How To Increase Conversion Rate: Tips For Website Optimization

When running a website—whether it’s a blog or an online store—there are several metrics you can use to track your campaign’s performance and the effectiveness of your strategy.

One key metric to monitor is the conversion rate, which represents the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter, or following your social media channels. Low conversion rates, where visitors leave without taking action, can harm your sales, strain your marketing budget, and lead to other negative outcomes.

In most cases, you can adjust your website to address this issue. This article explores how to increase conversion rate to grow your online business and turn window shoppers into paying clients.

What is conversion rate optimization (CRO)?

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who complete your desired actions (Forbes, 2024). A CRO strategy considers every aspect of your website, including design, homepage, pricing, blog, forms, landing pages, and calls-to-action (CTAs).

But before you can optimize your conversion rate, you need to calculate it. 

1. Choose a date range you want to study and find your website metrics for that period.
2. Divide the number of conversions by the total number of visitors.
3. Conversion rates are typically expressed as a percentage; so, after dividing, multiply your result by 100. 

For instance, if your store receives 400 monthly visitors during April and completes 100 sales during that month, divide 100 by 400 and multiply by 100 to get a 25% conversion rate for April. 

CRO focuses on improving visitor touchpoints (places where they engage with your digital content) by enhancing their experiences. It’s not just about looking at the numbers in spreadsheets but also about paying attention to the factors that drive customers, persuade them to take action, or stop them from converting.

Why conversion rate matters for your website

Conversion rate is an important metric because it impacts your bottom line. Perhaps you’re spending money to reach specific marketing goals, such as increased sales or lead generation. If you’re not getting enough conversions, you’re draining marketing funds and losing potential revenue—spending money without getting a return on your investment (ROI).

On the other hand, a high conversion rate leads to:

• Increased revenue
• Lowered customer acquisition costs
• Better ROI
• Increased customer lifetime value (CLV)

If you have a high conversion rate, it means your website offers a great experience for the customer and communicates the value or reward for following through on a CTA. A high-converting landing page keeps the customers engaged. While calculating conversion rate doesn’t automatically increase your revenue, it delivers invaluable insights into your visitors’ engagement and interactions.

Key elements for increasing website conversion rate

If you’re experiencing low conversion rates, you can take a few steps to drive interactions and convince visitors to respond to CTAs. So, how can you improve conversion rates? Let’s explore actionable strategies using website conversion optimization techniques and focus on ecommerce conversion rate improvements.

Crafting effective calls-to-action (CTAs)

CTAs motivate visitors to take action—they’re the magic words. They allow you to tell visitors to take your desired action. Ensure they’re strong, clear, and visually distinct. For instance, a good CTA can be “Sign Up Now” or “Get 50% Off Now.”

Use contrasting colors to make your CTA buttons stand out. When visitors land on your page or website, they should be able to spot the button quickly. Review the buttons regularly to ensure they’re working well.

Simplifying website navigation

Your website navigation impacts conversion—when visitors struggle to navigate your site or find the information they want, they leave without completing any actions. Avoid complex menus and limit menu options to help visitors find information quickly.

Customers shouldn’t have to dig for value or spend lots of time looking for something on your site. Map out the customer journey and ensure all navigation buttons, key pages, CTAs, and forms are accessible within one or two clicks to guide them more efficiently toward your conversion goal. Simplify order pages and other forms to prevent losing visitors in the conversion funnel when forms require excessive details to complete.

Optimizing for mobile users

Mobile devices account for over 50% of web traffic (Statista, 2024). As a result, you need to create a mobile-friendly design for your website to encourage conversion for smartphone users. Visitors should be able to complete key actions using their mobile devices just as easily as they would on their desktop or laptop computers.

For instance, make sure that customers don’t need to switch from their mobile phones and to their computers to place orders. Ensure your content is scrollable, buttons are accessible, and images are high-quality on mobile devices. Your website should also load quickly and use legible fonts, text colors, and sizes.

How to improve website speed for higher conversions

Website speed impacts conversion rates and bounce rates. Up to 70% of customers say page speed affects their willingness to make an online purchase, and more than half expect pages to load in less than three seconds (Search Engine Land, 2019). 

If your site speed is low, you can improve it by:

• Minifying JavaScript and CSS files.
• Optimizing images
• Removing render-blocking JavaScript
• Moving to a faster hosting service or package
• Using browser HTTP caching
• Limiting the number of HTTP requests

Also, consider using content delivery networks like Cloudflare, Akamai, and Cachefly to respond to requests quickly and improve the load speed.

How to use A/B testing to improve conversion rates

Website conversion rate optimization and A/B testing go hand-in-hand. A/B testing is a method of experimenting with different website features and design elements to identify options that produce the best results (in this case, higher conversions). 

For example, A/B testing can compare different versions of your images, headlines, or CTAs to determine what resonates most with your target audience.

To run an A/B test:

1. Create two versions of your content, page, or form.
2. Show the versions to two similarly-sized target audiences.
3. Evaluate each piece’s performance by calculating the conversion rate for each option. 

The test should run for at least two to four weeks to deliver conclusive results for optimizing conversion rates.

Building trust with your audience

Earning the trust of prospective customers is important for boosting conversions. Up to 70% of customers say they must trust a brand to complete a purchase (Edelman, 2019). 

Your website presentation can make or break your customer’s trust. To increase that trust and credibility, you can take a few approaches: 

• Add testimonials as proof of satisfied customers
• Use security badges to let visitors know that your site is safe
• Provide essential company information like team members and contact details
• Have clear policies and terms and conditions for resolving disputes

Your website is your digital face—it captures the attention of your target audience and builds their trust. Ensure it provides all the essential information customers need throughout their journey to foster loyalty and confidence.

Leveraging social proof to boost conversions

Some customers make purchases or contact a business after getting a personal recommendation, having a direct experience with a brand, or reading other customer testimonials. These interactions serve as “social proof”—evidence of the usability or popularity of your service or product.

Take advantage of your existing customer reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content to influence potential customers. Share the reviews or testimonials on your product pages or website to build trust and credibility to potentially enhance your conversion rate.

The role of SEO in conversion rate optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a vital role in driving traffic to your site by improving search rankings and reaching a broader audience. However, it’s important to note that SEO often brings in top-of-funnel traffic, which may not always convert immediately. To mitigate this, ensure your SEO efforts focus on targeting keywords with strong intent and optimizing pages for mobile and user experience to improve conversions while maintaining visibility.

Analyzing website data to improve conversion rates

To increase your website’s conversion rates, you need to understand its current state using a conversion tracking tool. This is where data becomes invaluable—if you use Google Analytics, for instance, you already have access to insights about individual page performance, areas where customers abandon the purchase process, and visitor demographics.

Focus on reducing website bounce rates and addressing any friction points. An improved customer journey leads to higher customer satisfaction, which, in turn, drives more qualified leads.

For example, your website data might reveal your audience’s location, interests, age group, and gender. This allows you to tailor your content and offerings to deliver personalized experiences. Additionally, you can analyze landing pages and implement changes to boost conversions. A deep understanding of user behavior forms the foundation for increasing conversions. Knowing your audience’s preferences and pain points helps you create a compelling value proposition.

Common mistakes to avoid in website conversion optimization

Low conversion rates result from different website issues and mistakes you can avoid, including:

• Unclear messaging – Use lingo that resonates with your customers. If you’re marketing to non-expert consumers, using jargon or technical terms in your site content could drive visitors away.
• Weak CTAs – Lack of distinct, clear, and strong CTAs like “Register Now” or “Reserve Your Seat Now” can decrease your chances of converting visitors.
• Overly complex web design – Cluttered and unorganized web pages take more time to explore, and time is a limited resource. 
• Poor navigation – Complex and lengthy navigation makes it difficult for visitors to find information on your website.
• Slow load times – A slow website frustrates customers, forcing them to abandon your site or fail to complete desired actions.

Additionally, failing to understand your audience and monitor your results can impact your rates, too. Website conversion optimization is a continuous process involving collecting customer feedback, testing different variants, and making changes that boost the user experience—have a system in place to support these efforts.

Create a high-converting website with Name.com

Tracking conversion rates is important in measuring website performance, gauging your campaign’s success, and identifying areas for improvement. Your rate can go up or down due to different factors—many of these can be attributed to your website, including poor design and slow load times.

How can you improve conversion rates? It starts with a professional and user-friendly website—Name.com can help you make one.

Name.com gives you access to best-in-class products for building a high-converting website and resources for learning how to increase conversion rate. Use our domain name search tool to register a unique domain name and explore our website solutions to set up a responsive website. Don’t forget to take advantage of built-in email solutions to get a business email.

Register your domain name today and build a high-converting website for your business.

 

Sources:

Forbes. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): Definition & Best Practices. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/conversion-rate-optimization/ 

Statista. Percentage of mobile device website traffic worldwide from 1st quarter 2015 to 4th quarter 2023

www.statista.com/statistics/277125/share-of-website-traffic-coming-from-mobile-devices/

Search Engine Land. Nearly 70% of Consumers Say Page Speed Impacts Their Purchasing Decisions. www.searchenginejournal.com/nearly-70-of-consumers-say-page-speed-impacts-their-purchasing-decisions/290235/

Edelman. Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: In Brands We Trust?

www.edelman.com/research/trust-barometer-special-report-in-brands-we-trust