Why You Need to Run a CRO Audit

Running a conversion rate optimization audit gives your brand an extra edge over the competition as a proactive step to making sure your user experience is top-notch and creating a cohesive web presence as visitors interact with your brand. Each page users visit is a chance to make a great impression. Here are the major elements that need to be on your eCommerce CRO audit checklist.

Why Invest In Your CRO Process?

If your sales aren’t a clear reflection of your combined marketing, product, and customer service efforts, then CRO is a great way to focus on bringing up your revenue. No element of your online presence should be off-limits when building an eCommerce CRO audit checklist. So many factors go into influencing a potential customer to convert, so it’s important to take care of each detail to make the most of those impressions and, as a result, make the sale! Check out these key points to check in your CRO process for instant upgrades.

In today’s digital world, data is your friend. Conversion rate is a great way to quickly see, in general, what is working and what needs improvement. Are your homepage's views high, but additional page steps in the purchase pathway aren’t seeing the same traffic? Then there is a disconnect for customers to find their way.

Maybe you don’t have enough traffic coming to certain landing pages that you’re promoting on social media, despite hundreds of likes and views. That means something is missing to motivate an extra click into what you have to offer.

A final example could be piles of abandoned carts at the Checkout stage. Are there hidden shipping fees that discourage customers, or glitchy softwares that keep booting customers out? A fine-toothed comb over every step of the customer journey is key.

Key KPIs to Check

Need some key performance indicator guides for your CRO process? Try these:

Macro and Micro Conversions - Think about conversions from a total page views perspective (macro) and by each page, description, or video (micro).

Repeat Visits/Purchases vs Bounce Rates - Note visitors returning to certain pages or sets of content, and note where each set of demographics spends the most time. Also, pay attention to what pages are the last place visitors stop. If users consistently click your “About Us” tab, for example, and scores of them don’t navigate to a product page or other next step, maybe something about your brand story isn’t clear or doesn’t resonate with your audience.

Abandoned Carts - ULS offers an entire guide worth of strategies to tackle this one! Download it for free here.

What’s Their Motivation?

Your CRO process is fueled by customer behavior. Knowing what makes them tick got them to your website, social media, or ad. The next step requires extra investment in continuing to provide value as potential customers get to know your brand more and begin to trust you.

• Is there an air of exclusivity about your brand that prompts viewers to click add to cart? Adding a countdown timer or expiration time to your carts can help nudge shoppers to complete the purchase, so they don’t miss out.
• Do you regularly offer discounts as a thank you for opting into emails or send even more special deals via text to people who have provided their phone numbers?
• Are your calls to action (CTAs) clear and compelling? Do webpage visitors know where to go?

These small details can end up putting your brand back on someone’s radar at just the right moment with a discount that gets them exactly what they want and need, making your brand their hero.

Key KPIs to Check

Ask yourself these questions when considering conversion rates from these key performance indicators:

Email Click-Through Rates -

• How many of the emails you send are open?
• How many links within those opened emails are clicked?
• How many links visited result in conversions?

Form Conversions -

• Is it clear what information you want?
• Is the form easy to complete?
• How many people visit your form page versus completely filling out your forms?
• Do you get quality information from your forms?

CTA Conversions -

• How many people are actually clicking directly on your CTAs?
• Which one(s) get the most attention?

Let’s Talk Tech

An eCommerce CRO audit checklist would be incomplete without looking at the integrity of the technological aspects supporting customers through your sales funnel. Let’s say everything from a branding and marketing perspective is working swimmingly according to analytics data and even engagement, yet sales aren’t pouring in. The problem could be as crucially simple as hosting unstable shopping cart pages, showing an unclear path to purchase, or disorganized site design leading your traffic down too many rabbit holes instead of into carts and purchasing.

Things to check would include things like:

• Product page groupings and descriptions
• Ease of site access or logins+password resets
• Website load times and responsiveness
• Page-Device compatibility (especially mobile site function)
• Add to webpage cohesiveness (are viewers getting the experience as advertised?)
• Human-friendly error pages with clear next steps

Other Elements to Review

Trust is a key unmeasurable metric that factors into any good conversion rate optimization audit, yet this can’t be measured with a tool or plug-in. Remind customers to leave reviews and post about your product or service on social media for using UGC as a good workaround for this. Customers like to see their potential purchase in real life since they can’t interact with it first like in a brick-and-mortar store.

Does your brand go out of its way to reward brand loyalty? In a world of seemingly infinite options, being chosen by a customer carries value and weight. Make the most of this both through UGC and by creating spaces for customers to create a brand community on social media or in other forums.

In the same vein, is there a consistency in your design, promotion, and product that is clean and clear yet still feels human? Make sure each of these elements speaks to your target audience effectively to maximize purchasing power!

Want to Supercharge Your CRO? Outsource It to Our Experts!

These general guideposts are an excellent start to getting your eCommerce CRO audit checklist together, but the next steps require the time and energy your small business may not have available. Luckily, USA Link System offers a variety of packages that make CRO easier than ever through effective strategies that are time-tested and data-backed for your peace of mind, all at prices tailor-made with the goal of growing small businesses to their fullest potential! Contact us today and schedule your free consultation to learn how we can help.