Conversion rate optimisation is a big deal for the success of your website. What is conversion rate optimisation? CRO is the combination both a science and an art; the practice of researching ways to improve the performance of your website. Your website performance goals may be different things, and despite your initial thoughts, it is probably not only one thing. For an e-commerce store, a conversion is a sale. However even for an e-commerce website, a sale is not the only goal. There can be a number of goals such as signing up for a newsletter, completing a form, downloading a whitepaper, an in store visit, a call, a click on a link, a social share, even staying on the website for a certain length of time can all be conversion goals, and conversion rate optimisation can address all of your goals, not just sales.

Two Main Types of Testing Conducted to Improve Conversions: Usability Testing and Optimisation Testing

When you want to optimize the conversions on your website, there are different types of testing that you can do to discover what changes can lead to a better conversion rate. There are two main types of testing are A/B testing and multivariate testing; within those two there are many variables and differences. The idea of testing often strikes fear into the hearts and minds, even for adults long out of school. However, optimisation and usability testing is a good thing and instead of worrying about what “grade” your website gets, you only have to reap the rewards and benefits of the insights the testing will give you that will allow you to change your website for the better.

Usability Testing

Usability testing is often referred to as user interface (UI) testing or user experience (UX) testing. It refers to having life people test out your website to see where they go, what they do, and where they have problems. One type of usability testing actually tracks the eye movements of the test users to see what they look at and what attracts their eyes. It only takes about 5 people to figure out some really big insights into how your website is performing and where people are having problems, or going off track – in terms of what you want them to do or where you want them to go.

Optimisation Testing

Optimisation testing is changing things on your website and then measuring the results without specifically interviewing, asking, or watching what people do and where they go on your website. Then as new features with better conversions are implemented, you can continually optimise what works and eliminate what does not.

A/B Testing

A/B testing is comparing two different things. It can be two different types of shopping carts, two different landing pages, or other side by side comparisons. There are tools available that will deliver the “A” example to half of your website visitors and delivery the “B” example to the other half of the visitors and then measure which half converts better.

Multivariate Testing

Multivariate testing, like the name infers, tests a variety of different factors or elements of your website and design. It can be differing colours, different navigation, placement of buttons, or any mix of differences that can influence whether your website visitors perform in the way that you intended them to when building the website.

5 Different Things to Consider During Conversion Optimisation Testing

  1. Colours. Website colour can deeply affect people on a psychological and emotional level.
  2. Clutter. If a page has too much on it, users can get confused or distracted. Removing aspects of a web page are often not thought of in terms of testing scenarios, but it should be. Sometimes less is more, especially on shopping cart and check out pages.
  3. Where is your search bar? Make sure that aspects of your website navigation never block your search bar. Too often drop downs or fly out menus will cover the search bar and impede a user’s progress when they start to look for something and want to use the search function.
  4. Analytics bounce rate. One of the easiest ways to determine if a page on your website has a conversion problem is by checking the analytics bounce page. That is a good starting place to test since users are leaving that page almost immediately upon clicking on it.
  5. Your call to action. Is it a button? Consider the size and colour of your call to action as important factors to measure and see what affect changing it has.

Tools and Takeaways

One of the most important things to remember about conversion rate optimisation is that it is based on users’ behaviours and that is something that is constantly changing. Therefore, you must continually test for the best performing set up on your website. Even when you think you have found the optimum design and set up, there can always be one more change that can improve your conversions ever so slightly. The continual progressions of this optimisation will aide your business growth and leads to continued success. There are tools available that can help you in this quest for the best ideation of your website and there are also companies that specialise in conversion rate optimisation and usability testing. Seek out the best tools and professionals that match your needs and align with your company goals.

If you require further information or have any specific questions, don’t hesitate to give a member of the GoPromotional team a call on 0800 0148 970 or simply email us today.