May 24, 2016 By Digital Operative,
The name of the game is CRO, and if you’re not already playing, then you’re a few steps behind the competition. Thankfully, contrary to the sentiments of The Biebs, it’s not too late! At this point, you’re probably wondering, “Well, what exactly is CRO?” No, we didn’t misspell the name of the bird nor did we misspell the name of the 1994 action-packed blockbuster (although, to be fair, the film is an absolute certified Fresh classic—check it out sometime, folks).

What is Conversion Rate Optimization?

The acronym refers to conversion rate optimization. Conversion rate is the likelihood that a website visitor will go to your site and convert; to do what you want him/her to do—whether that’s make a purchase, download an app or sign up for a newsletter. Conversion rate optimization, on the other hand, is improving certain aspects of your website to get your visitors to convert through deep data analysis and rigorous user testing. Easy enough, right? 59% of companies polled by Econsultancy seem to think so. Having a great website is more than just using engaging content and Google-proof SEO tactics to garner site visits. Now, make no mistake: site visits are important, but getting them is merely the first step. Those visitors have only just entered the funnel, but we want to bring them all the way through by compelling them to act—to convert. To put it quite simply, CRO could spell the difference between someone who simply goes to your site and another visitor who goes to your site and performs an action that you intended. Site visits are nice to have, but in the grand scheme of things, you want visitors to convert. These “conversion points” come in the form of purchases, shares, sign ups, reviews and even building wishlists.

Enter Website Optimization & Testing

If you aren’t getting the results you want, chances are your conversion rate isn’t up to par. That’s where CRO comes in. Here at Digital Operative, we affectionately classify CRO as “Optimization and Testing.” It may not sound as cool, but it makes more sense and is just easier to understand. While CRO may refer exclusively to sales in some instances, Optimization and Testing means making a website better in all aspects—from average order value (AOV) to per visit value (PVV) and even revenue per visit (RPV). 3 CRO Tips

Here’s 3 Free CRO Tips for Your Ecommerce Website

  1. Attribute Expansion via Site Search - Start by looking at your onsite search data to see what combinations of keywords visitors are using to get to products they want. You can use these keyword insights to see if they can help expand attribute opportunities to improve layered navigation or filtering on category pages. Simply put, this will only improve findability for the visitor as well.
  2. Reduce the Form Fields People! (Keep context in mind) - Obviously reducing hurdles like twenty form fields is going to increase conversion rate, but you also need to bear in mind the context of each form field as in a larger group some fields will get a lot of engagement. Add on the whole mobile layer to this and you’ve got to keep it simple as stated in this Optimizely post on CRO hacks.
  3. Be Better Than The Average Conversion Rate - Every industry has it’s standard conversion rates and in the ecommerce space it’s around 1.84% or 1-2%. Instead of just aiming to be average, look at the top 20% and make that your target. If you’re looking for historical data, check out the 2015 Q2 Ecommerce Quarterly from our friends over at Monetate. Thanks to our other friends over at Hubspot, you now can choose to be a Donkey or a Unicorn …
[caption id="attachment_9023" align="aligncenter" width="638"]10 unconventional proven databacked cro hacks source: 10 Unconventional CRO Hacks[/caption]  

We DO CRO

If you are interested in smart decision-making and substantive results, then turn to us. In just 90 days, we helped soccerloco increase their online sales by 26%. Our team of seasoned CRO professionals is armed to the teeth with a sound methodology, a scientific perspective and a data-driven approach. With such an array of tactics—such as split testing (a.k.a. A/B testing), multivariate testing (MVT), remote usability testing (RUT), on-site optimization and heuristic evaluation—and a proven track record, we have what it takes to ensure that your website is improving and performing against your most important KPIs. Contact us today, and let us be your digital guide!  

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