What is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
A conversion takes place when a customer or site visitor completes a desired action or goal. This can mean different things for different businesses. For some, a conversion occurs when the visitor signs up for a free trial or schedules a demo. For others, this may happen when a customer renews a subscription or makes an initial purchase.
What is CRO then? Conversion rate optimization (CRO) refers to the process of increasing the percentage of conversions. If you’re a business owner, you want to make sure that CRO is part of your overall marketing strategy. If you’re wondering how to optimize conversion rates, here’s everything you need to know from the experts at Sayles Industries.
The Elements of CRO
CRO tactics and campaigns should be cost-effective, efficient, and results-based. The data you receive should allow you to run multiple tests, assess the outcomes, and adjust content to drive better results.
A successful CRO campaign makes use of the following elements:
1. Landing Page Design
A landing page is a page on your website where a visitor “lands” after they click on an ad or an email link. Landing pages are powerful tools for any CRO campaign.
Here are some tips to help you get your visitors to take action:
- Stick to a single goal and remove all distractions. If you want your visitors to download an ebook, for instance, make sure that the entire page is focused on that. Avoid placing too many options and choices that have nothing to do with the ebook.
- Use white space effectively to highlight the best features of a product.
- Always use high-quality images that immediately capture the visitor’s interest.
- Choose the right colors to stimulate certain emotions and persuade a visitor to take action. Color psychology affects a person’s natural response to certain colors. For instance, blue represents stability and strength — which is why it’s used by banks and financial institutions.
2. Website Copy
The content in your landing pages should be persuasive, hooking your visitors and turning them into leads and sales. Write engaging and relevant content that is clear, concise, and effectively reflects your brand’s persona.
3. Call-to-Action
A call-to-action (CTA) is a request for a visitor to perform the desired action. It’s the part of your content or ad that tells the visitor what they need to do.
Here are some tips to keep in mind if you want to create clear and direct CTAs that convert:
- Offer benefits to the visitor. Your CTA should offer value and be clear about what the visitor will receive when they get on board. For example: “Click here and double your traffic in a month.”
- Use strong command verbs like buy, download, or subscribe. This will let your visitor know exactly what you want them to do.
- Use words that provoke a strong response from your visitors. One way to do this is to use an exclamation to make your CTA more exciting and evoke the visitor’s enthusiasm.
- Take advantage of the visitor’s FOMO or fear of missing out. This effective motivator lets the visitor know that you’re offering an opportunity that might not be available again. For example: “Shop now while supplies last!”
4. Forms
Forms are a crucial part of the sales funnel of many businesses. Here are some essential optimization tips to improve your site’s forms:
- Include fewer fields: It’s easy to lose the visitor’s interest if they have to fill out a very long form.
- Be consistent with your styling: Make sure the form is well-designed and easy to understand.
- Make password creation effective: If you require your users or visitors to create passwords, this process has to be as painless as possible. Guide them to create passwords that are strong and easy to remember.
5. Site Structure and Page Speed
Make sure that your site is user-friendly and easy to navigate. Visitors should be able to easily move between the different sections and pages of your site. Furthermore, ensure that they can complete what they want to do in as few clicks as possible.
Page speed is also an important element of your CRO strategy. It directly affects user experience and has a significant impact on the overall performance of your campaign. Studies show that a lengthy load time can considerably reduce conversions. Even a second of delay, can lead to at least a 7% loss in conversions.
Why Work with a Digital Marketing Agency
A CRO campaign goes beyond profits and metrics. It offers you the perfect opportunity to get to know more about your customers and learn ways on how to improve your business. A digital marketing agency can help you with this.
At Sayles Industries, we work with our clients to understand their customers and increase their conversation rates. Contact us now to see how we can help you create a CRO plan that gets you increased sales, leads, and clicks.
