#13. CRO for Marketers & Business Analysts: How to Increase Conversions Using GA4 & HubSpot

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is one of the most impactful strategies for driving more revenue without increasing marketing spend. For marketers and business analysts, combining the power of GA4, HubSpot, session recordings, heatmaps, and A/B testing creates a data-driven framework for understanding user behavior and improving site performance.

This guide outlines how to use these tools in concert to optimize every stage of the funnel and increase conversions across your marketing stack.

Why CRO Matters More Than Ever

CRO helps you:

Maximize the value of existing traffic.
Improve the ROI of your marketing campaigns.
Identify and fix bottlenecks in the user journey.
Create better user experiences that drive more leads and sales.

Rather than spending more on ads, CRO lets you make the most of the visitors you already have.

Step 1: Analyze User Behavior with GA4

GA4 provides detailed behavioral analytics to identify drop-off points and friction areas.

Key GA4 Reports to Monitor:

User Explorer: Track how users interact with your site over time.
Engagement Reports: Understand session duration, scroll depth, and interaction rates.
Funnel Exploration: Create custom funnels to see where users exit.
Event Tracking: Monitor specific actions like clicks, form submissions, or video plays.

Best Practices:

Set up custom events in GA4 to track meaningful conversions (e.g., form_submit, add_to_cart).
Use comparison segments to analyze behavior of converters vs. non-converters.
Combine GA4 data with HubSpot CRM records for deeper segmentation.

Step 2: Capture User Intent with Session Recordings & Heatmaps

Tools like Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, or FullStory help visualize user behavior on your site.

What to Look For:

Heatmaps: Identify where users click, scroll, or ignore elements.
Session Recordings: Watch real-time interactions to spot friction or confusion.
Form Analytics: Measure abandonment rates and identify problematic fields.

Use Case:

A landing page with high traffic but low conversions might show heatmap data indicating users are skipping over the CTA.
Session replays could reveal confusion due to cluttered layouts or misleading copy.

Step 3: Build & Run A/B Tests in HubSpot

HubSpot’s CMS and email tools offer built-in A/B testing features for landing pages, forms, CTAs, and emails.

A/B Testing Ideas:

Page headline variations.
CTA text, placement, or design.
Short vs. long form length.
Social proof placement (e.g., testimonials, trust badges).

Best Practices:

Test one element at a time to isolate impact.
Set clear hypotheses and test duration.
Track both macro-conversions (e.g., demo requests) and micro-conversions (e.g., scroll depth, time on page).

Step 4: Combine Insights for Actionable Optimization

The true power of CRO comes from combining data sources to inform a cohesive strategy.

Example Workflow:

Use GA4 to identify a high-exit landing page.
Analyze session recordings to see where users lose interest.
Build an A/B test in HubSpot with a new CTA or revised layout.
Monitor performance over time, then scale winning variant.

CRO Metrics to Track:

Conversion Rate (CVR)
Bounce Rate
Average Session Duration
Form Completion Rate
Revenue Per Visitor (RPV)

Step 5: Automate & Scale CRO Wins

Once you’ve found optimizations that work:

Use HubSpot Workflows to personalize follow-ups for converted leads.
Replicate successful landing page structures across campaigns.
Schedule regular CRO audits every quarter.
Report CRO performance using Looker Studio dashboards pulling from GA4 and HubSpot.

Final Thoughts

CRO is where data meets design—and it’s one of the highest ROI activities a marketing or analytics team can pursue. By leveraging GA4, HubSpot, heatmaps, session replays, and A/B testing, you can create a system for continuous, data-backed optimization that grows conversions and revenue.

Next Steps

In upcoming articles, we’ll explore:

Stay tuned for more conversion insights!