Glossary
The essential terminology of conversion rate optimization — defined with precision, not marketing fluff.
A
A controlled experiment comparing two variants of a page element to determine which produces a higher conversion rate. Requires sufficient sample size and statistical significance to produce reliable results.
The portion of a web page visible without scrolling. On landing pages, this area must answer three questions: Is this relevant? What does it do? What should I do next?
B
The percentage of visitors who leave a page without taking any action. A lagging indicator that measures the symptom (exit) rather than the cause (confusion, irrelevance, or friction).
C
The primary action a page asks visitors to take. Effective CTAs are specific, visible, and positioned after sufficient value communication — not before the visitor understands the offer.
The mental effort required to process information on a page. High cognitive load — from excessive copy, competing visual elements, or unclear hierarchy — directly suppresses conversion rates.
The percentage of visitors who complete the desired action. A lagging indicator — by the time it moves, revenue has already been gained or lost.
The systematic process of increasing the percentage of visitors who take a desired action. Effective CRO is diagnostic, not cosmetic — it identifies why pages underperform, not just what to change.
Total cost to acquire one customer. Pages with structural conversion problems inflate CAC by requiring more traffic to hit the same revenue targets.
F
Any element that creates resistance between a visitor's intent to convert and their completed conversion. Includes form length, page load time, confusing navigation, and unclear next steps.
H
A visual representation of where visitors click, move, or scroll on a page. Useful for identifying attention patterns and dead zones, but requires interpretation within a diagnostic framework.
I
The degree to which a page's content matches the visitor's reason for arriving. Misalignment between traffic source intent and page messaging is a primary cause of low conversion rates.
L
A standalone page designed for a specific conversion goal. Unlike homepages, landing pages serve a single audience segment with a single offer and a single call-to-action.
A metric that predicts future conversion performance. Scroll depth, CTA click rate, and pricing page visits are leading indicators that move before conversion rate changes.
A metric that measures past performance. Conversion rate and revenue are lagging indicators — useful for reporting but too slow for real-time optimization.
M
An intermediate action that indicates progress toward the primary conversion. Examples: CTA click, form start, pricing page visit, video play. Tracking these enables earlier diagnosis of funnel problems.
O
The perceived value of what a page is asking the visitor to exchange their time, attention, or money for. Weak offers cannot be rescued by strong design or persuasive copy.
P
The functional category of a page: landing page, homepage, product page, pricing page, etc. Each type has different conversion mechanics and should be scored against different benchmarks.
The aggregate conversion performance score produced by the Conversion Protocol framework. Scored 0–100 across 9 dimensions, each measuring a distinct category of conversion effectiveness.
R
A specific, identifiable point where a page loses visitors who would otherwise convert. Revenue leaks are structural — they persist until diagnosed and fixed.
The single metric that collapses traffic quality, conversion rate, and order value into one number. More diagnostic than conversion rate alone because it accounts for traffic quality.
S
Evidence that others have used and valued the product. Effective social proof is specific (named companies, quantified results) rather than generic ('trusted by thousands').
The probability that an A/B test result is not due to random chance. A 95% confidence level means a 5% chance the result is noise. Most tests require larger sample sizes than teams realize.
T
Any element that reduces perceived risk for the visitor. Includes testimonials, security badges, guarantees, and specific metrics. Trust signals follow a hierarchy: legitimacy → competence → relevance → risk reversal.
V
The specific benefit a product delivers, articulated in terms the visitor cares about. 'We help you do X so you can achieve Y' is stronger than 'We are a platform for Z.'
The arrangement of page elements to guide the visitor's eye in a specific sequence. Correct hierarchy routes attention: headline → subheadline → CTA. Incorrect hierarchy scatters attention and increases cognitive load.
Run a free Protocol audit and see how each dimension scores on your page.