Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) tips to Drive Growth

| Angela Perara Last updated 9 Apr, 2022

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) must be mentioned when discussing revenue-increasing opportunities for your online business. CRO is low-hanging fruit for revenue generation, allowing you to get the most out of your traffic-driving campaigns. Here, we provide some conversion rate optimization tips to help you increase sales.

Consider your most recent shopping experience when defining CRO. You went to an online store in search of a product. Consider your entire experience and how it influenced your decision to buy or go elsewhere. Was it simple to locate the product? Did you like the store’s appearance? How did you find to interact with the staff?

In the online world, CRO represents the entire experience. The central question is: what is the user experience like on your website?

The hidden losses are a fact about CRO that most business owners are unaware of.

If your website isn’t optimized for conversions, you’re throwing money away, and you’d be surprised how much.

Conversion Rate Optimization Tips: Understanding the 4 Elements of CRO

Consider the following scenario: a user visits your website and requests a pair of blue men’s pants. How straightforward is it to locate that item?

If the search bar doesn’t work or returns irrelevant results, or the search filters don’t work or have few options, or it’s unclear where the user can search for products, the user will have a bad experience and go to another website that is easier to use.

It would not be a stretch to say that poor website experiences cost millions of dollars every day. A simple “buy now” button that doesn’t work could mean a lost sale.

The benefits of conversion rate optimization can be mapped to 4 core elements, with User experience (UX) just one aspect of CRO. There are three additional key CRO elements that, individually and collectively, determine how much money your site makes.

1. User Experience (UX)

The first and most important conversion rate optimization (CRO) tip is the one we just mentioned. Users cannot become customers if your website does not function properly.

It can be surprising to know how many websites have unnoticed errors. You should test your website regularly and monitor customer support requests. You must keep an eye out for site bugs. After all, if you don’t check, how will you know if your “buy now” button isn’t working?

Try user testing if you want to outsource this. This is a service in which testers navigate your website to look for bugs or functionality issues. The testers will also provide feedback on how easy your site is to use, which is priceless.

The loading speed of your pages falls under the UX umbrella. If it takes more than 5-10 seconds, you will undoubtedly lose customers. Thousands of other websites provide what you provide – if your site is slow, the user will go to a faster site.

The next level of UX is usability. You may believe your website is simple, but you know it inside and out if you built it. A first-time user does not.

User testing is the best way to learn how easy it is to navigate your site. Request that the testers locate a specific product or piece of information and observe how they navigate your website.

2. Copy

Your copy ranks second only to your website’s functionality in importance in the CRO ranking.

Your website copy is your most effective salesperson. It influences how much your site visitors know about your service, how well they understand why they should use it, and, most importantly, how much they want to use it.

In sales, it is said that you have three seconds to make an excellent first impression on a lead, or you will lose the sale. It’s the same with text.

Your copy should be consistent with your branding. If you have a fun, playful brand, your website copy should be fun and playful. It gives the user a sense of who you are, what you stand for, and what they can expect from their experience.

The first rule of copywriting is to be clear.

The specific audience you’re aiming for must thoroughly understand your service and what you’re offering, with no questions in their minds, because questions are barriers to the sale.

The language you use in your copy should be tailored to your intended audience. For example, you can use industry jargon that the average visitor may not understand in your copy.

The sales copy is at the heart of that redesign and a crucial conversion rate optimization (CRO) tip. Everything else is secondary, but your sales will soar if you write compelling website copy.

3. Design

A great website design enhances the site’s UX and copy. Customers have told us they chose us over our competitors because they thought our website looked more professional.

Your design is heavily influenced by the type of business you run and the message you want to convey to your target audience. Do you want the world to know you’re a luxury brand that cares about its customers? Are you targeting the average person with a more direct message about what you do and who you do it for?

Consider how you want your visitors to perceive your brand and incorporate that into the design of your website.

However, there are some exceptions, such as blogs, where users aren’t concerned with the site design, and in some cases, a low-quality design makes the user trust the site more because it lacks a corporate “feel.”

Quality design can mean the difference between making and losing a sale on most websites, especially if you run a service-based business.

4. Sales Elements

The fourth conversion rate optimization (CRO) tip on list are the sales elements. These are the aspects of your website that persuade visitors to become customers.

Testimonials are the best example of this, and you may have heard of the concept of social proof. Social proof states that we are more likely to trust a service or product that others have previously used and rated highly. Including testimonials on your website increases user trust and encourages new customers.

An example of a sales element you can incorporate into your website is the use of software that alerts your users of live purchases. This pop-up feature notifies your website users when another person becomes a customer. It displays their location, the date and the time they signed up, increasing user trust in your brand.

Another example of a sales element is some form of a helpful tool. A tool’s goal is to provide some value to the user. Reciprocity comes into play here, as we are more likely to want to “‘return the favour'” to someone who has helped us.

In this case, the user would pay it forward by becoming a customer. It may appear deceptive, but there is nothing wrong with providing helpful information or products for free!

Iteration is the key to CRO

CRO is not a one-time solution. Even if you do a major website redesign, you must maintain your site’s conversion optimization because new designs bring new errors.

We mentioned User Testing to keep your site’s functionality up to date. The next step in CRO is to optimize your site by experimenting with different designs, copy, visuals, and other elements.

A/B testing

You’ve reached this point if your conversion rates are reasonable and your site is well-designed, with good copy and UX. You’re now experimenting with various designs, copy, and UX features.

A/B testing involves presenting two versions of your website to your target audience. Every day, Facebook A/B tests their platform down to minor details such as button colour or a few words of copy. Fortunately, you don’t have to build two websites; you can use A/B testing tools to accomplish this.

For example, to test your homepage headline, you would use A/B testing Software to produce two versions. Visitors will be shown one of the two headlines randomly by the software.

Version A will be delivered to half of them, while Version B will be delivered to the other half. You can then analyze and compare the conversion rates of each and implement the one with the highest ranking.

You can test almost anything, including copy, buttons, visuals, CRO sales elements, etc. What you test is up to you, but the copy is often the best place to start because this is the element that gets you the most sales.

Give your website a quick audit

CRO is a quick way to increase your earnings and the value of your site when preparing it for sale.

Begin by testing the navigation and user experience to ensure that everything is working properly. Then, move on to the copy and clarify what you do and who you do it for, particularly in your headline, as this alone accounts for most of your sales.

You’ve lost the sale if you don’t persuade the visitor to stay on your website after the first two seconds. Then, if desired, use high-quality images or graphics to make your site more visually appealing.

If you haven’t done any CRO work, many buyers with this experience would like to buy your site and use CRO to increase their earnings. Make this a selling point for your website.