How conversion optimisation can contribute to your business growth

The world is changing constantly. That is why it is essential for you to always be working on the optimisation, improvement and growth of your business. In an age where we have access to data and many analysis tools, conversion optimisation can be of great value here.

Conversion optimisation, also known as CRO, is used by businesses to increase the conversion ratio of visitors. In other words, how do you generate more conversions with the same number of visitors.

In this blog you will discover how the conversion optimisation process works and exactly what you can get out of it.

What exactly is a conversion?

Before covering the whole CRO process, it is useful to know exactly what is meant by a conversion. By conversions we mean goals that you as a business can set for your users and customers. In practice, these goals will be different for everyone.

For your business, a conversion might mean that someone signs up for your newsletter. For another business, a conversion might be something completely different, such as downloading a whitepaper or making a purchase.

A distinction is also made between so-called hard and soft conversions. A hard conversion always focuses on revenue (a purchase in the webshop, a donation, a new customer). A soft conversion does not, but can indirectly lead to revenue at a later stage (a brochure request, filling in contact details).

Before you start the conversion optimisation process, it is therefore important to determine which conversions exist within your business and which ones you want to optimise.

Data is key

If you want to optimise the conversion rate of a particular conversion within your business, it is important that you have the right customer data for this. After all, you want to know what the pain points are in the conversion process and at which points visitors may drop off.

It is therefore no longer in keeping with the times to make marketing decisions based on gut feeling. Fortunately, we have access to increasingly useful data, which can, among other things, be used to optimise your conversion rate.

So first look at what your website visitors are currently doing and at which points they get stuck. Based on that, you can identify possible areas for improvement that should ensure your visitors do actually carry out that particular action.

Which tools can I use for conversion optimisation?

A good analysis tool is essential for analysing data. One of the most widely used data analysis tools is Google Analytics. This tool measures and provides clear insight into user data from your website or app. In addition, there is also Google Tag Manager. You can connect other data analysis tools to it and implement them on your website, which can also be of value in the CRO process.

One of these tools that you can implement through Google Tag Manager is Hotjar. Among other things, this tool lets you create heatmaps of your website. This allows you to map the mouse clicks and movements of your users. This gives you a good picture of how your users navigate through your site.

All the tools mentioned above make use of data traces that users leave online. But there are also plenty of ‘offline’ ways to find out how you can improve the conversion process for users. For many of these offline methods, you will need to talk to the customer directly. This can be done, for example, through a survey, market research or conversations with customer service.

HubSpot can also be used to measure and analyse user data, in order to ultimately optimise your conversions. The advantage of HubSpot over the other online analysis tools mentioned above is that you can also implement optimisations to your website directly within HubSpot. It is essentially the all-in-one tool for a flawless conversion optimisation process. With HubSpot, you also have the option of running so-called A/B tests for these improvements.

The importance of A/B tests

The key word at the heart of CRO is ‘experimenting’. By analysing various forms of user data, you will by now have discovered which aspects of your website or app are still open to improvement with a view to a higher conversion rate.

To implement these improvements in practice, it is generally recommended to do so in the form of A/B tests. An A/B test is a form of split testing in which two different variants are tested against each other. This could, for example, be a CTA button, headings on a page, a subject line in an email, or other elements in your marketing.

You can then measure and analyse your users’ experiences for both variants, allowing you to find out which change resonates best with your users.

A/B tests are not only useful for optimising conversions, you can also apply them to an advertising campaign in Google Ads to find out which advert best matches your target audience.

With HubSpot, you also have the option of running A/B tests. For example, you can see which call-to-action button or text performs best on a particular page of your site. In our blog about A/B tests in HubSpot, you can read what else is possible when it comes to A/B tests in HubSpot.

The benefits of CRO at a glance

Setting up a good approach for a CRO process involves quite a lot. But what exactly are the specific benefits of CRO? We have listed them for you below.

• Increase your revenue
  A good CRO approach delivers a higher return on your conversion goals. More revenue at lower or equal cost means more profit for your business!
  
  
• Measuring is knowing
  By measuring and analysing your users’ data, you get a clear picture of your customers’ behaviour.
  
  
• Keep experimenting
  By continuing to experiment with A/B tests, you find out what does and does not resonate with your users.

Do you want to get more out of your current number of users? Then CRO is really something for you. Do you want to get started with CRO yourself, but are unsure about the approach or want to achieve this through HubSpot? We are happy to help. Schedule an appointment with us straight away.