Anthony McGrathWhat does conversion rate optimisation (CRO) involve?
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) covers research, quick wins, page improvements, testing, messaging and reporting. If two in every hundred visitors buy, getting to three is the same as growing traffic by half, without paying a penny more for clicks. Anthony McGrath does the work himself, with 22 years in digital marketing, for businesses in the UK, the US, Dubai and Australia.
Why CRO comes before more traffic
If two in every hundred visitors buy, getting to three is the same as growing traffic by half, without paying a penny more for clicks. Every improvement also makes your ads, SEO and email work harder.
Good CRO is not changing button colours. It starts with evidence: where people drop out, what they hesitate over and what they need to see before they act. Then it fixes those things, one by one, and measures each.
- Best for
- Websites and online stores that already get steady traffic
- What you get
- Research, Quick wins, Page improvements, Testing, Messaging, Reporting
- First step
- Measure: analytics, heatmaps, recordings and a walk through your site as a customer, to find where people drop out.
- Where
- The UK, the US, Dubai and Australia, working remotely across time zones
- Who does the work
- Anthony McGrath, hands-on, with 22 years in digital marketing
What's included
Research, fixes and tests for lead generation sites and online stores.
Research
Analytics and funnel analysis; Heatmaps and session recordings; User testing and surveys; Competitor and best-practice review.
Quick wins
Broken forms, buttons and pages; Mobile usability fixes; Speed improvements; Clearer headlines and calls to action.
Page improvements
Homepage and landing pages; Product and service pages; Pricing and comparison pages; Forms and checkouts.
Testing
A/B and multivariate tests; Test design and sample sizes; Results you can trust; Plain-English test write-ups.
Messaging
Value proposition and headlines; Objection handling and FAQs; Social proof and reviews; Offers and guarantees.
Reporting
Conversion rate by device and channel; Revenue and lead value; Monthly progress report; A running list of what was learned.
Before and after
An example of a three-month CRO programme on a lead generation site.
An example of the kind of change this work aims for, based on typical starting points. It is not a promise or a specific client result: every business starts somewhere different. Money figures are shown without a currency: the same pattern applies in pounds, dollars, dirhams or Australian dollars.
How it works
- MeasureAnalytics, heatmaps, recordings and a walk through your site as a customer, to find where people drop out.
- PrioritiseA ranked list of fixes and test ideas, scored on likely impact and effort.
- TestChanges tested properly (A/B where the traffic allows), so you know what worked and why.
- Roll out and repeatWinners go live, losers are learned from, and the next round starts.
Questions
What does a CRO specialist do?
Finds out why visitors do not convert, fixes the causes and tests the changes. That covers analytics, user research, copy, design, forms, speed and A/B testing.
How long before CRO shows results?
Quick fixes often show within weeks. A structured programme usually runs for at least three months to find, test and prove the bigger improvements.
Do I need a lot of traffic?
Formal A/B tests need enough traffic to reach a reliable result. Smaller sites still benefit from research-led fixes measured before and after.
Is CRO just for online stores?
No. It works for any site with a goal: leads, bookings, sign-ups, calls or sales.
Platforms and tools
About Anthony McGrath
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A UK-based freelance digital marketer with 22 years across Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, conversion rate optimisation, funnels, Google, Meta and TikTok ads, SEO and tracking. He works directly with businesses in the UK, the US, Dubai and Australia, so the person who plans the work is the person who does it. More about Anthony or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Find out what is stopping people converting
Send your site and a rough idea of your numbers. You get the three changes most likely to make a difference first.
Get a CRO review