Whether your business is big or small, hiring a good conversion rate optimization consultant might be precisely what you need to take your marketing efforts to the next level.
When it comes to marketing your business, you can be doing everything you are “supposed” to do and still not see the results you want. Whether it’s email marketing and social media marketing or lead magnets and landing pages, the temptation is to keep creating more content hoping something finally works. Any good CRO consultant will tell you the trick is to work smarter, not harder. You do that through conversion rate optimization.
What is conversion rate optimization?
Conversion rate refers to the percentage of users who have completed the desired action. Most of the time, this is within a specific marketing campaign, but it can also relate to a collection of campaigns or marketing efforts. The conversion rate is calculated by dividing the total number of users who “convert” by the overall size of the audience.
Try out our simple easy conversion rate calculator to analyze your website’s conversion rate.
What does it mean to optimize it? Marketing can often feel like throwing campaigns at your target audience, hoping something sticks. Rather than creating piles of content and hoping for the best, some actions can be taken to maximize your marketing efforts by optimize your website’s conversion rate.
When you optimize your conversion rate, you enhance aspects of your website and tweak your marketing campaigns so that more visitors and prospects convert into leads and customers.
While it is possible to pursue CRO in-house, hiring a CRO consultant specializing in optimizing conversion rates will give you the best possible results. Hiring a consultant over training someone to perform the tasks in-house is more efficient and effective.
What is a conversion rate optimization consultant?
A conversion rate optimization consultant (CRO consultant) or conversion rate optimization specialist is exactly what the title describes. They are an expert in CRO (conversion rate optimization) who provides consultation services for business owners.
Conversion Funnel Analysis
This is the analysis of the process through which website visitors flow through a set of funnel steps, resulting in them completing the call to action. It often involves mapping the flow of traffic and identifying strong and weak points within the funnel.
User Experience Analysis
This involves the evaluation of data collected regarding your user’s experience and their interactions with your product to improve your user experience.
A/B Testing
A/B testing is an experiment featuring two or more variations of a page/email/content that are randomly presented to users. Experts then track and analyze the conversion rates and interaction data to determine which variant performed better.
Multivariate Testing
Similar to A/B testing, multivariant testing involves modifying specific elements of a webpage and then tracking how each variation performs. Rather than creating completely different designs, you simply change small parts to see which website design variation has the most significant impact.
Landing Page Optimization
Landing page optimization is the process of enhancing the various elements of a landing page to maximize performance.
Call-to-Action Optimization
Call-to-action optimization refers to a trial-and-error process designed to improve CTA results, such as testing out different button colors and call-to-action text.
Form Optimization
This refers to the process of testing various form layouts and copy to improve the form user experience and optimize results.
Website Performance Optimization
Simply put, website performance optimization is any activity designed to increase the performance of your website. This could include an audit of your site, optimizing images, enhancing page load speed, reducing your total redirects, evaluating your current host, and more.
Heatmap and Click Tracking Analysis
Heatmaps, aka click heatmaps, are visual data images that track click patterns on your website. Analyzing these maps provides a glimpse of your user experience and reveals how people may react to your website.
Conversion Tracking Analysis
Conversion tracking helps you determine the effectiveness of your marketing efforts by collecting data related to the actions taken by users toward the completion of your business’s goals. For example, this type of analysis helps you measure your Return on Investment (ROI). It allows you to tie specific user actions directly to the outcomes you’re aiming for, helping you understand where your resources are best allocated.
What does a good conversion rate optimization consultant do?
A good conversion rate optimization consultant (aka, CRO Specialist) is responsible for elevating your company’s conversion strategy. The goal is to increase the number of leads moving through your website and sales funnels without increasing overall traffic. They need to understand how people consume content on every level.
Good CRO consultants will possess specific skills and knowledge that allow them to improve the user experience while maximizing your conversion rate. They need to:
- Understand the customer’s journey.
- Understand conversion rate optimization principles.
- Develop analytical skills.
- Conduct conversion audits.
- Perform user experience evaluation.
- Develop hypotheses and testing plans.
- Conduct A/B and multivariate testing.
- Optimize landing pages and forms.
- Personalize and segment content.
- Continuously monitor and analyze.
- Stay updated with industry trends.
- Compare your metrics to average conversion rate optimization statistics.
- Develop strong communication and collaboration skills.
What are some valuable CRO Tools?
Good CROs will use digital tools to maximize success efficiently.
Tools such as Google Analytics, Marketplan.io or Funnelytics are used to improve client outcomes through the following:
- Visual conversion funnels.
- Systems for tracking and analyzing performance.
- Systems that help you identify conversion optimization opportunities.
- Systems that help you plan and test hypotheses.
- Systems for communicating findings and recommendations.
- Systems that help you collaborate with clients and teams.
- Systems that monitor conversion goals and ROI.
How to hire a conversion rate optimization consultant?
There are a few ways to find a conversion optimization consultant, the most popular of which is through an online search for freelance CRO consultants or a CRO agency.
A good CRO consultant will have a team of expert professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to provide you with an excellent return on investment.
You can search online, in industry forums, get referrals from colleagues, or search on professional platforms like LinkedIn or Upwork. Look for a CRO with a successful track record.
Common Services and Packages Offered by CROs:
CROs will offer several services depending on their experience and expertise. Typically, you can expect any or all of the following service packages.
- A conversion audit package
- A/B Testing package
- Landing page optimization package
- Funnel optimization package
- User experience audit and optimization package
- Conversion tracking and analysis package
- Full-service CRO package
Natalie Krul is a conversion rate optimization and marketing automations specialist, find out more about working with Natalie here.
What does a Conversion Rate Optimization Consultant charge?
The price structure will vary depending on the consultant, their offerings, and your needs. The most common price structures are:
Hourly Rate – You pay a specific amount per hour of work. This price structure requires the CRO consultant to track their hours and report them for payment.
Retainer Fee – This refers to an up-front fee that is paid to the consultant to secure their services for a pre-set amount of time. You also might find some CROs working on a monthly recurring retainer fee as well.
Performance-Based Pricing – The payment is dependent on specific outcomes or results.
Project-Based Pricing – They charge a fixed rate for the completion of a specific project with clearly defined expectations. Note that the payment is not dependent on the project’s results, merely its completion.
Ultimately,
Hiring a conversion optimization expert consultant will help you achieve your marketing and sales goals. Through data-driven insights, CRO tools, and well-honed strategies, they are able to improve your customer’s experience, which will lead to higher conversion rates and an improved bottom line.
You might need to do a little searching to find the right expert to help you reach your goals, but it should be worth it in the end because more conversions means more income for you!
