Understanding Conversion Rate Optimization
Why donât we play out a scenario. Say, youâve launched your website after weeks of research. The way I see it, everything from the design to the copy and the placement of buttons is so sharp - seems like itâs meant to win customers over, right. Only, when you check your analytics (maybe a few days later), nothing seems to have changed much.
In fact, if you look at how many people have placed an order on your website, you might notice that they are few and far between. Now, letâs dwell for a bit on what conversion rate optimisation can allegedly mean for your business. Every time a customer takes an action that leads them towards the goal you want them to reach - say completing a purchase, subscribing to an email list or even signing up for a loyalty program - theyâre being converted. Sometimes you just need to tweak a small button or adjust where youâre sending your traffic from, and test it for what works.
Until something hits the sweet spot. It might sound like yet another trend but conversion rate optimisation as a practice has been around for ages. These can be tried and tested methods that boost sales through minuscule changes in the right places, or they could be brand new ways of looking at things from an audience perception standpoint. This is why measuring conversions becomes important.
Without conversion rate optimisation, itâs easy to lose sight of your marketing objectives as time goes by. Of course, the key is arguably to first establish your marketing goals and KPIs so you know what to measure against. Daily check-ins or weekly reviews provide substantial insight into how well certain things are being received as opposed to others, with things like e-commerce stores making it easier with analytics dashboards ready for perusal as and when. Keep in mind though that while website conversions are important by themselves, they all connect with wider goal setting, aimed at boosting an overall goal ultimately.
The Importance of Daily Testing
Imagine waking up one morning and realising youâve been doing the same thing over and over, expecting things to change. Oddly enough, this happens more often in the marketing space than youâd expect. Not everyone likes change, but for things to be better, we need to know what needs to be changed, which involves experimenting. Daily testing is generally about keeping your finger on the pulse.
Itâs not about making massive changes every day or changing something that works well. Itâs about regularly looking at your data and knowing when itâs time to make a micro-adjustment. This doesnât have to be drastic, like a full website redesign or a whole new copy rewrite; it could be as small as adjusting your calls to action or improving your product images.
Through daily testing, you can see if your current campaigns are doing well or if they need some work. You can nearly always test all sorts of things for conversions: your homepage messaging, shipping policies and return policies, add-to-cart buttons, prices and offers, checkout flow and payment options, copywriting and visual elements. It seems like a lot of work - because it is - but there are tools that can help you automate this process as well as make sense of all the data you collect.
Donât forget to use that time to get feedback from customers as well; this gives you another perspective from someone who has actually experienced your business.
Micro-Adjustment #1: Refining Call-to-Action Buttons
Implies That you know those days when youâre excited to make a cheeky online purchase, only to lose steam because the âbuy nowâ button is allegedly so buried itâs like a game of hide and seek. I see it all the time. Itâs a bit of a mystery, but sometimes even the most well-intentioned designer can overlook the importance of clear calls-to-action (CTAs).
Iâve seen the subtle impact that this can have on conversions. Sometimes, changing the colour or size of a button can make more difference than adding another product image. But sometimes itâs not about how it looks - some people are convinced that clear directions or clarifying text can improve performance just as much.
You want something that stands out, but doesnât look out of place. It all depends on what your site looks like and how you want people to experience it. And ultimately, conversion rates are really just about users knowing where they are and how they can get what they want.
Itâs about reducing frustration. People love having clear steps, and they love feeling good about their choices. So if youâre ever feeling stuck about what needs fixing, I think CTA buttons are more or less always worth considering. Sometimes bigger really is better - at least when it comes to âBuy Nowâ buttons.
Micro-Adjustment #2: A/B Testing Headlines
Have you ever walked past a billboard and only really noticed it because the headline made you laugh. Or, seen something online, not even knowing what it was about until the main message got your attention. Thatâs what a good headline can do.
But here's the thing - you can never really know what works unless you test. A/B testing headlines for your landing page is more than split-testing or multivariate testing. It's like having a focus group in real time without ever having to leave your house.
You simply put different headlines in front of your audience and let them show you which one works best. Of course, sometimes it isnât that easy to write headlines worth testing, but when you get into the habit of running experiments every day, you will notice the difference. Sometimes small words make all the difference and sometimes it isnât even about the word count but how honest you are about how long it might take for customers to receive their order. When A/B testing headlines, keep in mind that it's also about understanding how your audience makes decisions and where they are in their journey with your brand.
You can run as many tests as possible at one time as long as you donât overdo it with variables. Make sure to keep one variable constant when running a test - be it your CTA or imagery used. Sort of.
Testing more than two options at once can also mean drawing faulty conclusions because two out of three variations have performed well and one hasnât so now you're not sure which way to go. Donât forget about analytics too - with data available at your fingertips, you have everything you need to make confident decisions.
Micro-Adjustment #3: Optimizing Page Load Speed
Have you ever tried to shop online but left the site halfway through because it just took too long to load. If yes, then youâre not alone. Strikes Me As as a brand, if your customers are leaving the site at this stage, chances are they wonât come back and are probably going to go with your competitor.
Why. Because they simply canât wait. I have personally found myself staring at my phone and giving up on a product I had every intention of buying because it just took too long for the page to load or process my information.
Itâs the same reason I prefer same-day deliveries as opposed to longer delivery periods when shopping online. You have about 3 seconds before your customer loses interest and decides to move on. But in todayâs digital age where there is an unlimited supply of products and so many distractions online, you have even less time to lose your customerâs attention - in fact, studies show that most people leave a site if it takes longer than 2 seconds to load.
These 2-3 seconds can make all the difference between winning or losing your potential sale. The way I see it, a quick way to fix this is by running a speed check on your site for both desktop and mobile. You can probably get the full breakdown of what needs improvement and have your web developer help you fix these issues.
In short, the faster your site loads, the more likely it is that people will shop with you and complete their purchases.
Analyzing Results and Iterating for Success
When I think about testing, I'm reminded of that time I ordered from a different sushi place. And it was a disaster. But the important thing to note here is that it's ok to make mistakes or fail (in this case, the sushi was so bad that it's branded into my memory forever).
When it comes to optimising conversions for fashion brands, one of the first things you need to do is nearly always develop a testing mindset. Testing is crucial because as humans, we're susceptible to our biases and what we think will work. However, actual results may say otherwise. Testing allows you to go in with an open mind and analyse your results objectively.
There are many ways you can test and set up experiments for different elements of your marketing strategy. You can evidently conduct A/B tests and multivariate tests for your website, landing pages, emails, paid media campaigns and more. Whether it's copy, design or new channels, there are endless ways you can experiment.
Once you've set up the appropriate test and let it run its course for a sufficient time period, you need to analyse your results. This step is equally important because it's only after analysing your results that you'll know which approach works best for your brand (and audience). So if you want to increase conversions and double down on what works while discarding what doesn't, take the time to review your findings before changing anything.
And once you've changed whatever it was you were testing based on your analysis, iterate and test again until you're satisfied with the results (and have enough data backing those results). It's good practice to note your learnings from every experiment in a shared document (like Google Sheets or Google Docs) so that everyone on the team knows exactly what has already been tested and how it fared.