More visitors cost money. Winning more customers from the visitors you already have is often the cheapest route to more revenue. That is exactly what conversion rate optimisation is about.
Key points at a glance
- A conversion is any desired action, such as a purchase, an enquiry or a sign-up.
- The conversion rate is the share of visitors who carry out this action.
- The biggest levers are usually loading time, trust, clear user guidance and simple forms.
- You should measure changes and, where possible, validate them with an A/B test.
What is a conversion?
A conversion is an action you want a visitor to take on your website, for example completing a purchase, submitting a form or calling you. You decide which actions count as conversions. Alongside main goals such as a purchase or an enquiry, there are intermediate goals such as signing up for the newsletter or downloading a brochure.
How do you calculate the conversion rate?
The conversion rate is the number of conversions divided by the number of visits, multiplied by 100. This is also how Google defines the conversion rate. With 2,000 visits and 40 enquiries, it is therefore 2 per cent. More important than an industry comparison is how your own figures develop over time and how channels, devices and pages compare with one another.
What holds back conversions most often?
Conversions are most often held back by slow loading times, unclear offers, a lack of trust and forms that are too long.
| Blocker | Typical sign | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Slow loading time | High bounce rate, especially on mobile | Compress images, use caching, achieve good Core Web Vitals |
| Unclear offer | Short time on landing pages | State the benefit clearly above the fold |
| Lack of trust | Drop-offs just before purchase | Reviews, trust seals, real contact details, clear return rules |
| Complicated forms | Many abandoned forms | Only necessary fields, clear error messages |
| Cumbersome checkout | High basket abandonment | Guest checkout, popular payment methods, show costs early |
| Poor mobile display | Mobile conversion rate significantly lower | Design mobile-first and test |
How do you optimise the basket and checkout?
You optimise the basket and checkout with few steps, guest checkout, popular payment methods and clear information on shipping and delivery time.
- Show shipping costs and delivery time on the product page
- Allow orders without a customer account
- Offer the payment methods that are popular in each country
- Remove distractions from the checkout and show progress
- Show trust signals where the decision is made: right of return, secure payment, contact
- Send email reminders about abandoned baskets, with consent
How do you approach conversion rate optimisation?
Conversion rate optimisation follows fixed steps: measure, find weak points, form hypotheses, test changes and evaluate the results.
- Measure: Set up Google Analytics 4 and conversion tracking properly and with consent.
- Analyse: Find the pages and steps where most visitors drop off.
- Form hypotheses: Write down what you want to change and why it should help.
- Test: Check changes with an A/B test if you have enough visitors, otherwise with a before-and-after comparison.
- Implement and repeat: Keep what works and move on to the next bottleneck.
It is important not to look at the rate alone. A change that brings more but lower-quality enquiries is not a gain. That is why you should always assess results in terms of revenue and quality as well.
Which pages should you optimise first?
Optimise the pages with lots of visitors and a weak conversion rate first, because that is where every improvement delivers the most. In Google Analytics, you will find these pages in the pages and screens report.
Typical candidates are service pages, category pages in your shop, product pages with high bounce rates and the contact form. Also check the pages that visitors from Google Ads land on. Here you pay for every click, and a better conversion rate directly lowers your cost per enquiry or sale.
Draw up a list of no more than 5 pages and work through them one after the other. This way you can clearly attribute the effect of each change.
How does an A/B test work?
In an A/B test, visitors randomly see either the current version of a page or a modified variant, and you compare which one generates more conversions. That way, data decides rather than opinions.
- Formulate a hypothesis, for example: “A shorter form leads to more enquiries.”
- Make exactly one change so that the result remains clear
- Let the test run until both variants have enough conversions
- Check the result for statistical significance
- Adopt the winner and plan the next test
Google Optimize was discontinued on 30 September 2023. Today, many businesses use tools such as VWO, AB Tasty or Optimizely. With few visitors, user surveys and session recordings are often more meaningful than A/B tests.
How do you build trust on your website?
Trust comes from real people, verifiable reviews, clear contact details and transparent information on process, delivery and data protection. Visitors who do not know your business actively look for these signals.
- Photos and names of contact persons instead of stock images
- Reviews from independent sources, such as your Google Business Profile
- Phone number and address visible on every page
- Trust seals and payment methods only if you actually have them
- Clear information on delivery time, returns and next steps after an enquiry
How do you measure conversions correctly?
Measure conversions as key events in Google Analytics 4 and import them into Google Ads so that both systems work with the same data. Without clean measurement, every optimisation remains guesswork.
Count not only purchases but also micro-conversions such as clicks on your phone number, downloads or started forms. In the EU, make sure you obtain consent via the cookie banner and use Consent Mode. Our guide Tracking with GA4 explains how to set this up.
How do you design forms that people actually fill in?
Forms get filled in when they are short, ask only for necessary information and say clearly what happens after submission. Every additional required field costs you enquiries.
At first, ask only for name, email address and the request itself. You can clarify further details in a personal conversation. Label fields visibly, show errors directly at the field and replace “Submit” with a concrete statement such as “Request a free initial consultation”. Also offer phone and email, because not every visitor wants to use a form.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good conversion rate?
That depends heavily on industry, price, device and traffic source. Rather than relying on a general benchmark, it makes more sense to keep improving your own figures and to compare channels with one another. Measure the conversion rate separately for mobile and desktop and by channel. This shows you exactly where visitors drop off and where optimisation pays off.
Do I need lots of visitors for A/B tests?
Meaningful tests require enough conversions per variant. With little traffic, larger, well-founded changes and a careful before-and-after comparison often make more sense. In that case, test a clearly different page rather than small details such as the colour of a button. Make sure you compare similar periods without seasonal effects.
What does conversion rate optimisation have to do with SEO?
The two complement each other. SEO brings visitors, and conversion rate optimisation turns them into customers. Fast loading times and good user guidance also help your rankings. Clear answers to customer questions improve your visibility on Google and in AI search engines at the same time, and convince visitors to get in touch or buy.
How quickly do results show?
Simple fixes such as a shorter form often take effect immediately. For reliable conclusions, however, you should monitor results over several weeks. Fluctuations caused by weekdays, seasons or campaigns can heavily distort individual days. Always compare periods of equal length and note down when you made which change.
What role does loading time play in the conversion rate?
A major one. Slow pages lose visitors before they even see your offer. Google measures user experience with the Core Web Vitals. Good values are a Largest Contentful Paint of up to 2.5 seconds, an Interaction to Next Paint of up to 200 milliseconds and a Cumulative Layout Shift of up to 0.1. Check your values free of charge with PageSpeed Insights.
How long should an A/B test run?
At least 2 full weeks so that every day of the week is covered, and until both variants have collected enough conversions. Do not stop a test just because one variant is ahead after a few days. Early results fluctuate strongly. A significance calculator shows you whether the difference is reliable or could still be down to chance.
What are micro-conversions?
Micro-conversions are smaller actions on the way to the actual enquiry or purchase, such as watching a video, clicking on the phone number, a download or adding a product to the basket. They show where visitors drop off. Especially with few visitors, micro-conversions deliver meaningful data faster than the actual sales or enquiries.
Do I need a new website for conversion rate optimisation?
In most cases, no. Many improvements can be made on your existing website, such as clearer headings, shorter forms, better images or visible contact options. A relaunch only pays off when technology, loading time or structure prevent fundamental improvements. Test smaller changes first and measure their effect.
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