Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
When you A/B test website changes for conversion rate optimization, are you treating those CRO tests as a tactic, or a strategy?
Conversion optimization specialist Talia Wolf says you shouldn’t focus too much on tactics, like the right button colors.
Instead, be strategic with your CRO. Use your website to speak to the customer about the pains and challenges in their journey, and tell them how your offer solves their problems.
That’s how you increase conversions. That’s how you get new customers.
**Transcript**
Hi, my name is Talia Wolf.
If you're struggling to get the results you want, you may be treating conversion optimization as a tactic and not a strategy.
Conversion optimization that is focused on tactics is mostly focused on changing elements on a page. On how many tests you're running. You look at reports and you're trying to increase conversions. This means you see your homepage or a landing page or a product page isn't converting. You look at the page and you try to figure out. Why isn't this converting?
You look at best practices. You look at case studies, you follow gurus, you follow all the different guides that tell you that if you just change a call to action button, or reduce a form field, or if you add a pop-up, or change an image, you'll increase conversions. And then you run this test and little to no results. And even if you increase conversions. What are you going to do with that?
That's tactical CRO.
Strategic CRO is when you understand conversion optimization is solving people's problems; it's not about increasing conversions. It's about serving your customers with the journey they need in order to get the results that they're looking for.
Instead of just changing elements on the page, when it comes to conversion optimization, you should aim to solve your customer's problems. What are their pains? What are their hesitations? What are their challenges? What are they trying to achieve? How do they want to feel after finding a solution?
Once you understand that there's a problem on your landing page, you don't need to just look at the elements. You need to look at your messaging. You need to look at everything that you are saying to them and ask yourself if you are actually serving your customers. If you're telling them how you're going to solve a problem for them, how you are going to help them get from point A to point B. If you're not doing that, that is your conversion problem.
And once you solve it, once you help your prospects achieve their own goals, you'll be able to achieve your own and increase conversions.
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When you A/B test website changes for conversion rate optimization, are you treating those CRO tests as a tactic, or a strategy?
Conversion optimization specialist Talia Wolf says you shouldn’t focus too much on tactics, like the right button colors.
Instead, be strategic with your CRO. Use your website to speak to the customer about the pains and challenges in their journey, and tell them how your offer solves their problems.
That’s how you increase conversions. That’s how you get new customers.
**Transcript**
Hi, my name is Talia Wolf.
If you're struggling to get the results you want, you may be treating conversion optimization as a tactic and not a strategy.
Conversion optimization that is focused on tactics is mostly focused on changing elements on a page. On how many tests you're running. You look at reports and you're trying to increase conversions. This means you see your homepage or a landing page or a product page isn't converting. You look at the page and you try to figure out. Why isn't this converting?
You look at best practices. You look at case studies, you follow gurus, you follow all the different guides that tell you that if you just change a call to action button, or reduce a form field, or if you add a pop-up, or change an image, you'll increase conversions. And then you run this test and little to no results. And even if you increase conversions. What are you going to do with that?
That's tactical CRO.
Strategic CRO is when you understand conversion optimization is solving people's problems; it's not about increasing conversions. It's about serving your customers with the journey they need in order to get the results that they're looking for.
Instead of just changing elements on the page, when it comes to conversion optimization, you should aim to solve your customer's problems. What are their pains? What are their hesitations? What are their challenges? What are they trying to achieve? How do they want to feel after finding a solution?
Once you understand that there's a problem on your landing page, you don't need to just look at the elements. You need to look at your messaging. You need to look at everything that you are saying to them and ask yourself if you are actually serving your customers. If you're telling them how you're going to solve a problem for them, how you are going to help them get from point A to point B. If you're not doing that, that is your conversion problem.
And once you solve it, once you help your prospects achieve their own goals, you'll be able to achieve your own and increase conversions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FREE RESOURCES:
MarketingProfs Today: mprofs.com/thegotonewsletter
Online Events: mprofs.com/onlineevents2024
FOLLOW US!
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Facebook - facebook.com/marketingprofs
Twitter - twitter.com/marketingprofs
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