Meet Tim.

Tim is the CEO at an athleisure wear eCommerce company. 

He, unlike most of his competitors, focused on making small margin-enhancing adjustments, or conversion rate optimizations, and saw an 8% increase in sales for his business.

This guide will help you be more like Tim so that you can fully understand what CRO means, and how to use it to skyrocket your sales. 

What is conversion rate optimization?

There’s a lot of “hype” around CRO, otherwise known as conversion rate optimization. But... why should you be concerned about CRO, and more specifically, what is Parkfield’s take on this subject?

To put it simply: increased retention + increased traffic and order value growth for your business. 

What are the steps of conversion rate optimization?

Here at Parkfield, we’ve been putting conversion rate optimization strategies in place for our clients for years and we want to share them with you:

#1 Select the right metrics to help you analyze conversion rate optimization and begin collecting data

First things first: goal setting. Get really clear on where you’re at and where you want to go.

Then, create benchmarks and a schedule to track your monthly, and quarterly goals via key performance indicators (KPIs) such as:

• Time spent on page
• CTA click-throughs
• Number of specific valuable events (such as clicking a certain link)
• User path
• On page clicks and scrolling
• Bounce rate
• Exit rate

You can also use the top conversion rate optimization tools such as HotJar or Google Analytics to assist in your research. Be careful not to get analysis paralysis though, as too much data can hinder action. Keep it simple. 

Now that we’ve set the bare bones of this operation, let’s talk about your website.

Boost your conversion rates with a seamless shopping experience, optimize your online shop now.

#2 Improve your website performance

Did you know if your webpage has a mere one second delay, customer satisfaction decreases by 16%? People are impatient. They want it all, and they want it now! 

To ensure an excellent customer experience, you can do the following:

• Test site speed: testing your websites speed and load times is crucial. It’s comparable to sending an email with an intriguing subject line vs. sending one with a dull one. If the subject line is dull, you can forget the recipient even opening it. 
• Strive to improve bounce rates: if the bounce rate for your website is high due to slow loading speed, it will tell Google (or other search engines) that your website is not helpful and therefore won’t show it to people. 
• Make everything easy to find: search and navigation features are just as important. On our website we use a simple, black and white drop down for quick access. Make sure your customers know how to easily get from point A to point B.
• Optimize for mobile: businesses often forget about this, but 51% of E-commerce sales are expected to come directly from mobile devices. With that said, invest your energy into assuring the background images, color palettes, and functionality are cohesive amongst all devices.

Here’s the scoop: there’s a profound link between payment options and conversions. There are plenty of online transaction methods that your business can incorporate into your website. However, focus on the couple most effective ones and make sure those stay for the long-term. Preparing options ahead of time could make the difference between a customer abandoning their cart or clicking the purchase button.

#3 Optimize your content for conversions

The next part of this puzzle is to get your content aligned with the conversion optimization strategy you’ve implemented on your website. 

You may have heard of David Ogilvy, more commonly known as “the father of modern advertising”. He fully immerses consumers into an experience by talking directly to them, hence— direct response copy. His most famous Rolls Royce ad copy goes like this: 

“At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in the new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.”

Keep your copy concise, evoke emotion, and get your brand message across. So little words… so much to say!

A few other successful content conversion optimization tactics include: 

• Go beyond blog content and integrate video: video marketing such as video testimonials, tutorials, product videos, explainers or vlogs is another way to keep your customers attention. In fact, by 2022, videos will make up 82% of all internet traffic.
• Develop a killer UI/UX design: a simple, easily navigable design is essential for conversions. Period.
• Define your customer journey: map out the customer journey on your website and make sure there’s a clear intention behind every click, so you’re always bringing your audience one step closer to conversion. 
• Test, test, and test again: glitches happen with automations, so be sure to test your sales funnel manually and identify areas of friction. After all, that is the core of optimization.
• Get seriously personal: long gone are the days where a giant billboard catches and converts all that see it (it probably never worked that successfully anyways). Customers want to feel as though you are speaking directly to them. Personalization is trending and it’s only going to increase. The more personal you get, the better.

#4 Use conversion rate optimization to boost sales and customer loyalty

Incentivizing your customers by offering referral programs and/or affiliate opportunities is a win-win situation for you and your customers. If customers love your brand, they won’t think twice about referring you to a friend. Take advantage of that.

People are creatures of habit and even more so if your business offers a reward for sticking with you. Strive to increase customer loyalty by offering freebies or discounts, as well as developing a long-term, emotional relationship with your customers. Your relationship together is what keeps your customers with you instead of in the hands of your competitors.

Go beyond traditional CRO - optimize for customer loyalty instead of sales, learn about how we take CRO to a whole new level.

Conversion rate optimization best practices & advanced techniques

Now that you have the rundown on the basic conversion optimization techniques, let’s get into some top secret ingredients you can use to take it to the next level. They are literally our secret sauce - pun intended.

#1 Use top conversion rate optimization tools

We recommend using conversion rate optimization tools like HotJar, Crazy Egg, and Sumo to look at heat maps and how users interact with your website. Heatmaps are like x-ray vision for your website. They tell you where your customers are spending their time and what they’re clicking on. This way you can create a killer customized experience.

At the end of the day, testing to see what works for your specific eCommerce business is the best way to get more sales. You can use plugins to run A/B tests on your landing pages. Some of our suggestions are OptinMonster, WordPress Calls to Action, and Monster Insights.

#2 eCommerce conversion rate optimization

eCommerce businesses today need to think beyond using CRO to focus solely on increasing sales (though that is still a core part of it). A truly successful and well-designed CRO strategy involves increasing customer loyalty, growing your brand, and creating the best possible customer experience. With all of those puzzle pieces aligned, that is your direct path for better conversion rates and mostly importantly, long-term business success.

Ready to optimize your eCommerce business and skyrocket conversion rates? Get Started Now