Conversion Rate Optimisation is central to digital marketing, and knowing exactly How to Run a CRO Audit: Tools, Metrics, and Step‑by‑Step Process turns guesswork into measurable wins. This guide walks through a 12-step, actionable CRO audit you can run this week — including the tools, metrics and prioritisation methods you need to find conversion blockers, create test hypotheses, and set up experiments that prove ROI.
Run A Cro Audit: Tools, Metrics, And Step‑by‑step Process – Overview: What a CRO audit is and why it matters
A CRO audit is a structured, evidence-driven review of the user journey that uncovers why visitors don’t convert and what to change to improve conversion rates.
Running a CRO audit makes optimisation systematic: you gather quantitative data, layer qualitative insights, form hypotheses, prioritise by impact, and validate changes with experiments. Follow this How to Run a CRO Audit: Tools, Metrics, and Step‑by‑Step Process to reduce friction and increase revenue from existing traffic.
Run A Cro Audit: Tools, Metrics, And Step‑by‑step Process – 1. Prepare: Goals, scope and materials
Define what “conversion” means for this audit (purchase, lead, sign-up); set time-bound KPIs and success criteria; choose which pages or funnels are in scope.
- Select target metric(s): primary conversion rate, micro-conversions, average order value (AOV).
- Decide scope: site-wide, checkout funnel, product pages, or top landing pages.
- Materials you’ll need: access to analytics, A/B platform, session-replay tools, heatmaps, UX notes, and stakeholder interviews.
Run A Cro Audit: Tools, Metrics, And Step‑by‑step Process – 2. Collect data: Tools and setup
Gather the instrumentation and ensure tracking is accurate before analysing. Reliable data is non-negotiable.
Essential tools and what they provide:
- Analytics platform (Google Analytics, Matomo) — traffic sources, funnels, and segment performance.
- A/B testing platform (VWO, Optimizely, Google Optimize alternatives) — experiment execution and stats.
- Session replay & heatmaps (Hotjar, FullStory, UXCam) — where users click, scroll and rage-click.
- Funnel & behaviour analysis (Heap, Amplitude) — event-level drop-offs and paths.
- Voice of customer (Hotjar polls, Typeform) — on-page feedback and surveys.
3. Analyse metrics: What to measure
Identify which metrics indicate conversion health and where leaks exist. Use both macro and micro metrics.
- Primary conversion rate — the share of sessions completing the target goal.
- Funnel conversion rates — drop-off between each funnel step.
- Bounce rate and exit rate — pages with high exits warrant review.
- Average time on page and scroll depth — signal content engagement.
- Click-through rate (CTR) on CTAs and internal links — measures CTA effectiveness.
- Average order value and revenue per visitor (RPV) — economic impact metrics.
4. Qualitative review: UX, copy and heuristics
Combine quantitative signals with qualitative heuristics to explain why behaviour occurs and to generate testable hypotheses.
Expert review checklist
- Value proposition clarity — is it obvious within 3 seconds?
- CTA contrast, wording and placement — do CTAs stand out and read well?
- Form friction — field count, labels, inline validation and optional vs required fields.
- Mobile UX — tap targets, layout stacking, and loading performance.
- Trust signals — reviews, guarantees, accepted payments and privacy cues.
5. Identify barriers & hypotheses
Turn issues into hypotheses using the template: “Because [insight], we think [problem] causes [metric drop]. We will [change] to increase [metric].”
Example: “Heatmaps show low scroll below the fold and analytics show CTA CTR of 0.8%. We think the CTA is too low and unclear. Move CTA above the fold and change copy to ‘Start free trial’ to increase CTR to 2%.” This relates directly to Run A Cro Audit: Tools, Metrics, And Step‑by‑step Process.
6. Prioritise tests: ICE, PIE and expected value
With many hypotheses, use prioritisation frameworks to focus on highest-return work.
- ICE scoring: Impact × Confidence × Ease (1–10 each).
- PIE: Potential, Importance, Ease — great for landing-page prioritisation.
- Expected value: estimate uplift × traffic × conversion value to prioritise revenue-impacting tests.
7. Design & run experiments
Design experiments that isolate variables, calculate sample size, and set success criteria.
Experiment basics
- Only change one major element per A/B test to attribute effect.
- Use statistical calculators to estimate sample size and test duration.
- Segment experiments by traffic source and device where appropriate.
- Run smoke tests (quick QA) and a pilot before full rollout.
8. Implement winners & QA
When an experiment reaches significance and passes QA, implement the winning variant into production.
Perform front-end and analytics QA: verify visual changes, event firing, session continuity, and that revenue attribution aligns.
9. Monitor, report & iterate
Track key KPIs post-implementation; measure durability and any regression in other metrics (e.g., load time or mobile conversion).
Create dashboards showing conversion rate, RPV, AOV and top funnel drop-offs so stakeholders can monitor progress continually.
10. Advanced tips for a better audit
- Segment everything — behaviour by device, geography (UK, US, Canada), acquisition channel and cohort to spot hidden trends.
- Use session replays to verify unusual spikes or anomalies in analytics.
- Include user interviews or moderated tests for complex B2B flows where quantitative data lacks clarity.
- Balance quick wins (CTA copy, form reductions) with structural work (checkout redesign) for sustained gains.
11. Expert takeaways & practical checklist
Key takeaways to keep your audits efficient and impactful:
- Always start with clear goals and success metrics.
- Fix data quality before drawing conclusions.
- Combine quantitative funnels with qualitative UX evidence.
- Prioritise by expected business value, not just ease.
- Document experiments, learnings and follow-up actions for continuous improvement.
12. Conclusion: Making CRO audits part of your growth engine
Follow this How to Run a CRO Audit: Tools, Metrics, and Step‑by‑Step Process as a repeatable cycle: define, measure, hypothesise, test, implement and iterate. A systematic CRO audit replaces opinion with evidence and creates compounding growth from existing traffic.
Resources and suggested further reading
- In-depth CRO process frameworks from Invesp and VWO (industry-standard references).
- Session replay and heatmap best-practices from UXCam and FullStory to interpret behaviour properly.
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How to Run a CRO Audit: Tools, Metrics, and Step‑by‑Step Process – screenshot of heatmap and analytics dashboard
