Conversion rate optimization

Conversion rate optimization is the ongoing work of getting more of the right leads and sales from the traffic you already pay for. On a paid search account, a page that goes from 8 to 12 percent conversion is worth the same as a 50 percent budget increase, with no extra ad spend. We run CRO on every landing page we manage. The number we optimize is leads your sales or intake team says were worth having, or completed sales on a store. A test that doubles form fills with junk has made the account worse.

How we run tests

1. Baseline. Conversion rate, lead quality and cost per qualified lead by page and by traffic source, before anything changes.
2. Hypothesis. One change, one reason it should work, one metric that decides it.
3. Prioritize by traffic and by potential: the highest-spend page with the weakest rate goes first.
4. Run with enough volume to be confident. Low-traffic pages get sequential tests instead of A/B tests.
5. Decide and document. Winners become the baseline. Every test and result goes in the monthly report.

What we test, in the order that usually matters

• Headline match to the search term. It's the biggest single lever on paid traffic.
• Call path. Sticky call button, click-to-call placement, callback option, hours shown.
• Offer. Free consultation, same-day service, price transparency, guarantee.
• Form length and fields. Fewer fields raise volume; the right qualifying field raises quality.
• Trust in the first screen. Reviews, badges, license numbers, real photos.
• Speed. Every second on mobile costs conversions.
• Chat. Works in some categories, hurts in others; we test it rather than assume.

What CRO can't fix

CRO can't fix an offer nobody wants, a phone nobody answers, or a price far above the market. When the test data points at one of those, we say so, because the fix is in the business rather than on the page.

What it costs

Included in paid search management for every page we run ads to. On its own, landing page optimization starts at $500 a month, and the pages need 1,000 visits a month or more for tests to decide anything. Pricing.