The systematic way to a conversion-optimized hotel website

The conversion rate tells hoteliers how many visitors to their website make an inquiry or booking. If the conversion rate is low, potential guests are researching the hotel's offerings but deciding not to stay. The goal of every hotel must be to convert as many potential guests as possible into actual bookings in order to increase occupancy and revenue. Optimizing the conversion rate is the basis for this.

How to optimize the conversion rate?

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is a systematic approach to effectively use a website's existing traffic to drive more conversions. The primary goal is to increase the conversion rate and thus the company's revenue in the long term by monitoring, analyzing and subsequently improving various components of a website.

Because web projects vary so much in their look, feel, and goals, it is impossible to define a one-size-fits-all approach to conversion optimization. From individual page elements such as headlines, text and images, to search functions and forms, all areas of a website can have optimization potential.

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"The entire process can be performed in five steps, which can then be repeated in a cycle."</div>
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Armin Gögele
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The entire process can be done in five steps, which are then repeated in a cycle once completed. Conversion Rate Optimization is not a one-time project, but an ongoing process that allows a website to evolve through continuous optimization.

Step 1: The Analysis

The analysis is the foundation for all of the following steps. The goal of the analysis is to identify problems and barriers on the site and to determine the reasons why users are not converting. It is important to document the exact current state so that comparisons can be made later in the process or after the interventions have been successful. The analysis can be either qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative methods allow conclusions to be drawn about the behavior of users on one's own website. Web analytics tools such as Google Analytics or Hotjar provide this information.

They show which channels people use to get to your site, what areas they click on, how long they stay, and at what point they leave the funnel. Quantitative methods can be used to find out exactly how users behave. Interviews, on-site and off-site surveys, usability tests, and satisfaction surveys help to further break down user behavior and show what events contribute to a positive customer experience.

Step 2: The Hypothesis

The second step is to make statements that are possible but not yet proven. One such hypothesis can be made for each page and element. The hypothesis should include a variable to be tested, an expected result, and a rational justification for why conducting a test makes sense. When formulating hypotheses, keep in mind that only one factor will be tested per statement.

Once the hypotheses are formulated, you will have a list of suggested optimizations that need to be prioritized. One way to prioritize is by effort. Changing a headline requires few resources, but can have a large impact on the conversion rate - such optimizations can be prioritized.

Step 3: Creating Variants

The creation of variants follows the creation of hypotheses and their prioritization. The variants are not implemented immediately, but recorded in a wireframe. A wireframe is a conceptual, sketched design of a website. Wireframes serve as a clean documentation of the process and help to focus on the element to be optimized and its effect.

Step 4: The Testing Stage

Once all desired variations have been created and captured in a wireframe, the next step is implementation. This may require the use of multiple disciplines. For example, text changes, layout changes, or programming work. In the test phase, the original situation is compared with the new variant. One method of comparison is the A/B test, in which users are randomly shown variant A or variant B. After the test is started, the two variants are run against each other. The goal of such tests is to find the variant that generates the higher conversion rate.

Step 5: The Evaluation

Proper documentation during the testing phase is essential for the fifth step, evaluation. Testing should continue until a significant result is obtained. Only then does it make sense to implement the variant with the higher conversion rate.