THE DEFINITIVE
Getting Started with the Conversion Optimization Guide
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the tinkering, tweaking, and testing that occurs to make the most out of every piece of content you publish and every campaign you run. Think of it like a digital marketer’s test kitchen, experimenting with different recipes to get the best possible result.
Unlike a ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ approach, conversion rate optimization assumes that, with thoughtful testing, there’s always room for improvement. After all, getting online is as simple as publishing a website, but growing your business involves transforming web traffic into leads and sales.
This CRO guide is designed for savvy small business owners and DIY digital marketers who want to go from 0 to 60 on their conversion rate optimization journey. We’ll cover the basics (what is conversion rate optimization, what’s a good conversation rate, how to find and utilize your data using Leadpages analytics or Google Analytics, etc.) and the nitty-gritty tactics that you can use to take your web content to the next level.
Ready to dive in? Each chapter of this guide explores a key topic to both enhance your website optimization knowledge and help you apply this knowledge to your own business right away. But first, let’s start with a brief introduction on the topic to get you up to speed.
What is a conversion?
A conversion refers to any time a web visitor takes a desired action on your website or landing page. Therefore, your conversion rate is a measure of how many people took that action. We’ll go over how to calculate your conversion rate in Chapter 3.
What is conversion rate optimization?
Conversion rate optimization is the process of improving and testing your content in order to produce a better conversion rate.
By testing and paying attention to how well your audience responds to different kinds of marketing queues—everything from price to the pictures you use on the landing page—you’ll be better able to connect with your audience, convince them of your value, and convert them to the next stage of their customer journey.
We’ll provide a more thorough definition of conversion rate optimization in Chapter 1.
Why is conversion rate optimization important?
CRO marketing is a four-step process:
- Analyze current conversion by looking at all the variables that are influencing your CRO.
- Talk to your audience to understand why your visitors are leaving as opposed to converting.
- Make changes and focus your efforts on improving things your audience provided feedback on.
- Continuously test your changes to determine what’s working (and what’s not).
This is a simplified answer, but it’s a great starting point. You’ll learn a much more detailed strategy for improving your conversion rate in Chapter 4.
Why is conversion rate optimization important?
Your conversion rate is perhaps the strongest measure of success on any web page, landing page, or digital marketing campaign. It tells you how many web visitors take the action that will help you achieve your business goals.
A high conversion rate means more people are taking the desired action. A low conversion rate, on the other hand, can signal one of three problems: you’re not reaching the right audience, you’re not engaging the audience effectively, or you’re not bringing them the right offer.
Conversion rate optimization helps you fine-tune your marketing content to be as effective as possible. As your conversion rate rises, more people will move through your sales funnel (also known as your “conversion funnel”) and your list of qualified leads will grow (thus, so will your sales and revenue).
Getting web traffic to your site is expensive, whether it’s with pay-per-click campaigns, social media posts, or word of mouth. Don’t waste all that traffic by allowing visitors to leave without engaging with your brand on a deeper level. That means getting them to take action when they come to your website or landing page.
Learn about more benefits of conversion rate optimization in Chapter 1.
What is a good conversion rate?
Not sure if your conversion rate is good or bad? It’s usually more complicated than a single number. The best indicator is your own historical data. How have similar pieces of content performed in the past? Is your average conversion rate getting better over time?
Also, think about what a higher conversion rate would do for your business. Are you happy with your current influx of traffic, or do you need more based on your ROI?
You’ll learn more about what is a good conversion rate in Chapter 3.
The ultimate guide to website and landing page conversion optimization
In Chapter One: What is a Conversion Rate you’ll learn that conversion rate optimization constitutes:
- Set a goal and desired action
- Count how many visitors are taking that action
- See how many visitors are not taking that action
- Find a way to get more visitors to take that action
We’ll also go over what the benefits of optimizing conversion rate are, like:
- Minimize acquisition cost by making the most of your hard-won web traffic
- Grow your email list with qualified leads (faster)
- Increase your sales (and repeat sales)
- Help you better understand your audience’s expectations (and what compels them to act)
- Create a better user experience (search engines love optimized pages)
In Chapter Two: How Do I Calculate My Conversion Rate we’ll go over the math for calculating your conversion rate and in Chapter 3: What’s a good Conversion Rate you’ll learn what success looks like.
With the 21 conversion optimization tips and tricks in Chapter Four: How Can I Improve My Conversion Rate, you’ll improve your conversion rate by learning how to design an optimized page that connects with and engages your audience.
In Chapter Five: A/B Split Testing, we’ll dive down into the nitty-gritty of CRO with A/B testing to discuss how one small change on your website can show improvement in your conversion rate. We’ll also give you 10 recommended variables to test out that tend to show the greatest success.
Then we lay it all out in Chapter Six: Creating a Conversion-Optimized Website, with the 14 ultimate steps to creating a conversion-optimized website that can take your business further and faster.
This comprehensive guide is designed to condense decades of conversion marketing knowledge into no-nonsense steps that you can take today. We’ll cover the basics of conversion rate calculation, how to know if your conversion rate is “good” or bad, running A/B tests, and fine-tuning your optimization tactics every step of the way.
As you work through this guide, we recommend that you pick one of your landing pages or a static website page that has a CTA on it. Use this page as an example as you move through this guide so you can get first-hand optimization experience and relate the info directly to your business. By the end of this, you’ll have a fresh page to test out for your new conversion rate.
What’s next?
You now know the basics of conversion rate optimization, but it’s time to delve a little deeper. Continue to Chapter 1 for a thorough analysis of what conversion rate optimization is and why it’s important.
