When it comes to marketing, everyone’s obsessed with driving traffic. But what if I told you that there’s a hidden gem that can turn those visitors into valuable leads without constantly chasing new eyeballs? Welcome to the world of Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).
In a recent episode of the “Blame It on Marketing” podcast, hosts Emma and Ruta welcomed Greg Landon, a seasoned marketer from Lidu, a conversion platform company. Greg’s background spans over a decade in various digital marketing agencies, giving him a wealth of experience in boosting website performance and conversions.
"What we do is we help businesses all over the world increase conversion rates on their own websites."
Despite its importance, CRO often takes a backseat to more glamorous tactics like SEO and PPC. Greg points out, "there’s actually comparatively very few people that talk publicly or their USP is around CRO or conversions more generally." This is surprising because the ultimate goal of marketing should be driving positive commercial outcomes, not just amassing traffic.
Forget the old-school notion that CRO is just about tweaking button colors or changing call-to-action (CTA) texts. Today’s CRO is much more sophisticated and revolves around three core elements:
"If your website isn't personalized, easy to use, or interactive, you probably aren't doing everything you could be doing from a CRO point of view."
Greg and the hosts dive into why CRO often falls down the priority list:
One of the standout moments in the conversation is Greg’s example of how meaningful changes can lead to significant results. He shares a story from Lidu’s client, a luxury travel brand:
"They didn’t have a single booking from organic traffic landing on that page. But after implementing an interactive tool that personalized the user experience, they made four sales within a few months."
This example underscores that effective CRO isn’t about quick fixes; it’s about creating a tailored experience that speaks directly to your audience’s needs.
When resources are tight, how do you decide where to focus your CRO efforts? Greg recommends:
"The best data that you can have for this stuff is from talking to customers and people who are buying your product or your service."
Emma and Ruta highlight the importance of integrating CRO into the broader marketing strategy. It’s not enough to treat CRO as a separate task; it should be woven into every aspect of your marketing efforts, from design to content creation.
"It's about what happens when someone is on the page, do they convert, what's their user experience like?"
Implementing CRO often involves changing elements that stakeholders are attached to. Greg advises:
"Don’t just make changes based on a hypothesis. Evidence your decisions."
Greg shares some eye-opening stats that highlight the impact of effective CRO:
"If you could increase your conversion rate by 70%, your new conversion rate would be 5.1%, and you would still come out with more leads."
These numbers emphasize that even small improvements in CRO can lead to substantial gains in leads and revenue.
Greg’s insights make it clear that CRO is not just a nice-to-have but a critical component of any effective marketing strategy. By focusing on personalization, simplicity, and interactivity, marketers can create a website experience that not only attracts visitors but also converts them into loyal customers.
So next time you’re tempted to pour more resources into driving traffic, remember that optimizing your existing traffic can yield even better results. After all, it’s not just about how many people visit your site, but how many of them take the actions that matter.
Ready to take your CRO game to the next level? Start small, use data-driven strategies, and watch your conversions soar.