Conversion Optimization: Four Steps to Acquiring More Leads From Existing Traffic

You may already have ample site traffic, but if you aren't seeing enough conversions it's likely that there's gaps in your funnel that aren't being adequately addressed. But how can determine where those gaps are — and how to fix them? We've laid out four proven steps to achieve better conversion-rate optimization.

1. Asses and Hypothesize

Much like a science experience, the first step involves getting the lay of the land. To do this, you'll have to sift through your analytics platforms in search of patterns (both positive and negative). Both Google Analytics and Hubspot can provide you with a high-level understanding of what's happening on your site. By looking at KPIs such as bounce rate, session time, abandonment rate and behavioral flow you can begin to track visitor movement from one page or piece of content to the next — and locate interruptions therein.

Break down where incoming visitors are starting, what pages they're clicking on and where those pages are linked to. If prospects aren't following your intended conversion pathways, consider the reasons why that may be. Are there contextually relevant CTAs on every page, explicating where to go next? Comparing top-performing pages with pages that are seeing little to no traffic or experiencing inflated abandonment rates can give you a good sense of what's working and what's not. What major differences stand out? Does the conversion strategy and brand message remain coherent between each touchpoint? Depending on your specific challenges, this phase will involve some detective work to help you determine which factors are having the greatest impact on your conversion performance.

2. Locate Problem Areas

As you track visitor behavior from one page to the next, trends should surface as to where prospects are defecting or deviating from your intended buyer's journey. In Google Analytics, anything over a 70% bounce rate should indicate that there's room for improvement. Heat map tools such as the one created by Hotjar can help inform your hypothesis about visitor behavior. Are prospects attempting to click on an item that isn't an active link? If so, a heat map will indicate heavy activity around that area. What's more, heat maps can give you insight into what visitors intuitively want from their web experience — in short, if you find that prospect are trying to navigate by clicking a button that doesn't exist, why not make one and place it accordingly?

3. Test

As with any experiment, altering too many variables at one time will make it difficult to determine what's having the greatest effect on your conversion rate. That said, try to limit your changes to tracking one or two factors at a time (such as adding relevant, in-text CTAs to a page that's not performing up to expectations) and measure the effect after a limited trial period.

Furthermore, with A/B testing it's important not to get too caught up in the minutia of manipulating variables — though the color of a CTA button might have a slight affect on click-rate, it's not likely that altering a single color will be the answer to a low CRO or inspire a change significant enough to compensate for more fundamental gaps in your funnel. In that same vein, if you find your issue is design-specific, it's likely you'll eventually reach a plateau — a point where no degree of manipulation can get you to where you'd like to be. Like replacing faulty parts in an old car, there should eventually come a point when you weigh the effectiveness of your efforts and investment. If the cost of fixing problems is beginning to eclipse the cost (and projected ROI) of investing in a new model, then you're likely headed down a dead-end road. In such instances, you should adjust your course — which may mean consider changes like a complete site redesign.

4. Reevaluate

All data has an expiration date — and even your highest performing pages will not remain so without attentive care and the right contextual modifications. In order to continue to grow, your CRO testing process needs to be just that — a perpetually repeating process. Even if your experiments inspire the opposite result of what you were seeking, take each test as a learning experience rather than an absolute win or loss. Aside from changing web variables, think outside the box by employing other cadence strategies and measuring their effect on stick rates and conversion wins. Things like email "drip" campaigns can peak interest in PCOs and promote more sustained engagement with related web content.

When it comes to improvement, offering greater customization can never hurt. When in doubt, return to your trusty persona-based segmentation strategies and tweak content to better align with your target audience's unique challenges, goals and desired solutions. Furthermore, make sure that all your communication — from email content to landing pages, PCOs, homepages and social media copy — is congruent with your tone/persona goals and is written with a specific conversion strategy in mind.