Part of: Digital marketing
Ecommerce conversion rate optimisation
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is the work of getting more of your existing visitors to buy. It follows one pattern: research what is happening, form a hypothesis, then test the change. It starts with fixing obvious problems, not running tests.
How to choose
A quick comparison of the services in CRO.
| Service | What it is | Best for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing page optimisation | Improving the pages that ads and emails send people to, so the page matches the promise. | Stores paying for traffic, or sending email, to a page that is not turning visitors into customers. | Read more about Landing page optimisation |
| Conversion funnel optimisation | Finding where visitors drop out between product page, basket and checkout, and what to fix first. | Stores with steady traffic that are unsure where sales are being lost. | Read more about Conversion funnel optimisation |
| Heatmapping | Using click maps and session recordings to see how visitors actually use a page. | Stores that want evidence of how visitors behave on a page before changing it, and that have enough visitors on that page to see patterns. | Read more about Heatmapping |
| A/B testing | Testing one version of a page against another, when there is enough traffic to learn from it. | Stores with enough visitors and orders for a test to give a clear answer, and a specific idea worth testing. | Read more about A/B testing |
Research, hypothesis, test
Good CRO is a loop, not a bag of tricks. First we research what visitors actually do. Then we write a hypothesis: what we think is wrong, why, and what we would change. Then we test the change, or simply make it when the problem is obvious. Whatever happens, we write it down, so the next decision starts from evidence.
Fix before you test
Tests are the best-known part of CRO, and often the least useful place to start. Fix these first:
- slow pages, especially on mobile
- delivery costs and returns information that appear too late
- checkout errors and confusing steps, within what your Shopify plan lets us change
- tracking that does not match your real orders, because every conclusion depends on it. Data and analytics covers this
The low-traffic reality
A test needs enough visitors and orders to tell a real difference from chance. Many stores do not have that, and a test run too early produces confident-looking nonsense. If that describes your store, we use research, behaviour data and expert review, make the changes the evidence supports, and compare before and after, being clear about the uncertainty.
Choosing between the four services
The table above compares them. In short:
- Landing page optimisation suits you if you pay for traffic or send email to specific pages.
- Conversion funnel optimisation suits you if you do not know where sales are being lost.
- Heatmapping suits you if you need to see what visitors do on a page.
- A/B testing suits you if you have the traffic and a clear idea to try.
How CRO connects to other work
CRO and design share evidence. Research from UX design shows why visitors struggle, and CRO shows whether a change helped. Paid traffic pays off only when the landing page converts, so PPC and CRO belong together. If the store build itself is the problem, a rebuild through Shopify development may do more than any tweak.
Each service in CRO
Landing page optimisation
Improving the pages that ads and emails send people to, so the page matches the promise.
Conversion funnel optimisation
Finding where visitors drop out between product page, basket and checkout, and what to fix first.
Heatmapping
Using click maps and session recordings to see how visitors actually use a page.
A/B testing
Testing one version of a page against another, when there is enough traffic to learn from it.
How it works
Every project is different, so timings depend on its size and complexity. You get a realistic timeline in writing before work starts, and we never promise results by a date.
Step 1: Research
We look at your analytics, how visitors move through the store and where they stop.
Step 2: Form a hypothesis
We write down what we think is wrong, why we think so and what we would change.
Step 3: Fix or test
We fix obvious problems straight away. We test changes where the answer is not clear and traffic allows it.
Step 4: Learn
We record what happened, including the tests that did nothing, and use it to choose the next step.
Questions people ask
What is a good conversion rate?
It depends on what you sell, your price, where visitors come from and the device they use. A figure from another business tells you very little. We compare your store with its own history and its own segments.
Can you promise a conversion uplift?
No. We can find problems and fix them, and we report honestly on what changed. Any promise of a specific uplift would be a guess.
Do I need a lot of traffic for CRO?
For A/B testing, yes. For research and fixing problems, no. With low traffic we focus on evidence from visitor behaviour, expert review and clear fixes, instead of tests that cannot reach a clear answer.
What should be fixed before testing?
Anything obviously broken or confusing: slow pages, unclear delivery costs, mobile problems, errors in the checkout, and tracking that does not match your orders. Testing on top of these gives unreliable answers.
Which should I choose: landing page work, funnel work, heatmaps or testing?
If you pay for traffic, start with the landing page. If you are unsure where sales are lost, start with the funnel. If you need evidence of behaviour, add heatmaps. Test when you have the traffic and a clear idea to test.
How does CRO relate to UX design?
CRO finds what is going wrong with the current store, and UX design plans a better experience. They share evidence, and we often use one to inform the other.
Not sure which to choose?
Get a free UX and conversion review of your website, focused on how your creative affects performance. A subject matter expert at Advent reviews it, and we aim to send it within 5 working days.