Conversion rate optimization (CRO) can appear like black magic at first.
You run a test, see the conversion rates go up or down, and presume you’ve discovered a causal relationship.
But what if it was a coincidence?
Without further investigation, you won’t know for sure.
That’s why running audits on your website that are dedicated to identifying areas of potential improvement is so essential.
Conducting an audit helps you get past your own assumptions about why something works or doesn’t work and gets you closer to knowing for sure.
Read on for more details about what makes an effective Conversion rate optimization audit, key questions you should ask, and tests you should conduct to discover ways to improve your conversion rate.
What is a Conversion Rate Optimization Audit?
A Conversion rate optimization audit (CRO audit) is a process of evaluation, testing, and analysis that helps you find areas of improvement and increase your conversion rates.
An audit looks beyond general statistics like bounce rates and times on site to get a clear picture of your visitors’ experience on your website and how effective it is at driving users to take action.
When running a Conversion rate calculator for your website, you want to look at a variety of factors that could be contributing to low conversion rates and collectively decide on an action plan for improvement.
You should approach the audit as an objective analysis of your masstamilan website with your industry, not just as an evaluation of your own work.
Key Questions to Ask During an Audit
The audit questions you ask will vary depending on the type of website you have and the goals you’re trying to achieve.
But there are a few questions that can apply to most situations.
- What is the purpose of your website?
- To what end are you trying to convert visitors?
- Why are the visitors visiting the website in the first place?
Answering the above questions first will help you focus your audit and make sure you’re asking questions about the right things. Next,
- What are your industry benchmarks?
- What are your competitors’ conversion rates like?
- What are the trends in your industry?
- What are the best practices according to industry thought leaders?
- Where are people dropping off on your website?
- Where are your visitors getting stuck or what are they struggling with?
It’s important to look at the numbers beyond your own website. Run tests to see where drop-offs happen and what elements on the page those visitors are interacting with. Finally,
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What is your return on investment?
There are a lot of costs associated with running a website, but there are also a lot of potential ROI-boosting opportunities. An audit will help you identify areas of low ROI and determine where your investment would have the biggest impact.
How to Run a Content Marketing Audit?
One of the primary goals of a content marketing audit is to identify the kind of content that resonates with your target audience and converts them into customers.
Take a look at your existing content and identify what’s working and what isn’t.
- What topics are getting the most traffic?
- What topics are being ignored?
- What topics are being linked to other websites?
- What topics are receiving social media engagement?
These can all be useful indicators of what your audience is interested in and what content would likely convert them.
- What kind of language is being used? What kind of tone does your content use?
- Are you employing effective calls to action (CTA) in your content?
- Are you directing your audience toward the next step?
- If you’re including a sales pitch, are you wrapping it in a way that doesn’t feel too salesy?
Answering these questions will help you determine whether you’re targeting your audience effectively.
You can also see if you have any room to improve in your use of language and tone.
Summary
A CRO audit is an essential tool in the process of improving your website’s conversion rate.
It’s an analysis of the many factors that could be contributing to low conversion rates and an action plan for improving them.
There are a variety of ways to conduct a CRO audit, but most involve looking at industry benchmarks, identifying areas of low ROI, and digging into your website visitors’ experience.
