CRO x PPC the most ambitious crossover of all time!

Well, probably not the most ambitious crossover of all time. But here in the Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) team at Visualsoft, we’ve been working on something rather interesting with PPC and paid traffic experiences.

Before diving into the details, it’s worth looking at how CRO is typically set up in many businesses, and why it often sits apart from channels such as PPC.

Why CRO is often kept separate from PPC

CRO, whether you call it experimentation, A/B testing, or something else, is still seen by some as a 'nice-to-have' rather than a core part of a business strategy. That perception can stem from several factors.

1. Lack of immediate ROI visibility

Unlike paid advertising, where spend and results are easily measurable, CRO improvements tend to be gradual. You might not see an instant spike in revenue the way you can with a PPC campaign. This can lead to CRO being positioned as a long-term play, not an immediate lever for growth.

“Teams that have a clear, focused CRO strategy are able to build momentum and deliver strong return on investment over large timespans.”

Steph Le Prevost, CXL

2. An overreliance on traffic acquisition

Many organisations focus heavily on bringing more people in at the top of the funnel - through SEO, paid media, or both. CRO is often overlooked because the default mindset is: more traffic equals more revenue. The problem is, without fixing issues further down the funnel, you can end up pouring water into a leaky bucket.

“Too many businesses spend too much money trying to fill up their leaky bucket… If there are holes deeper in your funnel, it will pay to fix those first, and then drive a bunch of traffic into your funnel.”

Josh Garofalo, Sway Copy

3. CRO as a siloed service

CRO can sometimes feel like the odd one out. PPC, SEO, and content all have clearly defined roles, established KPIs, and budget allocations. CRO, however, is still emerging as a fully defined discipline. As a result, it’s often bolted on after traffic acquisition, which limits its impact and creates unnecessary silos.

“Unless CRO is part of the culture of the organisation, functional business units will continue to create their own goals and strategy for optimising the user experience or conversion rates.”

Neal Cole, Founder of Conversion Uplift

The result? Insights from PPC, like ad copy performance, rarely feed into CRO testing. And equally, CRO insights don’t often loop back to refine paid campaigns. It’s a missed opportunity.

Why CRO and PPC are natural allies

When CRO and PPC align, the results can be transformative. PPC drives targeted traffic; CRO makes sure that traffic converts as efficiently as possible. Together, they can reduce customer acquisition costs and boost return on ad spend (ROAS).

CRO’s research can uncover user behaviour trends, pain points, and motivations. This data can be fed directly into PPC campaigns to refine targeting and messaging. Equally, CRO can create and test landing page experiences that match user intent, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Testing CRO x PPC in action

Recently, we ran several A/B tests to see how tailored landing experiences could improve results for traffic coming from Google Shopping.

Francis & Gaye

For this watch and jewellery retailer, we identified that Google Shopping users were often in “comparison mode”. To keep them engaged, we tested showing similar products at the top of the product detail page (PDP), mimicking the Google Shopping feed style.

Results: +10.18% increase in Add to Basket actions, alongside positive trends in purchase rate, revenue, and average order value. The change was rolled out sitewide.

PARRS

For the UK’s leading supplier of industrial and commercial workplace solutions, we applied the same logic: showing similar products above the fold.

Results: Overall +14.13% increase in Add to Basket actions. On mobile, results were particularly strong (+32.62% in Add to Basket actions, +£101.28 average revenue uplift). Desktop performance was flatter, possibly due to differences in layout effectiveness across screen sizes.

Oakfield

For this equestrian supplies and country fashion retailer, the aim was to reduce bounce rate and lift conversions.

Results: +6.56% Add to Basket rate (99% probability of winning), bounce rate improved by -4.21%, and purchase rate rose by around +17%.

Our key takeaways

These tests show that tailoring landing experiences to specific traffic sources can produce measurable results. But there’s a caveat: what works for one device type or audience may not work for another. This is exactly why controlled A/B testing is essential. Without it, you risk making assumptions that could harm performance in ways you might not see straight away.

The CRO x PPC crossover is not just possible, it’s powerful. It’s about creating a continuous feedback loop, where traffic insights fuel better user experiences, and those experiences, in turn, make your traffic more valuable.

If you’re running paid campaigns and want to see a higher return, the CRO team at Visualsoft would be happy to explore opportunities with you. Sometimes, it’s not just about driving more clicks; it’s about making every click count.

Are you looking to get more out of your paid traffic? We would love to help you and your business.