The conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who convert— i.e. take the desired action, such as making a purchase from your site or signing up for your newsletter (see Conversion). Conversion rates are calculated by the number of conversions divided by the number of visitors. For example, if you send your email newsletter to 100 people and 42 of them open it, your conversion rate for that particular action is 42%.
How can I raise my conversion rate?
First you should make sure you have a clear idea of whom you are trying to convert and to what action specifically— remember, conversion can mean many things, not just making a sale. In general, the following can help increase all types of conversions:
- Clarity. Whether an easy-to-navigate website, a clear call to action, or a well-written email, you’ll get more conversions by keeping everything easy to follow and understand.
- Good design. This is related to clarity, but also includes the attractiveness of your website, mobile-friendliness, etc.
- Authority and trust. If the customer trusts your website and your information, they see you as an authority and are more likely to follow your calls to action. Trust can be built by including accurate information and good site security.
- The AIDA strategy. AIDA stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action and represents the states of a conversion in progress. Knowledge of the AIDA model can help you develop your visitors’ awareness, capture their interest, give them the desire for your product, and in turn cause them to take action.
What is a good conversion rate?
While an average conversion rate is usually around 2% to 3.5%, a good conversion rate is higher. To determine a good conversion rate, we refer to websites that are in the top 10% of conversions, which have conversion rates of at least 11.45%. Your goal for conversions should always be focused on increasing your rate to match that of the top 10% of websites that have achieved this number.
What’s considered a good conversion rate can also vary somewhat by industry, depending on product type, average order value, and where your website visitors come from. For example, an online store selling low-priced products will have a higher conversion rate than one selling expensive products. You can improve your conversion rate through effective use of landing pages and better targeting of your advertising. This approach will ensure that you are 1. reaching the right customers, and 2. holding their attention in a way that convinces them to convert (whether you want them to buy, sign up for a newsletter, or take another specific action).
What is conversion rate optimization?
Conversion rate optimization is the process of improving a website so visitors are more likely to convert. There are several aspects to conversion rate optimization, including website layout and other design details like color choice, positioning of calls to action, and adding important (and convincing) information to your page. The technical quality of your website is also important, as a slow-loading or mobile-incompatible website will cause visitors to leave.
Another aspect of conversion rate optimization involves your method of earning traffic for your page, for example, through targeting and wording of your advertisem*nts. Well-targeted ads appear only to customers who would be interested in what you offer, so every ad click is more likely to come from a customer with an inclination to convert. Poorly-targeted ads, however, are shown to people less likely to be interested. The wording of your advertisem*nts comes into play because it controls whether or not a visitor is truly interested in your products or if they end up feeling misled by your ad, at which point they’ll leave your site. Ensuring your advertising is well-targeted, and truly representative of what customers will find at your website, are both a part of conversion rate optimization.
