SEO seems to struggle fiercely against CRO to keep its comfortable first place on the podium. Some oppose them and others feel that SEO is not an effective practice. The best option is probably to find the golden mean: using both elements for the best optimization. It is now impossible to ignore CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization). While SEO and SMO are designed to lead the user to your website, CRO requires that the user performs a series of actions on your website. First things first. The process begins with LPO which is landing page optimization. The user found your business easily by searching on the search engines or by clicking on an ad. By following this link, he lands on a new page. This page must necessarily have quality content and an attractive design. The user needs to perform actions. What does it mean “actions”? Nothing more than the user subscribes to your newsletter. Then here comes CTA or Call to Action. CTA should enable an immediate response from the user. You must use imperative verbs: “Subscribe” or “Buy”. The conversion rate is measured by a simple calculation: the ratio between the number of clicks to your site and conversions. Conversion means each time a visitor follows a link that turns into signing up for your newsletter or a sale. You are now familiar with each of these terms. Now you have to understand how to use them. Of course, this isn’t as easy in practice but the following tips will guide you in your efforts.

Keys to the kingdom

Attractive design alone will not convert visitors. Moreover, increasing the number of visits to your page using SEO is not a guarantee of increased conversion rate. If your conversion rate does not satisfy you, try to identify the elements that you think deserve to be improved. Is the title that does not retain enough attention? Is the content relevant for the user? Are the elements on the page consistent and well arranged? These questions can put you on the right track. The Smashing Magazine offers some solutions for a successful CRO strategy. First, you must have one or more goals. This may seem obvious, but some companies don’t take the time to write clear goals. This can end up hurting you. Examine what you want to accomplish. What would you improve? What is the purpose of each page of your website? What are your business goals? Remember that you do not have to override each page of your site. Do not stun potential customers with too many animations. You will have quite the opposite effect. They will leave your page before even clicking anything. It is important to note that you should always keep the user in mind. Put yourself in his place to create the best experience. Then you can test your different pages to analyze which gets a better response from users. We are talking about split testing or multivariate testing. Make sure to perform these tests. You will have valuable information about elements that work very well with visitors and those to be avoided. For example, you can use Google Content Experiments to perform such tests.

We talked about Calls to Actions. They must be clearly visible without being ostentatious. The Smashing Magazine proposes to offer something to the visitor. For example, if the user performs the action of clicking, he will be entitled to a free trial of your product. This is a great incentive. Landing pages must also be carefully designed. They must contain a clear message. You can even add images and videos to make it more attractive. It was mentioned earlier that it was important not to overload your pages. This can directly affect your conversions. Indeed, if a page takes too long to download, the user loses patience and leaves the page. It only takes seconds. How many times have you left a page because you felt waiting for ages? This technical aspect is not to be overlooked. It involves the user directly. Finally, if you are advertising, for example on Google, make sure the clicks you get are relevant. You could start advertising locally.

Master of conversions

These tips show to aim for usability. The CRO-LPO-CTA trio aims to convert your user for ensuring he performs the action you desire. There are other elements to consider for increasing your conversions. For example, if you sell a product or that you have an online store, it’s important not to scare customers with exorbitant shipping fees. You will get two results. First, the customer will run as far away as possible without looking back. Second, you will leave him under the impression that you’re trying to defraud him. In both cases, this is very bad for your business. Visitors must feel they can trust you. You certainly don’t need bad reviews from customers. Another interesting element to consider is to allow customers to add items to the cart without necessarily having to create an account. They can then make their purchases quickly and without hassle. You can invite them to register when the purchase is completed. They will then be more likely to revisit your shop and they may even decide to create an account. There are lots of tips and suggestions. Don’t waste time trying to master them all. Simply change a few things and you’ll observe real gains.