Website conversions – getting results
Is your website converting as well as you wanted?
If your website is getting the traffic but it is not converting into actions, there is a simple reason.
What does that mean?
Simply put, it means your visitors either do not like your site and are leaving as fast as they get there or they are wandering around aimlessly looking for the not existent shop assistant - and we've all looked for those.
Some of your visitors may buy but the majority will just follow the others out the door.
explanation
- Visitors (traffic) come to your website, some stay, many leave.
- Visitors who stay and complete a desired action are converts.
- Conversion rates are traffic/converts
the explanation reiterated
A successful conversion is the result of your visitor, guided by your website content, to completing an action which benefits you.
Your conversion rate is the total of your visitors divided by the number of actions they take. An action may be anything from filling out a contact form to filling their shopping cart.
Measuring your visitors against their actions will tell you how well or how badly your website is doing regardless of your overall traffic levels.
High levels of traffic do not an effective website make - conversions do!
questions
- How many of your visitors leave your website without buying?
- How many of your visitors leave your site in 2 minutes or less? (bounce rate)
- Why do your visitors stay less than 2 minutes?
There are many reasons why your visitors leave. They are glaringly obvious to your visitor but perhaps not so obvious to you, the webmaster.
Sometimes these are easy to fix, sometimes they need a bit of work. Often the hardest part is convincing the webmaster his site needs to change.
What are your stats like?
Your site statistics should be your first indicator to how well you are doing. If you haven't looked at them yet, do so Now.
If your bounce rate is higher than 50% you need to start looking for solutions - maybe that's why you're here. If your bounce rate is 70% or higher, you have serious problems and I mean really serious.
Contact me and let's see what we can work out for you.
Over the past few years of studying website traffic and conversion rates, I have developed my own rule of thumb which is not surprisingly, accurate.
rules of thumb
- Your visitors leave in 2 minutes or less - you have poor SEO and site aesthetics
- Your visitors leave in 5 minutes or less - you have poor SEO and site navigation and/or poor content
- All others - your visitors are interested but need persuading.
Typically, conversions range from anywhere between 0.5%-8% and depend on several factors
- Target market
- Unique Selling Proposition
- Quality of site
- Type of site
Conversions often differ depending on the type of site.
conversion rate and types of site
Online retail websites:
Online retail financial services, for example, 1 - 2% would be typical with 2% being very good.Online retailers can expect 1 – 5% conversion rate while 8% would be exceptional.
Clicks to bricks e-commerce sites can expect 1 - 2% online conversions with 5% being exceptional
Lead generation websites:
Conversions are visitors who opt-in and give you the right to contact them again typically by registering their information, requested a download or other information or simply filled a contact-us type form. Websites offering free registration can expect 2-3% of visitors to register.Content websites:
These are informational sites and include wikis, forums and forums.A successful action for this type of site would be subscription to newsletters, forums, additional information or social network links. Sites are sometimes similar to lead generation sites or link to affiliates. Expect 1 - 2% conversions with 5% very being exceptional
Service and support websites:
These are niche markets and tend to be local although not always. Services such as plumbers, electricians, landscapers as well as lawyers, financial advisors, doctors and dentists are included in this group.Niche markets should expect a higher conversion rate because of their more focused target base. 5-8% should be normal.
A lot of work is involved in getting the best conversion rates. Such as :
- Adjusting the web design to make the visitor experience pleasant is one of the most important reasons. Over 70% of bounce rate is because visitors do not like the look of your site. The other 30% is because you have nothing interesting to tell them.
- Rewording the content to say what you need it to say, where you say it and how you approach a call to action. Even if your content is informative, is it persuasive? Do you hold their hand until they click through?
- Rearranging navigation and page order more logically can keep a visitor focused. Is your site cluttered with pages in the wrong place? Are your visitors distracted? If they are not converting, then perhaps they are distracted.
I am a website converter. I know what to look for on a site. I know what is right and what is wrong and I know how to fix the problems. I can change a site from one that does not convert to one that does.
What you need to do
You need to look at your website statistics to know how much traffic you are getting and how much of it bounces. That is, traffic that leaves in 2 minutes or less.
Now ask yourself if that is good enough for you, or do you want improvement. My guess is that you want better results from your website.
Contact me, send me the URL, show me the stats and then let’s talk .