Let’s say, for example, you wanted to learn about CRO in Dallas. What would be the first thing that you did in order to find more information? If you are like a billion other people around the world you would most likely go to your favorite search engine and type in your keywords to see what came up in the results.
You might try something like:
- CRO near Dallas
- What is CRO?
- How does CRO work?
- What does CRO stand for?
If you wanted to hire a CRO company you might look for great-looking candidates that you find in your search engine results. The difference between being seen in the searches and being picked out of all of the available options is what makes CRO so important. It has to be done right, or it will simply not work.
What is CRO?
CRO stands for conversion rate optimization. What CRO does is it helps the website that is being optimized become a better environment for the users that visit the site. Since the main goal of websites that implement CRO strategies is to get more conversions, the idea is to massage the content and the overall customer journey on the site into a system that generates more sales and more revenue.
The conversion rate of a website is the number of visitors that visit the site compared to the number of visitors that convert from users to customers by buying a product, signing up for a service, or whatever it is that the website is trying to accomplish.
For example, if you have 100 visitors on the site and 10 of those visitors convert from browsers to customers you would have a 10% conversion rate. Depending on the nature of the business and other variables a 10% conversion rate could be high or low.
Here’s How it Works
The first thing to understand is that when it comes to creating a successful website it is never a one-and-done deal. Things change as time goes by. At one point in time, it could be appropriate to use a common phrase, but six months later that same phrase could be considered a problem.
Remaining diligent in regards to current times and the latest updates in technology is crucial when it comes to providing a flawless visitor experience that inspires users to go all the way through and purchase your products.
Although it is important to keep the brand in mind while designing a site, it is also important to cater to the users that visit the site and go with the flow of their needs.
When an eCommerce website is built the developer will typically install a bit of code that connects the site to a data analyzing portal such as Google Analytics. This type of application will keep track of information such as:
- Geolocation of the visitor
- The duration of time the visitor stays on the page
- The pages that the visitor views during the journey
- The route that the visitor takes while navigating the site
- Where visitors bounce from pages
- Where visitors linger on pages
By using the data that the analytics software provides a marketer will be able to see what pages are effective, and what ones are not.
The data will show where visitors stay the longest times, which could mean that the visitors like what they see on a particular page.
If the call-to-action buttons are placed in an optimal place, the data will show that visitors click on the buttons and how long they stay on the pages that the buttons lead them to.
With data that tells the marketers and the developers how the users on the site behave as they browse the pages a conversion rate optimization specialist can make recommendations on where to optimize pages, content, call to action buttons, and more.
Once these changes have taken place, the analyst can track the new data and see where the new changes are working and where they are not. After a while, the website can be completely refined, and shaped into an interesting, informative, and helpful work of art that gets results.
The Science Behind CRO
Since each website is for a different company and will have its own unique characteristics that make it what it is, there is no set way to implement a CRO strategy. What might work for one website would be a disaster for another. The main focus of each website should always be one that appeals to the people that will visit the site.
A successful website has to understand its audience. You could not appeal to a group of people who like to read books about flowers with a website that sells automotive parts. Although each group of people could have similar likes and dislikes when it comes to what they are looking to buy, car parts and flowers are completely different.
With that being said, the entire structure of the website and the content that makes it what it is has to be in harmony with the visitors that go there.
- Nice pretty pictures of flowers on one site
- Strong durable automobiles on the other
Each site will have its own type of audience. The way to engage that audience is to understand them and guide them along the journey of the site from the beginning visit to the very last of the transaction when they pay for whatever it is you are selling.
Interesting Content and Attractive Headings
As soon as a person clicks on a search result and lands on the page of that result they are going to see the top part of the website. This area that they see first is considered “above the fold.” This is where most visitors will decide whether or not the website is worth their time.
- Interesting images
- Clear headings
- Content that engages
If the site looks cheesy, shady, busy, or unattractive in any way the visitors will bounce away within the first few seconds that they see the page. This is where knowing and understanding your target audience is important.
Many websites that you see today will have a huge “hero” section on the top of their home page with a brilliant image that is meant to attract the attention of the visitors. This is a good thing, however, if it is too big and makes the pages load slowly users will bounce away.
In any event, any images that your visitors will see when they first land on the home page are ones that have to get through to them. If the image does not match up with what the people are looking for, they will most likely bounce away before they ever scroll down for more.
Being able to provide the type of content that is attractive to your users is all by understanding who they are. In order to understand them, you might just have to communicate with them.
Qualitative Data
In addition to the data that you glean from the analytic software, you may also choose to get data from visitors by asking them to fill out forms, or use other types of communication and give their opinion about the experience that they had while visiting your website.
One of the best things about qualitative data is that it comes straight from the visitors of the site, and is not generated from the software. This is the kind of data that you can use to help to make improvements to the site.
Keep in mind that not all visitors will think alike, but if you get 10 people all saying that the image on the home page is ugly and needs to be changed…you might want to listen to that.
Although each person that leaves feedback will have their own point of view, asking questions such as” What could we do to improve your experience next time?” might give you some ideas that you did not think of before.
Conclusion
The absolute best and right way to do CRO is to take the time to get to know and understand the people that visit your site. Keep in mind what they are looking for and the types of content that will keep them interested. The more you know your target market, the better you will be able to serve them and keep them engaged. Keep shifting and changing the key elements of your site until you find optimum conversions. The best way to keep those conversions coming is to keep your site updated with fresh, interesting content and loud calls to action as much as possible.
