By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-03-02 01:28:08 | Word Count: 664
A conversion for your site can be just about anything. It can be getting someone to stay on your site for more than a specific period of time, it can be a lead generated by your site, it can be getting someone to sign up for an email subscription, or it can be an actual purchase . Your conversion rate refers to your ability to make those things happen – i.e. how many people visit your site versus how many of them convert(or do what you intended them to do).
For example, if you have 1,000 people that visit your site every month and 10 of those visits generate leads for your company, your conversion rate is 1%.
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So, what affects your conversion rate? Just about everything.
* The design and overall look of your site affect your conversion rate in a big way. If your site is disorganized, too cluttered or not visually appealing people will navigate away from it faster than you can say conversion. Combat this by creating a site that is basic, visually appealing and user friendly. Implement functionalities like breadcrumbs to make navigation easy, and keep people clicking through your site.
* Content will also affect your conversion rate. If you have lots of content but it’s not relevant to what the user was searching for, you’ll lose them. Make sure the information your site provides is original, pertains to what the user needs, and is helpful to keep them from navigating away from your site. If your site is about cars, your content should also be about cars. If it’s not, it will irritate users and cause your conversion rates to plummet.
* Functionality is also a key factor in having a good conversion rate. For example, how is your checkout process? Do you let users know what their shipping costs will be before they have to enter their credit card information? If not, they’ll leave in favor of a company that is more up front about costs, thus killing your conversion rates. Keep in mind, if the site is difficult to use, people won’t use it – it’s as simple as that.
* Special offers can also make or break your conversion rates. If your competitor is offering free shipping and you aren’t, you might lose conversions. Things like coupons, multiple purchase discounts as well as free shipping can all help you to turn that user into a client.
* Price will also affect your conversion rates. Keep an eye on your competitors, because your potential clients will. Eight times out of 10, the company that offers the lowest price gets the sale. Just look at the success of a business like Wal-Mart. So, stay on top of your market and do what you can to stay competitive when it comes to price. If you cannot compete on price, you can differentiate yourself with other offers or excellent customer service.
* Reviews can also impact your conversion rate. If you have a large amount of positive reviews, but slightly higher prices than your competitor, you may still be able to get those conversions based on your internet reputation. Conversely, if you have low prices but terrible reviews you’re likely to have trouble converting browsers into sales. Stay on top of this kind of thing (this is where reputation management comes in) to keep your businesses conversions from taking a plunge.
Clearly there are a lot of things that affect your conversion rate. It can sometimes be difficult to keep track of all this information, which is why Optimum7 can be beneficial to your business. We can help you improve your conversion rates, generate quality leads and take your business from good to great. Contact us today to get started. Call us at 1-800-736-9618.
