Stop Guessing, Start Testing — How To Get More Leads With Conversion Rate Optimization

A/B testing is the mechanism behind conversion rate optimization (CRO). Conducting experiments on button color, messaging tone, and CTA placement often reveal gains in conversion rate. CRO can help you drive more leads from your website. 

Table of Contents

• Why CRO Matters for Your Lead Generation
• The Problem with Guessing
• Formulating a CRO Hypothesis
• A/B Testing: Science, Not Supposition
• Elements to A/B Test for Conversion Rate Impact
• Reviewing A/B Test Results and Implementing CRO
• Conversion Rate Optimization Services
• Key Takeaways: How To Get More Website Leads Through CRO

Why CRO Matters for Your Lead Generation

It’s easy to think that to get more leads you just need to get more traffic. However, that’s like saying that a restaurant just needs more people coming through the door to be more profitable. 

Do those people in fact stay around and pay? Are you providing an experience they find worthy of tipping? Does poor service dissuade many people from returning? Is low food quality ruining your reputation?

The same goes for your website. You must provide an exceptional user experience to entice people to convert. 

Conversion rate optimization doesn’t focus on adding more people to the top of your sales funnel. CRO works to make the funnel itself more efficient, so you get more out of what’s already there. You’re tuning your site to move visitors from just browsing to actually taking action—signing up, reaching out, or making a purchase.

• Dive into the challenge of driving high-quality traffic that converts in our blog post CRO: Why More Traffic Doesn’t Equal More Sales.

The Problem with Guessing

Many businesses make changes to their websites to try to drive more sales based on assumptions about what will appeal to their visitors. Relying solely on gut feelings in this way can lead to wasted effort. 

Conducting formal A/B tests as part of a CRO strategy, on the other hand, replaces gut-level guesses with data. 

A/B testing (where you compare two versions of a page or element) is a powerful way to see how actual visitors respond to different options, allowing you to make data-driven changes that move the needle.

• Get expert insights from the DOM team about how to get more leads from your website in our Beginner’s Guide to CRO. 

Formulating a CRO Hypothesis

A hypothesis in CRO isn’t just a what-if-we-try-this question; it’s a thoughtful guess based on data and visitor behavior. 

Start by looking at heatmaps, session recordings, and analytics. Maybe visitors often leave from a certain page or ignore a call-to-action button. 

A solid hypothesis for that situation could be as simple as, “If we change the call-to-action color to something that contrasts more, we’ll likely see a lift in conversions.”

A/B Testing: Science, Not Supposition

A/B testing is a way of performing a scientific experiment on your website. You create two variations of a page (say, a landing page or product description) and split traffic evenly between them.  

The magic happens when you analyze which version converts better, meaning it gets visitors to take the action you’ve designed the page for, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase.

This data-driven approach minimizes guesswork and bias.

By laying out a hypothesis and collecting performance data on each arm of the experiment, you then have an objective view of which performed better. No more relying on gut feelings about red buttons catching more eyes than blue, for instance.   

Did that CTA in ALL CAPs outperform the CTA in Title Case? Did the longer product description with customer testimonials actually convert more visitors than the concise version? A/B testing provides concrete answers.

Elements to A/B Test for Conversion Rate Impact

You can run an A/B test on any element on your website that you can change. That being said, there are core elements that typically have a substantial impact on user experience that we at DOM recommend you consider testing first.  

Headlines
Most people skim webpages. They don’t read every word. That makes headlines important real estate on your website. Try phrasing them as to the features of your product vs. the benefits. Try using single words vs. phrases. 

Forms
The length of a form is highly correlated with the interest level of the people who fill it out. The longer the form, the more effort someone has to put in to complete it. This might mean that you will see only those with high buying intent complete your forms. On the other hand, too many fields to fill out may discourage would-be customers. The shorter the form, the less friction involved with completing it. Try both. 

Social Proof
Testimonials can be persuasive, but location matters. Test placing them near your call-to-action buttons vs. elsewhere on the page to see where they make the biggest impact.

Exit-Intent Pop-Ups
You may be able to reduce bounce rates with a compelling message that pops up when someone attempts to navigate away from a particular page. 

Calls to Action (CTAs)
CTAs are the last (and maybe most crucial) link in your chain of appeal to potential clients. The CTA can directly prompt someone to take the action you want. It may also more subtly sew the seeds of user action. Test CTA messaging and formats (like buttons vs. text anchor links) to see what generates more conversions. 

Images
The right image can make all the difference. You can try different media and content with your images. For instance, try photos vs. graphics. Try images that feature your product alone vs. people with your product. The human element is often appealing. Our glance tends to be caught more by images with people in them than those without. 

• Dig deeper in our blog post Where User Experience Meets Conversion Rate Magic.

Reviewing A/B Test Results and Implementing CRO

Once the test wraps, review the numbers. Conversions may be your ultimate concern; they shouldn’t be your only focus. There are many signals upstream of a conversion action that reveal the effect of an A/B test. 

Did the time-on-page decrease significantly? That could be a sign that visitor engagement suffered in one arm of the experiment.

How did the bounce rate of the page change? Does a heatmap reveal that people hovered their mouse over the element you changed? How far did users scroll down the page before and after the test? There are many such observations you can make that may inform your next A/B test iteration.  

When you do see a strong signal in your CRO test data, consider rolling it out sitewide. That way you can multiply the impact of what you learn from each test. 

If a test doesn’t give clear results, take it as an indicator to try a different variable or approach. Each test, whether the results are fuzzy or definitive, adds a layer of insight into what makes your visitors tick.

Conversion Rate Optimization Services

Feeling a bit overwhelmed with all that’s involved in performing A/B tests to increase conversion rates? DOM is here to help. 

Review Our Conversion Rate Optimization Services

Having a solid digital presence and giving people memorable experiences online is huge in how customers discover, evaluate, and eventually decide to buy from companies. 

As a digital marketing agency focused on boosting conversion rates, we’re all about making sure your brand looks its best on every screen—whether it’s on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone. We design customer experiences that reflect the value they’ll get from working with you.

Whatever “conversion” means in your world—whether it’s more leads, sign-ups, or sales—we’re the conversion rate optimization agency here to lift those numbers.

Key Takeaways: How To Get More Website Leads Through CRO

• CRO goes beyond attracting traffic by focusing on improving the effectiveness of your website to drive conversions from existing visitors.
• Guessing about what works on a website can waste effort; A/B testing provides a data-driven way to learn what changes improve conversions.
• Formulating a CRO hypothesis involves using analytics to identify issues—such as low engagement or ignored calls-to-action—and testing possible solutions.
• Testing core site elements like headlines, forms, and calls-to-action can have a big impact on how visitors interact and convert.
• Reviewing A/B test results helps you implement winning changes sitewide and informs future testing, making each test a step towards better performance.