The main goal of optimization is to improve conversion rates of the traffic you already have, and generally, with the assets you already have.
We aren’t talking about getting website traffic in this chapter, we’re talking about optimizing the traffic you already have.
It’s also important to understand that optimization is a dedicated, repeatable process. It’s not a once-and-done activity. You’ll work through the process, then begin again. And since you can always improve your results—no matter how much you improve them—you’ll continue optimizing as long as you’re in business.
That’s why we describe the CRO process as a cycle:
You start by identifying your goals. You gather relevant data, analyze it, and create a hypothesis. You design your variants, implement technology and test your hypothesis. Then you analyze results, which will give you new insights and ideas for new tests.
Then the process starts all over. With optimization and testing, this cycle never ends. At least, not if you’re doing it right.
Now let’s talk about what you’ll do at each stage of the cycle.
Identify Your Goals
The process starts with a clearly articulated goal. Remember, without clear goals, you can’t optimize anything. You must know what you’re trying to achieve.
So let’s say you’re trying to optimize your homepage. We’ll use the DigitalMarketer homepage as an example.
Keep in mind, though, homepages are actually one of the most difficult pages to optimize because they’ve got to perform so many different tasks—and everyone wants to prioritize their own goals. The sales team is looking for qualified leads. The acquisition team is looking at how they can convert the traffic into emails.
