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Although the holidays have come and gone, that doesn’t mean marketers should take their figurative foot off the pedal in terms of accelerating conversion rate efforts. With New Year’s resolutions in full swing, it’s time to ramp up outreach efforts.
There are a handful of things advertisers should keep an eye out for in the early months of 2015. To yield the most successful results, marketers must be vigilant for upcoming trends and patterns that can drastically impact conversion rate optimization success. The end goal for most advertising professionals, in addition to proving return on investment, is this: How do we obtain more conversions – and therefore sales – than we did last year?
Conversion rate optimization can dramatically improve landing pages and a company’s website. There are number of factors that go into creating successful CRO, but marketers need to simplify their outlook and develop a strategy that will work for their clients’ needs.
That said, here are four tips and trends to keep an eye out for in 2015:
1. Complete a comprehensive analysis.
Although this may seem trivial, the first thing a business must do is perform a self-audit of their current strategy. If a conversion rate is currently underperforming, marketers must first try and identify where the discrepancy lies. Once that’s established, it’ll be much easier to move forward and progress. If a certain metric is lacking, it’s wise to dedicate a new or unique strategy to try and improve upon that unit of measurement.
2. A/B testing is here to stay.
Believe it or not, A/B testing can dramatically improve conversion rates. While some believe CRO and A/B testing are the same thing, they’re actually not. The former is an all-encompassing experience that guides a visitor through a website with the content and call to action compelling the user to complete a conversion. The latter focuses on testing two separate variants, A and B, against one another and see which produces higher results. For instance, a marketing team can test changes to its website against its current design and see if the modifications yield positive metrics. A/B testing is an aspect of CRO. In fact, 67 percent of companies are currently A/B testing, according to a recent RedEye and Econsultancy study. It’s the fourth year in a row A/B testing was the No. 1 CRO activity.
3. Bigger is better.
The entire purpose of improving CRO is to grab the user’s attention enough so they will convert. That said, calls to action must be prominent enough to literally capture the attention and direct the motives of the visitor. CTAs not only must be large and noticeable, they must also be placed in easy-to-view areas of the website so the information isn’t glossed over or worse, not even noticed. According to Unbounce statistics, more than 90 percent of visitors who read a website’s headline also read their CTA copy, which highlights the importance for CTAs to be above the fold.
4. It’s all about the user.
It’s all about the user: In the past, conversion tactics focused on selling high-quality products without focusing much on the user experience. That’s set to change in 2015, though. In fact, the user is now the primary driver of conversion rates optimization, and will be going forward. The user’s tendencies, needs and preferences will all dictate how CRO strategies will play out . It only makes sense that conversion rates increase when a company’s goals meet with a user’s buying objectives. When motivations align, the likelihood of a conversion is much higher. Businesses need to figure out how their visitors feel and what their habits are. Once determined, conversion rate strategies can be optimized.
About the Author
Karl Norelius is VP of Sales at LeadsPedia, a SaaS performance marketing platform bringing Affiliate Management, Lead Distribution, Call Tracking & Routing all into one unified platform.
