{"id":5921,"date":"2015-12-07T18:00:19","date_gmt":"2015-12-07T23:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/?p=5921"},"modified":"2015-12-07T18:00:19","modified_gmt":"2015-12-07T23:00:19","slug":"want-to-become-a-conversion-rate-optimization-specialist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/want-to-become-a-conversion-rate-optimization-specialist\/","title":{"rendered":"Want to Become a Conversion Rate Optimization ( CRO ) Specialist ? Just Surf the Web"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 5<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><p>The web is a great place to learn because\u00a0you can quickly access a lot\u00a0of information from a variety of sources. The reason it\u2019s easier to learn about something even as difficult as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=30KfPtHec4s\">Einstein\u2019s Theory of Relativity<\/a> online is that you can have it explained in so many different ways that you\u2019ll eventually find bits and pieces that you can understand; bits and pieces you can cobble together into a comprehensive explanation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What if\u00a0you want higher conversion rates?<\/strong>\u00a0Again, the web delivers truckloads of information, advice, examples, case studies, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.figpii.com\/ab-testing\">AB test results<\/a>, &#8211; you get the idea &#8211; that guide you towards better rates.<\/p>\n<p>Or you could just learn while you surf. The only downside to the amount of info the web presents is the time it takes to filter through it all. But just by paying attention to your experiences and impressions as you surf, whether holiday shopping or finding a new supplier, you can still get lots of information and insights about what works, what makes you click and what doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Web Surfing to Increase Your Conversion Rates<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s simple really. While you\u2019re surfing, start thinking of yourself as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/cro\/\">conversion optimization<\/a> expert. Assess the sites and landing pages you come across for their optimization tactics. You can start by asking yourself a few simple questions about each site:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How does the site make me feel?<\/li>\n<li>Is the design up to date?<\/li>\n<li>Does the site deliver what I expected when I clicked on the link to get there?<\/li>\n<li>What tools or tactics does the site use to get me to convert?<\/li>\n<li>Can I navigate the site comfortably and sensibly?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can develop your own \u201cquestionnaire\u201d as you go. In any case, whether yours is an ecommerce site, lead generation site, B2B or B2C, you\u2019ll soon develop a keen eye for what works and what doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at a few sites to see what we can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/services\/conversion-rate-optimization\/\">learn about conversion optimization<\/a> just from visiting their homepages.<\/p>\n<p>If it\u2019s not too immodest, we\u2019ll use the Invesp homepage as a starting point, if only because it\u2019s about what we\u2019re looking for &#8211; optimized conversion rates:<\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5938\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/invesp-homepage.gif\" alt=\"invesp homepage\" width=\"600\" height=\"432\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Needless to say, the Invesp homepage has it going on when it comes to conversion tactics. In addition to using the headline to quickly and boldly deliver the value proposition in the form of customer benefits &#8211; \u201cMore Sales, More Leads, More Conversions\u201d &#8211; Invesp plays a number of other conversion-boosting aces:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Establishes Credibility &amp; Trust<\/strong> &#8211; Who wouldn\u2019t want to work with a company that has over three decades of combined international experience; one that is lead by best-selling authors on precisely the subject we\u2019re interested in?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Provides\u00a0Social Proof (more trust and credibility)<\/strong> &#8211; If Invesp is good enough for the likes of dish, 3M, Ericsson, Discovery Channel, etc., then they are doing something right.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A Good User Experience<\/strong> &#8211; Want to optimize your entire site? A landing page? Or find out where your site needs help? In a clean design with lots of whitespace, links to the information visitors want most are clearly presented with icons, simple text and a \u201cread more\u201d call to action.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clear Call to Action<\/strong> &#8211; You don\u2019t have to look for to find out how to get in touch with Invesp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Surfing the web to get conversion tips gives you access to the biggest marketers on the planet &#8211; and their conversion tactics.<\/p>\n<p>As one of the world\u2019s top brands, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.apple.com\/\">Apple.com<\/a> doesn\u2019t have to get its visitors over the hurdle of trust and credibility. So what do they do instead?<\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5935\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/Apple-homepage.gif\" alt=\"apple homepage\" width=\"600\" height=\"358\" \/><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Features Seasonal Content\u00a0<\/strong> &#8211; This might be obvious, but notice that Apple doesn\u2019t just decorate their site with some graphics and highlight sale items. From the headline on down, they appeal to the emotions of the season. The word \u201cLove\u201d appears twice above the fold. And family and children are prominent, not just in the image, but in the \u201cHour of Code\u201d CTA.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fulfills the Customer\u2019s Path to Purpose<\/strong> &#8211; Consumers increasingly want to identify with and buy from brands who are in line with their personal purposes and passions. In addition to the overtones of family, Apple invites visitors to join them in the fight against Aids.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Uses Simple Navigation<\/strong> &#8211; Regardless of all the other elements at play, you can quickly find what you\u00a0want<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.walmart.com\/\">Walmart<\/a> is doing to ecommerce what it did to bricks and mortar &#8211; becoming dominant. While they\u2019re not yet in top spot, number three isn\u2019t bad. So what does their homepage tell us about conversion?<\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5939\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/walmart-homepage.gif\" alt=\"walmart homepage\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Shows Customer Ratings<\/strong> &#8211; Word-of-mouth is a prime influencer of all retail sales. Online, word-of-mouth can be expressed through testimonials, user-generated content and\/or customer ratings. Notice that Walmart includes average user ratings on every one of its Featured Products.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Uses Co-Op Advertising<\/strong> &#8211; Here\u2019s one you don\u2019t see too often. In almost the dead center of their homepage above the fold, Walmart sports a labelled \u201cadvertisement\u201d that is co-sponsored by P&amp;G. It\u2019s smart to get your suppliers to help you offer the discounts your customers seek.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>And Now for Something a Little Different<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>All of the sites we\u2019ve reviewed so far use a variety of conversion tactics. But check out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.crazyegg.com\/\">CrazyEgg.com<\/a>, where the homepage has, by comparison, just one conversion tactic.<\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5936\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/CrazyEgg-homepage.gif\" alt=\"crazyegg homepage\" width=\"600\" height=\"431\" \/><\/div>\n<p>CrazyEgg uses a Google-style of web design &#8211; and conversion technique. Ever since it first hit the web, you could really only do one thing at Google.com &#8211; enter a search term.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a case of \u201cwe do one thing and one thing really well\u201d. By focusing the entire page on a single conversion goal, and offering a clear benefit of taking the call to action, the visitors are left with just two choices, leave or take the call. (Yes, there is a second \u201cTell Me More\u201d CTA &#8211; more on that in a minute.)<\/p>\n<p>It could be argued that CrazyEgg has created a page where they have a 50% chance of the customer taking the CTA. But is putting all your (crazy) eggs in one basket worth the risk? While there is the secondary \u201cTell Me More\u201d CTA, CrazyEgg really would like you to try their heat map. Even if you want to leave, when you mouse-over the back button or search engine URL window, the following pop-up appears before you\u2019re allowed to go.<\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5937\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/crazy-egg-pop-up.gif\" alt=\"crazy-egg-pop-up\" width=\"600\" height=\"390\" \/><\/div>\n<p>We\u2019re barely scratching the surface here. The overall takeaway is that any time you spend on the web can be another step in your conversion rate optimization learning curve. There\u2019s lot to see and discover, especially on the websites of large businesses like Walmart and Apple, where little or nothing is left to chance and every element has a purpose: to guide the customer along the path to conversion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 5<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>The web is a great place to learn because\u00a0you can quickly access a lot\u00a0of information from a variety of sources. The reason it\u2019s easier to learn about something even as difficult as Einstein\u2019s Theory of Relativity online is that you can have it explained in so many different ways that you\u2019ll eventually find bits and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[308,112,141,208,69,87,128,386,245,109],"class_list":["post-5921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cro","tag-call-to-action","tag-conversion-rate-optimization","tag-conversion-rates","tag-customer","tag-ecommerce","tag-general","tag-headlines","tag-homepage","tag-intermediate","tag-resource"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5921\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}