The conversion rate for your site is probably the most critical statistic to analyse and find ways to increase. What a conversion represents on your website will depend on how it’s configured. It could be one of the following: · An order processed where money changes hands· An email address and first name entered into a form· A registration to a newsletter list· A form filled out to receive a free offer of some kind· A seminar booking· Any other process in which you achieve some confirmative action from your visitor Websites with shopping carts are set up to encourage visitors through a sales process funnel, the completed order being the conversion. In this case, the conversion rate is the number of customer orders as a percentage of new visitors to the site. So if you have 1000 visitors on any day and 10 order, the conversion rate is 1%. If you use pay-per-click advertising from a search engine, like Google, they provide reports that measure every time your ad is viewed (impression), every time it is clicked and every conversion recorded. These are available by the amount and the % rate, allowing you to adjust ad campaigns to improve rates. Whatever software you use, ensure you receive regular reports on your conversion rates. Start experimenting with changes in your site to see if they increase the rate.
“Companies that actively personalize the online experience with established business processes demonstrate an improvement in online conversion rates, average order value, and revenue per visit. In a recent survey 88% of Best-in-Class companies agree that they will recognize a return on their investment in personalization technologies, and 76% agree that the economic gains from personalization will outweigh the costs of implementation.” – Aberdeen Group
Improving the Conversion Rate We are now looking at the process of what actions a visitor takes after they reach your site. You will obviously need to look at visitor rates independently, but this article will deal with the process that does or does not lead to a conversion, after the visitor has decided your site is worth a look at. Here are some things to think about to improve conversion rates: · Continually review the overall visitor process to encourage conversion· Does your site look to build a relationship with the visitor?· Would it help to offer something free to start the relationship?· Try split testing with different landing pages to see which one works better· Is the site viewable in all popular browsers?· Do all the links work in your site?· Is all your site content up to date?· Have you any spelling or grammatical errors in the content?· Is the copy clear, simple, direct and unambiguous?· Does the site guide the visitor clearly towards what you want them to do?· Is the copy enticing them to take action?· Do you offer enough information to allow the conversion? That could include product information if you want them to buy?· Do you offer a clear money back guarantee prior to the order being placed?· Have you a clear returns policy?· Is your site to noisy or cluttered, i.e. too many large fonts, bold colours, not enough white space?· Have you considered requesting just a first name and email address so you can send a follow up email?· Do you have an email campaign to follow up visitors who have expressed interest?· Have you displayed you full contact details on your site? A physical address reassures the online customer· Do you have a privacy policy, terms and conditions, SSL certificate? All of which help build trust with potential customers· How many alternative methods of payment have you set up?· Have you analysed which pages of your site visitors are leaving at? This could highlight where there are blockages preventing conversion There is no such thing as a perfect website and we can all learn to improve things. Increasing conversion rates is all about not being complacent, but continually looking to refine and make the conversion process more direct, more efficient and more successful, in a thousand little ways. The analysis of the data will give you immediate feedback as to what does and doesn’t work.
Tags: conversion rates, hit conversion, visitor conversion, web analytics, website conversion
