Data analytics technology has helped change the future of modern business. The ecommerce sector is among those most affected by advances in analytics. We have previously pointed out that a number of ecommerce sites are using data analytics to optimize their business models.
Therefore, it should be no surprise that the market for data analytics technology was worth $49 billion last year and is growing at a rate of 26.7% a year. However, some ecommerce companies are still unsure about some of the ways that they can utilize data analytics to their advantage.
One of the best applications of data analytics is that it can help with improving conversion rate optimization for websites. Keep reading to learn why this is so important.
Data Analytics Technology Can Help Immensely with CRO
To promote a brand on the Internet and increase sales, marketers use many different methods and technologies, depending on the goals and needs of the company.
Among the most effective tools is conversion rate optimization services (CRO). This practice began in the early days of the Internet, during the dot-com bubble. The reason for the emergence of CRO was that many websites were of low quality and often had poor performance at that time, which naturally led to a demand for a new methodology to improve the user experience and increase productivity.
Poor UX coupled with a slow website could often be the downfall of a company, as such websites drive away visitors in many cases. While for the stable development and expansion of the company, visitors must have the motivation to return to the site again. And conversion rate optimization is a great strategy to give the user this motivation.
Let’s take a closer look at what CRO is and why it’s essential.
What Is Conversion Rate Optimization
Conceptually, conversion rate optimization is a methodology aimed at increasing the number of website visitors who take the action desired by the company. In other words, conversion is the process of turning a visitor to your website into your client. For example, if users purchased a product, subscribed to an email newsletter, filled out an application form, or contacted you. And in order for the percentage of such users to be higher, conversion rate optimization is an effective tactic.
At the same time, the optimization process is a complex approach since this methodology affects many aspects related to business processes and user behavior.
Thus, when creating a strategy, CRO specialists take into account such factors as:
- the company’s value proposition
- sales funnel of a company
- type of products and services
- user feedback
- user loyalty to the brand
- user’s readiness to take action
After reviewing this data, CRO specialists can use different methods to increase the conversion rate. Typically, this involves optimizing content and website design, as well as making adjustments to existing strategies and processes.
To attract and retain users, a website must have an intuitive, clear, and user-friendly design. Design planning should take into account all aspects of the user experience, from visiting a landing page to searching for information, reading content, and taking action.
There is an opinion that if a user cannot understand what your site is about within the first 5 seconds, they will leave it. Therefore, it is best if your site has a clear purpose and gives the visitor an understanding of why they are here and what they can do.
The need for conversion rate optimization is largely determined by the profitability of marketing campaigns and investments in web development in general. After all, if conversion rates are low, then the company loses profit and may even go into negative territory. This is why increasing the number of users who take an action is essential because the more actions, the higher the profit.
In addition, special attention is paid to UX and CX:
- UX is user experience. One of the main factors that matters in UX is how the user interacts with the website, application, services, etc. Also, user experience is an indicator of how well you know your audience, their habits, needs, and expectations.
- CX is customer experience. This concept covers the overall interaction a customer has with your brand. Factors that are taken into account in CX are the customer’s experience of purchasing and using your products, technical support, communication on social media, the company’s pricing policy, etc. In other words, CX spans all channels and customer touchpoints.
Conversion rate optimization includes both user experience and customer experience, as they are essential aspects of the overall optimization strategy.
How Conversion Rate Optimization Works
As already mentioned, conversion rate optimization is a complex methodology. Accordingly, successful implementation of CRO takes time since it is critical to research all the aspects that influence the visitors and encourage them to take action or, on the contrary, repel them from your website.
The key task of conversion rate optimization is a constant and detailed analysis of all essential factors in order to be able to identify problems and make the necessary adjustments in time. The conversion rate optimization strategy can be considered accomplished if the website does its job effectively and the conversion rates have reached the previously set goal.
Planning and implementation of conversion rate optimization strategy may vary from company to company. However, the general template usually includes the following steps:
Set The Goal
The first step is to determine what action the visitor should take. This could be making a purchase, subscribing to services, filling out an application form, contacting you, sharing your content with friends, etc. It is crucial to clearly understand what exactly we want from the user.
Collect Data
Collect all available data regarding user interaction with the website (for example, clicks, scrolling, visited pages, use of filters, turning on/off site elements, etc.). This data can be used to find problem areas and discover what can be improved.
Ask Yourself Why
Having the data collected from visitors, it is critical to find an answer to the question of why the user behaves this way and not otherwise. This step provides a bridge that can help the visitor take the action you have set as a goal.
A/B Testing
To make sure your analysis is correct, conduct A/B testing. Apply the changes to a subset of visitors to see if your hypothesis works.
Report
Make a report that includes test results, ideas and risks for implementing the strategy, and possible changes you would like to try.
Make Changes
After successfully analyzing data and testing your hypotheses, apply the changes to all your website visitors to increase conversions.
Learn more about conversion rate optimization and ABM digital marketing at Elevated Third.