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Conversion Rate Optimisation Best Practices Anyone Can Implement

Conversion rate optimisation or CRO is an incredible way to turn website visitors into paying clients.

With CRO, you’re plotting a website’s visitors journey in advance. You ensure they see the content and pages you wish them to see, giving you more chances to convince them to do business with you.

In this blog post, we’re going to discuss several conversion rate optimisation best practices business owners should know. They’ll allow you to maximise your website to the fullest, generating more leads.

Let’s get started.

What is Conversion Rate Optimisation?

Before we proceed, let’s understand what CRO is.

Conversion Rate Optimisation is the practice of utilising strategies to convince visitors to perform a specific action. The percentage of people who completed the action is your conversion rate.

The specific action could differ based on your overall business goals. They could include signing up for a newsletter, downloading an eBook, or purchasing something.

For most eCommerce websites, the percentage of people who checked out their cast is considered the conversion rate. The people who added items to their carts without completing the purchase are not counted.

Others count the percentage of people who reached out to them through their Contact page, new newsletter subscribers, and individuals downloads of freebies like printables or ebooks. The list goes on and on, varying from industry to industry.

For example, if 5% of website visitors downloaded your free ebook, your conversion rate would be 5%. According to a recent survey, 2.35% is the average conversion rate for websites. 

If you’re unsure how to measure your conversion rate, you can use Google Analytics. It can measure each step of the process, giving you plenty of useful data.

Improve your call-to-action.

A call-to-action is something that prompts website visitors to do something. It may result in:

• generated leads
• more sales
• increased newsletter subscribers
• and more

A good call-to-action needs to be three things. Visible, clear, and strategically placed.

Your call-to-action needs to be visible, so it can attract visitors’ attention right away. It should draw the eye, standing out from the rest of the content on the page.

For example, a simple line of text against a white background isn’t an effective call-to-action. It will blend in with the rest of the page. Most users might even scroll past it.

Presenting your call-to-action as a red button against a white background would be better. It grabs attention, subconsciously letting visitors know that it’s important.

You also need to consider your call-to-action’s placement. Most websites place their most important call-to-action above the fold on their homepages. On service pages, you will usually find it after written copy explaining what the service or product does.

Next, your call-to-action needs to be clear. In as few words as possible, tell visitors what you would like them to do. Common calls-to-action include:

• Subscribe to our newsletter.
• Get your free trial now.
• Download our free ebook.
• Create an account.
• Add to cart.

All the above examples have one thing in common. Users know at a glance what will happen once they click on the call-to-action.

You might be tempted to use more “creative” language for the sake of standing out. However, when it comes to conversion rate optimisation, simplicity is best. You guarantee that everyone understands your message, eliminating the possibility of misunderstandings.

Get to know your target audience.

To improve your conversion rate, you need to get to know your target audience.

Begin by creating an ideal client profile. Think of a single person who will truly benefit from your product or service. Flesh out the ideal client profile until you have a living, breathing person in mind.

Make sure to answer the following questions.

• How old is your ideal client?
• Where is he located?
• What are his likes and dislikes?
• Where does he spend time offline and online?
• What does he do for a living?
• Is he married?
• Does he have kids?
• How does your product or services make his life better?
• What might stop him from buying from you?

Once you’ve gotten to know your ideal client, you can make the necessary tweaks to your website.

Let’s say you created a monthly budgeting software and would like to find more paying customers. One of your software’s main benefits is that it automatically tracks returns, records bank account transactions, and makes payments.

If your ideal client is a 50-something man who manages a small business, you may need to use muted colours and more formal language. You can say that your software eliminates the need for your ideal client to do several tasks manually. This allows him to spend more time with his family.

If your ideal client is a 20-something freelance graphic designer, you can use brighter images and more modern language. You can talk about the same automated features, but you’re presenting the benefits differently. You can say that your software saves your ideal client time, allowing her to focus on learning more about graphic design and growing her business.

Test everything.

Conversion rate optimisation doesn’t end with creating an effective call-to-action and getting to know your target audience.

For optimum results, you need to test everything, collect data, and adjust accordingly.

Each element of your website–the images, copy, colours, and so forth–could have a significant impact on your conversion rate.

A/B testing allows you to compare two different versions of a webpage. For example, you can use a different call-to-action on Webpage A and another call-to-action on Website B. You can then determine which call-to-action is more effective using tools like HubSpot.

Apply this A/B testing to your most important webpages, especially landing pages. You never know how one simple tweak can boost your conversion rate.

Conclusion

Don’t expect instant results with conversion rate optimisation. It’s something you have to work at over a long time.

Create a visible, clear, and strategically placed call-to-action. It needs to stand out from the page and tell visitors what will happen after they click on it.

You need to get to know your target audience. Identify what type of designs, copy, and offers appeal to them.

Don’t forget to test everything. There’s always room for improvement, especially when it comes to CRO. Optimise based on tested results.

Cornerstone Digital is a web development company in Sydney. We’d be glad to help improve your conversion rate with a user-friendly website. Call us on (02) 8211 0668 or email us at info@cornerstone-digital.com.au.

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Darlyn Herradura

A self-professed book and digital marketing nerd, Darlyn Herradura focuses on building trust between customers and businesses with the written word. She understands that creating valuable content is the best way to get found online and happily spends her time doing that.