It’s not 2008 anymore. Back then, there was so little competition that you could get decent results with mediocre ads and mediocre products. That simply isn’t the case anymore, now that thousands of businesses are competing for the same ad space. Today, successful advertisers put more effort into the entire marketing funnel to ensure that their ads attract traffic and convert customers.
Just getting people to your website does not guarantee your offer will convert them. You’re wasting money if you only invest in an expensive advertising campaign but don't adapt your website to suit site visitor behavior. We call this conversion rate optimization.
Let’s take a closer look at three specific reasons ad buyers like you need CRO as a part of your strategy.
1. Rising Ad Costs
Marketers are spending more for online advertising than they used to. We can see this by looking at quarterly CPM (cost-per-thousand) metrics from websites like Statista. In Q1 2017, social media CPM was $3.73, and that number grew to $5.44 in Q1 2019. This means advertisers need to pay $5.44 to get 1000 impressions per ad, which is a 45% increase since 2017.
The way to combat rising ad costs is to make your marketing more efficient, or in marketing lingo, to get a higher ROAS. Optimizing ad spend only goes so far; the secret is to increase your revenue capture on your website. If more customers convert from the landing page, suddenly, your ROAS is healthier.
The key to success is the following formula:
The right ad is shown to the right people and sends them to the right website experience.
Conversion Rate Optimization is about nailing the last part of that equation.
2. Faster Site Speeds Means More Purchases
What if you could improve your purchases by 11-15%? We find that most sites are missing out on sales due to a slow website. In fact, most websites could increase their revenue by 11-15% simply by improving their website load times.
The first step to getting a blazing fast website is to limit the amount of data your website has to process. Are the images on the site compressed before uploading them to the site? Do you have a minimal number of plugins or apps installed? Are the apps installed running properly only on the pages where they should? If you answered “No” to any of those questions, work to correct those issues. We’d recommend starting with the images since it is the easiest to do. Check out websites like TinyJPG.com for help compressing images.
An important element of CRO is improving site performance metrics. These improved metrics, like site load speed, will improve ROAS, and that’s good for ad buyers.
3. Improved ROAS Helps Customer Retention
This one goes without saying, but if you’re an ad agency and you’re crushing it on ROAS, you'll retain your clients longer, making your own business more profitable. As we’ve outlined above, conversion rate optimization could be the next strategy you need to implement to boost your clients’ ROAS.
So are you ready for some quick CRO tips you can implement today?
Conversion Rate Optimization Tips for Ad Buyers
Conversion rate optimization is a complex process, but anyone can take a few simple steps to increase their conversion rates. These CRO tips have proven to work time and time again, and they're easy to implement today.
- Start by improving website performance by reducing image file sizes. Some website images are slow to load, causing visitors to leave the site in frustration. Reducing the size of those images will ensure a faster load time and better conversion rates.
- Website landing pages should be directly tied and adapted to the ads. If the ad is talking about one particular offer, then the landing page should be addressing that offer directly. Don’t mislead your visitors by sending them to unrelated landing pages.
- Call-to-action buttons should always follow modern design philosophies. Use vibrant colors and simple text to make it as easy as possible for visitors to click that CTA button. Make sure the CTA buttons are clearly visible above the fold.
- The checkout process should always be simple and easy on the landing page. People who click on the ad are already interested in buying, which is why it should be made easy for them to proceed to checkout ASAP. Letting people purchase items without having to create an account is a huge step towards increased conversion rates.
- Testing, testing, testing — it's all about testing. Each element of the landing pages and website should be tested using A/B/n testing and optimization strategies to ensure the highest conversion rates. This process may take some time, but it will be well worth it in the long term.
Ad Buyers Need CRO
Ad buyers aiming to increase their performance need CRO to maximize the revenue or leads their campaigns generate.
Interested in more ways to help your customers improve their website conversion rates?
Schedule a conversion rate strategy call with our team.