Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a systematic process that aims to increase the proportion of users or customers carrying out a desired action, such as buying a product or signing up for a service. In essence, CRO is the steps a business can take to increase the efficiency of its website so that users are more likely to become paying customers. These steps include understanding how users move through your site, what actions they take, and what's stopping them from completing your goals, then implementing strategic changes to facilitate a more productive outcome.
What is a conversion?
A conversion is often associated with a sale, but it can be more generally defined as a desired action that a visitor makes on your website. For example, a conversion could mean anything from completing an online form, filling out an email address, downloading resources, clicking an advertisement, watching a video, requesting a quote, creating an account, subscribing to a service, and purchasing a product.
Regardless of the desired action, it is always valuable to a company and should be measurable.
What is the conversion rate?
Conversion rate is simply a measurement of the percentage of customers that visit your website and complete a conversion. To calculate this rate, divide the number of conversions by the total number of site visitors.
10 conversions / 100 visitors = 10% conversion rate
Benefits of Conversion Rate Optimization
Conversion rate optimization is the process of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of your website so that a higher percentage of visitors leads to conversions. The benefits of conversion rate optimization include:
- Improved customer insights
- Better UX and UI
- Improved Return on Investment
- Easier scalability
Conversion rate optimization can be improved by analyzing what areas of your website are preventing visitors from converting.