Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. CRO isn't magic.

CRO isn

It also isn't guesswork or just following a set of predefined best practices.

It isn't even mostly running A/B tests (although that's certainly an important tool for CRO agencies).

When done right, CRO is actually a rigorous investigative and scientific process. It's a process that uses data to increase revenue in ways that are most meaningful to your business.

For many eCommerce businesses, this might mean focusing first on reducing cart abandonment. But for others it may mean striving to increase the average order value.

In B2B businesses selling services or other higher-priced products offline, CRO may zone in first on lead education and building domain authority with decision makers.

Of course, eventually you'll want to optimize every step of your funnel, to maximize the value of every lead and every sale.

All of it matters.

Yet no matter what kind of business you have, following a structured CRO process with a knowledgeable conversion rate optimization partner is key. Invariably you'll get much better results than guessing and experimenting on your own, throwing ideas against the wall to see what sticks.

CRO Research & Audits

 

Are your analytics actually lying to you?

Sure, you have Google Analytics set up, plus (hopefully) Google Tag Manager and Search Console as well.

But did you know that 78% of analytics configurations aren't set up properly?

If you want to improve your conversion rate, you need to be able to rely upon accurate data to make critical decisions.

That's why at Polished Geek we begin every CRO project with an in-depth analytics audit.

In addition to finding and fixing any analytics issues, we'll discuss your goals and objectives for optimizing your website, and ensure that measurements are in place for tracking progress against them.

A Google Analytics audit can help answer questions such as:

  • Is your bounce rate being tracked accurately, so it's a genuinely useful metric? Or are GA settings configured in such a way that your bounce rate is being artificially measured as much lower than the reality? (This is a very common issue.)
  • Is Google Analytics giving you all the data points you need to measure the performance of each sales funnel and market segment? 
  • Can you tell what elements of your website will make the biggest impact when optimized?
  • Are you able to measure the true performance of your social media and content marketing campaigns?
  • Is user engagement being measured, allowing you to uncover which website content not only brings in traffic, but more importantly, brings in high quality leads that convert ?

As you can see, just having Google Analytics set up isn't good enough on its own.

You need to ensure GA is set up in ways that allow you to track, collect and measure a variety of data in a reliable way. We can help you with that.

Our CRO Research Process

The Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Process Diagram

 

Our CRO Research Process

In order to improve your conversion rate, we need to deeply understand your business at a fundamental level.

Who are your customers? 

How do they consume your products and services, and why ?

Even if you've been in business for decades, it's likely together we'll uncover quite a bit you didn't know about your market. Our CRO research process analyzes information about your audience and your website from multiple perspectives. This gives us a clearer picture of where our priorities should lie and helps establish baseline metrics for later testing.

CRO Research process (data)

Here are six major types of research Polished Geek performs to find your best opportunities for conversion rate improvement.

Website Technical Analysis

  • Cross browser testing
  • Cross device testing
  • Speed and performance analysis
  • SEO optimization check

Analytics Baselining

  • Establish any additional custom event tracking needed in Google Analytics
  • Finalize any changes required per our GA audit findings
  • Identify and measure existing leaks in your funnels

Website Heuristic Analysis

The data gathered during this portion of our research is as close as it gets to having an opinion.

A highly experienced, certified CRO expert will analyze your website and score your top traffic pages based on these criteria:

  • Relevancy - does the page match the users expectations?
  • Motivation - is the user motivated to move forward to the next step? Does the page convey value?
  • Clarity - is the page message simple and clear?
  • Friction - what on the page may be causing any user hesitation or doubt?
  • Distraction - are there elements on the page that are distracting the user from the page's primary message or goal?

User brain icon

User Tracking Analysis

  • Evaluate user click and scroll heatmaps for the most important pages on your site
  • Analyze user session replays for points of frustration, hesitation or confusion (anonymous sessions of real user behavior as they navigate your site)
  • Web form analytics

Qualitative Data Analysis & Surveys

  • Website visitor surveys
  • Chat log analysis
  • Customer service & sales support interviews
  • Customer interviews & surveys

User Testing

  • Identify usability issues 
  • Uncover sources of user friction

What to do with all that data?

A/B Testing CRO icon

All the data in the world doesn't amount to much if you don't have a way to organize, interpret and prioritize it.

We pore through all of the data gathered during our CRO research, from all six types. Then together we'll prioritize each of potential improvements using an industry-leading CRO prioritization framework. This helps ensure we are applying effort first where it is most likely to create a positive impact. 

Each potential change is given an opportunity score and then also rated against several factors. These include ease of implementation (can it be done quickly), clarity of the solution (vs. needing additional research), and whether the change should be implemented with or without formal A/B testing. 

A/B testing is then conducted for eligible CRO opportunities, assuming your website traffic volume is high enough to provide statistically valid results.

With each round of testing, you'll learn more about your customers and are better able to put conversion optimization measures in place.

 

So, are we done yet?

"Ten years ago, we believed that eventually all companies would realize that CRO is crucial. This is turning out to be true, but not in the way we expected.
It’s not that all companies eventually see the [CRO] light; it’s that the ones who don’t get pushed out of existence, Darwin-style." 
 
~ Ben Jesson, author of Making Websites Win

The most successful companies don't treat CRO as a short-lived, one-time project. They embrace a conversion rate optimization mindset as an ongoing, ever present process. It becomes a way of thinking, a way of approaching web design, content and marketing.

And when internal design opinions differ (as they invariably do), final decisions are based on data and testing, not personal opinion or preference. 

CRO should become a continuous cycle of research, analysis, prioritization, testing & implementation. 

Companies that want to stay ahead of the competition, and relevant to their market, can't stay stagnant. You can't assume what worked well last year will continue to work well today. 

You need to be always improving, always looking for the next best opportunity to move the needle ever higher on your conversion rate and revenue.

CXL Certified Optimizer - ConversionXL CRO Certified

CXL Digital Analytics Certified Expert - ConversionXL

Choose a Conversion Rate Optimization agency with a proven, data-driven CRO process

You need a CRO agency that relies on thorough research and analysis of your unique business, customers, and website. Not guesswork and vanity metrics.

Working hand-in-hand with you, Polished Geek will develop a conversion strategy designed specifically for your business. Then we'll test, retest, measure, and implement the changes you need to improve sales conversions.

Contact us today for a free consultation with a ConversionXL (CXL) Certified Optimization expert.

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