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Conversion reviews: find where the funnel actually leaks

A focused review of the journey from first visit to sign-up, enquiry, trial activation or purchase - combining your data with a close look at pages and forms to find the leaks worth fixing.

Book a 30-min intro callSee the fixed-scope audit
Funnel analysisLanding pagesFormsTrial activationMicro-conversions

What a conversion review is

A conversion review looks at the path from arrival to a valuable action - a sign-up, a trial that activates, a quote request, a purchase - and finds where people drop out and why. It combines quantitative evidence (where the funnel leaks) with a close qualitative review of the pages, forms and product moments involved (why it leaks).

It is deliberately practical. The goal is not a lecture on persuasion psychology; it is a ranked list of specific changes to pages, forms and flows, with the reasoning and evidence behind each.

Is this you?

Signs you need a conversion review

01

Traffic is up, results aren't

Marketing is working; the site or product isn't converting it.

02

Trial sign-ups don't activate

People sign up and never reach the moment of value.

03

Forms get started, not finished

Enquiry, application or checkout forms are abandoned.

04

Leads are low quality

Plenty of enquiries, few that sales wants.

05

One channel converts, another doesn't

Visitors from some sources behave very differently.

06

You're about to spend on ads

Better to fix the leaks before paying for more traffic.

Different funnels, different reviews

Conversion means different things in different businesses, and the review adapts:

Business modelPrimary conversionWhere leaks usually hide
Self-serve SaaS / AIActivated trial, then paid planSign-up friction, setup before value, unclear first action, trust in output
Enterprise SaaSQualified demo or pilot requestVague positioning, missing proof, no content for each evaluator
B2B catalog / tradeQuote request or orderNavigation, thin product detail, complicated quote forms
E-commercePurchaseUnexpected costs, forced accounts, long checkout, errors
Enterprise / infrastructureQualified enquiry after long evaluationProof not shown, unclear contact routes, inconsistent materials

The e-commerce benchmarks are well studied. Baymard Institute's research puts average cart abandonment at 70.22%, with top reasons including extra costs (40%), slow delivery (20%), lack of trust (19%), forced account creation (18%) and a long or complicated checkout (17%). Several of those - trust, forced accounts, complicated forms - show up in B2B quote and trial flows too.

70.22%average documented online cart abandonment rateBaymard Institute
18%abandoned because they had to create an accountBaymard Institute
60%+of business buyers now use a trial before buyingForrester, 2026

What the review covers

The funnel. Using your analytics, I map each step from entry to conversion, segment by channel, device and audience where data allows, and identify the steps with the largest drop.

Landing and key pages. Clarity of the value proposition in the first screen, relevance to the traffic source, proof, visual hierarchy, and the obviousness of the next step. Users often leave within 10-20 seconds unless the value is clear, so the first screen gets particular attention.

Forms. Number and order of fields, labelling, validation, error messages, mobile usability, trust signals near sensitive fields, and what happens after submission.

Product moments. For SaaS and AI products, the path from sign-up to first value: onboarding, setup, the first result and whether users trust it. See CRO for AI SaaS free trials.

Micro-conversions. In long B2B cycles, the review also looks at signals such as case-study reading, specification downloads and return visits - the steps that show evaluation is progressing. See CRO audits for enterprise websites.

The process

How I run a conversion review

  1. 01

    Define the conversion

    Agree the primary action and the micro-conversions that lead to it.

  2. 02

    Analyse the funnel

    Where people drop, segmented where the data supports it.

  3. 03

    Review pages and forms

    Heuristic review of each step against clarity, trust and effort.

  4. 04

    Look at the product moment

    For SaaS and AI, the path to first value.

  5. 05

    Prioritise

    Expected impact against effort, with a note on how to measure each change.

  6. 06

    Plan tests

    A/B tests where traffic allows; before-and-after measurement where it doesn't.

Testing honestly

A/B testing is powerful when there is enough traffic to reach reliable results - and misleading when there isn't. For lower-traffic B2B sites, I recommend changes backed by strong heuristic evidence, measured before and after, plus qualitative checks with users. For higher-traffic funnels, the review includes a test plan with hypotheses, metrics and the minimum duration needed.

What you get

01

Funnel map

Each step with drop-off, segmented where possible.

02

Page and form findings

Evidence-based issues with screenshots and fixes.

03

Prioritised change list

Impact and effort for every recommendation.

04

Measurement plan

What to track to know whether each change worked.

05

Test hypotheses

For funnels with enough traffic to A/B test.

06

Readout session

Walkthrough with marketing, product and sales.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from a UX audit?

A conversion review focuses on the path to a specific business action and leans more on funnel data. A UX audit covers usability across key product journeys more broadly. They often run together.

Do you need a lot of traffic?

No. Funnel analysis works at most traffic levels; only A/B testing needs large volumes. Low-traffic sites rely more on heuristic evidence and qualitative checks.

Will you recommend dark patterns or urgency tricks?

No. Fake scarcity and pressure tactics damage trust, especially in B2B and regulated industries. The focus is clarity, proof and less friction.

Which analytics tools do you work with?

Any mainstream tool - the method matters more than the tool. Read-only access to your analytics and form data is usually enough.

Can you design the fixes?

Yes. Many reviews lead directly into design of the highest-priority changes, or the plan can be handed to your team.

Sources

Every statistic in this page links to its original publisher. Figures were checked against these sources on September 29, 2026.

  1. Cart abandonment rate statistics - Baymard Institute
  2. The State Of Business Buying, 2026 - Forrester, 2026
  3. How Long Do Users Stay on Web Pages? - Jakob Nielsen, Nielsen Norman Group, 2011
Related focus areas

More from CRO & Experience Audits

Pillar overviewCRO & Experience AuditsUX audits, conversion reviews, heuristic evaluation, competitor benchmarking and prioritised journey analysis.Explore →CRO & Experience AuditsUX auditsA structured review of usability across your key journeys - evidence, severity and a clear fix list.Explore →CRO & Experience AuditsHeuristic evaluationExpert review against established usability principles - fast, inexpensive and specific.Explore →CRO & Experience AuditsCompetitor benchmarkingHow direct competitors, category leaders and adjacent industries handle the journeys that matter to your buyers.Explore →CRO & Experience AuditsJourney analysis & prioritised recommendationsEnd-to-end journeys mapped against real behaviour, with every fix ranked by impact and effort.Explore →
Further reading

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