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10+ Conversion Rate Optimization Mistakes + Solutions to Avoid the CRO Mistakes [2026]
10+ Conversion Rate Optimization Mistakes + Solutions to Avoid the CRO Mistakes [2026]
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the master plan covering several strategies and tactics that help increase the conversion rate of your eCommerce store.
However, brands often make CRO mistakes due to a lack of fundamentals, tools, or experience. Result? Spending money on marketing and ads only to gain traffic that doesn’t convert.
So, in this blog, we’ll explore the common and costly conversion rate optimization mistakes in eCommerce. Plus, the solutions on how to avoid those CRO mistakes.
Let’s get started!
10+ Conversion Rate Optimization Mistakes to Avoid
If you’re investing time and money in the marketing and ad campaigns, but not generating the desired ROI — it’s most likely that you’re making some of these CRO mistakes:
Mistake #1: Implementing CRO strategies without customer research
Some brands want to move rapidly.
But did you just move past customer research with no consideration to it at all? If yes, this compromise can cost your brand big time in the long run.
Remember: it all starts with customer research, always.
Solution — How to do customer research for CRO strategies:
First of all, this depends on the tenure of your brand.
If you’re an old brand, been in the market for more than a year, review your existing/historical data and derive insights from it. Conduct customer surveys. Customer feedback is the most valuable business insight to increase your conversion rate.
If you’re a new brand and don’t have existing data or a customer base, conduct secondary research through reviews of competitor brands. For example, if you’ve launched a new activewear brand, you can go through the customer reviews, social media interactions, and communities of your competitor brands.
Mistake #2: Not defining clear goals and KPIs
There are various types of CRO strategies, and each of them can have unique goals and KPIs. These goals and KPIs serve as a scorecard, revealing what’s working and what isn’t.
Some brands just go after strategies with no clear goals. Why? Because everyone’s doing it, so why not us?
Without defined goals and KPIs, you won’t be able to measure your success.
Solution – How to set clear goals and KPIs for CRO strategies:
First, evaluate your overarching business goals.
Map your CRO strategies with your business goals and set goals and KPIs. For example, your business goal is to increase the subscription-based customers.
Now, your goal should be to increase the conversion rate of the subscription landing page — and the associated metrics can be defined as your KPIs, e.g., conversion rate of the subscription package, bounce rate of the subscription landing page, and so on.
Learn more: Shopify CRO: Key Metrics for Optimal Performance
Mistake #3: Not optimizing the landing pages for conversion
Landing pages are the backbone of your CRO campaigns.
When you create a marketing or ad campaign, you send traffic to a landing page. For most website visitors, your landing page is the first impression of your brand. If you can’t gain their trust and conviction to go for the desired action, you might lose them completely.
Some brands try too hard to include so many things on a single landing page that it becomes too busy and noisy.
Solution — Design striking landing pages with conversion-focused elements and minimal distractions.
Have a singular goal in mind when designing your landing pages.
Keep only one CTA throughout the landing page. To entice the visitors to click that CTA, use trigger elements such as a countdown timer, stock counter, etc. Also, to win their trust, you have to show the social proof.
GemPages can help you achieve all these goals. GemPages offers a library of templates that are professionally designed with conversion-focused elements. On top of that, you can add or customize the elements as needed.
For example, let’s review this fitness product template:
Right from the above-the-fold section, the template focused on conversion. Even when users scroll down, they can see the CTA button right at the top with a sticky bar.
This image comparison (Before & After) section can make the product benefits look visually evident.
Also, you can create a sense of urgency or FOMO using elements such as a stock counter and a countdown timer.
Mistake # 4: Not optimizing your CRO assets for mobile
If you’re running a marketing or ad campaign with digital assets that are not optimized for mobile, you’re losing potential customers without even knowing it.
According to a report by Capital One Shopping, the global mobile commerce sales totaled nearly $2.07 trillion in 2024 — and are estimated to reach $3.35 trillion in 2028.
Solution — How to optimize your CRO assets for mobile:
Develop a mobile-first approach.
Create a checklist for all digital assets — landing pages, ad creatives, email templates, media elements, and so on — and check them with criteria such as above-the-fold section, media size, navigation, CTA design, etc.
Again, GemPages helps you create a responsive design that fits well on desktop as well as mobile. GemPages templates are also optimized for mobile, so you don’t have to.
Pro Tip: Target the “thumb zone” when placing important elements in your design. Any interactive elements, and especially CTAs, should be placed in a way that mobile users can easily click with their thumbs. So, preferable in the middle and at the bottom of the screen. That’s why keeping a sticky CTA at the bottom is a great idea.
Learn more: Mobile Conversion Optimization: 10+ Proven Tactics
Mistake #5: Ignoring the speed and performance of the site and landing pages
Every eCommerce brand wants to stand apart in the crowded market, and that’s why they design their websites or landing pages uniquely.
However, while trying to look unique, brands sometimes ignore the speed and performance aspects of their site. This can cost you with high bounce rate as web visitors don’t like to wait for your site or landing page to load.
According to Portent research, an eCommerce site that loads in 1 second has a 2.5X higher conversion rate than one that loads within 5 seconds.
Solution — How to optimize the speed and performance of your site and landing pages:
Create a checklist of all the best practices for speed and performance optimization, and make sure to follow them while implementing CRO strategies.
Use GemPages’ “Instant Landing Pages” feature to create high-performing landing pages with headless commerce technology.
Learn more: Dropshipping Page Speed Optimization — Tips & Tools
Mistake #6: Not leveraging A/B testing for CRO or using it incorrectly
When used correctly, A/B testing is one of the most powerful tools to sharpen your CRO strategies. However, brands either don’t use it when needed or implement it without the right methodology. In either case, your CRO strategies could miss out on enhancing their potential.
Solution — How to leverage A/B testing to enhance CRO strategies:
Identify which CRO assets require A/B testing on priority. To do that, you should be tracking all of the necessary metrics for respective strategies. Here are a few of examples:
- Not getting traffic to your landing page despite spending money on ads? A/B test your social media ad creatives.
- Visitor bouncing off your landing page in less than 3-5 seconds, A/B test the above-the-fold section of your landing page.
- For email open rate issues, A/B test subject lines.
To A/B test your landing pages, you can use GemX: CRO & A/B Testing app. GemX is created with our years of experience and expertise in the Shopify CRO domain.
Learn more: 10+ A/B Testing Mistakes in eCommerce + Solutions
Mistake #7: Complicating the checkout flow unnecessarily
Checkout is the critical phase in the buying journey.
According to the Baymard Institute report, 18% of shoppers abandon their carts due to a too-long or complicated checkout process.
Solution — How to optimize the checkout process for high conversion:
Focus on the user experience and let the shopper complete the checkout with as few steps as possible. Remove unnecessary friction. Again, optimize it for mobile.
19% of shoppers abandon their carts because the site requires them to create an account. Solution? Let the shoppers checkout as a guest.
Offer different payment options depending on the markets you’re selling in.
Mistake #8: Lack of social proof that could win customers’ trust
Before winning a sale, you must win the trust and confidence of your customers.
If you’re not building the trust factor throughout the buying journey, you’re at risk of losing the customers to the competitor brands.
Solution — How to optimize your conversion rate with social proof:
Display trust signals with social proof on all your digital assets, such as store pages, landing pages, emails, social media posts, and even ads.
- Customer reviews
- Press mentions
- Expert reviews
- UGC (User-generated content)
- Social media integration, e.g., Instafeed
Here’s the customer testimonials section from the fitness product template we reviewed earlier:
Apart from the social proof, trust badges also help boost the confidence of site visitors to purchase from your brand.
Pro Tip: Including social proof on your digital assets is one thing, and placing it smartly is another. Make sure it’s immediately visible to your visitors, especially on critical pages like product and landing pages.
Mistake #9: Displaying generic content and recommendations with little to no personalization
CRO strategies implemented with no personalization would not be effective.l
Solution — Build your personalization strategy:
67% of eCommerce brands have made personalization a “top priority” with plans to invest even more in their personalization programs.
Learn more: How To Build a Personalization Engine for a Shopify Store
Mistake #10: Using poor-quality product content
Whether books are judged by their cover or not — products can definitely be judged based on how you present them.
Some brands think that their product is great, so no matter how they present it, it’ll be accepted by customers. That could be true for repeat buyers, but when targeting new ones, that won’t work.
Solution — How to create high-quality product content:
- Elevate your product images: Use lifestyle images, especially if you’re selling clothing and accessories. Don’t blindly use stock photos or AI-generated images. Use AI to optimize the image quality.
- Craft product content that speaks to your audience: Don’t consider product description/copy a placeholder text. Be creative with it. Write punchy lines in your customers’ lingo.
Mistake #11: Lack of data monitoring and analysis
If you’re not tracking and monitoring data and analytics, how would you know precisely how your strategies are performing?
Solution — Regularly monitor data and analytics.
Based on your goals and KPIs, see what data and analytics tools you require. Make sure those tools are configured with your store.
For example, Google Analytics 4 is one of the key analytics tools for Shopify/eCommerce websites.
Learn more: 10+ Best Shopify Analytics Tools
Mistake #12: Not seeking customer feedback or disregarding it
Do you know who the best person is to validate your CRO strategy?
It’s your customers.
If you’re not seeking customer feedback for what improvements could be made, you might not see the results even after implementing all strategies.
Solution — Ask your customers for feedback AND work on what's necessary:
First, ask for feedback on the most critical areas that impact conversions.
Evaluate what needs to be improved or changed and prioritize what’s most important.
Side note: Not every customer feedback needs to be implemented. You have to be mindful of what impacts a large portion of your customer base.
Mistake #13: Considering CRO a one-time initiative
Some brands think that once they’ve implemented CRO strategies, it’ll keep generating results for them.
No, things change with time, especially in eCommerce. You must keep up with the latest customer requirements to stay relevant in the market.
Solution — Define the CRO schedule and audit at regular intervals:
Create a list of all the CRO action items. Define their schedules and perform those activities. For example, a weekly site speed test.
Conduct a CRO audit at regular intervals, ideally, every six months or annually.
Learn more: How to Do eCommerce CRO Audit + Checklist
Final Thoughts on Conversion Rate Optimization Mistakes
While you want to avoid costly CRO mistakes, we also need to face the harsh reality that eCommerce is about experiments. Sometimes, you may have to learn from trial and error.
However, the point is that it should be a calculated step, and not a process error.
Last but not least — elevate your CRO game with the “Sales Funnels & Post-Purchase Upsell” features, available on the GemPages Optimize plan at just $59/month. Or just install GemPages for FREE to create and publish your first page.
To learn more about other eCommerce marketing strategies, tools, and best practices — check out more resources on the GemPages Blog. Also, join the GemPages Facebook community to network and learn from like-minded entrepreneurs and experts.
FAQs About Common CRO Mistakes in eCommerce
