Why Is CRO Important, and How Should You Choose a CRO Agency?
Last update: 5 April 2022 at 01:33 pm
5.00/5Being the first stage of digital marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) is important in generating interest and driving organic traffic to your website. Yet, simply getting a high level of website traffic is never enough. The actual goal is to convert traffic into profits.
There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of companies that experience tremendous levels of clicks and traffic but fail to convert them to stable profit. There’s no point attracting website visitors if you won’t get any customers. That’s where conversion rate optimization (CRO) and a possible CRO agency comes in.
What is Conversion Rate Optimization?
Conversion rate optimization is a marketing approach with a strong focus on increasing the number of conversions.
Conversion optimization encourages more people to take the desired action.
This action can be subscribing, making a purchase, signing up, etc. Simply put, the desired action is what generates revenue for your business.
A successful CRO strategy is equal to successful content marketing. Conversion rate optimization involves developing strategies in order to improve certain elements of your website. In the long term, CRO aims to improve website usability in general. To implement the right strategy for a business, CRO services pay attention to several factors:
- The relevance of the content to the target audience;
- The clarity and importance of the company’s value proposition;
- The reasons people find the website appealing;
- The distractions that might drive people away from taking the desired action.
What Strategies Do CRO Agencies Use?
There’s no shortage of strategies to use when it comes to conversion rate optimization. However, there are several approaches that the majority of CRO agencies consider most effective.
The LIFT Model
The LIFT framework involves observing the six factors that affect the conversion rates. It’s an excellent strategy as it helps you view your landing pages from the site visitors’ perspective. The LIFT model reveals the following factors:
- Value proposition. This is the first of the six factors for a reason. The value proposition is what gives your business an opportunity to acquire loyal customers. Having a great value proposition is a clear potential for increased conversion rates.
- Relevance. That’s no surprise as it’s one of the first lessons in digital marketing: your content needs to be relevant to the audience in order to create engagement. Your landing page should deliver exactly what the visitor was expecting to find.
- Clarity. It’s one thing to have a good value proposition, it’s another to define it clearly on your website. Not only this, but the call to action prompts also should be clearly defined. Without a well-defined call to action (CTA), chances are the visitors will leave the website unsatisfied.
- Urgency. This factor also has to do with the call to action prompt. The landing pages should be able to convince potential customers to take the desired action without hesitation.
- Anxiety. It’s extremely important to recognize the potential risks. That includes the potential stresses your visitors might have about taking the desired action.
- Distractions. The LIFT model allows you to detect the elements of your website that drive people away from the desired action.
A/B Testing
The LIFT model is behind another conversion optimization strategy – the A/B testing.
The A/B testing involves launching two offers at the same time to determine which one works best. Think of two pages: one with free shipping and the other with a discount. The A/B testing allows you to find out which is the most appealing to the customers.
The A/B testing is an essential CRO strategy as it gives you an idea of what’s working and what needs to be improved.
Almost all user experience agencies use this kind of CRO strategy to improve your conversion rates. It is worth your while to look into hiring their help to optimize your landing pages.
Multivariate Testing
Multivariate testing and A/B testing have similar characteristics. The difference is that while performing multivariate testing, you test small sections of the page. You don’t compare an entire landing page to another in this strategy.
The strategy is helpful when you’re trying to determine which elements of your website lead to better conversion rate optimization, CRO. For example, marketing teams can test two different headlines for the same page to see which one performs better. They can also observe two different headlines for another page at the same time to see a bigger picture.
Even the smallest of the details can significantly increase or decrease the conversion rate. That’s why businesses should pay attention to this CRO strategy.
Google Analytics Conversion Rate Optimization Services
Google Analytics offers a wide range of tools for both CRO and SEO. I’ll discuss some of the most crucial conversion metrics that you and your CRO agency should keep an eye on.
Site Speed
How quickly does your site load? If web pages take abnormally long to load, this will result in a poor user experience. And the visitor who’s not satisfied with the site’s performance is less likely to be interested in taking the desired action.
It’s highly recommended to keep the loading time under three seconds.
A 2017 study showed that a 100-millisecond delay in load time can result in a decrease of conversion rate by 7%.
To avoid the risk of a conversion rate drop and a high bounce rate, it’s best to have a high-performing website. You should check various browsers and operating systems to see if any of them has a problem running your website. That leads to another important metric.
Conversion Rate by Browsers and Operating Systems
Every browser and operating system is built differently. Your website needs to be well-optimized so that it meets the requirements of different systems. Google tools allow you to observe online engagement and customer behavior through these data categories: browser, OS, screen resolution, screen colors, java support, etc.
Traffic by Time
People search at different times. The data analysis will let you know when you should expect more traffic, and of course, when you should launch a special campaign or offer to attract the most customers. Another benefit of the said metric is that it warns you about the possible overloads caused by enormous amounts of visitors trying to reach the website.
What Kind of Agencies Provide the Best CRO Services
If you wish to hire conversion rate experts, the most obvious question is how should you choose the right digital marketing services team with a proven track record. If you’re unsure, there are a few aspects you should observe before making a decision. You can examine the agency’s past experiences, partnerships, and possible red flags.
Past Experiences
Some of the best CRO agencies around the world will be able to proudly show their track record. How long have they been offering conversion optimization services? Which companies have they worked with in the past? Are the said companies pleased with the services they provided? Such information about past experiences will give you an idea of how dependable these CRO experts are.
Observing the track record will also help you find out their level of expertise. Which types of businesses do they specialize in? Which strategies do they use? Are they able to offer a complex CRO program?
Examining past experiences is a helpful way to choose the best CRO company for your business.
Partnerships
It’s better to connect with a CRO company that has valuable partnerships in the SEO and CRO business. This could mean they have the right tools to meet your needs. CRO companies that have important partners are more likely to fit in your business strategy.
Red Flags
Before signing up with a CRO agency, one should consider possible red flags. For example, avoid companies that don’t have the adequate skills or focus to fulfill your needs. You can sense this when a company isn’t trying to have a deep understanding of your business before starting to plan anything.
Another red flag is when an agency can’t name companies they’ve worked with. This could mean their previous experiences weren’t too successful.
How Much Does Hiring a CRO Agency Cost?
One thing to understand about the prices of CRO is that it depends on your expectations. The low-tier CRO agencies with little to no experience in the field will usually charge from $2,000 to $5,000 a month. The mid-tier services can be found at $6,000-$10,000. The agencies with at least 5 years of experience and an impressive track record will charge anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 a month.
Final Thoughts About the Importance of a CRO Agency
Conversion rate optimization is a crucial part of digital marketing that shouldn’t be overlooked. Hopefully, this article will help you find the CRO agency that will guide your website and your business to success.
