04 · Grow
Conversion rate optimisation
Conversion optimisation has a reputation for button colours because that is the version of it that is easy to sell. The real work is less glamorous: finding the exact step where people leave, understanding why, and fixing the cause – which is frequently a slow page, a confusing form or a missing piece of information rather than anything about persuasion.
Improving conversion rate raises the return on every other channel simultaneously, which is why it usually deserves attention before more traffic does.
Where conversion is usually lost
In practice, most of the loss is concentrated in a small number of recurring causes.
- The page is slow, particularly on mobile, and people leave before it is usable.
- The form asks for more than the visitor is willing to give at that stage.
- A cost, delivery time or requirement is revealed late in the process.
- The next step is not obvious, or competes with several other calls to action.
- Information needed to decide is missing, and the visitor leaves to find it elsewhere.
- The mobile experience of a key step was never properly tested on a real device.
- Errors in forms are unclear, and people abandon rather than work them out.
What we do
Conversion audits
A structured review of the conversion path against the analytics, covering usability, clarity, information gaps, technical friction and performance – with findings prioritised by expected impact.
Funnel analysis
Step-level measurement of where people drop, segmented by device, source and audience. Aggregate conversion rate hides the problem; segmented funnels locate it.
Form and checkout optimisation
Field-level analysis of which inputs cause abandonment, error message clarity, validation timing, autofill support, mobile keyboard behaviour, and step structure.
Landing page optimisation
Message match against the source, clarity of the offer, information architecture of the page, and removal of competing paths.
Experimentation strategy
A prioritised test roadmap with hypotheses, required sample sizes and honest guidance on what your traffic can support. On many B2B sites the correct answer is qualitative research and direct fixes, not A/B testing.
Implementation
We build the changes. A recommendation that nobody implements has produced nothing.
Diagram
How we work
-
Verify the data first Conversion analysis on broken tracking produces confident nonsense. We validate measurement before drawing conclusions from it – see analytics.
-
Locate before diagnosing Find the exact step and segment where loss occurs before theorising about why. "Mobile users on the shipping step" is a solvable problem; "our conversion rate is low" is not.
-
Check the technical causes early Page speed, layout shift, broken validation and mobile rendering faults are common, cheap to fix and frequently mistaken for persuasion problems.
-
Be honest about statistics A test needs enough conversions to produce a trustworthy result. We calculate that in advance, and where the traffic is not there we say so instead of running a test that will mislead you.
-
Fix causes, not symptoms If people abandon a form because the pricing is unclear, the fix is the pricing information, not the button.
What you receive
- Conversion audit with prioritised, evidence-backed findings
- Segmented funnel analysis
- Form and checkout field-level analysis
- User behaviour findings from session and interaction data
- Prioritised recommendations with expected impact and effort
- Test roadmap with hypotheses and sample size requirements
- Implementation of the agreed changes
- Before-and-after measurement against the baseline
How this runs
Every engagement follows the same sequence, with a defined output at each stage and nothing proceeding on an assumption that has not been written down. Grow work sits inside that process rather than alongside it.
Common questions
How much can we expect conversion to improve?
We do not put a number on it before looking. Sites with clear technical friction can improve substantially; well-built sites yield smaller, incremental gains. Any agency quoting an uplift percentage before seeing your data is quoting a sales figure.
Do we have enough traffic for A/B testing?
Many B2B sites do not, and that is fine. Below the required volume, qualitative research, usability testing and fixing clear technical problems deliver more than underpowered tests, which produce results that look decisive and are not.
Is this different from UX design?
It overlaps. UX design is how the experience is created; CRO is measurement-led improvement of an experience that already exists and already has data. On new builds we design well; on existing sites we measure first.
Related services
Related reading
Traffic arriving but not converting?
Tell us the step you think is the problem. We will look at the funnel data first and tell you if it is somewhere else.
Or email hello@applystudio.com – we reply within one business day.