Conversion rate optimization. It should go without saying that doing business online is almost entirely different from conducting in-store sales. However, some things in business don’t change, no matter which way you choose to offer your services and products.
Customer experience should always be high on your list when you’re making a marketing strategy. You don’t only want people to visit your store; you also want them to buy.
In the online world, converting visitors into actual buyers is achieved through what’s called a conversion rate optimization (CRO). In this article, we will explain what CRO is and how it can help you boost your profits.
What Is CRO?
Before we tell you about CRO, we should first clarify what conversion rate is. The conversion rate is the percentage of the visitors that end up buying a product on your site. If, for example, you sold 100 items last month after having 1,000 visitors on the site in the same period, your conversion rate for that month is 10%.
So conversion rate optimization is an online marketing tactic that has the goal of converting your visitors into buyers. While buying is the ultimate goal for most businesses, this strategy also entails compelling the site’s visitors to subscribe to newsletters, download files from your site, and perform other actions.
A conversion rate can tell you a lot about how potential customers perceive your online shop and what does or doesn’t make them buy your products. CRO has the purpose of making the visitor feel more engaged to buy while browsing your website. It helps to optimize and improve your marketing processes, and ultimately help you achieve higher profits.
The Advantages of CRO
The primary advantage of CRO is that it can raise your profits significantly. You might not necessarily see more visitors, but as long as you’re selling products at a higher rate, your CRO strategy will be considered a successful one.
However, having more actual buyers means that it’s likely you will have more visitors in the future as well. CRO improves customer experience, and the buyers that leave your website satisfied with the service they got will also leave positive reviews and suggest your online shop to other people. Therefore, you will get more traffic, and your business can continue to grow.
Implementing a CRO strategy can help you better understand the nature of your customers. Instead of going with your own preferences or the suggestions of your website designer, you will reinvent your website according to what the customer sees as aesthetically pleasing, practical, and convenient.
The Difference Between CRO and SEO
Although they are connected in a way, CRO and SEO are entirely different things in online marketing. The main difference is that CRO tracks the behavior of your website clientele, while SEO strategies adapt your website to the behavior of search engines and algorithms.
However, one can’t go without the other. If you want to reach your business goals in the online world, you will need to develop strategies for both SEO and CRO. SEO puts your website on the map, allowing customers to reach you in the first place. On the other hand, CRO is put into action once they are already there.
Quick Tips for Your CRO Strategy
We hope that what we’ve written so far has convinced you that you need a CRO strategy to bring your business to a higher level. But what now? How do you start creating the right CRO strategy and improve your conversion rates?
First, you must understand the basic principles of CRO and what makes customers attracted to a specific website.
You have to know that customers like to compare. No matter what you’re selling, you are surely not the only shop in your niche. Therefore, you should highlight what you feel sets you apart from competitors. For example, your prices might be more affordable than others. In that case, you should make your price more visible.
Try creating an incentive with shoppers by giving them discounts or some sort of a trial period. Make a proof of the legitimacy of your business by working on your “About Us” page or the FAQ section. If you are selling physical products, make sure that you use quality photos.
A lot of things can make customers turn their heads quicker than a lightning bolt and never return. More than anything, you should avoid slow loading times on your website. Even a few seconds of waiting time could make a lot of people close the tab.
Don’t force customers to register, make your purchase button visible, and keep your product descriptions clear and to the point. In short, remove everything that can be considered a barrier to the visitor and make the buying process as smooth as possible.
There’s More to CRO
There’s a lot more to CRO than we mentioned in this brief guide. Even if you optimize your website and do everything right, you still can’t be sure that your conversion rates will go up. Prior to that, you will need to gather a lot of data, do some testing, and use various tools to measure your customers’ behavior. However, this is a subject best left for a separate article.
All you should know for now is that CRO is an essential part of any online marketing strategy. If your conversion rates are low, you will definitely need to learn a lot more about conversion rate optimization before moving forward.
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Founder of SERPwatch.io Josh started building his experience in all things Internet since the beginning of 2000. A novice but aspiring developer, he lives and breathes SEO and loves to explore how the World Wide Web works.
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