What’s better than racking up thousands of blog pageviews?
Converting those pageviews into leads—or even better, a sale.
But sadly, if you’ve been neglecting to implement a conversion rate optimization strategy for your blog, then the chances of that happening for your business are probably pretty slim.
The numbers speak for themselves:
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- 75% of businesses say that you can generate leads with the right strategy by building trustworthy and credible content.
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- Companies that use blogs have around 55% more visitors to their websites than those that don’t.
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- This rise in visitors prompted 71% of B2B marketers to say content marketing has become more important to their organization.
In addition, despite the drawbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic these past few years, the global market for quality content has improved, with content marketing reaching US$63 billion in revenue in 2022.
It’s no surprise to find more businesses wanting to get into quality content for their audience, setting goals that would propel them to the top of their target audience’s minds, ultimately establishing awareness and credibility.
Whatever your conversion goal is for your blog (newsletter subscription, quote request, or drive to store), you want to design blog posts in a way that meets that goal.
26 CRO Statistics You Need to Know
A good conversion rate optimization strategy will depend on your industry. Any digital marketing agency worth its salt will tell you that no one solution fits all issues. Here are 26 conversion rate optimization statistics that can help you shape your blog strategy for success.
These figures and insights will give you new ideas to explore or inspire you to experiment and find the right blend of conversion rate optimization tactics for your business.
1. Personalized CTAs perform 202% better than basic ones
A CTA gives users a way to showcase their interest in your brand after reading your content, which can increase your conversion rate. In this case, personalized CTAs perform better than basic ones because of their ability to connect to your audience, as it creates a more engaging and relevant experience for each user.
If you’re looking for inspiration, here are some examples of personalized CTAs:
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- “Your first month is on us!”
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- “We’re sad to see you go. Subscribe to another month!”
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- “Leaving so soon? Sign up for our newsletter for the latest updates and exclusive deals!”
2. Button-based CTAs increased CTR by 32.12%
Text-based CTAs are easy to miss among the words on your web page. They also lack the visual appeal and urgency that entices users to click on them. If you want something that reinforces the idea of taking action, go for CTA buttons, as they stand out more and resemble the web elements that users are familiar with when they shop online.
Banner ads, on the other hand, suffer from banner blindness, where users ignore the banner images on your website because they are used to seeing them everywhere. More than that, it also takes up more space and can distract from your main content.
The Vineyard, a wine retailer, tested the difference between text-based and button-based CTAs on their website. They also made the button more visible by changing its color and position. The result was a 32.12% increase in click-through rate (CTR) for the button-based CTA.
3. The average landing page conversion rate is 2.35%
If your business is hitting around the 3% mark for conversions, you’re well on your way to achieving top-performing content. Across industries, the average landing page conversion rate is 2.35, but the top 25% of businesses can convert at 5.31% or higher.
This is not to say that average businesses don’t have quality content. Most business content performs well because they strategize and leverage top-searched keywords to help improve their SEO.
Even more notable, a HubSpot survey found that solid keyword research can benefit your blog beyond SEO. When they optimized 12 high-ranking posts with CTAs containing the search keywords that their visitors were looking for, conversion rates shot up by 87% from those blog posts.
Take advantage of tools like Google Analytics and Ahrefs to find out what search terms you’re ranking for and incorporate those into your CTAs. Analyze your data carefully. What keywords did your top-performing content rank for? Take that information and optimize your high-ranking posts with CTAs that contain your target keywords.
4. Welcome gates earn a conversion rate of 10% to 25% higher CTR
If you’re still skeptical about pop-up CTAs, then these figures should solidify that they belong in your blog strategy. Welcome gates grab the attention of visitors through quirky designs and push them down the conversion funnel.
Along with welcome gates, some notable CTA efforts include slide-in CTAs, which have an impressive subscription rate of 1% to 5%, while pop-ups generate around 1% to 8%. Consider introducing these high-converting pop-ups to attract attention and offer value to your visitors.
5. A feature box opt-in can increase sign-ups by 3% to 9%
Another proven lead-capture form you can explore is the feature box. This full-width email opt-in box is a lead magnet you can place at the top of your website below the header navigation.
Use a feature box to boost blog traffic to your site by encouraging user sign-ups or purchases. It serves as an ideal space to explain what your company offers, accompanied by a straightforward link to your homepage or landing page.
The great thing about feature boxes is that you can tailor their visibility based on size and promotional intensity.
6. Blog posts that offer templates increase conversion by 240%
Speaking of lead magnets, templates are an excellent one. A survey found that blog post conversions increased by 240% when it included a template offer. Entice your visitors to convert by offering irresistible value-loaded templates at zero cost.
Explore template ideas, and remember that this tactic will only be as good as the template you’re offering. So, researching what your target audience will find invaluable is a prerequisite.
7. 37% of consumers prefer retargeted ads because of their interest in the product.
When a prospect sees a retargeting ad, there’s a 70% chance that they’ll avail of your product over your competitor’s. But take note that retargeting isn’t just for ads these days. You can maximize this nifty digital tool to offer your visitors relevant content after they leave your site.
Your target audience will usually browse several websites as part of their research, so you want to optimize for conversions and stay top of mind as they consume different content to help them make a decision. Of course, there’s a thin line between being pushy and being helpful, and that midpoint is personalization.
Retargeting allows you to personalize and push the right content in front of the right people. For starters, retarget people who visited your highest-converting blog articles.
8. 34% of readers only skim the headlines
Your headline is the first make-or-break moment of your blog post. However, crafting a catchy one will only get you so far. According to a recent poll, only 19% of respondents read online news thoroughly, with 34% mostly skimming headlines and 25% skimming the entire article.
Though these numbers reflect the number of people who read the news, the fact of the matter is that many don’t get past the headline. You can apply the same principle to your business. Without a compelling headline, you risk the same fate. The poll indicates that a catchy headline is the primary factor (54%) that persuades skimmers to read the content.
This is where headline-writing best practices will come in handy as a conversion rate optimization marketing strategy. You can also utilize various online tools, like Headline Analyzer, SEOPressor, or Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer, to help formulate the perfect headline.
Keep these tips in mind as you craft your headlines. To further entice your target readers to click through and keep reading your blog post, leverage intrigue and offer information that matters to your target audience.
9. 87% report lead generation because of video marketing
The demand for video continues to rise, with 91% of businesses utilizing video as a marketing tool and improving CRO stats. More notably, even those who are not using video marketing (70%) planned to use it in 2023.
While producing video content may take more resources than an average blog post, 87% of marketers believe they increased their sales because of it. Because of these numbers, consider inserting videos in your next blog post to engage your visitors and increase your conversion chances.
Moreover, you can also explore other ways of raising the ante with conversion-friendly videos. For instance, embedding a Lead Capture Form in your video. Wistia analyzed over 15,000 videos with turnstiles lead capture form and found that turnstiles placed in the first 10% to 20% of the video have the highest conversion rates, ranging from 38% to 43%.
10. Site visitors exposed to UGC experienced a 3.8% increase in conversion rates
Utilizing user-generated content (UGC) is an excellent way to show social proof. Across all industries, UGC has been shown to boost conversions by an average of 108.6%. Another factor to consider is the number of reviews a business has. Conversion improves by 2.8% for every 10 new reviews a company earns.
A pro tip for you is to respond to reviews actively to boost conversion rates. A 100% response rate leads to a 16.4% improvement in conversion, with the most significant gains observed when responding to 75% of reviews.
Here are some other note-worthy CRO statistics for your business.
Convert Your Blog Traffic into Leads
With the different conversion rate optimization stats presented, getting more out of your existing traffic will take more than merely publishing blog posts. Aside from understanding your target audience and using buyer personas to drive your content marketing, optimizing your blog posts for conversion should be up there in your list of priorities so you can get a leg up on the competition.
Reach out to the right people who can help you achieve your conversion goals. Spiralytics is a digital marketing agency that offers full-suite conversion rate optimization in the Philippines to propel your business toward sustainable growth and long-term success.
Don’t be one of the 37% of marketers with problems creating high-quality leads. Contact the CRO experts at Spiralytics today!
