Conversion rate optimisation...or how to help your website achieve its full potential (and more)

In my day to day activities as an online marketer / seo I work across a range of activities, but one of the most interesting thing I worked on recently has to be conversion rate optimisation.

What is conversion rate optimisation?

To put it simply, it is the strategy put in place to help your website perform better in terms of leads, sales and conversions. This can be a simple change of layout in a form, a change in copy (eg a different button on a key conversion page) or an extremely complex multi variate test (MVT). All the these elements and ongoing tests can dramatically improve the output of an ecommerce website or how many people convert into purchasers for example.

Why use conversion rate optimisation?

No matter how well your website is performing, never assume that you can't improve your conversion numbers. As with everything else in life, there's always room for improvement, and a good conversion rate optimisation strategy will help you test your website on an ongoing basis to make sure you get the results you should.

Where to start?

• Step 1 - get your analytics right
  If you don't have accurate data from your website, make sure to identify key metrics for your business. This will give you a point of comparison when implementing tests and changes.
• Step 2 - identify the key conversion pages on your website
  This could be your homepage, a lead submission page, your sales funnel pages.
  
• Step 3 - set up an initial test
  Once you've got data and key pages, make a decision on which page you're going to test first. For beginners, I'd recommend setting up a basic A/B test where 2 different versions of a page are shown to users. The version with the highest conversion will be the one that you should use.
• Step 4 - Measure results and adjust
  When your tests are completed, compare results with your key metrics (decided in step 1) and change your website accordingly.
  
• Step 5 - set up advanced tests
  Once you are familiar with basic tests, consider doing some more advanced tests - multi variate tests. This consists in displaying different elements of a page to users and measuring which combination of elements work the best (different fonts, colours, copy, calls to action, buttons)
• Step 5 - carry out regular tests
  Plan regular tests and improve your website on a regular basis

What tools do I need?

There are a lot of tools that can be used for conversion optimisation, and a lot of agencies offer a range of services for business looking to improve their conversions. What you use will depend on how much money you want to spend:

• You have budgets to spend
  

If you have a decent budget, I'd recommend going with an agency as they will have the knowledge and expertise required to help you make quick wins as well as long term gains. Check out ConversionWorks for practical examples. If you have deep pockets, consider the big players such as Maxymiser (£45k+ per year) who will do all the grunt work for you, including page design.

• You don't have budgets
  

If you have a limited budget (or no budget at all), then I'd recommend using Google Website Optimizer, a free optimisation tool that will allow you to run tests easily as long as you are able to add a few line of codes to your website. Used in combination with Google Analytics, you should be able to start testing and measuring results quickly and cheaply.
There are obviously a lot of other tools available, but these are good starting points.

I have been in touch with quite a few agencies regarding Conversion optimisation, and after seeing a few case studies, it is obvious that there are huge benefits to be made by companies willing to test. So if you think your website is already perfect, think again!

Feel free to share your conversion rate experiences or ask me questions, I'm always happy to help.