Do you ever wonder why so many people begin to order on your site but never finish? Maybe your website is awesome, but nobody's filling out the download form, or maybe your top-level pages have high bounce rates, which are supposed to lead to conversions. A Conversion Rate Optimization Audit measures the engagement and usability of your website so that you can develop a strategy to increase the interactions of visitors with your site and convert them into customers.
Increasing CRO can support your site traffic and lower acquisition costs. This is why conversion audit is an essential component of your Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and other PPC campaigns.
My goal in this guide is to explain what conversion audits are and why they are so important for businesses.
Let's get going!
So, What’s a Conversion Audit?
The conversion audit focuses on customer-facing aspects of your website, identifying areas for improvement that will increase conversion rates.
Among the focus areas are content, search engine optimization, social media optimization, and design and layout.
Conversion Optimization Audits: Why Should You Do Them?
You won't see an increase in conversions immediately after conducting an audit. Basically, they give you the data you need to make the necessary changes to increase conversion rates. An optimization audit helps you identify where prospects are losing interest and why.
Two things are needed to start a conversion audit:
- A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or landing page you're promoting.
- Traffic directed to a specific page or pages.
There's no such thing as too much conversion rate. Even if you're satisfied with your conversion rate, it's worth checking to see where it can be improved. A conversion audit can help you with this.
Spot conversion black holes
Your website may not be converting as well as you would like it to. There is probably a good reason for that.
For instance, two sites selling the same product to different audiences will have different conversion black holes.
Black holes? What's that? They're little things that stop a click. Maybe your button's not where it should be. You might have gaps in your copy. Your traffic may not be targeted well. The goal of an audit is to figure out what's causing the low conversion rate.
What Does a Conversion Audit Require?
Performing a conversion audit is not possible without certain information and criteria. As mentioned above, a conversion audit without traffic isn't very useful. Besides traffic, what else would you need?
A complete, realistic picture of the customer.
Create a profile of your ideal client before you begin producing online marketing content. Customer avatars are essential for all marketing activities, including conversion rate optimization.
Knowing your perfect customer will help you create a landing page that speaks to them. Also, creating different landing pages for different customer groups increases conversion chances.
So, who's your real customer?
There's a good chance your actual visitors won't match up with what you've defined as your perfect customer.
Start-ups are often more focused on creating the minimum viable product than making sure it meets their ideal customer's needs.
A customer avatar isn't an exact science.
The first time we try to figure it out, we're usually wrong.
What's actually the best starting point for a conversion audit:
Who do you think is your ideal customer? Is it really the people you think it is?
Your landing page cannot be optimized if your target audience is different from the one you are trying to reach. It is either necessary to determine why the wrong audience is coming or redesign the landing page for the new audience.
When they arrive, what do you want them to do?
You also have to know your goal. What do you want visitors to do when they arrive at your page?
Trying to get customers' emails while sending them to an expensive product will not result in a high conversion rate.
So bear this in mind.
The first step you need to take is to identify the exact purpose of a landing page. What do you want them to do, how are you going to motivate them to do it, and what path will you lead them down?
What do they currently do when they arrive?
In most cases, you are not converting simply because your audience does not act on what you want them to.
The reason they don't fill out the form could be several things:
- Clicking away right away.
- Visiting a different page of your site.
- Clicking away after scanning the entire page.
- Moving from one page of your website to another by scrolling the whole page.
The reason for all of these is that the action you want them to take does not appear to be the best option for them. Following your conversion audit, you can really optimize better if you know these details.
Heatmaps are a great tool for this. By examining the heatmap, you can determine where your visitors pay attention and where they don't. You can then adapt accordingly.
Changing the color or positioning of your button may increase its visibility if it is not getting any attention. You might also try moving your copy to an obvious place if your value proposition is hidden.
Where do they come from?
Another thing you can get from Google Analytics is the source of your traffic. Identifying which traffic source converts best can provide direction.
But make it a little more specific. For example, take a look at your visitors' demographics and audience groups and how each group behaves differently. Information like this can help you narrow down your target market.
What Is in a Conversion Audit?
A good conversion rate audit is based on these important pieces of information. How about the other things that are included? How do they work together to give you actionable insights you can use to improve your conversion rate?
There are basically 3 essential parts to any conversion audit.
- A technical audit
- A design/UX audit
- A copy audit
A technical audit - What is it?
A technical audit examines all aspects that can affect visitors' experience. Besides SEO, the page needs to undergo technical enhancements as well.
Website loading speed is a key factor for conversions. A site that is not responsive may cause visitors to click away.
Try these if the load time is too long:
- Make sure your images are optimized
- Check your Javascript and CSS
- Optimize your server response time
- Enable compression
- Leverage Browser Caching
- Plus, a lot more
Technical audits include SEO as well. In this case, it is very important to promote the right keywords.
Browser compatibility and device optimization are also important aspects of a technical audit. Using these will ensure that no matter which device, browser, or operating system users use, they will see your page the way you intended.
Design audits: What are they?
The design audit of your landing page involves what colors you use, what images your users see, and what font you use.
People react differently to colors, and different colors appeal to different groups. Each color evokes a different feeling.
Here's what you need to do:
You can test the colors of the base, background, fonts, buttons, images, and so forth.
A/B testing can help you decide what colors to choose. Change colors from one color scheme to another for a while. Check your analytics after the test period to see your results.
Adobe's Color Wheel tool allows you to select different color schemes based on different color rules.
The layout of a website is also important for conversion.
The goal is to make it as easy as possible for potential customers to click your Big Blue Button when they land on that page.
Here's what to do:
Your prospects should be able to take only one action. Therefore there should only be one route. It should be clearly visible and contrast well with the rest of the page. Be sure that it matches not only your brand but also your goals.
Copy audit: What is it?
Fast-loading sites can make a big difference in whether visitors stick around, but if your copy doesn't work, they won't buy.
These tips might be helpful to you:
You should position your product between your customers' needs and their wants.
Then, provide them with an immediate solution to their problem.
Your opening headline should grab the attention of potential customers.
Next, we have the CTA. To draw visitors toward the button, CTAs must be visible, use active language, and speak the visitor's language.
Also, you should think more carefully about how to say "Buy Now" or "Download".
Here are a few things you can do:
Test out your CTA and make sure it is in line with the button copy, so it actually stands out.
Include all the information your ideal client wants and needs to decide your headlines.
A conversion rate audit should cover all of these things, giving you a real sense of whether your copy is compelling or not.
Audit of Conversion Optimization: Who Should Perform It?
There are basically three ways to get an audit done:
- You can do it yourself.
- Hire an agency.
- Hire a freelancer.
It's up to you which one to choose, but there are a few things to consider.
If you conduct it in-house, it's probably your first conversion audit. But, while it is possible to get it right the first time, there is also a possibility that you will overlook something important. Perhaps that is something important.
When you hire someone, you can bet they have specialized experience. That means they tend to favor one aspect more than another.
Upwork.com shows different hourly rates for different people. Costs are generally around $80 per hour.
A specialized agency can put multiple specialists on your audit, each of them doing what they do best.
What Things to Look For During an Audit?
Your customers may arrive at your site from different places and with a wide range of experiences.
When an auditing professional analyzes your site, they consider all of these aspects.
Here are the things they are looking for:
Layout and design (both desktop and responsive)
Even good-looking websites can fail to convert. The surface appeal may not be enough to entice the end user. Taking that into account, conversion optimization specialists typically consider things that facilitate audience scanning the page, such as:
- The proper use of white space.
- A single call-to-action button.
- Easily readable typography and fonts.
- Separate sections and sub-sections that are consistent.
Obviously, it's not enough to follow only standard conversion practices. A specialist also looks at the site's performance on mobile devices. The current proportion of mobile traffic is over 1/3 (and is rapidly approaching 50%), so not having a mobile-friendly design is just throwing money away.
As a result of technologies like HTML5 and CSS3, it is no longer necessary to develop a separate mobile site. One site can be adapted to all device sizes and resolutions.
Make smartphone loading time as short as possible!
Search and social optimization
Search engine optimization and social media optimization seem at odds with each other. There is no doubt that they produce vastly different conversion results. However, due to the fact that customers can access your website through a variety of channels, auditors typically combine these two approaches.
Search engine optimization involves a slew of factors. So why shouldn't social media follow suit?
Due to the perception that social media traffic isn't as valuable as search engine optimization, social media marketing is treated as an afterthought. But, honestly, how often do you shop on Facebook? We shouldn't disregard these visitors just because the intent isn't there (never!)
An effective conversion optimization audit determines how well your social media efforts converge with your original site.
Since social results can also impact your search engine rankings, you must have a fluid, seamless flow between channels.
You can do this by:
- Using the same style and tone on your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ pages as your website.
- Your social media channels should reflect the branding and graphics of your website.
- Your social media channels should have the same level of open communication and friendly customer service as your website.
- Create an engaging reason for customers to interact with you on social networks. Contests, surveys, and quizzes are all great ways to encourage interaction.
Checkout process for e-commerce products
Conversion audits would not be complete without examining the e-commerce process closely. While auditing your product pages and checkout may seem overwhelming, here are some key points to take into consideration:
- Shopping cart with an image of the item and its price (along with any discounts).
- Personalized or customized options (if available).
- Indicating how many steps are needed to finish a purchase.
- Adding free shipping to e-commerce websites (the biggest conversion-producer).
- Using security and trust seals when appropriate.
- Error messages with easy-to-understand explanations to let customers know whether something has been missed.
These are only a few of many factors to consider, but a good conversion audit will examine all of them and adjust and test based on audience expectations.
Creating content
If you browse the Web for a while, you will find that many sites treat their content as an afterthought rather than a crucial part of their conversion strategy.
Tone and voice will vary based on your audience and brand (for example, if you were selling technical components, you wouldn't want to be conversational). Still, for most consumer-facing brands, open dialogue can be beneficial.
Among the many tips that businesses can use, notable points include promoting free shipping, clearly explaining return/exchange policies, explaining your unique selling proposition so the customer can easily understand, and many more.
Content for your website is both an art and a science, and knowing what compels your visitors to act is all part of the visitor psychology process.
What Should You Do With the Results of Your Conversion Audit?
During your audit, you discovered that a few areas are underperforming. What should you do next?
Put yourself to work!
Changes like rearranging your images so they load faster can be made instantly. However, some of them require a bit more work.
At this point, you have two options: you can either test your current page or tweak it to boost conversions. But, of course, a proper evaluation can only be made based on actual data.
You should keep your current landing page but create a copy with slight changes based on the audit recommendations. Then, compare the performance of the two landing pages using split testing.
You can do this for every changed feature to see which ones work best together, which small changes give you the best ROI, and which should be discarded. So, when you build a landing page from scratch the next time, you'll have a lot of data at your disposal.
Conclusion
There is absolutely no such thing as free traffic today, no matter if you do not directly pay for it with PPC ads.
Like it or not, traffic is not getting cheaper, but it is very likely to become more expensive over time. Which means you have to take every click seriously. You waste time and money if you don't convert visitors from PPC and SEO.
No matter how you drive traffic to your website, a good CRO strategy can help you get more results!
Bonus!
An Optimizing Conversions Checklist in 45 Steps!
Optimizing conversions involves keeping track of a lot and covering all the bases is essential to your success.
I made this checklist with this in mind. It covers everything from your headline to the call to action and includes some helpful tools as well.
- Make sure you know what you want people to do on each key page.
- The conversion funnel - how do people move through your site to become customers?
Titles, Headlines, and Subject Lines
A headline, title, or subject line is your first chance to catch your audience's attention.
Check out these tips on writing better headlines.
- Create a headline that tells people what they can expect from the copy on your page. You should keep it short and keyword-friendly while creating a sense of urgency. If you can, be specific about your offer and emphasize the benefits. Also, using action verbs is a good strategy.
- Create a new headline. Be sure to check for emotional and power words as well.
- Ahead of publishing, test your headlines (or multiple variants to see which results in the best conversion rate.
Page Copy
The headline is what catches people's attention, but the copy is what gets them to check out your offer and take action.
You might want to include the following steps:
- Check that the copy provides the information or solution your customers need.
- Start with a statistic, anecdote, quote, or question and end with a story with a beginning, middle, and happy ending.
- Identify and eliminate pain points to reduce buying resistance.
- Identify benefits and features and make a distinction between them. While features describe the characteristics of a product or service, benefits describe what the product can do for the customer.
- Keeping writing style in mind: learn to write in the first person when it makes sense; avoid using unnecessary words and jargon, and do not use an abbreviation or contraction.
- Keep your SEO in check by including (NOT stuffing) the terms that your target audience will use.
- Subheads and bullets improve readability.
- You need to proofread your work to ensure your credibility and authority are not undermined.
- Evoke emotion in your audience to make them care.
- You shouldn't assume your readers are experts. Inform them of what they need to know.
- A/B testing, heat maps, and analytics are useful tools to identify areas where your copy can be improved.
Trust-building
If people don't trust you, they won't buy from you.
Here are some ways to make your page more trustworthy:
- Demonstrate the experiences of real customers, including via video.
- Videos of products are a great way to let people know what they are buying.
- Amazon recommends publishing customer reviews.
- Use social proof to persuade.
- Data is the backbone of your sales points.
- Offer incentives such as free shipping and guarantees.
- Instead of going straight for the hard sell, build an ongoing relationship with your customers.
The Offer
A landing page's offer is an important element.
Here's how you can adjust it:
- Make sure your offer matches your potential buyer's needs. A bad offer is just as bad as no offer at all. Get this right by using personas and avatars.
- Your product should be valuable to your customer.
- Your offer should be clear and easy to understand.
Calls to Action
Call to Actions (CTAs) are what get people to take action or, to put it another way, they are what tell you whether the other efforts have been successful.
You can optimize your conversions by following these tips:
- You should have multiple call-to-actions on your page to cater to different audiences at different stages of the funnel.
- Instead of generic CTAs, tailor them to the page copy.
- Create buttons that look like buttons to increase conversions.
- Place CTAs in different positions to find the most effective ones. Be sure to test CTA copy, size, and color.
- Inspire action with action words.
- CTA copy should create urgency.
- Don't distract your audience - keep the call-to-action area uncluttered.
- Make sure the button text is legible.
Design
Both the design and the content of your page are crucial.
To get started, follow these tips:
- Keeping your landing page clutter-free helps draw attention to your offer and copy. Make sure people are able to find the information they need on other pages.
- Give your visitors the option of moving through your page at various points so they can take action.
- Using images will draw people's attention, build trust, and keep them interested. For best results, use high-quality photos, but don't let them obscure your message.
- Don't prioritize design over user experience.
- Consider placing the most important elements where people will be most likely to notice them.
- Make effective use of color.
- Be sure to use the right fonts.
- Keeping navigation simple is important. Keep in mind that every link is another distraction from your conversion goal. Optimize your navigation for conversion by simplifying it.
- Simple pages and sites are a good idea, too.
- Experiment! Don't be afraid to try new things. You can't improve unless you do! If you want to grow, you need to fail, learn, and try again. The other way to say it is, "either grow or die."
- Achieve a high conversion rate by testing and measuring.
