Getting plenty of traffic to your website is something all businesses and blogs strive for; however, if the traffic doesn’t result in a sale it can feel a bit pointless.
This is where CRO becomes relevant. CRO stands for conversion rate optimization and focuses on strategies that turn people viewing your website into paying customers.
It can be challenging to consider CRO if you aren’t aware of your current conversion rate. However, you can easily calculate this by taking the number of conversions and dividing that by the number of total website visitors in the same time period.
Whilst it is difficult to determine exactly what a “good” conversion rate is, research has shown that on average most websites sit between 2% and 5%. Regardless of what your conversion rate currently is, improving it is only going to have a positive impact on your business.
Below are five CRO strategies that will help you further optimize your website.
CRO Strategies To Further Optimize Your Website
1. Improve website performance
It’s no secret that site usability is a factor when it comes to SEO and how well your website will rank on search engines. However, what you may not realize is that a user-friendly website also has a direct correlation with CRO. If you are noticing that your conversion rate is lower than it should be when considering the overall performance of your site is advised.
There are a range of things you can do to improve the user experience on your website but a great starting point is boosting site speed and making your site mobile friendly.
Site speed
Site speed has a measurable impact on conversion rates. Yet the idea of addressing website performance to help CRO is often overlooked. Multiple studies have highlighted that faster pages result in higher conversion rates. Essentially, the quicker a page loads, the more likely the user is to convert to a customer.
But how fast is fast enough? According to studies, 47% of customers expect a page to load in two seconds or less. The consequence of a one-second delay in page load time is a 7% reduction in conversions. Amazon found that a page slow down of just one second could cost them $1.6 billion in sales each year.
There are a variety of ways in which you can improve site speed, however, some common practices include:
● Switching to a faster host
● Improving server response time
● Taking advantage of browser caching
● Using a content distribution network
Optimize for mobile
Smartphones are now essentially an extension of most people’s arms, meaning they are used for just about everything. This includes searching the web and online shopping. In 2020, the mobile market share worldwide was 52.1% in comparison to the desktop share of 44.2%. Interestingly 40% of people search only on a smartphone.
The statistics above show that the majority of users are accessing the internet via their phones. This is a huge market that you need to be targeting when improving your website. Failing to make your website easy to use via a smartphone means you could be missing out on a lot of conversions. A really simple way of improving your CRO is by ensuring that you are targeting the mobile market and making it easy for those users to convert to customers.
2. Focus on content
Google loves good quality content. Why? Because users love good quality content. As a general rule, if a user appreciates something a website is doing, it results in conversions. Interestingly, according to a study by the Content Marketing Institute, websites that focus on content marketing have conversion rates that are almost six times higher than their competitors.
Therefore, a brilliant way of increasing your CRO is by improving your content.
Create informative content
Creating engaging content is one of the best ways to encourage visitors to your website to purchase your products or services. However, you do need to be careful because the wrong type of content can do the opposite and instead put people off. Essentially, the content you post should be interesting and helpful to the reader without appearing like a promotional flyer.
One of the best ways to use content to add value is by writing regular blog posts that discuss industry related topics and helpful information about the product or services you offer. It is important for blogs to be unique and compelling to your desired audience.
Whilst it is recommended that you read other blogs and articles prior to writing your own, it is also important that you don’t forget to put forward your own opinions and experiences. Viewers will appreciate your authenticity.
Call to action (CTA)
A mistake that lots of people make when it comes to optimizing their website is that they undervalue the importance of CTAs. The reality is, a call to action can have a huge impact on your conversion rate. If you put no thought into your CTA, potential buyers will leave your site without purchasing, but with the right CTA, you will find that your sales increase.
So what makes a good CTA? A call to action should be short and catchy, something that a buyer doesn’t need to think too much about. Prevent website users from thinking “what will happen next” by simply telling them what will happen when they click on the button. This takes the guesswork out of the equation and will make it much more likely that users will continue to purchase.
3. Influence users
Regardless of what service or product your company is offering, there is an element of sales involved. Basically, you want to encourage people to spend their money on your website. A big part of sales is understanding people and using this understanding to influence.
No one wants to feel as though they have missed out. This is something that can be harnessed and turned into a strategy to improve conversion rates.
By creating a sense of urgency, you are also creating the worry that the user may miss out on something if they do not act quickly, which often leads to users buying “now” rather than “later”.
One of the best aspects of this strategy is that it can be incredibly simple. A great way of incorporating it into your site is by introducing time-limited deals or offers. Phrases such as “Buy within the next 24 hours to receive 20% off” can be exceptionally effective.
Another alternative is to show the user how many items are left in stock. If a potential buyer is aware that there is a limited quantity, they will be more fearful of missing out, and therefore will be more motivated to complete the desired action.
4. Build Trust
Trust is essential if you want people to buy from your website. No one wants to spend their money if they are unsure of the quality of what they are buying or if they are concerned about sharing their private information in order to complete the purchase.
Conversion rate optimization is about making people feel comfortable and excited to buy from your website, and as a website owner, it is your job to help them feel reassured.
Testimonials and reviews
An effective way of building trust is by displaying customer testimonials and reviews. Research has highlighted that 92% of people will trust a recommendation from a peer and 70% will trust a recommendation from someone they don’t know. With these statistics in mind, it is easy to see how customer reviews can make a difference in conversion rates.
Studies have also shown that the number of reviews has an impact on conversion rates; essentially, the more testimonials, the better. Providing between one and four reviews can garner a 5.2% conversion rate, whilst having over ten can lead to a huge 7.1% conversion rate.
But why are reviews so effective? Reviews and testimonials give potential buyers reassurance that what is being advertised is what they will receive should they purchase. It helps potential buyers trust your website because other people are saying they had a positive experience.
Information privacy statements
Transparency goes a long way with potential buyers as it builds trust and trust can result in sales. One way of doing this is by including a privacy statement.
Whilst some privacy statements can come across as cliche, it is possible to get creative and incorporate a statement that is not only reassuring, but also relevant to your products or services.
5. Make purchasing simple
Time is valuable and people often don’t want to waste their time. This is one of the reasons why it is crucial to make it simple to navigate and purchase on your website. If you make it hard for prospective customers to buy from you, the chances are they will give up and shop elsewhere. A great strategy for CRO is to make everything as simple as possible for your users.
Easy navigation
One way of making the experience as quick and simple as possible is by ensuring that your website is easy to navigate. The aim is to help people find the information they need so they feel good about their purchase.
Instead of cramming lots of information onto one page that users will have to sift through to find what they require, opt to put one topic per page and make it easily accessible so potential buyers can find what they are looking for promptly.
Showing other costs such as shipping and taxes before customers reach the final purchase page can also increase conversion rates. These can be calculated in real time with specialized ecommerce plugins. Customers are more likely to abandon their carts if they are hit with additional fees right before they check out.
Create concise and easy to use forms
Online forms can be make or break when it comes to conversion rates, so don’t put people off at the last minute by making your forms overly complicated. The goal is to make the process as simple and seamless as possible for the user.
It can be difficult to know how to make simple and effective forms, but a general rule of form design is that the fewer fields you use, the more conversions you will obtain. One way of creating a sleek form is by removing all the optional fields to leave you with only the essentials. Users will appreciate this as it will make the process seem less daunting and time-consuming.
Another way of making your forms more manageable is by allowing autofill. Autofill will mean the user needs to do even less as the information is already provided for them.
Summary
CRO is ever-evolving and requires business owners to keep on their toes if they want to generate more conversions. However, if you place a focus on CRO you are bound to see a positive difference in sales.
Keep the conversation going by sharing your favorite CRO strategies in the comment section below.
