Claus Ømand
26 February 2023
Learn more about Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
Do you want to improve your conversion rate and know more about the topic? Or are you looking for new ideas and inspiration on how to optimize your website or online store?
In this updated article, we give you a detailed overview of the concept of conversion rate optimization.
What is Conversion Rate Optimization?
In short, conversion rate optimization can be defined as follows: It's the strategy to get more people to do what you want! In other words, the strategy that gets more visitors to a website to perform the action the website is designed to make them do. This could be, for example, buying a product or signing up for a newsletter.
Optimizing your conversion rate is important because it helps increase the company's revenue. If a company has many visitors to its website or online store but only a small percentage of them actually end up buying something or becoming a lead, there is great potential to increase the company's revenue by getting more visitors to convert, for example, by clicking on the "buy" or "sign up" button.
Conversion optimization can also help improve the user experience on an online store or website. If a site is not easy to navigate or doesn't provide users with the information they are looking for, they are likely to leave the page without performing the desired action. By optimizing for conversions, you can ensure that users have a positive experience, resulting in satisfied and loyal customers, and naturally, a better bottom line for your company.
Optimization Tools
There are several ways you can optimize for conversions. Some of the most common methods include:
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A/B Testing:
Here, you test two different versions of a page side by side to see which version converts best. You can, for example, test different buttons, images, or texts to see what gets the most visitors to perform the desired action. The best-performing version then becomes the new default page.de. -
User Analysis:
Here, you examine how users interact with the website. This way, you can understand what motivates users to convert or leave the page. You can do this using tools like heatmaps, which show which parts of the website are clicked on most, or by conducting focus groups where you ask users directly about their experience with the website. -
Landing Pages:
A landing page is a dedicated page designed to get visitors to perform a specific action. This can be signing up for a newsletter or buying a product. By optimizing landing pages for conversions, you can focus on giving users the information they need and removing distractions that can divert them from performing the desired action. -
Call-to-action (CTA):
Call-to-action elements on a website encourage users to perform an action, e.g., "Buy now" or "Sign up." It is important to make CTAs clear and visible so users can easily see what to do. -
Content Optimization:
It's important to ensure that the website's content is relevant, interesting, and useful to users. This increases the likelihood that they will continue reading the content and perform the desired action.
There are many effective methods that can be used in conversion optimization, and it is often a combination of different tactics that yield the best results. It's important to remember that conversion optimization is not a quick fix but an ongoing process that requires patience and sustained effort.
In the end, conversion rate optimization is about understanding your target groups and designing your website in a way that appeals to them and gets them to perform the desired action. By focusing on conversions, you can increase the revenue for your company and improve the user experience, resulting in loyal and satisfied customers.
Examples of Conversions
It's entirely normal to have multiple goals for one's website or online store, which is why it's natural to measure various types of conversions. For instance, as an online store owner, one might aim to increase sales while also having a goal to get more newsletter sign-ups and encouraging visitors to share their positive experiences on social media.
There are two types of conversions differentiated: hard and soft.
Hard conversions are the traditional type that is best to achieve. Examples might include making a purchase in the online store, filling out a contact form, or requesting a callback.
Soft conversions differ from hard conversions in that they pique the initial interest of a potential customer who isn't yet fully convinced. Examples of soft conversions might include signing up for a newsletter, sharing content on social media, or downloading an e-book.
It's a good idea to set both hard and soft conversion goals to understand why visitors aren't converting and to make the necessary improvements to assist the customer toward a final purchase. Conversion goals can also help identify where and why visitors drop off, providing a solid foundation for improvements that can aid them in progressing to a purchase.
All conversion goals, whether hard or soft, should contribute to the company's objectives of increasing revenue and enhancing the user experience. Hence, it's crucial to select the goals most relevant and essential for the company and set up measurements to monitor how the website performs in converting visitors into customers.
How to Calculate Your Conversion Rate
To calculate your conversion rate, divide the number of conversions by the number of visitors and multiply by 100 to get the percentage. You can do this using the following formula:
Conversion Rate = (Number of conversions / Number of visitors) * 100
Example: If you've had 100 visitors to your site and 10 of them have completed the desired action (e.g., made a purchase), then your conversion rate would be 10%.
(10 conversions / 100 visitors) * 100 = 10%
The conversion rate can vary depending on the target audience, industry, conversion objectives, and other factors. Hence, it's a good idea to compare the conversion rate over time to track progress and identify potential improvements. It can also be beneficial to compare one's conversion rate with the industry norm to see how you fare against competitors. Moreover, it's useful to investigate the reasons for any fluctuations in the conversion rate to implement the necessary enhancements.
What is a good conversion rate?
A good conversion rate depends on several factors and can vary significantly from business to business, and from industry to industry. Generally speaking, one should always aim for a high conversion rate as it indicates that many visitors on the site are performing the desired action, such as buying an item or filling out a contact form.
It's essential to remember that conversion rates can vary widely depending on the industry, type of business, product, campaign, competition, etc. Therefore, it can be challenging to give a specific number that represents a good conversion rate for everyone.
However, as a rule of thumb, a conversion rate of 2-3% is typical for an e-commerce website, while a conversion rate of 5-10% can be good for a B2B company or a website with high-quality content, primarily because it offers precisely what a customer is looking for. If your conversion rate for online shops exceeds 4%, you should also look at how to increase traffic to the site through advertising and visibility, such as SEO, thus increasing your turnover.
The most crucial aspect is to compare your own conversion rate with previous periods or with other businesses in the same industry and to work continuously to improve it. This can be achieved through A/B testing, analysis, optimization, and the implementation of new methods and tools.
Tools to Track Your Conversion Optimization
There are numerous tools available to help measure and track conversions, such as GA4, Matomo, and AdWords. These tools can provide a detailed overview of how your website performs in terms of getting visitors to perform the desired action, and they can also help identify potential problems or opportunities for improvement. It's a good idea to use these tools to get a comprehensive view of the conversion rate and make the necessary improvements to increase it.
10 good tips for conversion optimization
We've gathered the best advice you should keep in mind if you want to work effectively with the conversion optimization of your online store or website:
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Make it easy for visitors to find what they're looking for. It's always a good idea to have a clear structure and navigation on the website. Searching and possibly filtering the site's content should be set up correctly and easily accessible, so visitors can quickly find the products or services they're interested in.
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Give your visitors a good user experience. It's important to have a website that's easy to navigate and read, containing relevant and updated content. Use high-quality images, as they are an effective way to showcase products or moods and almost always enhance the user experience.
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Clearly show what's unique about your product or service. Highlight what sets you apart from competitors and why visitors should choose you.
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Make it easy to purchase. It should be straightforward for visitors to make a purchase or carry out the desired action on the website. It's a good idea to have an easily accessible "buy" button or a simple form to fill out.
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Make it easy to get in touch. It's beneficial to have contact information and perhaps a chat function on the website, so visitors can easily contact you if they have questions or need advice.
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Display social proof. Consider showing reviews, ratings, or other forms of social proof on the website, so visitors can see that other customers have had positive experiences with your product or service.
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Make it easy to sign up for newsletters or other forms of marketing. Have an easily accessible sign-up form on the website, so visitors can easily subscribe to your newsletter or other marketing forms.
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Responsive design. The proportion of customers shopping from a mobile phone or another mobile device has grown steadily over the past ten years. Today, it's an absolute requirement that your website works as well on a mobile device as on a PC, or you'll lose customers.
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Use A/B testing. It's a good idea to conduct A/B testing on the website to determine which elements have the most significant impact on the conversion rate. For instance, testing different texts, colors, or layouts.
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Follow up on results. It's essential to follow up on the outcomes of conversion optimization to see if improvements have been made and to identify any problems or opportunities for enhancement. Regular analyses are a good idea to keep track of progress and make the necessary improvements.
Also, remember to keep an eye on industry standards to investigate what works well for others in the industry. In this way, you can gain inspiration for what you can do to increase the conversion rate on your website.
Optimize Your Conversion
- Make It Your Core Task!
Conversion optimization is an ongoing process, and it requires constant attention to improve your conversion rate. There are many ways to boost your conversion rate, and it's essential to be willing to experiment with different methods to achieve the best possible results.
You must always have an updated insight into your online store's data and KPIs. Online trends change quickly, and your visitors can be hard to understand. Accept that you might arrive at new and different conclusions, and adjust your online store continuously to not lose momentum. A/B split testing is an excellent method when you've analyzed visitor behavior and move on to optimization.
