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6 Conversion Rate Optimization Tests Legal Marketers Can Try Right Away

by Noreen Fishman • December 2nd, 2020 • Conversion Rate Optimization | Blog

Conversion Rate Optimization TestsNo matter how well your digital strategy is performing, there is always room for improvement. That’s where CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) comes in, specifically for law firms who are focused on lead generation. CRO is the process of increasing the percentage of website visitors that convert on your site. 

Conversion rate marketing is a complex and sometimes cumbersome science that often leaves legal marketers wondering where to start. If you’re interested in learning more about CRO in general, check out our past post on the topic. If you’re interested in trying some specific tests, take a look at the following six conversion rate optimization tests that law firms can try right now. 

How can marketers perform conversion rate optimization tests?

Most of the conversion rate optimization tests legal marketers can attempt are A/B tests. That means taking one element of a page and then tweaking it to create another variation, then testing the performance of the original versus the new version. If the new variation outperforms the original, then you can make that change permanent. To perform this testing, most marketers use a tool like Google Analytics Experiments or a testing software like Visual Website Optimizer. At the most basic level, you need some code on your site that will divide traffic between the two versions of a page, and then a way to review the numbers associated with the test.

1. CTA Copy Optimization

For the most part, you can expect a specific call-to-action (CTA) that recommends a certain activity will be more successful than a generalized one. You can try personalizing the CTA based on some data you have on your website users. You can also try framing the CTA as a benefit, such as saying “Build the perfect tax organizer today” vs. something like “Download our tax organizer”.

2. CTA visual optimization

CTAs are a good place to start when optimizing and testing for conversion rate optimization, but you need to make sure people pay attention to them and clearly see your CTA in the first place. There are plenty of elements to test here, including text color, background color, CSS animations, and more. If you’re using plain hyperlinks, try styling them like buttons. From there, dig deeper on colors, fonts, and sizes.

3. CTA placement optimization

The location of your CTA is also important. Many times they are only on key landing pages and shoved at the bottom. Try putting a CTA at the top of the page and the bottom (or just the top). There is definitely an appropriate balance – you don’t want to bog down your pages in sales copy – but testing can help you find the balance that works best for your pages.

4. Add numbers to headlines

Making changes to your headlines can lead to incremental improvements in results too. There is a real art to copywriting, and headlines are just a small portion of the overall process. As an easy test to start out with, think about adding numbers to your headlines. Plenty of research shows numbers help boost article performance. This study by Conductor suggests that a headline with a number outperforms a how-to headline by a factor of two, and Buzzsumo suggests the numbers 10, 5, 15, and 7 are particularly intriguing. So rather than “How to File Patent Paperwork” as a headline, you might try “5 Tips for Filing Foolproof Patent Paperwork”. If you’re stumped, you can just use the year in your headline. 

5. Try negative words in headlines

Though it might seem counterintuitive, studies show that negative words like “never” and “worst” result in higher conversions. A practical way to try this is using a list format that takes a new angle. For example, rather than “The 5 Best Verdicts of 2020”, you could try “The 5 Worst Verdicts of 2020.” You’ll probably find that many people are interested in a different perspective.

6. Other headline optimizations

The sky’s the limit when it comes to headline optimizations and tests. Try playing with the headline length, level of sensationalism, punctuation (question vs. exclamation point), or using a joke. The point of conversion rate optimization tests are to explore and test any variation that you think will have an appreciable impact on your CTR and conversions (or other engagement metrics).

Takeaway

Conversion rate optimization is a critical component of making your law firm’s website work for you as more than an informational tool. If you’re struggling to convert website visitors, these 6 conversion rate optimization tests will enable you to explore and test any variation that you think will have an appreciable impact on your CTR and conversions (or other engagement metrics). Specifically, CTAs and headlines are the two easiest facets of conversion rate optimization you can test.

If you want to explore the endless options for other areas of CRO, make sure to subscribe to our blog so you always have the latest and greatest information on digital strategies for law firms.

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