How To Get Started With Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

As a business owner, manager, or marketing professional, you always look for ways to improve your conversion rates. After all, wouldn’t it be great if everyone who visited your site or signed up for your newsletter converted into a paying customer? 

But despite your best efforts, some people just won’t be interested in what you have to offer. This is where conversion rate optimization (CRO) comes in.

Why Should You Try CRO?

There are several good reasons why you should try CRO. First off, it’s a proven method of increasing traffic and sales. So if you’re looking for a way to grow your business, CRO is a valuable tool. Many companies had an increase in revenue after implementing a CRO strategy.

How Is CRO Different From Traditional Marketing?

While traditional marketing aims to generate brand awareness, interest, and sales in the general public, CRO aims to convert this initial interest into paid customers.

To do this, you’ll want to focus on specific groups of people who are most likely to become interested in your product or service and perform an action (Pricing On Principle).

This could be the creation of a marketing plan for a new product (e.g., pricing on principle), the acquisition of a new customer (e.g., upselling or cross-selling), or referral marketing (e.g., bringing in a friend or colleague who is already a customer).

The Science Behind CRO

As we mentioned above, the goal of CRO is to increase your conversions. But what exactly is conversion?

According to Nielsen Norman Group, “conversion is a measure of a website, app, or other digital marketplace’s ability to turn browsers, mobile phone users, or potential purchasers into paying customers.”

In other words, conversion is measuring your target audience’s actions (or inactions, as the case may be) and determining the rate at which they perform these actions (or inactions). Once you have this data, you can identify areas for improvement (e.g., increasing the number of calls to action).

This data can be gathered using software like Google Analytics to track the progress of your CRO strategy. With this information, you’ll be able to determine the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and make course corrections as needed. 

For example, you might decide that a live chat feature increases the likelihood of a sale for your company, so you can start including this in your marketing plan.

How Many Phases Should You Go Through To Succeed With CRO?

You’ll need to undergo several phases to implement a successful CRO strategy.

First, you’ll want to set up automated emails or other types of communications so that you can send personalized messages to users who take some action on your site. 

For example, if someone visits your eCommerce store and orders a phone case, you’ll want to send them a message thanking them for their business and encouraging them to return.

Next, you’ll want to set up automated tasks on your site that allow you to capture and convert as much traffic as possible into paying customers. 

For example, if someone visits your eCommerce store and makes a purchase, you’ll want to send them a message thanking them for their business and inviting them to come back and make another purchase shortly.

Where Should You Start Your CRO Journey?

The first step in the right direction is to define what you’re looking for in terms of results. Do you just want your conversion rates to increase by a certain percentage?

Or do you want to completely overhaul your strategy and see how much additional revenue you can generate?

Or perhaps you’re looking to reduce your CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) and want to find out what type of conversion strategies will get you there the fastest.

Some businesses operate with a clear picture in mind of what they’re looking for, and it’s usually quite easy to determine the right course of action. 

For example, suppose you know that you want to increase your conversion rate by 10% without making any changes to your site. In that case, you can simply set up automated emails or other types of communications to notify users about your product or service. 

You don’t need to go through any kind of formalized process to determine what will work and what won’t.

Which Marketing Channels Should You Use To Maximize the Effect of your CRO Strategy?

This is a common question among businesses just starting with CRO and aren’t sure which channels to use to drive traffic to their site. Several options exist, but you should stick with what you know best.

If you’re new to digital marketing, you might want to try a mix of different platforms and channels to see what works best for your business.

For example, if you’re a clothing business, you could start by advertising on Facebook, then move over to Twitter when you start to notice a positive effect from your Facebook ads.

Or, if Pinterest is popular among your target audience, you could try marketing your clothing on Pinterest.

How Much Should You Spend On Ads And Content When Trying To Maximize Your CRO Strategy?

Your spending on ads and content will directly influence your conversion rates. However, you’ll need to determine how much is enough.

Once you have your goals and metrics in place, you can determine how much money you will spend on advertising and content to achieve those results. 

Remember that the more you spend, the more you’ll see in return. But don’t spend so much that you lose track of what’s working and not.

What Should You Try Next Once You’ve Implemented Your CRO Strategy?

Once you’ve started to see a positive effect from implementing your CRO strategy, the next step is to determine what you’ll do next.

You might want to try creating more relevant and useful content for your target audience. If you’re looking for inspiration, you could check out the work of others who’ve been successful with similar strategies.

Or, you might want to try expanding your marketing channels. If you’re feeling adventurous, you could try using social media to promote your products and see if that generates any leads or sales.

Just be sure to research the platforms and the proper way to use them before you dive in.

What Is The Most Effective Way To Track The Results Of Your Strategy?

This one might be a little harder to answer. It depends on how deeply you want to go into the analysis. Do you just want to see general results, or do you want to dive into the details and prove to yourself that your strategy is working?

If the latter sounds better, you could set up automated email reports from each of the marketing channels you’re using to track the results of your efforts.

How Long Do You Want To Continue To Track The Results Of Your Strategy?

This is also a common question among businesses that are just getting started with CRO and don’t know how long it will take for them to see results. Just remember that it can take time for everything to start to show up in the dashboard. 

Keep in mind that some strategies work faster than others, so you might want to try and set up a reminder to yourself about when to check back in.

At the end of the day, it’s all about figuring out what you’re looking for in terms of results and then taking the time to get everything in place. Once you do, you’ll be able to track your results and determine exactly what worked and what didn’t. Just remember to have fun along the way!