It’s no news that the main goal in e-commerce is to transform website visitors into paying customers. However, achieving this does not imply simply having a great product or a visually appealing website. It’s about improving the entire shopping experience to ensure every potential customer is guided towards purchasing. By conducting a CRO audit, you can identify areas of improvement and make changes that could lead to more conversions.

A CRO audit for your website is similar to a medical checkup at a clinic. Like you run tests on different body parts, a CRO audit involves reviewing every aspect of your website to determine what you’re getting right and areas for improvement.

In this article, we’ll take you through seven proven steps to conduct a successful CRO audit. These steps will assist you in identifying and removing any obstacle that may be preventing you from making sales.

What is a conversion rate optimization audit?

A conversion rate optimisation (CRO) audit is a detailed review of how people use your website. The main goal of this audit is to identify any issues that users encounter when performing an action on your website.

A CRO audit can provide insights into how to improve your website’s design and functionality to make it easier for users to complete these actions, potentially increasing your business’s conversion rate.

When should e-commerce businesses do a conversion rate optimization audit?

Many things can determine how you convert visitors to customers. That is why it is critical to audit your conversion rate to identify areas for improvement. Knowing when to conduct your audit is essential to tackle the correct issues. Conducting an audit should be part of routine website maintenance, but there are other instances when it is imperative.

Conducting a CRO audit is the obvious next step when major changes to your website will definitely alter a user’s experience. Also, when there is a sudden and significant drop in conversation rates, you might want to conduct an audit to pinpoint and solve the problem.

How to do an e-commerce CRO audit

Performing an audit to improve your ecommerce site’s conversion rate is essential, though it takes time and effort.

Here are some key steps to take when performing your next CRO audit:

1. Select the conversion actions you want to audit

To begin your CRO audit, determine which conversion actions you want to audit. These actions vary for different businesses. Ensure they align with your business goal, the challenges users experience while using your site, and the previous audits you’ve done.

For example, if you want more users to subscribe to your newsletter, consider its conversion rates and brainstorm ways to include more calls to action that lead users to subscribe while on your website.

The best conversion for any e-commerce business is having a visitor to your website make a purchase. When conducting your audits, consider improving your purchase conversion. After this, you can focus on other aspects to ensure nothing is left out.

2. Outline pages that require an audit

Next, list your website’s most important pages, such as the homepage, checkout page, product page, and landing page. CRO auditing tools, such as Google Analytics, can assist you in analysing your website to determine which pages receive the most visitors and which are quickly abandoned. Review these key pages to determine how well your website is performing and where it can be improved.

When these key pages have low conversion rates, it indicates a common issue that needs to be addressed. However, if your analysis shows that a specific page has a low conversion rate, you need to improve that page to boost conversions.

You can also review customer feedback to determine which pages they had issues with and make the necessary changes.

3. Analyse user behavior

Using CRO tools, you can detect common patterns in user interaction with your website. This will help you identify areas for improvement. Track metrics like page views, bounce rate, and session duration to understand how you can improve your website’s conversion rate.

Understanding how people interact with your website can give you insights into how to create a better experience for them. Some tools for improving your website’s conversion rates can provide detailed information, such as the age and location of your visitors and visual maps showing where they click and spend their time on your site.

4. Get feedback from your customers.

Direct feedback from your customers can give you a better understanding of how and why they interact with your website the way they do. You can do this by carrying out surveys through emails, as well as by conducting user interviews, analysing customer support queries, and using feedback tools on your site.

For example, you can ask users why they abandoned their cart when they don’t make payments or show signs of leaving. This will help you identify areas where you can improve their experience and, in turn, convert them.

5. Identify and fix quick-wins

Now that you’ve got all the information you want from your customer and from the analysis you carried out on your website, you need to start making the right changes to your website that’ll improve their experience. Start by fixing those areas that are more important to your business and need immediate improvement.

Identify minor issues that frustrate your customers and lower conversion rates, such as slow-loading pages, website bugs, or lengthy checkout processes. Quick wins include correctly positioning your CTA buttons, including social proof on your website, and writing clear and concise product descriptions.

Address the notable issues that can improve your conversation rates immediately without doing a lot.

6. Test out improvements

Create hypotheses and test them by making those changes to the specific areas of your website that need improvement. Customer feedback, such as testimonials and web traffic data, should help you develop and test hypotheses. Make your website more user-friendly, send cart abandonment reminder emails if someone leaves items in their cart without purchasing, and display positive customer reviews.

Use A/B testing to compare the differences in user behaviour when interacting with two versions of your website. Keep testing different elements on your website until you find the perfect version that converts more. For example, if your home page has a high bounce rate, you could experiment with different layouts and CTA designs.

7. Monitor results

After you have developed and tested your hypothesis, you should monitor the results to see how well the changes you made to your website improved the user experience, increased conversion rates, and identified new issues. Use website analysis tools to track user engagement on various pages of your website and determine whether users take the appropriate actions on those pages.

You can transform your website into a powerful conversion engine by consistently following these steps. Remember, a successful CRO audit is not just about quick fixes but about continuously refining and enhancing the user experience to meet your business goals. Think of your CRO audit as an ongoing journey rather than a one-time project; each insight gained, and improvement will pave the way for more satisfied customers and increased sales. Stay proactive, listen to your users, and keep testing to stay ahead in the competitive e-commerce landscape

 

• Category: Descriptomizer Library