Creating advertisements and putting money behind them to increase site traffic is only part of the equation to help increase online business revenue.
Building a site experience that convinces the user to convert and click on the business' primary CTA is the final part to a successful ROAS or return on ad spend. And that's where I come in.
The first step in the CRO process is to determine what the client's current goal for the business is. Goals include making an online purchase, filling out a information form, or downloading a whitepaper. This varies across clients but the formula is the same.
I then create advertisements and a landing page for those ads to drive to, ultimately an entire experience that encourages a visitor to become a customer.
But the work doesn't stop there. If data shows that visitors aren't converting like we expect them to, there are iterations we can perform to push them in the right direction, e.g. tweaking the form, update the messaging, move sections around on the landing page, etc.
HEATMAPS
The main benefit of using heatmapping software like Hotjar, I was able to discover where visitors were high and low engagement with the design by recording the clicks and bounces of a landing page. This in turn will provide some direction in what's working or not working.
A/B TESTING
A/B testing is a reliable method of garnering data in CRO that I used daily to gain more insight on what clicks or doesn't with visitors. Testing two designs with simple variances in messaging, imagery, tone of voice, cta color, etc. is more impactful that one would think.
MESSAGE MATCHING
Message matching is a way to work CRO into the ecosystem of PPC advertising campaigns by providing consistent or complementary messaging that appears in the digital ads. As designers, we ask ourselves why are visitors engaging with this brand, why did they choose this type of content, or why did they click on this call to action.
SURVEYS
Message matching is a way to work CRO into the ecosystem of PPC advertising campaigns by providing consistent or complementary messaging that appears in the digital ads. As designers, we ask ourselves why are visitors engaging with this brand, why did they choose this type of content, or why did they click on this call to action.
1:1 ATTENTION RATIO
Landing pages that only include one CTA keeps the user from being distracted by other unnecessary information. The intent here is to keep the user focused on one singular goal.
BREADCRUMB TECHNIQUE
With landing pages, the form design plays an integral part in converting users. We would typically roll out a 3-step form that leans into creating intial comfort on the first step to later asking more high threat questions like email address input or phone number in the last step.
SOCIAL PROOF
Dedicated social proof on a landing page is one of the most important elements of the design. Validation from third-party vendors have an extremely high rate of success when convincing users to convert.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE ITERATIONS
By including key, attention grabbing information above-the-fold on the webpage, this convinces users to continue reading the rest of the content. By checking bounce rates, I can induce if specific content is working and reorganize if necessary.
The CRO design process utlilizes UX methodologies with the main difference being that we're designing to amplify conversions. Despite this, I still believe the overall goal of of a designer creating an experience to make money for the client is to cater towards the user.
The ad campaigns in today's digital environment have such granular targeting, it'll capture the right type of visitors. If I design and test a well-thought out landing page that speaks to the user enough to capture a large portion of them to convert, the revenue for the client will come.