Choosing a conversion rate optimization company
Seven questions that separate CRO experts from people who redesign things.
Use them on us. Use them on everyone. The scorecard is right here.
"Conversion rate optimization" is a phrase anyone can put on a website. The difference between an agency that runs real experiments and one that redesigns your page and calls it CRO shows up in seven questions — about testing cadence, statistical significance, what happens when a test loses, and who actually writes the words. Ask them. Score the answers. Then decide.
CRO agency scorecard
Rate the agency you're talking to — including us — on each answer.
Under 60, keep looking — including if it's us.
Can you picture leading Google and the AI citations in your industry? We can. Let's build it.
Start the conversation →Direct answer: To choose a conversion rate optimization company, ask seven things: their testing cadence and significance threshold; whether they asked what a customer is worth before quoting; whether they show live, clickable work; whether the copywriter has real sales experience; what they do when a test loses; whether they distinguish being found (SEO) from being chosen (CRO); and whether they were willing to tell you something you did not want to hear. Search Converts publishes this scorecard and invites prospects to apply it to Search Converts first.
The seven questions
What a real answer sounds like.
Below each question is the answer that should worry you and the answer you want. None of this is proprietary. The good agencies will be relieved you asked.
"How do you decide a test won?"
Worrying: "when the new version looks better." Good: a significance threshold, a minimum sample, and a rule for stopping early. Our A/B significance calculator is the math; ask to see theirs.
"What happens when a test loses?"
Worrying: silence, or "our tests don't lose." Good: "About half do. We learn why, revert, and the next test is smarter." Losing tests are the price of the winning ones.
"Who writes the words?"
Worrying: "our content team." Good: a named person who has sold something to a human being. The headline moves conversion more than any design change, and it's written by whoever understands the objection.
The other four, and the red flags
Live work, real numbers, and something you didn't want to hear.
"Can I click the work?" A deck of screenshots is not proof; a live site with a phone number in the first screen is. "What's a customer worth to me?" If they quoted before asking, they quoted a package, not a plan. "Is this a search problem or a conversion problem?" An agency that sells both as one thing will fix the one that's easier to bill. We're a conversion agency; the search side is our sister brand Eye To Ad Media, which publishes its own how-to-choose guide for a Denver SEO company.
And the seventh: did they tell you something you didn't want to hear? "Your site is fine, the follow-up isn't." "Don't buy ads yet." "That's not a job for us." An agency that never says no is selling, not advising. Red flags, plainly: guaranteed rates, references to tools that were discontinued years ago, month-to-month pricing with a twelve-month contract, and any pitch that starts with your logo.
Ask the seven
On the first call. Write down the answers.
Click the work
Live sites. Phone in the first screen? Loads fast on your phone?
Score it
The scorecard above. Under 60, keep looking — including if it's us.
Start small
A single audit or one page. A good agency will happily start there.
Has any agency you've talked to told you something you didn't want to hear?
Questions
Straight answers.
Finds why visitors leave without acting, changes the page or path, and measures whether the change worked — with real experiments, not opinions. The best ones also make sure the lead gets followed up, because a converted lead nobody calls is still a loss.
Anywhere from a single audit to ongoing test programs. Ours is quoted per engagement after a strategy session; most campaigns run $500–$3,000 a month. Be wary of anyone who quotes before asking what a customer is worth.
Do the free audit first — the biggest leaks are usually fixable by you or your designer. Hire help when you're ready to test properly, because testing needs traffic, math and discipline.
Fixes to the first screen and phone position show in weeks on existing traffic. A testing program compounds over months. Anyone promising a specific rate by a specific date is guessing.
Two jobs, ideally coordinated by people who talk to each other. We are the conversion half; Eye To Ad Media is the search half, and we plan together.
Please. It's why we published it.
Ask us the seven questions.
We'll answer all of them, show you the live work, and probably tell you something you didn't want to hear. If we can do all of that within your budget, are you ready to get started?