should try to combine different plugins and platforms to make the most of your retargeting efforts. For example, you can collect emails with Wisepops and integrate it with Klaviyo for customer segmentation and personalized email marketing.
11. Set up exit-intent popups to reduce cart abandonment
Cart abandonment is a common issue for ecommerce websites, with potential customers leaving the site before completing their purchases. Exit-intent popups can help you recover these lost sales by displaying a message or offer just as a visitor is about to leave your site.
Here are some CRO tips for creating effective exit-intent popups:
Offer a compelling incentive. Encourage users to complete their purchase by providing a discount, free shipping, or another valuable offer.
Keep it simple. Make sure your popup is easy to understand, with a clear call-to-action that tells visitors exactly what they need to do to take advantage of the offer.
Use urgency. Create a sense of urgency by making your offer time-sensitive. For example, you could offer a limited-time discount or mention that the product is almost out of stock.
It is also a good idea to test different messaging. Experiment with various copy, design elements, and offers to determine what resonates most with your audience and drives the highest conversion rates.
12. Use heatmaps and other tools for CRO analytics
Using analytics tools like heatmaps and user session recordings can give you a better understanding of how visitors interact with your website. Heatmaps show the most clicked, hovered, or scrolled areas on a page, while session recordings let you see individual user actions.
Using these tools can help you:
Find which parts of your website grab the most attention
Identify confusing or frustrating elements
Discover ways to improve, such as tweaking your layout or calls-to-action
By analyzing and applying these insights, you can make informed decisions to optimize your website and boost your conversion rates.
For those new to digital marketing and tools like HotJar, here's a quick tip: scroll depth is often quite low. So, make sure your CTAs are placed high on your page. Ideally, they should be visible as soon as the page loads or just a bit further down. If your first CTA button is in the middle of your website (or lower), it might be the main reason for your low conversions.
Best CRO tools to increase your sales
Implementing powerful conversion rate optimization tools can dramatically enhance your customer experience and sales. Let's dive into some popular solutions that can help you increase your website conversions and grow your business.
Lead capture + CRO experiments
These platforms offer a wide range of features, from A/B testing to exit-intent popups and targeted messaging, designed to improve website engagement and conversions.
Wisepops. A versatile onsite marketing platform that helps you engage visitors with AI-enabled product recommendations, "recently viewed items" offers, attractive and high-converting pop-ups, banners, and sticky bars.
Optimizely. A comprehensive optimization platform offering A/B testing, multivariate testing, and personalization features for websites and mobile apps.
VWO (Visual Website Optimizer). An all-in-one conversion optimization platform that combines A/B testing, heatmaps, visitor recordings, and other powerful features.
Landing page builders
These online apps make it easy to create, test, and optimize landing pages to increase conversions and generate leads.
Instapage. A platform designed to help you create all elements of high-converting landing pages with ease, using its built-in templates, A/B testing, and analytics.
Unbounce. A drag-and-drop landing page builder that lets you design and test responsive landing pages without the need for any coding knowledge.
Leadpages. A user-friendly landing page builder offering a vast selection of templates, integrations, and optimization tools for driving conversions.
Heatmap and visitor recording tools
Conversion rate optimization is impossible without monitoring visitor behavior. The tools listed below provide insights into actions of your customers, allowing you to optimize your website and improve the overall user experience.
Hotjar. A popular tool that combines heatmaps, visitor recordings, website conversion funnels, and surveys to give you a comprehensive understanding of user behavior.
Crazy Egg. A tool that offers heatmaps, scroll maps, and A/B testing to help you analyze visitor interactions and optimize your website accordingly.
FullStory. A platform that captures user session recordings, heatmaps, and provides powerful analytics, enabling you to identify issues and opportunities for optimization.
Email Marketing and Automation Tools
Email marketing tools help you segment your audience, create targeted campaigns, and automate email workflows to improve engagement and drive conversions.
Klaviyo. A powerful email marketing platform specifically designed for e-commerce businesses, offering advanced segmentation, automation, and integrations with popular e-commerce platforms.
Mailchimp. A popular email marketing platform that lets you create and automate email campaigns, segment your audience, and analyze the performance of your campaigns.
HubSpot. An all-in-one marketing, sales, and customer service platform that includes a robust email marketing and automation toolset to help you nurture leads and convert them into customers.
By incorporating these tools into your CRO strategy, you can systematically optimize your website, enhance user experience, and ultimately boost your sales and revenue.
Find more options:
Conversion optimization: conclusion and CRO action plan
By focusing on best practices and leveraging the right tools, you can increase revenue, enhance user experience, and improve your return on investment.
While there is no universal conversion rate benchmark, implementing tailored CRO strategies can significantly boost your website's effectiveness in achieving your specific business goals. Continuously analyze, test, and optimize your website to refine the customer journey and keep adapting to the ever-evolving ecommerce environment.
Here is your final CRO action plan:
Define conversion objectives. Set specific, measurable targets for each goal to track progress and evaluate effectiveness.
Optimize popup timing. Use delayed, scroll-activated, and click-activated popups to reduce visitor annoyance and boost conversion rates.
Craft compelling calls-to-action (CTAs). Use action-driven language, urgency-creating phrases, and eye-catching designs for your CTAs.
Eliminate obstacles to conversion. Simplify account creation, support popular payment methods, and improve the mobile user experience.
Apply A/B testing for conversion enhancement. Compare different versions of headlines, CTAs, and landing pages to identify the best performers.
Harness the power of social proof. Display testimonials, reviews, case studies, industry awards, well-known clients, and real-time customer engagement.
Lower bounce rate with relevant content. Understand your target audience's needs and preferences, and create content that addresses their requirements.
Use tailored offers for visitor retargeting. Segment your audience, customize your ads, and present incentives to attract visitors back to your site.
Implement exit-intent popups to reduce cart abandonment. Offer attractive incentives, maintain simplicity in popup design, and include urgency in your messaging.
Utilize heatmaps and analytics tools for CRO insights. Analyze visitor interactions with your website to pinpoint areas for improvement and optimize conversion rates.
Remember, a well-optimized website not only converts visitors into customers but also fosters long-lasting, loyal relationships with your audience.
Pawel Lawrowski
Pawel is the Head of Growth at Wisepops and an expert in lead generation, popups, ecommerce, and onsite marketing.
With over a decade of experience in digital marketing and ecommerce, he has both build marketing teams from scratch and led strategic business growth projects.
Pawel has worked with countless online businesses on marketing strategies and is now sharing his knowledge. Previously, he was an head of growth at Tidio, where his responsibilities ranged from creating marketing materials to building acquisition channels.
Education
West Pomeranian University of Technology
Certifications
Marketing Strategy (course)
Advanced Growth Strategy (course)
Retention & Engagement (course)
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