Do the Web Write. Dan Furman

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СКАЧАТЬ freshman offering me a six-pack of his roommate’s home-brewed beer to write his term paper. (This has really happened. I refused, but I must say, the beer sounded really good.) Yet, in terms of defining an action, I count both the corporation and the freshman as the same (I just don’t have the time to quantify the “good” actions from the “I’ll buy you a beer” ones). So your conversion rate should really be regarded as a loose indicator of success, and not an exact one.

      Establishing your conversion rate

      I told you the formula and criterion for establishing a conversion. So, how long do you give before you settle into a “normal” conversion rate? There are two answers.

      The first answer is one to three months — that’s a fair measuring stick — that will allow for daily or weekly spikes in traffic and business to sort themselves out. I would go the full three if possible, but I have also found that business is pretty predictable on a month-to-month basis. I’m just saying three because if the “one month” that you measure is a big holiday month (like December), well, that could give you a skewed result.

      The second answer is … there is no answer, because it’s infinite. You NEVER stop measuring conversion. For the most part, your conversion rate should hold steady (as it’s not a measure of how many visitors, but rather how many take an action), but even this can vary. For example, a construction company will have seasonal surges. So will a tax preparation service. The conversion rate in the spring for both of these businesses will (likely) be higher than in the winter, as more website visitors are actually looking for the service right away, so a higher percentage might take action. Make sense?

      Again, no hard or fast rules. Just establish a conversion rate, and then check it every so often.

      So what is an acceptable website conversion rate?

      I want to tell you something else about website conversion that is often misunderstood. In my opinion, there are no set-in-stone, acceptable website conversion numbers. So don’t get too hung up on it. Conversion rates are more for your own use than to compare yourself to others, especially others in different industries.

      A 2% conversion rate might be great for one site, while it’s lousy for another. Because the Internet is so vast and varied, there is no acceptable norm (and don’t let anyone tell you different). I say this because, for some reason, certain people seem to get hung up on what a “good” conversion rate is (usually 2%). That’s BS to me. I’m telling you to ignore what anyone else says is a “good conversion rate,” because they are different for every situation. Here are some examples as to why they are different:

      • It’s MUCH easier to get someone to click to contact you for a service than it is to sell a product. Thus, websites that ask for a contact usually convert higher than those that ask visitors to buy something.

      • That said, it’s MUCH easier to sell a $5 product than it is to sell a $500 one. So sites that sell cheap products usually convert better than sites that sell expensive ones.

      • Traffic matters too. For example, if you sell live bait, you will convert better by attracting 100 people who fish than you will by attracting 100 people who are looking for a gourmet restaurant (just a hunch, but I have a gut feeling those people won’t be calling you). Also, your ad budget will dictate the amount of “good” traffic you attract. Usually, the higher the ad budget, the higher the quantity of “good” traffic, and (in most cases) the higher the conversion rate. More on traffic in a moment.

      • Lastly, no two sites are 100% alike in terms of traffic and/or conversion. What is good for you may not be good for anyone else. Plus, all traffic is relative; Amazon.com likely gets more traffic than “Bud’s Bait.” It’s what Amazon (and Bud) do with their traffic that makes the difference.

      How to Use Conversion Rates

      Okay, I just told you not to get too worried about acceptable conversion rates. However, it’s still pretty important (and useful) that you understand the basics of conversion (and that you know your own conversion rate). That’s because once you establish a conversion rate for yourself, it is VERY simple to measure how changes to your website affect your business. It’s a really great tool.

      For example, if you track your numbers and have a steady conversion rate of 5% for several months, and then change the wording on a few pages and your conversion rate jumps to 7% the next month, you know you did a good thing. And if it falls to 3%, you know to put back what you had (you DID save it, right)? ALWAYS save the “old stuff” from your website when you update. I’ve “broken” my site more times than I can count by putting up what I thought was better content, only to see my conversions take a dive … it happens even to us web experts.

      In addition, looking at your website in terms of conversion rates makes it very simple to envision large business increases. For example, if you get 1,000 visitors a day, and get ten actions, you are converting at 1% (and for many businesses, this is just fine). Now, say you make a few changes (like the changes you’ll make after reading this book) and your conversion rate goes to 2%. You didn’t just increase business by 1%. You DOUBLED it, my friend. This is because those 1,000 visits are now producing 20 actions instead of 10. That 1% conversion increase (which, for most websites, isn’t all that hard to do) represents a HUGE change. Increasing your conversions by even a single percentage point could profoundly affect your business.

      Conversion rates actually affect your business exponentially even if the numbers seem very small. For example, an initial 2% conversion rate raised to 3% may seem small on the outset, but it represents a 33% increase in business. That’s right! In this case, 1% = 33%. And if the 2% is raised to 4%, it represents a 50% increase, which means 2% = 50%. And if we raise it 3%? Oh boy, that’s where the real fun begins (yes, I sometimes have a strange concept of fun. I’m working on it).

      Let me tell you a quick website conversion story

      A client once came to me and wanted me to help him write a few Google AdWords (PPC) ads. He wanted to bring more traffic to his site and increase business (he sold financial products). A quick chat about his site revealed that he already had exceptional traffic; he was getting close to 1,000 visits a day from interested prospects (he advertised heavily on Google). He was getting perhaps 10 inquiries a day, meaning he was converting at 1%. His goal was to get 20 inquiries a day, so he figured that if he increased his advertising enough to bring in 2,000 interested prospects, he’d reach that goal.

      I looked over his site and recognized right away that I could help him not by increasing advertising, but by increasing conversion. His site was not very well written, nor was it user friendly. So I told him, “Why not try and get more out of the traffic you already have?” We talked, and he agreed with my assessment. I wrote up a quick plan for what to do. The first step was to change the page order a little, and get the most important information clicked on first. The second was to change the copy. Under my direction, he had his web designer do the first part, and then I rewrote perhaps four pages of copy. Then he put up the new site and waited.

      He didn’t have to wait long. From the very first day, with the same amount of traffic he always had, he started getting 30-plus inquiries. This kept up consistently for weeks, and then months. All told, his new conversion rate jumped to 3.5%. I more than tripled his business.

      But here’s the really neat part. Had he upped his advertising spend to raise business, he’d be paying increased advertising fees month after month. But because I used the traffic he currently had, instead he had a ZERO increase in advertising costs.

      Now, СКАЧАТЬ