Since web projects differ greatly in their structure and appearance, it is not possible to formulate a universally valid solution for conversion rate optimization. While one website may require optimization when it comes to the navigation, another may lack concrete instructions (call-to-actions) that convert users into buyers, subscribers, and so on. With a third web presence, the first components are solved, but the buttons for the conversion target are not well placed. It is therefore important to decide individually which parts of the web project need to be optimized in order to actually improve the conversion rate. If this is not the case, the worst-case scenario is that well-functioning elements are reworked and more problems therefore occur.
In order to achieve satisfactory results for your own project, it makes sense to base the conversion rate optimization process on the following five basic components:
1. Analysis of the status quo
- What is the business objective of conversion rate optimization?
- Which website elements are relevant for the desired conversion(s)?
- What are the visitors’ expectations and motives?
- What is the users’ bounce rate and when do they leave the site?
2. Hypothesis and planning of conversion rate optimization
- Where are there weaknesses in the conversion process?
- What effects do the weaknesses have on visitor purchasing motivation?
- How can user interaction be improved?
- Design a plan for conversion rate optimization
3. Designing and creating alternatives
- Implementation of alternative pages, interactive elements, designs, or contents
- Simple adaptations and complete redesigns are possible
- Live version remains unchanged in the meantime (optimizations have to be implemented separately).
4. Testing the optimized components
- In which period of time should the test be carried out? (the longer, the more accurate the data is)
- Implementation of the desired test components according to different procedures such as A/B testing or multivariate testing
- Observing the ongoing tests using specific software or analysis tools such as Google Analytics or Matomo
- Interpreting the test data and selecting the most promising variant(s) for conversion rate optimization
5. Rolling out
- Transferring optimized components to the live version.
- Observing the performance of new variants in order to return to the original version if necessary (in case of technical problems or the conversion rate decreases)
- Documenting the acquired knowledge
- Using the acquired data via the functionality of your own web project for future conversion rate optimization.