![\"brand](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/09131004\/brand-identity-grader-blog-cta-hero.png\")
<\/div>Answer 5 short questions and we will send a custom report with actionable insights and specific actions you can take to build a stronger brand.<\/div>
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/17105341\/money-4029562_1280.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Most marketers and small business owners obsess about the amount of traffic to their online sites.<\/p>\n
Site traffic is important \u2013 it brings attention, a certain degree of validation, and the opportunity to\u00a0convert\u00a0visitors into users or paying customers.<\/p>\n
But whether you’re just starting a business<\/a> and writing a business plan<\/a>, or trying to grow an existing business, traffic alone isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n You have to convert visitors into paying customers.<\/p>\n Still, it’s hard to convert cold traffic.<\/p>\n Why? Because cold traffic doesn’t know your business yet.<\/p>\n People unfamiliar with your business may stumble across your homepage (lucky for you). But those people aren’t ready to buy – they’re ready to be convinced<\/em>.<\/p>\n Your website has just seconds to convince a visitor that you can offer them a solution to their problem.<\/p>\n And, as an unknown quantity, that’s a tough sell. So, let’s dig in and take a closer look at how you can win them over.<\/p>\n Over the past fifteen years, I’ve mentored thousands of marketers, designers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners in optimizing their websites and improving conversions. Among other things, I’ve led dozens of webinars and presentations on conversion rate optimization for businesses across dozens of industries. I share my learnings, insights, actionable tips, and examples in this definitive guide.<\/p>\n You’ll learn about the power of conversion rate optimization and why you should focus to improve your overall conversion rate. Plus, we share 15 proven strategies to help you optimize your website to improve conversions.<\/p>\n A conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete the desired action you want them to take. For example, you may want them to sign up for a service, complete a form, or purchase a product or service.<\/p>\n A conversion rate is calculated by dividing the total number of conversions by the total number of site visitors and multiplying that by 100 to get the percentage.<\/p>\n <\/div> The conversion rate can get tricky if a person can convert to your site on each session (visit). In that case, divide the number of conversions by the number of unique sessions (the number of unique times a site visitor came to your site).<\/p>\n And, if you sell a subscription to a digital product, product, or service, divide the number of conversions by the number of visitors.<\/p>\n A conversion is when a visitor to a landing page takes action you intended they take and completes a goal. If you sell products on your website, for example, the primary goal is for the user to buy something. This is called a macro-conversion.<\/p>\n You can also include smaller conversions that can occur before a user completes a macro-conversion. For example, you can ask a user to subscribe to your newsletter or receive emails from you. These are called micro-conversions.<\/p>\n Examples of macro-conversions:<\/strong><\/p>\n Examples of micro-conversions:<\/strong><\/p>\n Your conversion rate is\u00a0a simple formula:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You define your goal(s) and then simply track visitors.<\/p>\n The average conversion rate<\/a> for websites that sell products and services is 1%-2%. But some websites do a phenomenal job converting visitors; their conversion rates can easily be 2x or 3x (or more!).<\/p>\n Conversion rate optimization (CRO), is the process of tweaking, testing, and improving your website and content to increase conversions.<\/p>\n A high conversion rate means your website is well-designed, optimally formatted, and appeals to your target audience.<\/p>\n A low conversion rate means that there are points of friction on your website that will prevent you from meaningfully increasing sales or sign-ups unless you address those points of friction.<\/p>\n Conversions can happen anywhere on your website. This includes your homepage, landing pages, pricing page, blog, explanation pages, etc.<\/p>\n Ultimately, to grow your business, you must design your website and all landing pages in a way that converts website visitors into paying customers. The better your conversion rate, the more efficient you are in converting traffic into paying customers. Although this is a very challenging thing to do,\u00a0CRO tools\u00a0can help you a lot in boosting your conversions.<\/p>\n To optimize your conversion rate, you must optimize each landing page to increase conversions.<\/p>\n If you’re just starting your business, conversion optimization will build a stronger foundation for all your marketing efforts<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you’re running an existing business and considering a rebrand<\/a>, make sure that you evaluate a conversion rate optimization strategy as part of your rebrand.<\/p>\n Your social marketing, inbound marketing, and content marketing efforts will be wasted, and you\u2019ll waste time and money if your website, including all landing pages, isn't ready to convert the people you\u2019re sending to your website.<\/p>\n <\/div> With proper conversion rate optimization, you’ll get more out of both your existing website traffic, and you will also convert new traffic at a higher rate.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Although this concept is simple, setting a conversion goal isn’t simple. You can’t just assume that because a page converts 25 people per week you can easily convert 50 people per week.<\/p>\n The point isn’t to create a conversion goal to double conversions. You want to double conversions for every X of website visitors who visit each landing page.<\/p>\n Most small businesses and startups have problems with conversion optimization because they lack brand recognition. Simply put, not enough people know about them.<\/p>\n <\/div> This is a problem because brand recognition is a prerequisite to sales. According to Revecka Jallad<\/a>, the managing partner at DIVISA and Forbes Council Member:<\/p>\n When it comes to purchasing decisions, studies show that the brands consumers recognize most are more likely to be included in their consideration sets.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Or, if you like numbers better, Larry Kim, founder of Mobile Monkey<\/a>, put it this way<\/a>:<\/p>\n A repeat visitor works as a proxy for brand affinity \u2013 and they convert 2-3x higher than first-time visitors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Earning brand affinity (and sales) starts with establishing brand recognition. Cold leads don’t recognize your brand<\/a>. So, you’ve got to cover that ground fast.<\/p>\n This is particularly important for new businesses (because most of your traffic is cold traffic) and small businesses (because you don’t have a huge marketing and branding budget).<\/p>\n So, what conversion optimization strategies can help you bridge this brand recognition gap fast?<\/p>\n <\/div> Let’s look at each of these strategies to explore how you can implement them on your website.<\/p>\n Take a look at the image above.<\/p>\n You probably could identify that flamingo on the left faster than you read and processed the text on the right. They both give you the same information. But, one is exponentially quicker.<\/p>\n Humans are visual creatures. If you want to capture attention and communicate quickly, a visual will win out over text nearly every time.<\/p>\n As we explained previously<\/a>:<\/p>\n Custom illustrations can communicate valuable information about your product, service, and brand – fast<\/em>. Put this powerful visual tool to work, warming up those cool leads, and you’ll increase your conversion rate.<\/p>\n<\/div>What is a conversion rate?<\/h2>
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/27125439\/logo-pink-blue.png\"\/){kind=logo}
<\/div>\nWhat is a conversion?<\/h2>\n
Examples of conversions<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
How to calculate the conversion rate<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/27131308\/conversionrate-1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhat is conversion rate optimization?<\/h2>\n
<\/div>When is CRO right for your business?<\/h2>
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>What holds CRO back for most businesses?<\/h2>
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n15 CRO marketing strategies that work:<\/h2>
<\/p>\n\n
![](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/27125439\/cs-200px.png\")
<\/div>\n1. Use\u00a0custom illustrations<\/a> on your website and landing pages<\/h3>\n
Illustrations give you a communication short-cut<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/07101812\/flamingo_illustration.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n
Want a free brand review?<\/div><\/div>Answer 5 short questions and we will send a custom report with actionable insights and specific actions you can take to build a stronger brand.<\/div>\n