The Power of CRO
The Power of CRO: How to maximise your sales and increase your customers experience
We regularly hear from clients how important SEO is to their business and we are always looking for new ways for our PR efforts to align with their SEO objectives. But another optimisation beast that is just as critical to your business, but often side-lined, is Conversion Rate Optimisation.
Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) is a process for creating a more effective website. For customers, the objective is to guarantee the best user experience. For you, the purpose is to maximise on your conversions, i.e. sales.
Whilst we would recommend you carry out both SEO and CRO exercises, most overlook the latter. To be frank, there’s no point being ranked highly for ‘red cushions’ if your customers can’t find or buy them easily on your site. You need both processes working in tandem to ensure you’re gathering high volumes of organic traffic (SEO) and eliminating your bounce rate and cart abandonment (CRO) at the same time.
To start this exercise, we need to look at the numbers you need to improve and measure to increase your conversion rate:
Your Total Conversions is number of people who did whatever it is defined as converting (email newsletter, made a purchase, and so on).
To get your Conversion Rate, you divide the above total number of conversions by the number of visitors to your site.
For example, a site with 5000 visitors and 50 conversions has a conversion rate of 1%.
Below we have outlined our top tips for increasing your conversion rate on your website.
Keep it simple stupid!
It’s very easy to get carried away picking bright colourful graphics and snazzy fonts but remember to allow the page to perform its main purpose, which is to get the user to perform an action. Whether that’s making a purchase or entering their details, make sure your call to action is clear and easy to find and remove the unnecessary clutter.
Look at your site’s usability
Can users easily search your site for what they’re looking for? Is it easy to complete your checkout process? How many pages and clicks does it take to complete the key conversions you’re measuring? Is there a mobile version of your website? No matter how pretty your website is, navigation and usability are the two biggest reasons behind lack of conversion. So, make sure you keep your navigation, registration, contact, and payment easy to find and operate.
Is your SEO on point?
As mentioned above, you shouldn’t do one optimisation exercise without the other so it’s key to keep your Search Engine Optimization efforts up-to-date, accurate, and relevant. Are you using accurate titles, relevant keywords and proper meta data? Images should have correct names, and keywords should be used properly. Titles should be clear and descriptive. If these items are not relevant, people may be coming to your site looking for something you don’t offer, (which will increase your bounce rate), while those who seek your services won’t be able to find you.
Slow and steady does NOT win the race!
Very simple one here… A speedy site will equal speedier sales!
Forbes state that “a 1-second delay in load time can equal 11% fewer page views, a 16% decrease in satisfaction, & 7% loss in conversions.”
So, if you can get your page load time performing faster, expect to reap the benefits.
Imagery
One of the most influential factors in increasing conversion is of course, images. In some cases - especially on landing pages - changing your imagery can increase conversions dramatically! The main points to consider are where they are placed, how many images you use and what feelings the images evoke. Otherwise, the balance can quickly turn if you’re imagery doesn’t match the content.
Social Proof
Do you have customer testimonials and reviews letting visitors know how happy others are with your services? With 1 in 4 people using online reviews before making a purchase, social proof is a powerful conversion rate driver as it shows your brand is trusted.
And lastly, don’t forget to shout about your press coverage! Collecting media mentions such as ‘Featured in The Times’ gives your brand credibility and a level of trust that will make users feel at ease.
