How to Utilize CRO Strategies with Your WordPress Website

[Clay Page]

Hello everyone,

I'm eager to learn about effective Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) strategies for WordPress websites. If you have insights, tips, or expertise in this area, your guidance in answering my questions would be immensely valuable.

[Annie_P]

What is CRO?

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the systematic improvement of a website's performance and user experience, aiming to prompt visitors to undertake a specific action that benefits the business. This action could involve purchasing a product, subscribing to a newsletter, or clicking a call-to-action button.



Key terms

Conversion: This occurs when a user engages in a significant interaction on your website. Conversions are user-defined and include adding a product to a cart or signing up for a mailing list.

Conversion rate: The conversion rate represents the percentage of your entire user base that completes a desired action. This rate is calculated by dividing the total conversions by the overall number of users.

Call-to-action(CTA): Typically situated after a section of content, a button encourages users to perform a specific action. Examples include phrases like 'Click here,' 'Learn more,' and 'Buy it now.'



CRO Strategies to optimize your website’s conversion rate

Step 1: Implement Conversion Tracking Tools

The initial phase of the Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) process involves setting up conversion tracking tools. These tools enable data collection based on key metrics on your website.

Utilizing conversion data provides valuable insights for developing a data-driven strategy. For instance, it allows you to understand how visitors engage with your website and identify pages that generate the highest number of conversions.

In addition, a conversion tracking tool facilitates CRO testing on your website. It enables comparing A/B testing results determining which changes enhance marketing conversion rates.

Several conversion tracking tools are available, each with distinct use cases and features. It's essential to select tools that align with your specific needs.


Step 2: Conduct Usability Testing

The subsequent step involves evaluating the usability of your website. Challenges in the buying process can lead to visitors abandoning their purchases, making it crucial to ensure a seamless user experience.

Use usability testing to observe how users interact with and navigate your site. This process helps pinpoint areas of your website that may cause confusion among visitors and provides insights on potential improvements.

While analytics measure website performance, usability testing delves into the reasons behind it. A common method for checking usability is A/B testing, which compares two presentations of the same web page to determine which one yields better conversion rates.

An alternative approach to assessing usability is to review each webpage manually. Evaluate the navigation and user experience on every page. Can visitors easily ascertain your identity, understand your services, and find contact information? Take note of areas that require improvement.

Step 3: Enhance Mobile Conversions

With mobile devices accounting for 58.99% of global website traffic in the second quarter of 2022, optimizing mobile conversion rates is integral to an effective CRO strategy.

A responsive design is fundamental to a mobile-friendly website, ensuring that users on mobile devices enjoy a user experience of equal quality to desktop users. Focus on the following elements:

Optimize button placement: Make sure the call-to-action (CTA) button is immediately visible. For mobile users, a CRO best practice is to position the CTA button in the center of the screen.

Enable AMP: Implement the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) framework to enhance the speed of your mobile site. Additionally, utilizing this framework can increase your site's visibility on Google.

Responsive theme: Utilize a theme optimized for mobile devices. Assess the mobile responsiveness of your design using tools such as Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

Step - 4: Optimize Landing Pages

The subsequent crucial step in CRO involves the creation of landing pages - static web pages designed to drive leads through strategically placed calls-to-action (CTAs). Companies with 30 or more landing pages tend to generate seven times more leads than those with fewer than 10.

Effective landing page creation comprises three key steps. Firstly, clearly define the desired actions you want visitors to take on your site. Secondly, craft a concise, specific, and direct value proposition. Thirdly, develop an actionable CTA complemented by a clear and engaging design.





Take the Google Search Console landing page as an example. It features a distinct value proposition and a prominently placed CTA button, encouraging visitors to utilize the Search Console tool to enhance their site's performance on Google.

Conduct A/B testing to evaluate whether the new strategy enhances users' landing page experience after implementation. Leverage CRO tools to pinpoint areas that still require improvement.

Lastly, consider incorporating testimonials and social proof to establish trust with potential customers.

Step - 5: Ensure Website Security

For an online business, maintaining a secure website is paramount to instilling client trust, especially when the site handles sensitive personal information like credit card numbers, emails, or home addresses.

Insecure websites can deter potential customers, leading to a drop in conversions. Research indicates that 18% of shoppers abandon their purchases due to concerns about data safety.

A secure website is identified by a URL starting with "https://" and featuring a padlock icon. To secure your website, install an SSL certificate and enable the HTTPS connection.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encrypts the data exchanged between a website and its visitors, providing security and additional benefits for your site.

There are various types and prices of SSL certificates, but irrespective of cost, all certificates offer the same level of protection. Purchasing an SSL certificate from a reputable provider is crucial to ensure its safety and validity.

Notably, Hostinger offers a free SSL certificate with its hosting plans, contributing to the overall security of your website.

Step - 6: Enhance Website Load Speed

Enhancing the loading speed of your website is pivotal for boosting conversion rates, as customers are more likely to convert when they quickly find solutions to their needs.

Even a one-second reduction in website loading speed can lead to increased conversions. Prolonged loading times result in an unsatisfactory user experience and a higher bounce rate.

Evaluate your website's performance to identify areas requiring improvement. Leverage analytics tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights to assess your website's loading speed accurately.

The PageSpeed Insights tool comprehensively analyzes your website's speed and compares the performance between the mobile and desktop versions. If you need help accelerating your site's loading speed, refer to our tutorial on website optimization.