In a digital landscape where competition is fierce, CRO is your secret weapon for turning casual visitors into loyal customers. Instead of completely focusing on acquiring new visitors, which can be time-consuming and costly, optimizing your conversion rate will help you generate more value from both your existing and new customers. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is about maximizing the potential of all traffic, not just returning customers.

In this article, we’ll explore conversion rate optimization (CRO) in clear, straightforward terms. Tells you how to determine your conversion rate and provides you with fundamental conversion optimization activities to get started.

What is conversion rate optimization?

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a marketing strategy that focuses on improving the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, like making a purchase or signing up, after they land on your website. It's about enhancing the experience for people already on your site to increase conversions.

In digital marketing, a conversion represents a key action that reflects the success of your campaign. Whether it's making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter, or clicking a link, each conversion indicates a step toward achieving your business goals. Understanding conversions is essential for optimizing your strategies and driving growth. You may seek many sorts of conversions within a single website or marketing campaign. For example, a social media ad conversion may be defined as a click-through to your website, but a product page conversion could be defined as a person adding a product to their cart.

You must first determine the existing conversion rate of your website before using CRO. After that, you'll have to compare your new solution to the stuff that already exists. Marketers utilize A/B, split, and multivariate testing to do this; more on those later.

But first, let's go back a little. How do you choose which kind of conversion to enhance, and what tells you when your content optimization is complete?

How to calculate your conversion rate

To understand how effectively your website converts visitors into customers, you need to calculate your website's conversion rate. Here's how:

Calculate your conversion rate by dividing the number of completed goals (like purchases or sign-ups) by the total number of visitors, then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. Knowing your conversion rate helps you gauge the effectiveness of your marketing strategies and optimize your site for better results.

Conversion rate: (total number of conversions/total number of visits) × 100

Let's say that last month your store saw 1,000 visitors and 50 purchases. Your store's sales conversion rate would be 5%, calculated by dividing 50 by 1,000 (.05) and multiplying the result by 100. Be particular with the information you gather in order to determine an accurate, practical e-commerce conversion rate. Is a purchase made online considered a conversion, or does the sale still need to be fulfilled and shipped? Do you keep track of sessions?

What is the average conversion rate?

Optimizing an online store's conversion rate is critical for sustained success. Continuous testing and refinement ensure your site consistently drives sales and maximizes revenue. Research underscores that businesses achieving higher sales growth often attribute it to ongoing optimization efforts. It's pivotal to establish clear benchmarks and standards to accurately measure success. At Early Bird Labs, we specialize in comprehensive software development, product development, design, and SEO services. Partner with us to implement robust testing frameworks and data-driven strategies that elevate your online store’s performance.

As you learn more about conversion rate optimization, you'll be able to create goals and benchmarks for yourself based on previous content performance. But first, it's useful to be aware of the typical conversion rates for websites that are comparable to yours. The typical e-commerce conversion rate for orders on a website is frequently said to be between 2.5% and 3%. In any case, you may consider yourself to be one of the highest-converting online retailers if you compute your conversion rate and discover that it is more than 3%. Numerous CRO case studies demonstrate how small adjustments can have a significant effect on conversion rates.

Where to start with CRO

To significantly improve your conversion rate, it's important to prioritize key areas of your website. By focusing on product pages, blogs, brand voice, and landing pages, you can enhance the user experience and drive more conversions through CRO. Below, we’ve outlined key strategies to enhance and improve your CRO.

1. Product pages

Product pages, the foundation of every ecommerce website, may profit greatly from CRO. Examine the results of improving your brand language, descriptions, and product photos.

Product photography

When customers can’t visit your store personally, the media you use to showcase your products plays a pivotal role in driving conversions. High-quality, engaging visuals can bridge the gap between in-person experiences and online shopping, making your products irresistible. Make sure the most well-liked aspects of each item are highlighted in your high-resolution product photos. To provide visitors with a comprehensive visual experience, incorporate a 360-degree view, demonstration film, or 3D model if feasible.

Product descriptions

Similar to the content you provide, product descriptions are just one of a few touchpoints that exist between online buyers and sellers. Although it might be tempting to write a lengthy devotion to every item in your business, product descriptions with a high conversion rate strike a balance between information and clarity. When descriptions don't provide details on the product's manufacture, fit, use, or unique selling qualities, shoppers could be hesitant to add it to their basket. If you provide too much information in your description, customers might not even read it. Give succinct, precise explanations that emphasize the advantages and qualities of the product. To improve scrollability, break up deeper text passages using bullet points and graphics.

Brand voice

The information you choose to provide about your product has an impact on conversion rates, but so does the manner in which you present it. It's called your brand voice. Your target audience should be able to relate to your brand's voice. Consumers and e-commerce companies may develop trust by using a tone that is approachable and comfortable. Think more broadly about voice as the entire impression your material creates if you don't already have a reputation for your business.

Here are some illustrations of how to build the voice and reputation of your brand:

Use client recommendations, product evaluations, and approval seals from other reliable companies to provide social proof.

Provide a return policy with a few restrictions that enables customers to try on and return their goods.

Make genuine product videos that show off your product in action inside its natural environment.

2. Blog posts

Maximizing conversions often hinges on leveraging your blog entries effectively. To achieve this, focus on crafting content that not only attracts visitors but is also optimized for search engines. Well-designed blog posts can serve as powerful tools to guide potential customers through your sales funnel.

To truly capitalize on your blog's potential, integrate lead generation strategies and compelling calls to action within your posts. Ensure that each blog entry includes clear, actionable CTAs that guide readers towards taking the next step, whether it's signing up for a newsletter, downloading a resource, or requesting a consultation. By strategically placing these elements, you can significantly boost engagement and drive conversions.

Call to action

A message to your audience on what to do next is called a call to action (CTA). A CTA is often given as a button or link that directs visitors to the following page of your sales funnel. Blog post CTAs that work are pertinent to the subject matter of the piece. Instead of pressuring the reader to make a certain purchase, they may be encouraged to think about a product or group of products. You may determine which terms and phrases most successfully inspire clicks on your blog articles and where to put call-to-actions (CTAs) by using A/B testing.

Lead generation

Ask readers in your blog posts if they would like to get more content in the form of a checklist, downloadable PDF, or carefully chosen collection of articles. These kinds of lead generation content strategies are frequently used to turn prospects into sales leads by obtaining both their interest and email address.

3. Squeeze page

The goal of landing pages is to turn visitors into leads or paying clients. Landing page optimization is essential since a landing page is frequently a visitor's initial impression of your website. By improving the information hierarchy of your landing page through iterative testing, you want to make that initial impression matter.

Information hierarchy

Organizing content on your landing page effectively can significantly impact user engagement and conversions. To do this, prioritize your landing page content to align with user intent, ensuring that critical information and CTAs are front and center. Your value proposition and call to action, for example, should be at the top of the page with the most important content. Details that are important but not as urgent, such as product details or reviews, might be positioned farther down the landing page.

Iterative experimentation

Test the arrangement, style, and type of content on your most popular landing page on a regular basis. Conversion optimization may frequently be accomplished without altering the content of your page by monitoring website visitors' behavior and making necessary adjustments to the page's structure.

5 CRO strategies to increase your conversion rate

Online store optimization requires constant back and forth. You should always be researching your audience and seeking opportunities to apply what you have learned to better serve them. Here are several useful strategies to enhance your website's conversion performance during the checkout process: Every suggestion aims to enhance a certain area of your website's conversion. When put together, they provide a thorough CRO plan.

1. Use a custom checkout page.

Conversions for online retailers take place on the checkout page. It is therefore among the most crucial components of an e-commerce website. You may use clear call-to-actions (CTAs), appealing product descriptions, and smooth website design to guide customers through your conversion funnel and reduce friction. However, there's a considerable probability your potential customer may give up on their basket if they find it difficult to finish their purchase. In e-commerce, abandoned carts are not the exception. Up to 85% of your mobile visitors will depart from your website without completing their purchase. Ensuring a seamless checkout procedure for visitors who determine they are ready to make a purchase is the key to reducing the number of abandoned carts.

We specialize in optimizing your e-commerce success by developing tailored, custom checkout pages that enhance your conversion rate. Our expertise in conversion rate optimization (CRO) ensures that your checkout process is not only seamless but also designed to address common pain points that lead to cart abandonment. By leveraging the latest technologies and best practices in custom checkout development, we create intuitive, user-friendly experiences that guide your customers smoothly from basket to purchase. With our solutions, you can significantly reduce cart abandonment rates and increase sales, making every transaction a streamlined and satisfying experience for your customers.

Shopify provides a powerful checkout solution for one-click transactions tailored to your business's needs. This feature simplifies the payment process and leverages Shopify’s robust security measures and advanced analytics. Its high conversion rate is attributed to its intuitive user interface, which minimizes friction and accelerates the purchasing journey, thereby enhancing overall customer satisfaction and boosting sales.

Shopify's checkout allows you to:

Make your checkout's design unique to your website.

Accept a variety of payment methods, such as gift cards, credit cards, and installment plans.

Include tools for conversion optimization, including loyalty programs, customer accounts, and customized additional sales.

Fill out consumer information forms automatically (faster checkouts = more conversions).

To give over 100 million consumers quicker checkout, including Shop Pay.

2. Simplify CTAs

Enhancing your CTAs with a balanced combination of text and visuals can make them more compelling and easier for your audience to engage with, simplifying the user experience and boosting conversion rates. In the example above, the Province of Canada uses two hero pictures that take up the whole first scroll depth of the site to advertise its flagship product. In addition to the collection's hero artwork, a straightforward call to action and sparse content encourage shoppers to browse the newest colors and stock. If you're unsure about what to showcase as your primary hero image, it's advisable to start with your best-selling or most profitable things, or popular products like recent arrivals or special offers.

3. Run A/B tests.

Email subject lines, buttons, banners, and backdrops are a few examples of A/B test subjects. Depending on the goals of the A/B test, variations can range from entirely new content to subtle adjustments such as altering font color or enhancing page contrast. As marketing experts, we recommend aligning the magnitude of these changes with specific objectives, whether it’s improving readability or testing a new design strategy.

A/B testing was employed by ecommerce company Fuel Made to boost conversion rates for men's grooming company Live Bearded. They experimented with a number of designs for slide-out shopping cart and discovered that one with additional iconography and trust-building information increased conversions by 18% above the baseline, illustrating the effectiveness of deliberate, minor adjustments. Be certain that your website receives enough traffic to produce statistically significant results before doing an A/B test or any other type of CRO test. If the size of your sample is too small, your findings could not fairly represent how a wider population would use your site.

4. Add pop-ups.

A box or bubble that shows up in front of a webpage once it has loaded is called a pop-up. They are frequently used to draw attention to details, like a coupon code or giveaway opportunity, that the majority of customers would like to know about right away. Additionally, pop-ups may verify that users have completed certain tasks, such as making a purchase or subscribing to a newsletter.

Pop-ups are highly effective at capturing user attention, which can significantly boost a website's conversion rate. By strategically interrupting a user’s browsing experience with a compelling offer or call to action, pop-ups can guide users toward making a purchase or signing up for a service. Studies show that well-crafted pop-ups can increase conversion rates by up to 9%. They can react to certain actions, such as when a user creates a sense of urgency or indicates that they are leaving by moving the pointer to the top of the screen. According to certain research, carefully placed pop-ups with an average conversion rate of over 9% occur when they are positioned at the ideal stage of the user experience.

Offering discounts or material in exchange for a customer's contact information is another way to get leads from them. For example, visitors to Our Place's site are presented with a pop-up advertisement advertising a free giveaway a few seconds after they arrive.

5. Make your site fast and mobile-responsive.

Considering that smartphones and tablets account for more than 58% of all online traffic worldwide, having a mobile-friendly website is essential rather than simply good to have. Although all Shopify themes are automatically optimized for display on all devices, there are still some things you can do to improve the experience of your mobile visitors. To prevent overwhelming small displays, try making your site's navigation simpler, increasing the size and ease of pressing buttons, and minimizing the quantity of content on each page.

Maximize your website's performance by using Google's Lighthouse, an essential automated tool designed to enhance web page quality. Lighthouse evaluates key aspects, such as page load times and user experience, providing actionable insights to ensure your website remains fast, responsive, and accessible across all devices. A slow website can turn visitors away, much like an unresponsive one, which raises your bounce rate. In addition to offering a better user experience, faster websites may also rank. higher in search results. Google frequently mentions page speed as one of its ranking considerations.

Another useful Google tool for monitoring your website's load time is PageSpeed Insights. This free tool provides a detailed analysis of your website's loading speed and highlights issues causing delays. However, while free tools like this are helpful, they can only take you so far. Advanced tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush can provide significantly more in-depth data to optimize your site. But for the best results, working with an SEO expert is key to ensuring your website reaches its full potential. Learn more about our SEO services. Although it might be difficult to optimize your site's load speeds, there are a few important considerations. The size of picture files can have a big effect on loading times for e-commerce websites that include a lot of media.

CRO and SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) and CRO are related. Because user experience and site performance are given top priority by search engines like Google, using subpar CRO techniques might lower your website's search engine rating. In reality, search engines are wagering that you give them the greatest experience when they direct them to your website conversion. Thus, in the event that they are making purchases, your website must be simple to use and offer a quick checkout procedure. When formulating your CRO marketing plan, keep the following SEO-related information in mind:

Integrate SEO fundamentals with conversion strategies.

You will need to do keyword research for every webpage you develop. It helps in your comprehension of the language used by prospective clients.

After conducting keyword research, include the terms in your

URL structure

Title of the page Meta description

Under headings

Image alt-texts

Balance keyword optimization with user experience.

Keyword optimization is a cornerstone of SEO. By strategically embedding relevant keywords throughout your content, you signal to Google the core intent of your webpage. This process helps search engines accurately classify your content, improving your chances of appearing in the top search results for relevant queries. For example, if your page discusses responsive web design,' using this keyword effectively ensures your content is matched with users looking for information on modern, adaptable website layouts.

Recall: Avoid keyword stuffing, the practice of using too many terms.

Here are some pointers to prevent cramming keywords:

Make sure your keywords blend in with the content without coming across as forced.

Provide insightful details on your subject.

For synonymous terms, use synonyms.

Write with readers in mind, not search engines.

Focus on making high-quality content.

On the web, quality material is crucial in all places. It conveys to search engines your authority and demonstrates to users that you value their time and surfing experience. Anything on your website may be considered content, including blog posts, landing pages, videos on your home page, and social media integrations on product pages. No matter the medium, make sure the material you post is well-researched and informative. In this manner, visitors to your page will feel appreciated and involved, which will increase their level of confidence in you as a company.

Create a successful conversion rate optimization process today.

To create a successful conversion rate optimization (CRO) process, it’s crucial to understand that simply driving traffic to your website through Google Ads or Meta Ads isn’t enough. You can send all the visitors in the world to your site, but if your website isn’t optimized for conversions, much of that effort will be wasted. Your ads might perform well, but without a well-designed and user-friendly website, those potential customers might not follow through.

CRO ensures that once people arrive at your site, they're more likely to take the desired action. Part of this involves making sure your ads are consistent with the content and design of your website. The transition from ad to site should feel seamless, so visitors don’t experience any disconnect that could cause them to abandon the process. This alignment between ads and website experience is vital for maximizing your return on investment (ROI) from marketing efforts.