At some point in time, every business that has an online store has to think about what to do in order to get more conversions. Whether it is CRO Dallas, or CRO anywhere else in the world, the meaning does not change. Conversion rate optimization is an integral part of any successful online business. Without conversions, the business ultimately fails.
What CRO Means
Whenever an online business sells merchandise, services, or anything else through a website there is a potential for great success or great failure. If an online store just sits there for the world to see, but does not sell anything all it is doing is losing money. In order for the business to make any money at all the website has to convert browsers into customers.
- Attract user attention
- Engage the visitor
- Provide a pleasant user experience
Whether it is selling clothing, art, advice, or whatever when a person visits the site there is the possibility that they will buy whatever it is that the company is selling, and a possibility that they will leave and go somewhere else.
CRO, also known as conversion rate optimization, is the art of using data to make small changes to the mechanics of the website in order to attract more attention and generate more sales. If you are not taking advantage of data that your site collects, you might want to re-think your strategy.
Here are 7 reasons why CRO matters…
1. Finding Flaws in the Site
One of the biggest mistakes that web developers can make is that they ignore the backend of the site, and forget how much power it has in terms of search engine visibility. Conversion rate optimization only happens by using the data that analytical software collects from the website. By looking at the data that comes in it is not difficult to discover where there might be some flaws in the inner workings of the website. Data research can uncover issues like:
- Too little text
- Too long of load time
- Not misplaced CTA buttons
One of the most important components of conversion rate maximization is that the website has the capability to engage visitors and keep their interests focused.
2. Discovering Where Visitors Visit
Understanding the way that visitors behave while they are on the site can lead to an upper hand advantage. Through analyzing the data that generates as users come and go from the site it is easy to see where visitors go once they hit the home page. You can see:
- Where visitors click links
- Where visitors respond to calls to action
- Where visitors linger and focus
- Where visitors bounce
Once you understand the general journey of the visitor that browses the site, you can create new ways to engage them and lead them towards the conversion goal.
3. Understanding Why Visitors Land on Your Site
There are different types of web traffic that can land on a site at any given moment.
- Organic search results visitors
- Paid advertisements
- Return visitors
- Offline referrals
- Search engine bots
- Affiliates
Obviously, the organic search result visitors are the most coveted visitors, however, paid advertisements and other referrals are great as well.
By using the data that analytic platforms provide you can determine the way that visitors discover your site, and also understand why they go there. Depending on the information that you get with your analytic settings, you can learn what geographic location people come from, their gender, their age, and the type of device they use.
By understanding why people visit the site, you can determine the type of content to make available for them when they visit.
4. Changing the Dynamics of Your Store
Once there is an understanding of who visits your site, and why they go there you can create small but powerful changes in the dynamics of your site that will help the visitors to stay focused and engaged.
For example, if there are certain pages that attract more attention than others the developer can create ways for all of the pages to include the same elements as the other pages. Not the exact content, but the same elements.
- Engaging images
- Forms and questions
- Attractive calls to action
- Impressive headings
The more you understand your visitors, the more you can implement dynamics on the site that lead them straight to conversions and away from leaving the site.
5. Creating a Trusting Environment
Learning more about your visitors can give you an idea of what will make them feel more comfortable. When you see that many visitors bounce from a page, you can go in and determine why they are leaving.
- Is the page confusing?
- Does the page look legit?
- Is the page offensive?
These are some important questions to ask yourself as you audit the pages that are giving problems. If people that visit the site refuse to engage because something about it makes it appear untrustworthy it is time to figure out what it is and change it.
People that trust a website are more apt to return again and buy more stuff than ones that feel threatened or suspicious of the site.
6. Engaging Your Visitors
Another great way to determine how your customers act while on the pages is to do some A/B comparison testing and use what you find in order to successfully engage the visitors on your site.
For example, you could promote the same product on two separate pages with separate looks and feels, then use the data that people provide to choose which page worked better than the other.
Comparing ideas helps the developer of the store to determine what to do to get the attention of the visitors.
Providing a place for comments, or a place for visitors to take a quiz, or download an informational file all are ways to both engage the customer and lead them to further the journey towards completion of a transaction.
7. Generating More Online Sales
By collecting data and analyzing what you get in order to make adjustments to the flow of your website you can shift a slow-moving site into a fast-paced high-volume sales machine. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme mentality. It all goes from an idea to an online success by setting goals and working towards them…aggressively.
When you take the time to discover what works and what does not work on the site you can get a clear vision of where to make adjustments and where not to. What’s great about optimizing a website for higher conversion rates is that when you put in the work and truly read the data you can seriously improve the number of sales that come in on a daily basis.
It is important to remember that people that find your site through an online search actually want what you are offering. Every person that visits your site is a potential sale. When you optimize your site for ultimate sales efficiency, you change the whole ball game for yourself and put a chink in the armor of your competitors.
Conclusion
Conversion rate optimization is the one true way you can have a bit of control of how customers behave on your site. When you give them a clear path towards getting what they want and do not give them any reason to leave and find another place you get an opportunity to get their business and skyrocket your sales.