Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of increasing your conversion rate by directing your site visitors to take specific actions such as purchasing a product, downloading a PDF, or subscribing to a newsletter. The main goal of CRO is to optimize all of your marketing processes, so that everything runs smoothly. The more optimized your marketing is, the higher your conversion rate.
It is with this in mind that we present to you 8 best practices to implement in order to optimize the conversion rate of your website .
1. Optimize your calls to action (CTA)
Calls to action play a crucial role on your site since they tell your users how to take the next step. If your CTAs aren't detailed or adequately visible, you're preventing your audience from moving to the conversion stage.
If your action button is not detailed, your users will not be inclined to click on it since they will not know where they will be redirected. Having a more specific CTA like “Add this product to my cart” tells your audience what happens if they click the button. They know it will add the product to their cart, where they can check out.
If you want to drive more conversions for your business, focus on creating accurate CTAs and guiding your audience on what will happen next, so they're more likely to take the next step.
2. Offer support to your users while they browse
Use live chat software to chat with your visitors in real time and offer support and advice where necessary. To increase conversions, add these messaging features to your high-performing web pages, such as your pricing and product pages, so your users get the information they want in real time.
You can also automate this messaging so that the user receives an action-based notification. For example, if someone has spent more than a minute on the page, you can automatically offer to help them and answer all their questions using a chatbot.
3. Communicate the value of your product or service well
Many businesses make the mistake of focusing on why their business offers the best product or service, rather than why their product or service is best for their audience.
Your audience doesn't want to know how great your business is or why you're the best. They want to understand how your product or service will help them , benefit them and make their lives easier. You need to take a customer-first approach when presenting the value of your product or service .
By focusing on the wants and meeting the needs of your customers when selling your products or services, you will get more people to convert.
4. Make sure you target the right people
Make sure you are targeting the right people for your products and services since it will be difficult to increase your conversion rate if you are not targeting people who are interested in what you offer.
It is therefore essential for you to determine your target audience by looking at, for example, a typical customer for your business. For more details on how to proceed, we invite you to consult the email we sent you on the importance of personas .
5. Optimize your forms
Your site's forms can often prevent users from converting. If users are confused by your form fields, or if it takes too long to load, you risk losing potential conversions. You need to look at your forms and see what might be stopping your users from filling them out.
To create a form that maximizes conversions, you need to test different form lengths and questions. Running A/B tests can help you see how your forms improve or deteriorate based on small changes. It will guide you towards creating a more effective and efficient form.
6. Show testimonials
Another best practice is to highlight testimonials from customers who are satisfied with your products and services. People generally trust recommendations from their peers more than those from a brand. This is because people rely on the opinions of others to guide them towards the companies that offer the best products or services to meet their needs.
To make the conversion process easier for your business, consider putting this social proof forward from the start. For example, if you want to sell more of a specific product, you can include the product's star rating at the top of the page so people can see the reviews immediately.
Offering social proof like testimonials can help you gain more conversions because it shows that people had a positive experience with your business, making new users more confident in choosing you.
7. Use heat maps
If your conversion rate is low, it could be due to many factors such as poor placement of your call to action buttons. Heatmaps can help you gain clarity by allowing you to see where your users are clicking and how far they scroll down your page.
Tools like MS Clarity or Hotjar, which we talked about in another article, are essential for analyzing the behavior of your users on your website .
8. Keep testing
Last on our list of CRO best practices is to keep testing everything, including your campaigns, pages, and forms. Constant testing means every element will be optimized for conversions. The first version of anything is not necessarily the best.
Don’t be afraid to test different CRO elements to help you release a version that will get more people to click, fill out forms, or convert in other ways. For example, you can use A/B testing to help you produce the best results for your business.
By following these best practices , you'll put your site on the fast track to earning more conversions and growing online. If you don't know where to start, we're here to help. Make an appointment with our experts now.