Loads of traffic, but no leads
In the months leading up to February 2020, Seed Creativity noticed a problem with their sales funnel. Although their website was receiving reasonable traffic, these potential leads weren’t converting into enquiries. So, Seed approached us to identify their problem.
After an initial consultation, we were commissioned to put together a CRO Website Audit to analyse their site and find out what was going wrong.
The first step was to install tracking software, enabling us to gain insight into their website users’ behaviour. Using Freshmarketer, we obtained heatmaps and reviewed recordings of user sessions on the site.
Next, Google Analytics helped to identify important KPI’s. This included the number of pages users were viewing, the duration of their visit, and which pages most users were leaving the site from. This helped identify their main problem –their key landing page was only converting 0.08% of users!
Finally, we did a site walkthrough from the perspective of a site user, identifying problems which may affect a user’s experience which cannot be spotted using data alone.
Using all three elements (tracking user behaviour, analysing the data, and viewing the site from the user perspective), we built a thorough picture. Seed Creativity then received a 36-page in-depth report detailing what was going wrong with their site.
The truth can be hard to hear, but it's worth it
Our CRO Website Audits don’t shy away from the truth.
The report highlighted three key areas which were facing issues:
- Users were struggling to find the information they needed due to the site’s navigational structure
- Users had extremely low engagement with the brand while on the site
- Despite a strong aesthetic, this was not supported by strong information, as their pages were lacking quantity and flow of information
These issues resulted in users leaving the site very quickly when they could not find what they needed, staying for an average of just 23 seconds.
Building a site that works
The report found that the site needed major improvements. This is a scary concept for a business owner, and one that might convince them to start from scratch. However, data shows this is often not the most helpful course of action.
In this case, we worked together to devise a new site structure and hierarchy of information by testing a new layout on what should be a high-converting landing page.
Finding a layout that converts on one landing page makes the process of getting the rest of the site to convert much easier as the same structure can be applied across the website.
We redesigned the way the information flowed to improve communication with the user, then produced wireframes and a page prototype to fit this new structure.
Once the design was ready, we launched the new page with test criteria and collected data while the page was in use.
Why not just have a whole site redesign?
Although we had a lot of issues to face, we were keen to ensure we weren’t going backwards by potentially producing something less effective than the existing version. Whenever a site has a total redesign, it’s impossible to be certain how users will interact with it.
We took this redesign one step at a time, using stages that enabled a good amount of control over the outcome. This incremental approach, based on information from real user data, was a reliable way to invest in a site’s improvement (rather than utilising valuable resources into a new endeavour which could ultimately fall short of the client’s goals).
Impressive results
The results were proof enough this process was a success. User duration on the landing page had increased from 23 seconds to 2 minutes 25 seconds.
This page was now converting 2.15% of users which is higher than the benchmark average and a 2,587% uplift from their previous conversion rate of 0.08%! This ultimately increased sales by 300%.
With such a great outcome, we were delighted to continue to work with Seed and take the next step to implement the change site-wide
Our initial audit opened our eyes to so many obvious issues that were detracting new customers.
next steps
This is a prime example of what can happen when you have a CRO Audit with us. We identify your specific problem and, through thorough analysis, testing and planning, discover the solution which will have the biggest impact on your site.
Get in touch to learn how an audit could benefit your website.