4 Big Myths About Conversion Rate Optimization
When we talk about the potential of CRO in our circles, we typically find that there are lots of misconceptions about conversion rate optimization. We’re here to set the record straight.
Many smart marketers are skeptical of a service that, honestly, sounds too good to be true. Whether you are a lead gen or e-Commerce site, implementing conversion testing and subsequent findings can dramatically improve the amount of orders you receive or leads you acquire.
But it's not a simple process to get the results you want. If you've been thinking CRO for your site, but have a few reservations, let’s dispel a few myths that may be holding you back.
Myth 1: CRO Blindly Implements Best Practices
Many marketing websites and thought leaders have lists of best practices detailing exactly what you have to do to achieve your highest lead gen or e-commerce conversion rates. The only problem? These best practices might work for them, but marketing is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor.
Truth: CRO does not blindly implement best practices without qualified data supporting these changes for your landing pages or websites. An effective CRO strategy analyzes available data and uses those insights to make optimization changes, testing these implementations along the way to confirm conversion rate improvements. In this process, best practices may or may not apply.
Myth 2: Conversion Rate Optimization Is Only About Small Design Tweaks
A common misconception about CRO is that it is only about making small changes on your landing pages; things like switching the color of buttons and changing the words in the header. Header copy, button colors and design element placement do play a part in CRO, but cosmetic changes are only a small part of what goes into an optimization strategy.
Truth: CRO is about much more than cosmetic fixes. You can also test functionality aspects on a page (such as product 'quick views' or a one-page checkout process) to determine what your site visitor needs to convert. Want to test a completely new design against your current design? You can do that, too!
Myth 3: Marketers Must Guess At Conversion Pain Points
Many believe that designing CRO tests revolves around a marketer’s or a designer’s ability to intuitively guess at what’s preventing site visitors from converting on key actions. How do you know exactly what changes to make on your landing pages?
Truth: CRO uses a data-driven approach for determining what users need to convert. Instead of guessing at these factors, this strategy utilizes user feedback tools to ask current and potential users directly. This data goes into optimizing the user experience on the target pages and giving them exactly what they need to turn into leads or customers.
Myth 4: CRO Solves All Your Problems
Some agencies and platforms pitch CRO as a "solve-all-your-problems" tool. They promise big returns, which makes it seem like CRO will magically solve all your website and conversion problems. But, in reality, CRO is only a part of the solution.
Truth: CRO gives you a solid, data-driven foundation for converting customers and generating leads, but you still need to bring in traffic, offer an excellent product and provide a high-quality customer experience. CRO is one part of the whole marketing ecosystem you need for a growing business, but you can't neglect your search engine optimization, advertising, content marketing or social media once you get started.
The Truth About Conversion Rate Optimization
CRO can make a major difference in your conversion rates, but only if you’re willing to take a structured and systemic approach that relies on qualified data points.
CRO is heavily data-driven strategy that depends on user input, frequent testing and a willingness to make changes to existing pages in order to achieve the intended results. When you have a quality product and a great customer experience, CRO can give you the additional edge you need to bring in new customers and leads.
