Understanding the science and importance of Conversion Rate Optimization
If the topic of mobile optimization came up at a table of marketers, it might be met with a few judgmental stares because we all know mobile optimization is essential. It’s 2025, after all.
What goes unsaid is that there’s still a massive divide between what marketers know they should do and what actually gets executed, especially among small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Let’s take landing pages as an example. You’d expect marketers to invest in them, given that paid media traffic should be directed to conversion-focused pages—but they’re still underperforming.
Conversion data proves marketers aren’t yet mobile-first
Ascend2 and Unbounce recently released the 2025 State of Landing Page Optimization Report based on survey data from over 250 marketers and SMB leaders. When asked how much they typically modify their landing pages for mobile users, one in four respondents (26%) said they make minimal or no changes. Only 20% reported making significant changes or fully redesigning for mobile.
That means most marketers (80%) are still not approaching landing pages with a mobile-first mindset. Don’t believe it? The conversion data doesn’t lie.
Unbounce’s latest Conversion Benchmark Report analyzed 57 million conversions across 41 thousand landing pages. It found that most marketers—regardless of their intent—are not successfully optimizing for mobile.
Eight out of ten visitors reach landing pages from a mobile device, yet desktop sessions still convert 8% better than mobile. That gap adds up—you’re effectively missing out on around 6% of potential conversions simply because your page isn’t optimized for how people actually browse.
When it comes to mobile optimization, dollars are quite literally being left on the table—especially in paid media. Sprout Social projects that by 2030, 83% of social ad spending will be generated through mobile.
Let’s look at why a lack of mobile-first marketing is still such a massive issue.
Adoption of basic conversion rate optimization practices is lacking
The resistance to conversion rate optimization (CRO) best practices extends beyond just mobile optimization. Earlier this year, I learned that 52% of B2B PPC ads still send traffic to homepages—even though marketers have long known that landing pages convert paid traffic far better.
Platforms like Google are now cracking down on this, rolling out technology that prevents ads from going to irrelevant destination pages. The fact that one of the biggest advertising platforms in the world is resorting to technology to stop marketers from taking shortcuts that don’t align with modern buyer behavior shows just how far behind we still are.
Even among marketers who do use landing pages, only 32% are testing them. That means even those “ahead of the curve” are still lagging behind.
But the reality is that, for many marketers, it’s not a lack of effort—it’s a lack of resources. Ascend2 and Unbounce’s A/B testing and landing page optimization surveys both found that the top barrier preventing SMB marketers from successfully testing and optimizing their landing pages is limited resources.
How leaders can get teams back on track with CRO basics
Developing a mobile-first mindset and sending ad traffic to landing pages are conversion rate optimization (CRO) fundamentals. To truly get back to basics, leaders need to look at how their teams operate. The same way many leaders are championing AI to drive efficiency, leaders need to push the shift toward mobile-first marketing. Why? Because it requires a change in process—a move away from autopilot. Teams will have to start building with mobile in mind first.
Remember: our research found that a lack of resources is what’s blocking most teams from taking the right steps to test and optimize. When teams say they don’t have the resources, what they’re really saying is that it’s not a priority—and that perception starts at the top. Ultimately, leaders decide what gets prioritized, so it’s up to you to signal the shift in value from output to optimization.
Finding quick wins
If your palms are sweating at the thought of how far behind you might be, you need to find a way to get a few steps ahead. Just like many teams are using AI to gain efficiencies, you can do the same by adopting the right technology for landing page creation and optimization.
Sometimes the best way to build momentum is to start with quick wins:
- Test new mobile-first formats: Don’t assume that effort equals outcomes. Anytime you make big changes in your campaigns, you should be testing.
- Right-size your testing approach: Focus on the campaigns with the biggest potential impact, like your highest-traffic or best-performing pages.
- Consider page navigation: Following Google’s latest updates, logical next steps and anchor links within landing pages are becoming increasingly common, especially on mobile. Test these elements.
- Choose tools that empower your team: Look for platforms with templates, low or no-code options, drag-and-drop functionality, and tools that streamline mobile optimization. Today, landing page optimization is either enabled or blocked by the tools and processes you use.
CRO is still a relatively young discipline. When it first emerged, it was complex as building landing pages or running experiments required developers, designers, and specialized growth marketers. But that’s no longer the case.
Now let’s get marketers back to basics.