If you’ve spent time trying to get more people to visit your website, you’ve probably heard of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO is great for bringing in traffic, but what happens after visitors arrive? That’s where CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) comes into your marketing strategy.
In this guide, we’ll show you how SEO and can work together CRO work together to grow a business. Whether you’re brand-new in this space or looking to take your online presence to the next level, this guide will help you get the most out of both strategies.
What is SEO?
Just in case you’re here from square one, let us introduce SEO or Search Engine Optimization.
It’s a series of practices and strategies meant to help your website show up in search engine results when people search for relevant keywords.
The whole process improves your visibility online so it’s easier for potential customers to find you. When it comes to SEO’s contribution to your site, BrightEdge reports that more than 53% of online traffic comes from organic search.
There are three main components of SEO. You’ll work with:
- On-page SEO – Optimizing content on your site, like using relevant keywords, creating quality content, and ensuring your titles, headers, and meta descriptions are clear and helpful.
- Off-page SEO – This focuses on building your website’s reputation through backlinks (links from other sites), social media engagement, and other external factors that improve authority.
- Technical SEO – These steps cover the backend work of making your site fast, secure, and easy to navigate for both users and search engines.
Effective SEO takes time and planning, but the long-term payoff is worth it, especially when you integrate other strategies with your SEO.
Defining CRO
CRO, or Conversion Rate Optimization, is focused on getting the most out of the traffic that comes to your site.
In simple terms, it’s about turning visitors into actual customers. Where SEO gets people in the door, CRO is what helps them decide to stick around and take action, whether that’s making a purchase, filling out a form, or signing up for a newsletter. According to Venture Harbor, businesses that prioritize CRO see an average return on investment (ROI) of 223%.
Some examples of CRO in action include:
- Simplifying the design of a checkout page so visitors can easily complete their purchase.
- Adding clear and persuasive calls-to-action (CTAs), such as “Buy Now” or “Sign Up Today.”
- Reducing the number of steps in forms to make them easier for users to fill out.
What’s the Difference and Why Use Both?
While SEO and CRO are different, they work best together. One focuses on bringing people to your site by improving your visibility on search engines, while the other is about what happens once visitors are there.
Think of it this way: SEO gets people in the door, and CRO encourages them to stay and make a purchase. Without SEO, you might not have enough visitors to convert, and without CRO marketing, that traffic might not lead to anything valuable.
Both are important and when they’re combined, they create a powerful strategy for growing your business. It’s not enough to drive traffic—you also need to lead that traffic to meaningful actions.
How to Calculate Conversion Rate
Before diving into specific CRO tactics, it’s helpful to know how to measure your success. Calculating your conversion rate is a simple way to track how well your optimizations are working. This is the handy formula for calculating yours:
For instance, if you have 1000 visitors and 50 of them make a purchase, your conversion rate would be:
(50 ÷ 1000) × 100 = 5%
Easy CRO Tactics to Get Going
Starting doesn’t have to be complicated! You can make small changes that have a big impact on your conversions. Here are a few beginner-friendly tactics to get the ball rolling:
- A/B Testing: This involves creating two versions of a webpage and testing which one performs better. For example, you can test different headlines or call-to-action buttons to see which gets more clicks.
- Simplify Your Forms: Long, complicated forms can turn visitors away. Keep forms short and only ask for the most necessary information.
- Improve Your CTAs: Make calls-to-action easy to see and use strong, action-focused words like “Get Started,” “Sign Up,” or “Buy Now.”
- Optimize for Mobile: Many visitors will be accessing your site on their phones. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, with easy-to-tap buttons and fast load times.
- Add Social Proof: People are more likely to trust your business if others recommend it. Including reviews, testimonials, or trust badges can boost conversions.
Mistakes to Avoid
This is a valuable strategy, but there are common missteps that can hurt your conversion efforts. Avoiding these pitfalls will help you make the most of your traffic, so keep this in mind:
- Overcomplicating the User Experience: Too much clutter or confusing navigation can drive visitors away.
- Neglecting Mobile Optimization: If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re likely losing out on a large audience. Ensure your site is responsive and works well on all devices, especially smartphones.
- Skipping A/B Testing: Making changes without testing them can lead to poor results. A/B testing allows you to make informed decisions based on data, not assumptions.
- Not Tracking Your Results: Tracking tools like Google Analytics are essential for measuring the impact of your CRO efforts, what’s working, and what’s not.
Winning SEO and CRO Long-Term
Achieving lasting marketing success with SEO and CRO requires ongoing attention since search engine algorithms and user behaviors change over time. Since both strategies need regular updates to stay effective, here’s how to ensure this without burning out.
Leverage Your SEO Data for CRO
Use insights from your SEO efforts—such as high-traffic pages or top-performing keywords—to target CRO improvements where they’ll have the most impact. Focus on optimizing high-traffic pages to increase conversions.
Always Find Room for Improvement
Regularly test key elements like headlines, CTAs, and forms. Even small tweaks can lead to big improvements. Keep testing to refine your site’s performance over time.
Track Patterns
Use tools like heatmaps and analytics to monitor how visitors interact with your site. Identify friction points and optimize pages to improve the user experience and boost conversions.
Finally, try not to prioritize one strategy over the other. Make sure your efforts drive traffic that funnels straight to conversion land. Your balanced approach helps maximize both traffic and results.
Wrapping Up
Together, SEO and CRO marketing strategies offer powerful advantages for increasing visibility and driving growth. Traffic alone isn’t enough—When SEO and CRO work in harmony, your website reaches its full potential.
If you’re ready to take your online presence to the next level, Wolfpack’s team can help the whole way. Schedule your online consultation today to build a strategy that works for you.
