A 2020 Beginners Guide to Conversion Optimization

51% of marketers do not engage in conversion optimization. CRO is often associated with an expensive and time-consuming process, but it certainly does not appear to be the case. In this article, you will read tips for beginners on how to start optimizing for conversion.

1. Start Small

It is said: a large tree starts with a small seed. The same applies to CRO. Do not immediately waste thousands of dollars on a usability study, if you actually have no experience with this. You can easily do a small usability study for 0 euros. Actually, you can solve 80% of the usability issues through a survey of just 5 people. Where do you find those 5 people? Simply in a (non-involved) department or in your target group.

2. Work together with other departments

As a conversion specialist, you must work with other departments to achieve a successful result. If you don’t do this, then experiments will fail. Developers cannot put new features live, while the CRO team is just running a test. That is why it is good to work on 100% validation in the organization. Conversion optimization must be interwoven in every department so that there is more understanding and stronger results come to the fore. The goal: programmers who put points live, which were extensively tested in advance by the CRO specialists.

3. Investigate the idea of ​​the target group

Many visitors, but hardly any conversion … Sounds recognizable doesn’t it? That is because we do not think from the customer, but from the company. 80% of the organizations say they are customer oriented. But when it comes to the customers themselves, only 8% say that this is really the case. So a big difference. A good example is the search for a new carport. Some sellers show off the fact that they use polycarbonate material or that they have the largest selection. But if you ask the customer: why do you want a carport? Then completely different answers come out, such as never scratching again in the winter or no falling leaves on the car. Speak the language of the target audience and communicate what they are really looking for.

You can ask your website visitors a free poll or question via the Hotjar tool, so just give it a try on your website. It’s easier than you think.

4. Start with the functionality

From functional: the functional properties of the website to persuasive: convincing the customer to buy your product.

A common mistake is that people often start at the top. For example, the color of a button is adjusted, while the button does not even work. So always start with functionality. Test whether all functions work and do not limit yourself to 1 browser and 1 device. Something is not working? Then you first solve that and then you can take a step up.

5. Test A and B

Why would you show option A if person x has chosen option B? Here is an example with plums and apricots. Some people like plums, so you give them a plum. The other likes apricots better, so you give them an apricot. Does the person like both a little bit? Then you give a mix. You must do the same with your website. Work out specific personas and experiment with which content works best per persona.

This fits in seamlessly with the personalization trend. You can no longer get away with a website that is aimed at the large masses because then it really does not connect with anyone. For example, we make several one-pagers for one specific vacancy, whereby we make a distinction between education level, gender, and career level. This allows you to create a message that perfectly matches the persona. This costs the necessary investment, but the result is that many more conversions come in.