An Introduction to CRO

How do we drive our users to perform the most desired action online?

With CRO, we dive into the personas that interact with your site and mesh that with site usage data to create a clear path for users to follow, ultimately bringing more conversions to your website.

In this article, we will introduce you to conversion rate optimisation and share top tips on how to get your own CRO strategy into place.

What is CRO?

CRO stands for conversion rate optimisation.

In short, this process is about identifying the steps that are needed to be put in place (or removed) for your customers to convert.

The necessary actions will vary dramatically based on what your business does, what you would like your users to do, and what stage of the customer lifecycle they are in.

CRO is structured, data-driven and informed by your website insights. It is easily measurable, and the performance indicators will be exposed once you have identified your ideal conversion.

4 tips for getting started with CRO

While each strategy is going the differ, there are a few key steps you can take to get going.

1. Understand your audience

Who are you talking to?

Try to place yourself in the mind of your users. Better yet, get your users to tell you exactly how they feel about your site via customer feedback or study groups.

Another way to see your site through your audience’s eyes is to dive into your analytics. Look at:

• behavioural flow charts,
• bounce rate,
• exit rate,
• pages viewed per visit
• and time on site.

Segment your data based on devices and browsers to get a deeper look into who is having difficulties and exactly where they lie.

2. Identify your objectives

What do you want your users to do? Do you want different customers to do different things based on where they are on their journey?

Let’s break up the buying journey.

• Awareness: The shopper begins to look for a solution to their needs, that your product or service provides.
• Consideration: Your company will be reviewed against competitors from the buyer’s perspective.
• Intent: The customer actively engages with your brand via your website, email, or social media.
• Purchase: A sale is made!
• Loyalty: A happy customer will come again or share the good news with their friends.

Now, each of these stages of the funnel can have their own micro or macro conversions.

For example, an awareness CRO strategy could focus on getting users to sign up for a newsletter, so you can target those potential customers strategically through email marketing campaigns.

For loyalty, you may wish for your customers to view a video which shares your company’s USP and ethics to share a deeper connection with your customers and turn them into brand advocates.

And, in many cases, that ideal conversion is going to look like an on-site purchase. To optimise for this conversion, you will need to make sure your checkout process is easy to navigate.

3. Analyse the process

You now know what actions you want your users to take. How can you make it easier for them?

Locate any unnecessary steps and confusing components. Here are some key areas to look out for:

• Are customers missing an important written information on your page?
• Do your buttons have compelling CTAs?
• Does important information stick out, such as bright colours for clickable items?

Here is how to fix some common issues:

• Keep important information toward the top of your page and break up lengthy sections with headers.
• Trail different CTAs to see which resonates with your audience.
• Use consistent, bold colours for buttons.

Explore the 10 usability heuristics for interface design to help guide you on this journey.

This process is going to look different for everyone. However, keeping your users and objectives top of mind should help you with your analysis.

4. Test, test and test again

You’ve gathered your hypothesis from strategic analysis. Now, it’s time to put those thoughts into action.

A/B testing is a great way to see if one option works better than others when it comes to your specific audience. Tests in the real world can surprise you!

User heatmaps and AI heatmaps can uncover new issues and potential – right before your very eyes.

The most important thing when dealing with CRO is to turn your hunches into reality. As we mentioned before, CRO is structured, data-driven, and measurable.

Some questions to ask yourself

• Where are users experiencing difficulty?
• Is my checkout process easy?
• Can users easily navigate throughout the site
• Does the page drive users to make our desired action?
• Do we have micro and macro conversions identified?

Conversion rate optimisation is an important part of running a website. Better yet, CRO works wonders when combined with PPC and SEO.

If you’re looking to make the most out of your website by developing a result driven strategy, get in touch with our experts at QueryClick.