Conversion Audit Checklist

CONVERSION AUDIT CHECKLIST MODULE FOCUS: HEATMAPS, MESSAGING & UX OPTIMIZATION GOAL: TRANSFORM YOUR FUNNEL FROM "HOPING IT WORKS" TO "KNOWING EXACTLY WHY IT CONVERTS" — USING DATA-DRIVEN ANALYSIS TO IDENTIFY AND FIX THE SPECIFIC FRICTION POINTS KILLING YOUR CONVERSIONS. PART 1: FOUNDATION & SETUP WHAT IS CONVERSION AUDITING? CONVERSION AUDITING IS THE SYSTEMATIC PROCESS OF ANALYZING HOW USERS ACTUALLY INTERACT WITH YOUR FUNNEL VERSUS HOW YOU THINK THEY INTERACT WITH IT. THE THREE PILLARS: HEATMAP ANALYSIS — WHERE USERS LOOK, CLICK, SCROLL, AND GET STUCK MESSAGING ANALYSIS — WHETHER YOUR COPY RESONATES AND CONVERTS UX ANALYSIS — HOW SMOOTH AND INTUITIVE YOUR USER EXPERIENCE IS WHY MOST SAAS FUNNELS FAIL: FOUNDERS BUILD BASED ON ASSUMPTIONS, NOT USER BEHAVIOR COPY THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO YOU ≠ COPY THAT CONVERTS YOUR MARKET TECHNICAL FUNCTIONALITY ≠ USER-FRIENDLY EXPERIENCE NO SYSTEMATIC WAY TO IDENTIFY WHAT'S ACTUALLY BROKEN ESSENTIAL TOOLS SETUP HEATMAP & USER RECORDING TOOLS: HOTJAR (FREE PLAN: 1,050 SESSIONS/MONTH): HEATMAPS + SESSION RECORDINGS MICROSOFT CLARITY (100% FREE): UNLIMITED HEATMAPS + RECORDINGS FULLSTORY (PREMIUM OPTION) ADVANCED USER JOURNEY ANALYSIS PAGE SPEED & TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: GOOGLE PAGESPEED INSIGHTS (FREE): CORE WEB VITALS ANALYSIS GTMETRIX (FREE): DETAILED PERFORMANCE BREAKDOWN MOBILE-FRIENDLY TEST (GOOGLE, FREE): MOBILE OPTIMIZATION CHECK A/B TESTING PLATFORMS: GOOGLE OPTIMIZE (FREE): BASIC SPLIT TESTING UNBOUNCE (PREMIUM): LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION VWO (PREMIUM): ADVANCED TESTING SUITE SETUP PRIORITY ORDER: WEEK 1: INSTALL HEATMAP TRACKING (HOTJAR OR CLARITY) WEEK 2: SET UP CONVERSION TRACKING IN GOOGLE ANALYTICS WEEK 3: CONFIGURE A/B TESTING PLATFORM WEEK 4: BEGIN SYSTEMATIC DATA COLLECTION PART 2: HEATMAP ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK UNDERSTANDING HEATMAP TYPES CLICK HEATMAPS WHAT IT SHOWS: WHERE USERS CLICK (AND TRY TO CLICK) KEY INSIGHTS: WHAT DRAWS ATTENTION VS. WHAT GETS IGNORED RED FLAGS: CLICKS ON NON-CLICKABLE ELEMENTS, IGNORED CTAS SCROLL HEATMAPS WHAT IT SHOWS: HOW FAR DOWN USERS SCROLL BEFORE LEAVING KEY INSIGHTS: WHERE YOU'RE LOSING ATTENTION RED FLAGS: MAJOR DROP-OFFS BEFORE KEY CONVERSION ELEMENTS MOVE HEATMAPS WHAT IT SHOWS: WHERE USERS HOVER THEIR MOUSE KEY INSIGHTS: WHAT CONTENT GETS THE MOST ATTENTION RED FLAGS: ATTENTION SCATTERED ACROSS PAGE VS. FOCUSED ON CTAS SAAS HEATMAP ANALYSIS CHECKLIST HERO SECTION ANALYSIS: □ HEADLINE GETS 80%+ ATTENTION WITHIN FIRST 3 SECONDS □ PRIMARY CTA BUTTON SHOWS HIGH CLICK CONCENTRATION □ LOGO/NAV ELEMENTS DON'T DISTRACT FROM MAIN CTA □ SOCIAL PROOF ELEMENTS REGISTER VISUAL ATTENTION □ VALUE PROPOSITION AREA SHOWS ENGAGEMENT (NOT JUST SCANNING) ABOVE-THE-FOLD SCROLL ANALYSIS: □ 60%+ OF USERS SCROLL PAST HERO SECTION □ MAJOR SCROLL DROP-OFF POINTS IDENTIFIED AND ADDRESSED □ KEY CONVERSION ELEMENTS PLACED BEFORE MAJOR DROP-OFFS □ MOBILE SCROLL BEHAVIOR ANALYZED SEPARATELY CTA BUTTON PERFORMANCE: □ PRIMARY CTA SHOWS HIGHEST CLICK DENSITY □ SECONDARY CTAS DON'T CANNIBALIZE PRIMARY CONVERSION □ USERS AREN'T CLICKING ON NON-FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS NEARBY □ CTA PLACEMENT ALIGNS WITH NATURAL EYE-FLOW PATTERNS FORM INTERACTION ANALYSIS: □ FORM FIELDS SHOW PROGRESSIVE COMPLETION (NOT ABANDONMENT) □ USERS AREN'T CLICKING OUTSIDE FORM AREA IN FRUSTRATION □ FIELD LABELS AND ERROR MESSAGES GET APPROPRIATE ATTENTION □ SUBMIT BUTTON SHOWS STRONG CLICK CONCENTRATION SOCIAL PROOF & TRUST ELEMENTS: □ TESTIMONIALS AND LOGOS REGISTER VISUAL ENGAGEMENT □ TRUST BADGES PLACED IN AREAS THAT GET ATTENTION □ CASE STUDY ELEMENTS SHOW READING BEHAVIOR (NOT JUST SCANNING) PART 3: MESSAGING ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK MESSAGE CLARITY ASSESSMENT THE 5-SECOND TEST PROTOCOL: SHOW YOUR PAGE TO 10 PEOPLE FOR 5 SECONDS ASK: "WHAT DOES THIS COMPANY DO?" AND "WHAT CAN YOU DO HERE?" PASS RATE: 8/10 SHOULD ANSWER CORRECTLY FAIL INDICATORS: CONFUSION, GENERIC ANSWERS, OR "I'M NOT SURE" ICP LANGUAGE ALIGNMENT AUDIT: □ HEADLINES USE CUSTOMER LANGUAGE (NOT COMPANY JARGON) □ PAIN POINTS MENTIONED MATCH ACTUAL CUSTOMER FEEDBACK □ BENEFITS FOCUS ON OUTCOMES (NOT FEATURES) □ INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC TERMINOLOGY USED APPROPRIATELY □ URGENCY LANGUAGE MATCHES CUSTOMER BUYING TIMELINE MESSAGING CONVERSION CHECKLIST HEADLINE & VALUE PROPOSITION: □ HEADLINE ANSWERS "WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?" IN UNDER 10 WORDS □ SUBHEADLINE CLARIFIES THE MECHANISM OR METHOD □ VALUE PROP PASSES THE "SO WHAT?" TEST □ OUTCOME IS SPECIFIC AND MEASURABLE □ TIMELINE EXPECTATION IS CLEAR AND REALISTIC BENEFITS VS. FEATURES ANALYSIS: □ BENEFITS OUTNUMBER FEATURES 3:1 ON LANDING PAGE □ EACH FEATURE TRANSLATES TO CLEAR CUSTOMER OUTCOME □ EMOTIONAL BENEFITS INCLUDED (NOT JUST LOGICAL) □ BENEFITS MATCH TOP 3 CUSTOMER PAIN POINTS SOCIAL PROOF MESSAGING: □ TESTIMONIALS INCLUDE SPECIFIC RESULTS AND METRICS □ CUSTOMER TITLES/COMPANIES RELEVANT TO TARGET AUDIENCE □ CASE STUDIES TELL COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION STORIES □ SOCIAL PROOF PLACED NEAR CONVERSION POINTS □ PROOF STATEMENTS ARE CREDIBLE (NOT EXAGGERATED) CTA COPY OPTIMIZATION: □ ACTION-ORIENTED VERBS (NOT GENERIC "SUBMIT") □ VALUE REINFORCEMENT IN CTA TEXT □ URGENCY APPROPRIATE TO OFFER TYPE □ MULTIPLE CTA VARIATIONS TESTED □ CTA COPY CONSISTENT WITH HEADLINE PROMISE OBJECTION HANDLING: □ TOP 3 OBJECTIONS ADDRESSED ON PAGE □ RISK REVERSAL STATEMENTS INCLUDED □ FAQ SECTION ANSWERS BUYING CONCERNS □ TRUST SIGNALS STRATEGICALLY PLACED □ PRICE JUSTIFICATION CLEAR AND COMPELLING PART 4: UX ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE AUDIT PAGE SPEED ANALYSIS: □ DESKTOP LOAD TIME UNDER 3 SECONDS □ MOBILE LOAD TIME UNDER 4 SECONDS □ CORE WEB VITALS SCORES IN "GOOD" RANGE □ IMAGES OPTIMIZED AND COMPRESSED □ UNNECESSARY SCRIPTS REMOVED MOBILE OPTIMIZATION CHECKLIST: □ RESPONSIVE DESIGN WORKS ON ALL SCREEN SIZES □ TEXT READABLE WITHOUT ZOOMING □ BUTTONS LARGE ENOUGH FOR FINGER TAPS (44PX MINIMUM) □ FORMS OPTIMIZED FOR MOBILE INPUT □ NAVIGATION SIMPLIFIED FOR MOBILE USER EXPERIENCE FLOW ANALYSIS NAVIGATION & INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE: □ CLEAR VISUAL HIERARCHY GUIDES ATTENTION □ IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOVE THE FOLD □ LOGICAL FLOW FROM AWARENESS TO ACTION □ NO DEAD ENDS OR CONFUSION POINTS □ CONSISTENT DESIGN PATTERNS THROUGHOUT FORM UX OPTIMIZATION: □ MINIMUM REQUIRED FIELDS ONLY □ CLEAR FIELD LABELS AND PLACEHOLDER TEXT □ REAL-TIME VALIDATION AND ERROR HANDLING □ PROGRESS INDICATORS FOR MULTI-STEP FORMS □ AUTO-FILL COMPATIBLE FIELD FORMATTING VISUAL DESIGN ASSESSMENT: □ CONSISTENT BRAND COLORS AND FONTS □ SUFFICIENT CONTRAST FOR ACCESSIBILITY □ WHITE SPACE USED EFFECTIVELY □ VISUAL ELEMENTS SUPPORT (DON'T DISTRACT FROM) CONVERSION □ PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE BUILDS TRUST CONVERSION PATH ANALYSIS: □ SINGLE, CLEAR PRIMARY ACTION PER PAGE □ LOGICAL PROGRESSION THROUGH FUNNEL STEPS □ EXIT POINTS IDENTIFIED AND MINIMIZED □ FRICTION POINTS DOCUMENTED AND ADDRESSED □ ALTERNATIVE PATHS AVAILABLE FOR DIFFERENT USER TYPES PART 5: SESSION RECORDING ANALYSIS WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN USER SESSIONS BEHAVIOR PATTERNS: HESITATION: LONG PAUSES BEFORE CLICKING CTAS CONFUSION: BACK-AND-FORTH SCROLLING, MULTIPLE CLICKS FRUSTRATION: RAPID CLICKING, RAGE CLICKS, QUICK EXITS ENGAGEMENT: STEADY PROGRESSION, FORM COMPLETION CRITICAL SESSION TYPES TO ANALYZE: □ CONVERTERS: WHAT PATH LED TO SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION? □ BOUNCE: WHAT CAUSED IMMEDIATE EXITS? □ FORM ABANDONERS: WHERE EXACTLY DID THEY STOP? □ MOBILE USERS: DIFFERENT BEHAVIOR PATTERNS VS. DESKTOP? DOCUMENTATION FRAMEWORK: PATTERN: WHAT BEHAVIOR DID YOU OBSERVE? FREQUENCY: HOW OFTEN DOES THIS HAPPEN? IMPACT: WHAT CONVERSION OPPORTUNITY IS LOST? FIX PRIORITY: HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW BASED ON IMPACT + FREQUENCY PART 6: SAAS-SPECIFIC BENCHMARKS CONVERSION RATE STANDARDS BY FUNNEL TYPE DIRECT OFFER FUNNELS: LANDING PAGE CONVERSION: 15-25% DEMO SHOW RATE: 75%+ DEMO CLOSE RATE: 30-40% VALUE FUNNELS: LEAD MAGNET CONVERSION: 35-50% EMAIL-TO-DEMO RATE: 8-12% DEMO CLOSE RATE: 40-60% PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: ABOVE AVERAGE: TOP 25% OF BENCHMARKS AVERAGE: WITHIN BENCHMARK RANGE BELOW AVERAGE: NEEDS IMMEDIATE OPTIMIZATION RED FLAG INDICATORS IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED: □ BOUNCE RATE >70% (MAJOR MESSAGING/TARGETING MISMATCH) □ PAGE LOAD >5 SECONDS (TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE KILLING CONVERSIONS) □ FORM ABANDONMENT >80% (TOO MANY FIELDS OR POOR UX) □ MOBILE CONVERSION <50% OF DESKTOP (MOBILE EXPERIENCE BROKEN) □ HEATMAP SHOWS SCATTERED ATTENTION (NO CLEAR VISUAL HIERARCHY) PART 7: SYSTEMATIC OPTIMIZATION PROCESS WEEKLY AUDIT SCHEDULE WEEK 1: BASELINE DATA COLLECTION INSTALL TRACKING ON ALL FUNNEL PAGES DOCUMENT CURRENT CONVERSION RATES COLLECT INITIAL HEATMAP DATA (MINIMUM 100 SESSIONS) WEEK 2: INITIAL ANALYSIS COMPLETE MESSAGING AUDIT CHECKLIST IDENTIFY TOP 3 FRICTION POINTS FROM HEATMAPS DOCUMENT MOBILE VS. DESKTOP BEHAVIOR DIFFERENCES WEEK 3: PRIORITY FIXES IMPLEMENTATION ADDRESS HIGHEST-IMPACT ISSUES FIRST A/B TEST MESSAGING VARIATIONS FIX TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE ISSUES WEEK 4: RESULTS ANALYSIS & NEXT ITERATION COMPARE BEFORE/AFTER CONVERSION RATES IDENTIFY NEXT ROUND OF OPTIMIZATION OPPORTUNITIES PLAN FOLLOWING MONTH'S TESTING SCHEDULE OPTIMIZATION PRIORITY MATRIX HIGH IMPACT + EASY FIX (DO FIRST): HEADLINE CLARITY IMPROVEMENTS CTA BUTTON OPTIMIZATION MOBILE RESPONSIVENESS FIXES PAGE SPEED IMPROVEMENTS HIGH IMPACT + HARD FIX (PLAN & EXECUTE): COMPLETE FORM REDESIGN MESSAGING STRATEGY OVERHAUL VISUAL DESIGN UPDATES USER FLOW RESTRUCTURING LOW IMPACT + EASY FIX (QUICK WINS): COLOR/CONTRAST ADJUSTMENTS TYPO CORRECTIONS SOCIAL PROOF PLACEMENT TRUST BADGE ADDITIONS LOW IMPACT + HARD FIX (AVOID UNLESS STRATEGIC): COMPLETE PLATFORM CHANGES COMPLEX INTEGRATIONS UNNECESSARY FEATURE ADDITIONS PART 8: DOCUMENTATION & REPORTING AUDIT REPORT TEMPLATE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: CURRENT CONVERSION RATE VS. BENCHMARK TOP 3 ISSUES IDENTIFIED ESTIMATED IMPACT OF FIXES TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION DETAILED FINDINGS: HEATMAP ANALYSIS INSIGHTS MESSAGING AUDIT RESULTS UX FRICTION POINTS TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE ISSUES OPTIMIZATION ROADMAP: PRIORITY 1 FIXES (IMMEDIATE) PRIORITY 2 IMPROVEMENTS (THIS MONTH) PRIORITY 3 ENHANCEMENTS (NEXT QUARTER) SUCCESS METRICS FOR EACH CHANGE ACTION ITEMS: SPECIFIC TASKS WITH OWNERS DEADLINES FOR IMPLEMENTATION SUCCESS CRITERIA DEFINITION REVIEW/TESTING SCHEDULE MODULE OUTCOMES BY COMPLETING THIS AUDIT PROCESS, YOU WILL: □ IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC REASONS YOUR FUNNEL ISN'T CONVERTING □ HAVE A DATA-DRIVEN OPTIMIZATION ROADMAP (NOT GUESSWORK) □ UNDERSTAND EXACTLY HOW USERS INTERACT WITH YOUR PAGES □ KNOW WHICH CHANGES WILL HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON REVENUE □ ESTABLISH A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO ONGOING OPTIMIZATION NEXT MODULE PREPARATION: DOCUMENT BASELINE METRICS BEFORE IMPLEMENTING CHANGES SET UP A/B TESTING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR OPTIMIZATION PREPARE TO MEASURE IMPACT OF EACH IMPROVEMENT