6 Conversion Rate Optimization Myths Your Clients Want to Believe

There are so many myths and so much false information out there regarding conversion rate optimization techniques. While the Internet is a wonderful thing, it is also a place where anyone, qualified or not, can present their theories as facts.

And some of those theories sound so believable that they gain traction, and soon become the norm – accepted as fact and acted upon by many other people, when in fact, they are simply not true.

Here are some of the most common myths – and the truth of the matter!

1. It’s all about split testing

There’s no denying that split testing works, but that’s not all conversion rate optimization is about. Savvy conversions are about giving the customer what they want. It’s all about understanding your customers wants and needs and ensuring you are providing them.

2. Conversion is the only metric website owners should care about

It doesn’t matter how amazing your site and content are, you will never be able to hit 100% conversions 100% of the time.

Think of it like this. Let’s say for example, your website is selling car insurance. Someone clicks a link to some of your content. The content is good – it offers good advice that the reader can use in their everyday lives. They like it and they read some of your other content.

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Now, this person already has car insurance. They have eight months left until they can renew it. So for that eight months, you won’t convert them. But when the time comes to search for quotes, where do you think they will look?

It won’t be to someone they haven’t heard of. It will be to you – a company they trust to provide sound advice.

3. Conversion Rate Optimization is only about design

While design is an important element of conversion rate optimization, it is far from the only thing to think about. Other things to consider include:

• Content – is it relevant to your target market? Is it well written?
• Headlines – are they catchy?
• Do you deliver? – Does your content match your headline?

All of these points can help to convert readers into customers.

4. It means making small changes that lead to significant results

Of course this isn’t entirely a myth. You can use this method of thinking and get those results. But why limit yourself? Why not make big changes that lead to outstanding results? Surely that’s what a client really wants?

5. No one reads long sales content

Perhaps this one would be better explained as “no one reads long sales content when it’s full of jargon and buzz words and is just a huge body of text.”

It’s a fact that people do read long content. As long as it user-friendly. Remember, online, people read in an E shape:

• Ensure the content is broken up into lots of short paragraphs with headings.
• Try to use images to break up the text.
• Where applicable, use lists/bullet points.
• Use language that people understand – try to avoid acronyms unless they are common enough that anyone would know what they meant.
• Keep readers engaged by grabbing their attention with something new every seven seconds.

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There are hundreds of resources available to make long content interesting enough to keep readers engaged. Here are a few of the best ones:

• Hemingway app ensures your content is reader-friendly by analyzing sentence structure.
• Readability tool scores your readability and offers pointers to raise the score.
• Boom editing can change boring prose into an engaging piece by suggesting language changes and making sure it flows well.
• Unsuckit site will search out any jargon and buzz words and suggest alternatives.
• Cliche finder website will detect any clichés you’ve used.
• Essayroo ensures your spelling, grammar and punctuation are on point, making your content seem more professional.
• Hubspot blog topic generator is ideal if you know what you want to say but you don’t know how to say it. Simply enter your keywords, and the site suggest post titles that you can use to write your content.
• Grammar help is another site that will concentrate on making sure your grammar is on point, which keeps your content readable.
• Ukwritings ensures your content is technically correct and accurate, do not neglect it.

6. CRO is about copying best practices

Just no. As I mentioned in the introduction, some of these best practices come from people with no real idea about conversion rate optimization. And even if the article comes from an expert, what works for one company won’t always work for another.

The key is finding what works for you.

Overall, it’s important to carry out your own research regarding anything to do with conversion rate optimization. Don’t be a sheep and buy into every myth you see. Be a leader and find your own path to follow.