What is Conversion Rate Optimization?

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), as it relates to digital marketing, is the application of a system and processes to convert a higher percentage of visitors into customers.

A basic use of conversion rate optimization starts with a base set of measurements (baseline) and a desire to improve from the baseline.

Conversion Rate Optimization is

• A structured and process-driven approach to improving key metrics associated with your desktop, tablet and mobile experience.
• Defined and measured through key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the number of unique visitors, the number of times those visitors come back, click-through, email opens and form completions – to name a few.

Conversion Rate Optimization is not

• Search Engine Marketing (SEM) designed to increase the volume of traffic sent to your desktop, tablet or mobile experiences. When you have effective Conversion Rate Optimization and good Key Performance Indicators good SEM will increase your traffic volume which should lead to more contacts.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) similar to SEM, another activity to increase the volume of traffic sent to your desktop, tablet or mobile experiences. Similar to effective SEM, good SEO coupled with good Conversion Rate Optimization and Key Performance Indicators will increase your traffic volume which should lead to more contacts.

The CRO Process: A Structured, Repeatable Approach

CRO is not a guessing game. It is a disciplined loop that any team can run without a specialist on staff. The structure is the same whether you are optimizing a homepage, a landing page, an email, or a checkout flow.

1. Establish a baseline. Measure the current conversion rate for each page or flow that matters. Without a baseline, you have no way to know whether changes are helping or hurting.
2. Form a hypothesis. Pick one element – a headline, a CTA, a form field, an image – and articulate why changing it should improve conversion. Good hypotheses are specific ("shortening the form from 8 fields to 4 will reduce abandonment").
3. Run a controlled test. Use A/B testing, or multivariate testing for more complex pages. Change one variable at a time so you know what actually drove the result.
4. Measure against the KPI that matters. Click-through rate, form completions, trial signups, revenue per visitor – pick the metric that maps to business outcomes, not vanity metrics.
5. Decide, ship, and iterate. Promote the winner, retire the loser, and move on to the next hypothesis. CRO compounds – a 5% lift each quarter adds up fast.

For short definitions of the two most common test types, see A/B testing and multivariate testing (MVT).

Getting to the Return on Investment

For example, one of our B2B software customers measured the number of web page views of their home page. The number of click-throughs on their main call to action (CTA) was 105:1 – 105 unique visitors for each click on the main call to action.

Through some simple A/B testing, they were able to optimize their home page and decrease the number of unique visitors for each click through from 105 to 87. A 17% performance improvement!

In the example above a 17% improvement increased the number of opportunities to generate new contacts. However, they still needed to convert the contact on their landing page and then win the business. In their case, they forecast 1.39 new customers/mo from these improvements.

The return on investment for this business is calculated as follows:

• The lifetime value of a new customer is ~$30,000.
• The 17% conversion rate improvement created 1.39 new customers/mo or $41,700 of additional lifetime value.

Your website is the single most important sales tool you own. See the marketing automation features that help turn website traffic into customers.

Common Conversion Rate Optimization Tactics That Work

Most CRO wins come from a handful of proven plays. None of these require a redesign or a new platform – they are small, testable changes that compound over time.

Use a dedicated landing page, not the homepage

Homepages try to serve every visitor; landing pages serve one visitor with one offer. The industry median landing page converts at around 6.6% across all industries, with top performers above 10–15%. Pages built around a single call to action consistently beat generalized pages. See our 10 tips for creating effective landing pages.

Reduce friction on forms

Every required field costs you conversions. Ask only for what you truly need at this stage of the funnel – progressive profiling lets you collect the rest later. The rule of thumb: if a field doesn't change what happens next, cut it.

Test one variable at a time

Headline, CTA wording, button color, hero image, offer – test these individually. When everything changes at once, you cannot attribute the lift to any specific change and cannot repeat the win. DailyStory's built-in experiment engine lets you A/B test email subject lines and other campaign elements without leaving the platform.

Match the landing page to the traffic source

If a paid search ad promises "Free Shipping on Orders Over $50," the landing page headline should say exactly that. Message-match is the single most common fix for paid campaigns underperforming on conversion.

Shorten the distance to the next step

Each click between interest and action is a chance to lose the visitor. Combine pages, eliminate unnecessary confirmation screens, and make the primary CTA visible without scrolling.

Follow up with email and SMS

Conversion does not end when the visitor leaves. Automated email drip campaigns and SMS reminders can recover the 95%+ of traffic that does not convert on the first visit. See the full list of landing page benefits for how these tie together.

How Marketing Automation Amplifies CRO

Traditional CRO focuses on the moment of conversion – the form fill, the add-to-cart, the signup. Marketing automation extends the optimization loop across the full lifecycle. Instead of asking "how do we get more visitors to convert on this page?" you ask "how do we convert more of our existing audience over their full relationship with us?"

The result is typically a much larger return on the same traffic. Automated nurture sequences, segmented re-engagement campaigns, abandoned-cart recovery, post-purchase upsells, and birthday or anniversary triggers each raise the effective conversion rate of contacts you already have – without buying another impression.

This is the angle DailyStory is built around: integrating email marketing, SMS marketing, landing pages, forms, and automation in a single workflow so the same contact can be optimized at every stage.

Why Conversion Rate Optimization Matters

The way buyers make decisions has shifted dramatically. Recent B2B marketing research shows 89% of B2B buyers research products online before purchasing. The 6sense 2025 Buyer Experience Report goes further: in 95% of deals the winning vendor is already on the buyer's Day One shortlist, and four out of five deals are won by the "pre-contact favorite." Your website is not just a brochure – it is the qualification round.

For B2B business this means you need to be focused on how well your desktop, tablet, and mobile web experiences convert new opportunities for your business.

Frequently Asked Questions