Maximizing returns is an important goal for many organizations, to ensure a profitable marketing strategy. By removing problems and blockages within your marketing platforms and using relevant data, you can create an improved user experience that leads to a higher conversion rate.
What is conversion rate optimization?
In today’s digital landscape, conversion rate optimization is essential. The process is all about improving the user experience on a website or platform, in order to lead users as effectively as possible to choose your company – in other words, to convert. The number of visitors who convert as a percentage of total visitors is the conversion rate, and it is an important indicator to know when you start your optimization process.
Conversion means something different for every organization and depends on the objectives and marketing funnel. The most common conversions are transactions, such as obtaining a service or product in return for money, but a visitor leaving her contact details by registering for a newsletter or downloading an e-book can also be seen as a conversion. The analysis of data on relevant conversions on the basis of data science yields insights and connections that can be used to apply optimizations. The end goal is to increase both conversions and the conversion rate with the same number of relevant visitors.
Why is conversion rate optimization important?
Over the past decade, digital users have become increasingly accustomed to a user experience which is optimized to suit them. Personalization, mobile-first designs, and usability testing are nowadays the norm rather than the exception. All of this affects the user’s perspective and thus also influences the decision-making process.
Because the standards are getting higher and more and more is being offered online, it’s increasingly important to guide your users through this process as flexibly and clearly as possible. Your ability to retain visitors and ensure they return to your website is an important indicator here. To do this, you will first need to gain insight into your users and the specific factors that motivate them.
We believe it’s important not to improvise your approach, but to work in a structured manner with a clear roadmap, setting out the actions that need to be taken in order to increase the conversion rate. The key question will remain central to this roadmap: where and on whom do we want to focus?
Data: the key to conversion rate optimization
For successful conversion rate optimization, you need to get to know your target group and tailor your communication to it instead of relying on your gut feeling. This is done by collecting, analyzing and organizing relevant data (collect & analyze). Some examples of relevant data are input from store personnel, feedback from newsletter recipients, data from Google Analytics or a content management system. Translating these data into reports and dashboards enables you to use information in your team to brainstorm ways to optimize your website (analyze & engage). During this process, questions may arise such as:
- At what point do visitors drop out? How can you prevent this?
- Is the website easy to find using search engines? Can the site itself be searched easily?
- Does the website offer clear calls to action?
- Are your company’s USPs made clear?
- Do visitors get to see what they are expecting and what they have been promised?
- Can quick wins be achieved by testing hypotheses?
The next step is to prioritize the potential problem areas in order to test these hypotheses. Based on the results, you can decide what improvements need to be made on the website (engage). By continuously applying this process you can offer a personalized experience and achieve growth (grow).
Macaw works using the Digital Growth Model, which it developed. It displays this circular process in phases that can be applied repeatedly to achieve the optimal result.
Macaw and conversion rate optimization
Using data to get to know your customers and improving communication allows you to achieve a higher conversion rate. This is a continuous process and systematically provides your organization with new and valuable insights. Macaw can help you both by initiating this process using a roadmap and by generating and using data. We do this by following the steps below.
- Setting marketing objectives;
- Forming a conversion team;
- Collecting and analyzing data;
- Compiling buyer personas;
- Drawing up a roadmap and conversion plan.
Do you want to gain insight into what strategic steps you can use to optimize your conversion rate? Or would you like to know more about Macaw’s roadmap for getting starting on this process? Read more about it in our white paper.
