Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) is often one of the most underestimated strategies for driving revenue growth in eCommerce, influencing metrics like website conversion rate, eCommerce conversion rate, and overall user engagement. Many businesses focus on ad spending and getting more traffic. However, CRO looks at a key question: how can you get the most value from the traffic you already have? The answer lies in refining your website’s performance to turn visitors into customers, making CRO a high-impact lever for business growth.
What is CRO?
CRO is the process of testing and improving various elements of your website to increase the percentage of visitors who take a desired action - whether making a purchase or achieving an average eCommerce conversion rate that outperforms industry benchmarks. These actions are conversions, and CRO supports their optimisation by focusing on both micro conversions and macro goals. Micro conversions - such as newsletter sign-ups, product detail page views, or adding an item to the basket - build the foundation for core conversion metrics like sales or lead generation. Often implemented through A/B testing, CRO empowers businesses to compare web pages and identify changes that drive the best results, grounded in user behaviour and empowered through data-driven decisions.
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The impact of CRO on revenue.
Imagine doubling your revenue without increasing your traffic or ad spend. CRO makes this possible by optimising your website to achieve a higher eCommerce conversion rate and maximise website conversion rates across all touch points. Even small improvements, like clearer calls to action or faster page load times, can lead to significant revenue gains and improve your average conversion rate. For example, raising conversion rates from 2% to 2.5% may seem minor. However, for an eCommerce site turning over +£1 million a year, this change could lead to a big boost in revenue.
Building & growing a CRO team.
Successful CRO requires a dedicated team with diverse skills:
CRO Manager who oversees strategy, prioritises tests, and analyses results.
UX/UI Designers create designs for test variations and ensure seamless user experiences.
Front-End Developers implement design changes and integrate CRO tools.
Data Analysts, provide insights into user behaviour, test performance, and key metrics.
Copywriters complement UX by crafting compelling, persuasive content for web pages, helping to truly optimise the content design.
For smaller businesses, these roles can often be consolidated, with freelancers or agencies filling gaps. Tools like Google Optimise or Shopify compatible platforms can help streamline the process, making CRO accessible even for businesses with limited resources.
Investing in conversion rate optimisation.
The level of investment needed depends on your business size and goals:
Smaller businesses (under £2 million/year): Freelancers or part-time resources can tackle CRO with budgets ranging from £10,000–£30,000 annually. blubolt is here to consult, conduct audits, create actionable guidance, and develop testing roadmaps. We support hypothesis creation and provide direction to help smaller teams maximise CRO impact without overwhelming resources.
Growing businesses (£2 million to £10 million/year): Dedicated CRO specialists or agencies driving comprehensive strategies may require investments of £50,000–£150,000 annually. blubolt becomes an extension of your digital team, collaborating with e-commerce, trading, merchandise, and marketing. We deliver dedicated CRO expertise, driving your vision forward and integrating seamlessly with your business to achieve measurable growth.
Established businesses (£10 million+ per year): Full in-house CRO teams, consisting of 4–5 members, could necessitate a budget of £150,000–£350,000 annually, offering the highest returns on investment. At blubolt, we will support you in growing this team - provide best-practice guidance, research consultation, and training to strengthen internal experimentation programmes for CRO teams that are trying to establish a process of experimentation within their business. We empower your team to maintain high standards while scaling efforts efficiently. Our agency provides tailored CRO support based on your business size and maturity:
Acknowledging the importance of prioritisation.
Prioritising which tests to run is a critical part of CRO. While this blog does not cover prioritisation in-depth, it is important to consider adopting a prioritisation framework such as ICE (Impact, Confidence, and Ease) or PIE (Potential, Importance, and Ease) to ensure resources are allocated to the most impactful opportunities.
The long-term benefits of CRO.
CRO is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process of refinement that drives tangible results. Beyond revenue growth, it offers:
Improved user experience and a better website experience lead to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty, improving website conversion rates.
More efficient ad spend and higher eCommerce conversion rates mean your marketing budget works harder and could potentially lower your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA).
Data-driven decisions, CRO builds a culture of testing and learning, ensuring decisions are backed by real-world results.
User-centric optimisation, by focusing on user behaviour and needs, businesses can ensure every decision enhances the customer journey and delivers value, elevating both average eCommerce conversion rates and engagement.
Actionable insights from data, leveraging robust data analysis helps uncover user preferences, pain points, and opportunities to create a seamless, personalised experience that drives consistent growth and improved eCommerce conversion rate benchmarks.
Conclusion.
Conversion Rate Optimisation has the power to transform businesses, driving revenue growth within existing marketing budgets. Imagine what your business could achieve by unlocking potential through iterative improvements and data-led decisions. By placing CRO at the heart of your growth strategy, you can transform how visitors engage with your brand and supercharge revenue.
If you’re ready to take your CRO efforts to the next level, blubolt’s team of experts can guide you at every step — from audits and strategy development to implementation and best-practice training. Read more about our Growth Services and browse our client work for inspiration. Get in touch to explore how we can help boost your business’s performance and revenue.