Conversion Rate Optimization in 6 Steps

If you’re in e-commerce, you need to be obsessed with conversion rate optimization (CRO). Yep, I’m just diving straight into this one.?

CRO increases revenue, average order value, and engagement - all while reducing your costs at the same time!?

This week, I’m going to get into CRO, when you need it, and the 6 Step Process of CRO.?

What is Conversion Rate Optimization??

Conversion Rate Optimization is the process of increasing the percentage of website visitors to take the desired action. These desired actions are called conversions.?

Some examples of conversions include:

• Watching a video
• Signing up for a free trial
• Filling in a form or survey
• Making a purchase

If 10 out of 1000 store visitors make a purchase, that store’s CRO is 1%.??

When Do I Need CRO??

I mean, the short answer here is that every e-commerce business needs CRO.?

But for now, let’s focus on the 3 key areas you need to focus on:

1. User Experience (UX): Does your website have challenges with UX? How easily can users get around your website and complete the desired action?
2. Existing Conversion Rate: Does your website have a low conversion rate? Are your store visitors just not buying? The average conversion rate for an e-commerce website is around 2%. However, some stores have a conversion rate as high as 7% - 10%. You can always increase the number of conversions. See what I mean when I say everyone could do with CRO??
3. Shopping Funnel Leaks: This is when there is a high drop-off rate at a certain stage of the shopping funnel.?

The 6 Steps of CRO?

Now it’s time for my favorite part! Let’s dive straight into the 6 Steps of the CRO Process.?

1. Analytics Configuration ?

This step applies to websites that have not yet set up user data tracking.

Enabling Google Analytics on your website is the first step to understanding who your visitors are, how they behave on your site (e.g. how long they spend on a certain page), and where they click.?

Ensure that tracking is aligned with your key performance indicators. This way, you can both optimize your website and measure progress.

2. Analytics Audit

If you already have your analytics configured, your website needs an audit, preferably by an independent body.

This ensures that everything is working as it should be, i.e. the data is credible and everything is being tracked in line with your key performance indicators.?

3. Website Audit

This step focuses on assessing whether your website follows all the recommended guidelines for an e-commerce store. In particular, what are your website’s weak spots?

This includes identifying any “low-hanging fruit” - areas of optimization that are simple to implement and test.?

The audit also helps to create hypotheses for A/B testing. For example, “Site visitors are more likely to click on green buttons than yellow buttons.” From this stage on, it’s all about creating those hypotheses.?

4. Data Analysis?

The clue is in the name here! Data analysis uses website data to explain any issues identified in your website audit.?

Data analysis also reveals any technical issues such as page load speed. You’ll also be able to see at what stage your visitors are most likely to leave, therefore identifying any shopping funnel leaks.

5. User Behavior Analysis ?

Your analytics will be collecting a ton of behavior data through heatmaps, surveys, and user testing. Now your job is to look at that data and assess how you need to improve the user experience. Ask yourself questions like:

• Are users getting all the information they need to help them make a purchase decision?
• Is your website easy to navigate?
• Do users understand what product/service is being offered??

6. A/B Testing ?

This is the fun part!?

Now it’s time to test your hypotheses from all that data you’ve been collected. It’s time to test two variants (A and B) to see who wins! You’ll see one of three possible outcomes:?

• The control wins the experiment. If this happens, go back to your data analysis, review the data, and come up with another hypothesis to test.
• The difference between the control and the variant is too small to be used to make a decision. It’s back to the data analysis drawing board!
• The variant wins the experiment. Yay! Go ahead and deploy the variant.

The Lowdown

There you have it! The Six Steps of CRO. I’m not gonna say that this is an exhaustive guide to CRO. No way! But it’s a good jumping-off point. (If I do say so myself).?

I’d be delighted to answer any CRO questions you have. Seriously, I love this stuff. Just drop them in the comments or DM or email me if that’s more your thing.?

See you next week!?