How to Get Started with Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)

Your website is one of your most valuable tools as a business. It’s where potential customers learn about your services, make enquiries, and most importantly complete actions that drive your revenue. But is your site performing as well as it could?

If you’re starting January 2025 looking at ways to increase your bottom line, your website needs to work smarter and harder. That’s where conversion rate optimisation (CRO) comes in.

What is conversion rate optimisation?

Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is the process of improving your website to encourage more visitors to take specific actions. These actions, typically known as conversions, can range from signing up for a newsletter to making a purchase or submitting an enquiry. CRO focuses on understanding user behaviour, identifying obstacles in the user journey, and testing solutions to remove those barriers.

For example, if 1,000 people visit your website in a month and 20 of them submit an enquiry form, your conversion rate is 2%. Conversion rate optimisation aims to increase that percentage, so you get more value from your existing traffic without spending extra on advertising.

Why Does CRO Matter for Businesses?

Investing in CRO is like turning up the dial on your website’s performance. If you’re watching your budget closely this year this is the way to get more without massively increasing your spend on ads. It helps you get more out of your current visitors, which can save money and boost your revenue.

Imagine a solicitor that gets 500 website visits a week. If only 1% of visitors book a consultation, that’s five leads per week. By optimising the site, by improving the call-to-action buttons or simplifying the contact form, they could raise their conversion rate to 3%. Suddenly, those same 500 visits generate 15 leads a week, tripling their potential client base without spending any more budget on ads.

For estate agents, the goal might be to get more people to schedule property viewings. If their site has a confusing navigation menu or a long booking form, potential clients might drop off before completing the process. CRO could involve streamlining the booking process or adding trust signals, like customer reviews. Even small improvements can lead to big wins when applied consistently across a website.

How to Get Started with CRO

Getting started with CRO doesn’t have to be complicated. With planning, a strategy and the right tracking you can start to increase your conversion rate.

Step 1: Decide what matters to your business

Start by deciding what actions you want visitors to take. Do you want more form submissions? Increased basket value? Higher newsletter sign-ups? Your goals will depend on your business type, so focus on what will have the biggest impact.

For example, a solicitor might want more consultation bookings or an online retailer might aim for higher sales. Once you know your key goals, you can begin shaping your strategy.

Step 2: Find out how people contact you

Your conversion funnel is the journey visitors take through your site, from landing to completing a desired action. Use analytics tools to spot where people drop off. Are users leaving on the checkout page? Are they abandoning forms halfway through? Pinpointing these issues helps you identify where to focus your efforts for the best return.

Step 3: Gather user data

To understand what’s driving or frustrating your users, collect data. Tools that create heatmaps and provide session recordings can show how users interact with your site. Surveys and feedback forms can provide direct insights into what they like or dislike. If you’re not sure which service will work best for your website we can happily help you set up and learn how to use different recording software.

Heatmaps might reveal that people are ignoring your “Book Now” button because it’s not prominent. Feedback forms might highlight that users find your registration process too complicated or that they can’t find how to contact you. With users you can never make an assumption how they will use your website, that’s why testing is so important.

Step 4: Create test ideas

Based on your findings, develop ideas for improvement. Some test ideas could include adjusting button size and page layout or shortening a form to make it easier to complete. Think of these as educated guesses you can test.

Step 5: Test your theories!

Now it’s time to put your ideas into action. A/B testing is a popular method, where you show different versions of a page to different visitors and see which performs better. For instance, you could test two versions of a homepage—one with a large call-to-action banner and one without.

Make sure your tests are data-driven and measurable, so you can confidently decide what works and be sure to give your test plenty of time to run. You want the result to be sound and not based on data anomalies

Step 6: Always keep testing!

CRO is an ongoing process, it’s not something you do once and forget about. Once you’ve implemented changes, monitor their impact and keep looking for opportunities to improve your site further. Small, consistent improvements can add up to significant results over time, it’s worth regularly scheduling time to review your website and make improvements.

Need help with your testing?

CRO can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re trying to juggle it with running your business. That’s why we’re happy to help. We make the process simple, working with you to grow your website and increase the leads it brings.

We simplify the process of CRO. You don’t need to be a tech expert or spend hours trying to figure out analytics. We handle everything, from identifying conversion issues to implementing solutions.

Our goal is to boost your revenue. Whether you’re looking to increase leads, sales, or bookings, we’ll tailor our approach to what matters most to you.

Think of us as an extension of your team. We’ll work closely with you, keeping you informed every step of the way and making sure you’re happy with the results.

Ready to Get Started?

If you want more leads, more sales, and better results from your website, we’re here to help.

Contact us today to learn how we can make your marketing spend go further and increase your monthly revenue. Let’s unlock the full potential of your website together.