What is Conversion Rate Optimisation, and does your website need it?
This article discusses the field of Conversion Rate Optimisation, and how it benefits companies who have a lot of visitors to their website and online store, but lack the sales and revenue that should come with it.
3/13/20253 min read
Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) is the systematic process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, whether that’s making a purchase, filling out a form, subscribing to a newsletter, or engaging with on-site elements. It involves analysing how users move through your site, what actions they take, and what’s stopping them from completing your goals. At its core, CRO blends data, behavioural insights, UX design, psychology, and testing to remove friction and drive more value from your existing traffic.
For many businesses, CRO is often overlooked in favour of acquiring more traffic. However, optimising your conversion funnel can deliver a much higher return on investment. According to a study published by Forrester Research, companies that prioritise customer experience and CRO outperform those that don’t, both in customer retention and revenue per visitor. Similarly, Harvard Business Review has highlighted how companies focusing on user behaviour and testing outperform their competitors by making more accurate and cost-effective decisions about web design and marketing spend.
So how do you know whether CRO is something your website needs?
Start with your current performance metrics. If your site is attracting a healthy volume of traffic but sales, enquiries, or sign-ups remain flat or underwhelming, you may have a conversion problem, not a traffic problem. High bounce rates on key landing pages, low time-on-site, or poor engagement with call-to-action elements are strong indicators. Equally, if your checkout abandonment rate is above industry norms (which often sit between 60–80% depending on the vertical), there’s likely friction or confusion within your user journey that CRO can help uncover and resolve.
Another key consideration is how your users behave versus how you want them to behave. Tools like Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, and Hotjar allow you to visualise the user journey through heatmaps, session recordings, and funnel tracking. If you’re seeing repeated drop-offs at specific points, or users engaging with non-clickable elements (a sign of unclear UX), these are signs your site isn't guiding them as effectively as it should be.
CRO also plays a critical role for businesses running paid acquisition campaigns. If you're spending on Google Ads or social media marketing, but the leads or sales aren’t matching expectations, optimising the on-site experience can reduce cost-per-acquisition and increase your ROI. Think with Google regularly publishes case studies showing brands achieving significant uplifts, sometimes 20% or more, by improving form design, speeding up mobile experiences, or testing clearer value propositions.
Ultimately, if your website has traffic, but revenue isn’t scaling proportionally, or if you suspect you’re losing users to confusion, friction, or unclear messaging, CRO is not optional, it’s essential. The goal isn’t just to tweak buttons or headlines; it's to understand how your users think, what they want, and how to align your site experience with their expectations to drive growth.
Investing in CRO isn’t about chasing short-term hacks, it’s about building a more efficient, higher-performing digital presence that converts visitors into customers, with lasting impact.
CRO in Action: Real-World Success Stories
To illustrate the tangible benefits of CRO, let's examine how both e-commerce and SaaS companies have leveraged CRO strategies to achieve significant improvements in revenue and Return On Ad Spend (ROAS).
E-commerce Success: Car Computer Exchange
Car Computer Exchange, an online retailer specializing in automotive computer modules, implemented a CRO strategy that led to remarkable results. By optimizing their website's user experience and streamlining the purchase process, they achieved a 154.98% increase in conversion rate, a 111.47% increase in transactions, and a 46.73% increase in revenue within just one month. This case underscores the potential of CRO to drive substantial revenue growth without increasing traffic acquisition costs.
SaaS Success: Earth Class Mail
Earth Class Mail, a SaaS company offering virtual mailroom services, collaborated with Conversion Rate Experts to enhance their conversion funnel. Through meticulous A/B testing and user experience improvements, they generated an additional $1.5 million in revenue. This case exemplifies how CRO can significantly impact a SaaS company's bottom line by converting more visitors into paying customers.
Key Takeaways
These case studies highlight the transformative power of CRO across different industries. By focusing on user behavior, testing hypotheses, and implementing data-driven changes, businesses can unlock hidden revenue potential and maximize the value of their existing traffic.
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