CRO is one of the most important aspects of SEO and online marketing.
It’s a process that can help increase website visitors into customers, which can improve your bottom line.
CRO includes gaining an understanding of what your website visitors want and need.
In this article, we will give you an overview of CRO.
You will learn its definition and the types of CRO you’ll encounter.
We will also cover best practices that will help you increase your conversion rate at the same time.
What Is CRO?
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the systematic process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take the desired action.
Desired actions could include filling out a form or becoming a customer.
CRO is conversion-focused and data-driven, using analytics to identify areas of opportunity and testing different solutions to see which works best.
Difference Between CRO and A/B Testing
CRO is sometimes confused with A/B testing.
They are similar in that they both aim to improve website performance.
However, CRO is a holistic strategy while A/B testing is just one CRO tactic.
How Does CRO Work?
CRO works by analyzing your website data to identify areas for improvement.
Once you know where your website lacks results, you can make changes to increase conversion rates.
For instance, you might find that your website underperforms when linking to your highest-paying affiliate programs.
To improve this, you might test a different call-to-action CTA button.
What Is the Purpose of CRO?
The purpose of CRO is to help your website perform better as it increases conversion rates.
CRO helps achieve this by testing different changes on your website and measuring their impact.
CRO is important because it can help you increase leads and revenue without necessarily increasing your traffic.
Different Types of CRO
Five main types, or elements, of CRO exist.
- Landing Page Optimization: This process for making sure your website’s landing pages deliver optimum conversion rates is known as landing page optimization.
- Copywriting Optimization: Creating compelling copy that speaks to your target audience and encourages them to take the desired action is optimizing your copywriting.
- CTA Optimization: Creating calls-to-action (CTAs) that are clear, relevant, and persuasive also improves your copy.
- Design Optimization: Improving your website’s design to make it more user-friendly and increase the likelihood of conversion is design optimization.
- Technical Website Optimization: Technical website optimization refers to improving your website’s code and structure to improve its overall performance.
Example of CRO Campaigns
Moz.com conducted a CRO case study on Protalus, a footwear company.
Protalus used one-click upsell improvements to achieve a 91% increase in sales.
Based on the case study, Moz estimates that the footwear company will add almost $100 million over the next 18 months to its valuation.
One big lesson from the case study was that the company couldn’t get Google Ads to work before the conversion rate optimization adjustments.
Now, the company’s CRO says the ad channel works well to add more sales.
Does CRO Affect SEO?
CRO and search engine optimization (SEO) are two separate but related disciplines.
CRO focuses on conversion rates while SEO focuses on organic traffic growth.
However, they both share the same goal: to improve website performance.
Why Is CRO Important for SEO?
CRO can indirectly affect SEO by improving website usability and conversion rates.
If your website is easy to use and people are more likely to convert, this will send positive signals to Google.
As a result, your website may rank higher in search results.
Are you working on SEO for WordPress sites?
CRO can help your WordPress SEO goal of increasing organic traffic.
If you improve your website’s conversion rates, you’ll likely see an increase in organic traffic as well.
Is CRO Necessary?
CRO is not necessary for all websites.
However, it is beneficial for websites struggling to convert visitors into leads or customers.
How Long Does It Take for CRO to Work?
The results of CRO campaigns can vary depending on the type of changes made.
For instance, if you’re making design changes, it may take longer to see results than if you’re making copy changes.
Additionally, the size and complexity of your website can also affect how long it takes for CRO to work.
Process of Optimizing for Conversions
Let’s review the process for deploying CRO into your website.
Use these general steps in your SOP document so you can duplicate them with each CRO test conducted.
- Step 1: The first step in CRO is to identify areas of your website that need improvement. You can do this by analyzing your website’s conversion rates and identifying areas where you can make changes.
- Step 2: Once you’ve identified the areas of your website that need improvement, you need to come up with hypotheses for how to improve them. For example, you might hypothesize that adding a CTA button will increase conversion rates.
- Step 3: The next step is to test those hypotheses by making changes to your website and measuring their impact. For example, you might add a CTA button to your forms and see if conversion rates increase.
- Step 4: After testing your hypotheses, analyze the results and make changes as needed. If the changes you made increased conversion rates, keep them. If they didn’t, go back to step 2 and come up with new hypotheses.
- Step 5: The final step is to repeat the process until you’re satisfied with your website’s conversion rates. CRO is an ongoing process and it’s important to continually test different changes to see what works best.
How To Optimize for Conversions
Now that you understand CRO and how it works, let’s review specific scenarios and tips for optimizing your website for conversions.
1. Use A/B Testing
A/B testing is a type of CRO that allows you to test two versions of a web page to see which one performs better.
For example, you could test two different headlines to see which one gets more clicks.
2. Use Heatmaps
Heatmaps are a type of CRO tool that shows you where people click on your pages.
For example, if you see that people click on a CTA button but do not convert, you can try making changes to the button to see if it increases conversion rates.
3. Use Landing Pages
Landing pages are web pages designed to convert visitors into leads or customers.
They typically have a specific purpose, such as getting people to sign up for a newsletter or download a white paper.
You should continuously test different headlines, sub-headlines, and landing page copy.
4. Use Exit-Intent Popups
You might use an exit-intent popup to offer a discount or incentive to stay on your website.
Exit-intent popups are a way to increase conversion rates because they give you one last chance to convert a visitor before they leave your site.
CRO Best Practices
As you use the CRO strategies we described in the above section, use these best practices.
Test One Change at a Time
When you’re testing different changes on your website, it’s important to test one change at a time.
It allows you to accurately measure the impact of each change.
The danger of failing to do this includes not being able to attribute results to the change (or changes) made.
It can invalidate your test.
Imagine that you’re testing different headlines to build high-converting landing pages.
If you change the headline, sub-headline, and CTA buttons all at once, you can’t attribute any increase in conversion rates to a specific change.
Use Data from Analytics Tools
CRO is all about making data-driven decisions.
As such, you should use data from analytics tools to guide your CRO efforts.
Google Analytics is a free tool that provides data on website traffic, conversion rates, and more.
You can use this data to identify areas of your website that need improvement and track the impact of changes you make.
For example, if you see that conversion rates are low on your pricing page, you can use CRO to test different changes and see if you can increase the conversion to sale.
Prioritize Based on Potential Impact and Ease of Implementation
As you run CRO tests, prioritize those actions.
For example, if you think changing the navbar structure will have a big impact but is difficult to implement, you might need to look elsewhere.
CRO is all about finding the right balance between potential impact and ease of implementation.
CRO Tools To Save Time and Money
It’s critical to use CRO tools to save time and money.
CRO is an ongoing process, which means you need to continually test different changes on your website.
CRO tools automate many of the tasks associated with CRO.
What Is a CRO Tool?
A CRO tool is a piece of software that helps you with your conversion rate optimization.
CRO tools can do many different things, such as help you with A/B testing and provide insights into what’s working on your website and what’s not working.
Our Favorite CRO Tools
There are many different CRO tools on the market, so it’s important to choose one that’s right for you and your business.
Content Optimization Tools
Here are our favorite content optimization tools.
- Optimizely is a CRO platform that helps you with A/B testing, personalization, and experimentation.
- Google Analytics is a free content optimization tool that provides data on website traffic, conversion rates, and more.
- Hotjar is a CRO tool that helps you with heatmaps, session recordings, form analytics, and more.
- CRO Metrics is a CRO tool that provides data on conversion rates and other key metrics.
CRO Agencies
If you don’t have the time or resources to do CRO yourself, you can hire a CRO agency.
CRO agencies specialize in conversion rate optimization and can help you with everything to do with the process.
For example, you can outsource everything from web design to CRO tests.
Jasper Boss Mode
Jasper.ai is an AI-powered content creator that helps you work faster.
You can use Jasper to create better descriptions, improve your website’s copy, build “problem, agitate, solve” frameworks, and create paid ad headlines that convert more effectively.
The Jasper Boss Mode feature helps you curate content faster than brainstorming on your own.
Other Related SEO Terms To Know
Before you get started with your conversion rate optimization plan, make sure you understand the following related SEO terms.
1. SEO Strategy
An SEO strategy is a plan of action that you take to improve your website’s ranking in search engines.
As you learn how to improve SEO, your strategy’s importance lies in the fact that it can help you improve your website’s traffic and conversion rates.
2. Bounce Rate
The bounce rate is the percentage of people who leave your website after only viewing one page.
A high bounce rate is an indication of a problem with your site, such as poor design or bad content.
3. SEO Writing
SEO writing is the process of creating optimized content for search engines.
It includes using keywords and other strategies to make your content more visible in search results.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you still have a few questions about CRO, here are the answers to two frequently asked questions about the topic.
How can conversions be optimized for SEO?
You can optimize conversions for SEO by improving your website’s design and user experience, providing relevant and targeted content, and making sure your website is mobile-friendly.
Other optimizations include reducing your website’s loading time and ensuring that visitors can easily fill out your forms.
How do you optimize for conversions?
CRO is about improving the user experience on your website so that more visitors take the desired action.
To do this, CRO consultants use a variety of techniques, including usability testing and heat mapping.
Your goal is to improve conversion such as making a purchase or subscribing to a newsletter.
Wrapping Up
CRO is a process that can help you improve your website’s conversion rate.
It involves understanding how your customers interact with your site and making changes to optimize the user experience.
CRO is an important part of SEO, and there are many tools and techniques you can use to improve your conversion rate.
Follow the best practices explained above to get started with CRO today.
