What is conversion optimization or CRO?
What are conversions? How to get more conversions in the online store? How are conversions measured? What does an entrepreneur need to know about conversion optimization?
A modern online store that has invested in both search engine optimization and advertising campaigns, but the cash register doesn't ring. Or a renewed company website that does not collect more contacts than before.
If the above sounds familiar, you might want to check out conversion optimization.
It would be good for every entrepreneur and online retailer to understand at least a little about conversion optimization, because with it you can increase website conversions, i.e. sales and contacts.
In this article, we will tell you what conversion optimization (CRO) actually entails and how the entrepreneur himself can improve the productivity of an online store or page with the help of conversion optimization.
Conversions are targeted actions on websites
Let's quickly start by telling you what conversions are.
Conversions are any actions that the entrepreneur wants website visitors to take.
Making a purchase in an online store, filling out a contact form or joining an email list are the most common examples of conversions.
Conversions also include registering on the site, clicking an affiliate link and following the company's social media account. There are many different forms of conversions, and therefore the targeted conversion or targeted conversions on the website are often determined by the company's goals.
What is conversion optimization?
In simplified terms, conversion optimization means increasing the productivity of a website or store and thereby increasing the company's sales, either directly (e.g. purchases from an online store) or indirectly (filling out a contact form).
In conversion optimization, we therefore start to find out what produces conversions on our own websites and what prevents them from happening. Based on the found criteria, efforts are made to improve the conversion rate of the online store or page.
Higher conversion rate = more conversions. We'll talk more about measuring conversion rate at the end of this article.
In practice, increasing the conversion rate is done by improving the quality and performance of the site with various measures that vary depending on the site. Since every web page is different, one site's conversion optimization may include completely different aspects than another's.
However, as conversion optimization professionals, we come across recurring problems that prevent almost every website from selling.
So that you can identify the problems of your own website and fix them as soon as possible, the most common pitfalls that are probably present in your online store are discussed next.
The most common mistakes that hinder conversions
The communication of the online store or website is confusing
Too often, you see services and products being marketed on websites and social media in such a way that even after a long discussion, no one other than the entrepreneur understands what is being sold here. Still, the power of clear communication is constantly underestimated.
An entrepreneur does not always know how to put his message into exactly the words that increase interest and trust in the company and convince the target group to buy this product or service.
The most common mistake is to write a text that is dry, too difficult to read or full of industry-specific terms that does not address the target group on a personal level. Business and forced text also hinders sales, because in this way you probably make the company look inauthentic and dishonest in the eyes of customers.
Confusion also arises when the company's communication is contradictory on different channels and, for example, social media does not correspond in any way to the company's website.
For these reasons, it would be advisable to cooperate with a marketing professional and polish the brand communication all at once, but if the entrepreneur wishes, he can also clarify the communication himself.
If you doubt the quality of your communication, a good reason is to ask someone who belongs to the target group, but who is not familiar with the industry, for honest feedback on the company's website. You know that the communication needs to be changed if the person in question does not understand what your company does or is particularly convinced of your offering.
The online store does not provide enough information to customers
In addition to clear communication, your online store or website should address the obstacles to buying that your target group may have and most certainly do have.
So find out all the possible obstacles as to why your product or service could not be bought, as well as the concerns that are related to making a purchase decision. Then remove the psychological stumbling blocks of online shopping from the customers' minds by addressing the topic on the company's website and, for example, in the Frequently Asked Questions section.
In addition, in the online store, you should emphasize the free right of return, good availability of customer service and many payment methods, if such are available (and hopefully there are).
In an online store, it would also be highly desirable to highlight positive customer experiences, because people trust the reviews given by others and also like to read them. So remember to ask your customers for reviews!
The online store has not been implemented technically correctly
A great product or service alone does not guarantee sales in a network already teeming with great products and services. Even one poorly implemented thing in the online store gives the visitor a reason to interrupt the Purchase Process or to never start it.
Difficult structure, wrong placement, mixed categories, lack of contact information, mandatory registration at the checkout and bad payment options are the most common mistakes that cause a potential customer to abandon the shopping cart.
An optimized online store structure, on the other hand, helps the customer find the product or service they want and encourages them to complete the purchase process.
In order for as many visitors as possible to become paying customers, the purchase threshold should be as low as possible. This means that buying, joining an email list or other targeted action must be made as effortless as possible for the customer to complete in the online store.
The required clicks and keystrokes should be kept to a minimum, because the more adjustment for the customer, the less sales for the company. And the same goes the other way around.
Even the entrepreneur should first and foremost take care that the company's online store is easy to use and that there are no buying stumbling blocks due to bad technical choices at any point in the buying process.
Websites do not load properly or take too long to load
The recommended loading time of an online store or page is less than two seconds. If your site takes longer to load, it will negatively affect conversions.
Since a potential customer can get lost on any page on their first visit, in addition to the home page, every other page must load quickly and function flawlessly. If a visitor has to wait too long for a web page to load, it will simply leave (probably to a less frustrating, faster-performing competitor's site).
Google also analyzes the loading time of web pages. Fast sites get a better chance to appear higher in organic search results and better results in paid advertising.
You can easily improve the loading time of a web page by, for example, changing to a faster web host, utilizing the server's cache, optimizing website images, reducing the number of pop-ups and ads, removing unnecessary add-ons, and changing the site's theme to a simpler one.
Sometimes improving the loading time also requires editing and/or tidying up the site's code, so at this point you may need an expert in the field to help you with conversion optimization.
The online store does not utilize automation at all or not enough
If you have a modern online store, you most likely already use different forms of automation.
But if for some reason you're still typing in your customers' order confirmations and postal package IDs by hand, it's time to stop. Handling the order process manually is inefficient and time-consuming, and as an entrepreneur you could certainly use that time for other things, for example increasing sales.
Today, the customer can also expect an automatic order confirmation. If you do not receive it immediately after completing the purchase, the quality of the online store or the validity of the order can begin to be doubted. In the worst case, the customer cancels the order, causing you lost income and more hassle.
In the "better" case, the deals will remain, but the positive customer experience will suffer and you won't get a committed customer to return to your online store.
In the first place, the entrepreneur should automate at least the updating of the product and price information of the online store, the updating of orders to the company or supplier, and the transfer of order information to the company's accounting. You can also automate the sending of various messages, campaigns and customer feedback surveys.
And thanks to many integrations, e-commerce automation can be done very cheaply these days.
There are no bots on the website lowering the contact threshold
When talking about automation on websites, it is also worth using interactive bots, which lower the customer's threshold to contact the company.
For example, a chat bot in an online store helps to quickly reach customer service in possible problem situations and thereby guarantee high customer satisfaction.
Service providers can also benefit from the lead bot, the purpose of which is to collect even more contact information and map the needs of potential customers for later contact.
The bot in question can also be used to speed up recruitment, for example.
Making the website is half way done
You also often come across websites and stores where you come across typos, sections left blank, draft versions of texts and buttons or links that don't work or lead to nowhere.
Even whole pages, e.g. About us sections, are published with "Lorem ipsum" filler texts and ready-made images of the theme (often not related to the company's operations).
This happens especially when the entrepreneur makes the website or its contents in a hurry and does not have time to check them properly. The rush is of course understandable as an entrepreneur, but unfortunately mistakes on the website look unprofessional and eat away at the trust of the potential customer in the company.
From the customer's point of view, the company's offering certainly cannot be of particularly high quality if the website or shop has been made sloppily or you haven't bothered to check it. Small details matter and should not be forgotten, especially when your goal is to improve conversions.
If you make your website or its contents yourself, remember to check them several times. Proofread the site's texts, check the images and test all links and buttons at least 3, 5, or even ten times.
The entrepreneur should also leave some time between inspections, as it is easy to become blind to one's own mistakes. In addition, it would be good to ask someone else, for example employees or an acquaintance who knows grammar, to proofread the website again.
If you have ordered websites and/or content production from a company, all of this is usually taken care of for you, but you can still check with the partner company.
New and old customers will not receive offers from you
Personalization promotes the creation of conversions by making the customer's business easier and giving them individual service online. Therefore, it should be used as much as possible when planning offers for new and old customers.
When you have used automation to help you in your online store, you will also be able to use the customer's name in messages, communicate at just the right time, e.g. shortly after abandoning the shopping cart, and remember the customer's birthday.
A personal offer valid for a certain period of time, for example, after accepting the price of the shopping basket, encourages you to make last-minute purchases and promotes the completion of your purchase.
After the customer has bought from you once, you should give him a reason to come back to the online store. You can do this, for example, by offering the customer an exclusive discount code attached to the company's newsletter or invoice.
An offer that is valid for a limited time usually generates more sales than an offer that is always valid, because the latter is easy to think about for a longer time and eventually forget.
Conversion rate to help entrepreneurs measure website conversions
An entrepreneur can measure online store or page conversions using the conversion percentage before and after conversion optimization. As already stated earlier, the conversion rate, i.e. the conversion percentage, tells how many visitors take the desired action.
The conversion rate can be calculated on the website by dividing the number of conversions by the total number of visitors , and in advertising by the number of people who interacted with the advertising campaign .
For example, if 25 of the 500 people who responded to the ad take the desired action, the conversion rate is 5%, because 25 : 500 = 2%.
Similarly, a 3% conversion means that 3 out of 100 page visitors convert, i.e. buy or take another targeted action.
A good conversion rate is 2-5 percent
A good conversion rate is considered to be at least 2-5 percent.
If the conversion rate of your online store or website does not reach this level or otherwise serves your company's goals, you can fortunately raise it with well-done conversion optimization.
In addition to simply measuring the conversion percentage, it would be good for every entrepreneur to really understand what all the things affect the conversion rate of an online store or page, because without this information the site will never be able to produce the desired results.
Conversion optimization includes various measures aimed at improving the website, depending on the initial situation of the site, and by performing them, the entrepreneur gets increased online store sales or, for example, increased contacts.
In order to achieve the set goals faster, it would be ideal to refine all parts of the website at once, but of course that is not always possible due to resources.
However, when talking about conversion optimization, it is better to do even a little rather than nothing, because sometimes even the smallest changes bring about the biggest results.
Hopefully, with the help of these tips, you will now be able to identify the worst buying pitfalls of your online store or website and improve its productivity!
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