Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a technique for increasing the percentage of visitors who perform a desired action on your website. This could be anything from buying a product, signing up for a webinar, interacting with a live chat, or even subscribing to a newsletter.

CRO is about making necessary changes to your e-commerce store to encourage more visitors to purchase. However, despite its importance, brands tend to make mistakes when doing it.

In this article, we’ll discuss eight common CRO mistakes to avoid and provide practical tips on how to avoid them so you can improve your conversion rates and achieve your business goals. Understanding these common mistakes will help you improve the performance of your website and increase sales.

1. Ignoring mobile optimisation

One common mistake businesses make in CRO is ignoring mobile optimisation. Many people now use mobile devices to browse the internet and shop online, and if your website needs to be mobile-friendly, you risk losing those potential customers.

When visitors check out a website on their mobile device and find that it is hard to navigate, highly disorganised, and the pages load slowly, there they are likely to bounce and go to your competitors. This is what happens when your website is not mobile-friendly.

Mobile optimisation should not be overlooked in your CRO strategy. Ensure your website is optimised for mobile devices; this will help you make more sales and retain your customers.

2. Failing to personalise the user experience

Another CRO mistake brands make is failing to personalise the user experience. Personalising the user experience simply means customising it based on a user’s past behaviours on your website. By personalising the user experience, you’ll make visitors feel more valued and increase the likelihood of them transforming into customers.

Personalising your customer’s experiences by suggesting products based on their previous purchases reduces the time they spend searching for a product, improving their overall experience on your website.

You need to understand your customer’s behaviours to personalise their experience, which is essential for CRO.

3. Not having a clear value proposition.

A value proposition explains to your customers why they should purchase your products instead of your competitors. It highlights the benefits, features and unique qualities of your business.

Many businesses struggle with making sales because they don’t highlight what makes their product unique, and it’s a common mistake made in CRO. You must show your customers why they should buy from you and choose you over your competitors.

To increase your conversion rate, ensure your value proposition is easy to understand, which is critical for your CRO.

4. Complicated checkout process

The checkout process is the final stage of the conversion funnel, where your customers decide to purchase from you. A common mistake that brands make here is complicating the checkout process, one of the leading causes of cart abandonment.

56% of online shoppers believe a simple checkout process is the most important aspect of an online shopping experience. This means a complicated checkout process is likely to lower conversion rates.

Keep your checkout process simple, offer different payment options, and reduce the steps needed to make a payment. This will ensure customers have a good experience when checking out, reduce cart abandonment rates, and boost sales.

5. Not having a clear call-to-action (CTA)

A CTA is a button or link on your website that prompts customers to take action. It serves as a guide for telling your customers what to do next and, if not placed properly, can reduce your conversion rate.

If new visitors on your page want to pay for a product and can’t find the “Make Payment” button after going through the stress of filling in their details in the checkout form, they’re most likely going to abandon their cart and leave your website. In most cases, they’ll never return to your website, which is a loss for you.

Having a clear CTA is essential for CRO. Ensure your CTAs are placed in the right place and easily stand out. This will increase your conversion rate.

6. Hiding shipping information until the end

This CRO mistake is often overlooked, but it must be considered.

Most businesses reveal the shipping cost to customers when they check out using their location. They understand that most customers will not want to leave because they have almost finished their purchase. However, studies show that 78% of online shoppers confirmed that high shipping costs are the main reason for abandoning their carts.

If your shipping cost is high, customers might feel frustrated for wasting their time on your website. Hiding your shipping cost until the last minute can also reduce their confidence in your business.

One way to do this is to provide them with an estimated shipping cost. This can make them add more items to their cart to feel justified in paying that amount for shipping costs. This also increases sales for your business.

7. Ignoring site speed

How quickly your website loads is essential for keeping visitors happy and turning them into customers. If your website loads slowly or the navigation between pages loads slowly, it might annoy your visitors and make them leave and go to your competitors.

We’ve all had those moments when we visit a website and discover that it loads slowly. After some time, we get irritated and leave for a much faster website. This is a clear example of how slow load times can reduce conversion rates.

Google states that 53% of mobile users will abandon a site that doesn’t load within three seconds. You can improve your website’s speed by reducing the size of your images, employing caching, and minimising HTTP requests.

8. Not A/B testing

A/B testing involves comparing two versions of your website to see which leads to more conversions. The version that performs better is your winner. Most e-commerce businesses don’t carry out A/B testing, and this is a mistake made in CRO.

To know the winner, make changes to one version of the page and compare it to the original version. By doing this, you can figure out what changes convert more.

A/B testing is a great way to improve your website. By testing different elements of your website, you can see what works best for your business and implement them to boost sales and increase retention.

Now that you know the common pitfalls in e-commerce CRO, the key is to avoid repeating these mistakes. Keep up with the trends in your industry, and remember that CRO is a continuous process if you want your brand to succeed!

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