What Is a Conversion Rate?
In online marketing, the ultimate goal is a high conversion rate. This means your website effectively persuades visitors to take the desired action, whether filling out a form or purchasing.
If your conversion rate isn't meeting expectations, conversion rate optimization (CRO) can help. CRO involves identifying and fixing the factors that prevent your website from converting visitors into customers.
A CRO checklist can keep you on track, ensuring you cover a successful strategy's components. Sometimes, hiring a conversion rate optimization specialist can be beneficial, as they have the expertise to spot and resolve issues you might miss.
The benefits of conversion rate optimization are clear. By improving your conversion rate, you'll see a higher return on investment and achieve long-term, sustainable growth for your business.
Read: How to Increase Conversion Rate?
What Is a Good Conversion Rate?
Defining a "good" conversion rate can be challenging, as it varies based on your industry, niche, and audience demographics. For instance:
- The average global conversion rate for e-commerce sites was 2.17% in 2020.
- In the US, the average conversion rate for e-commerce sites was 2.57%.
- Different niches have different averages:
- Food and beverage sector: 5.5%
- Hair care sector: 3.5%
If your conversion rate is lower than you'd like, it's time to consider conversion rate optimization. Conversions can happen on any site page, so optimizing each location is essential to maximize your chances of turning visitors into customers.
To ensure a successful conversion rate optimization strategy:
- Address all necessary components of conversion rate optimization.
- Consider seeking help from a conversion rate optimization specialist if you're unsure where to start.
By improving your website's ability to convert visitors, you'll see:
- A higher return on investment
- Long-term, sustainable growth
A solid conversion rate optimization strategy is key to surpassing industry averages or meeting your goals.
How to Calculate Conversion Rate?
Calculating the conversion rate is straightforward and involves a simple formula. The conversion rate is a crucial metric in digital marketing and sales, reflecting the percentage of visitors or users who complete a desired action out of the total number of visitors. Here's how to calculate it:
Conversion Rate Formula
Steps to Calculate Conversion Rate
Identify the Desired Action: A conversion can be any action you want your visitors to take. This might be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, downloading a file, etc.
Track the Number of Conversions: Count the number of visitors who completed the desired action during a specific period.
Count the Total Number of Visitors: Determine how many people visited your site or landing page during the same period.
Apply the Formula: Use the formula above to calculate the conversion rate.
Example
If you have a website and 5000 visitors came to your site in June. Out of those visitors, 150 made a purchase. To calculate the conversion rate:
Tips for Improving Conversion Rate
Optimize Landing Pages: Ensure your landing pages are clear, focused, and designed to drive the desired action.
A/B Testing: Regularly test different versions of your landing pages, calls to action, and other elements to see which performs better.
Clear Call to Action (CTA): Ensure your CTAs are prominent, compelling, and understandable.
Reduce Friction: Simplify the user's conversion process. This could mean reducing the number of form fields, streamlining the checkout process, or improving site speed.
Use Social Proof: Incorporate testimonials, reviews, and case studies to build trust with visitors.
Retargeting: Use retargeting ads to bring back visitors who didn't convert on their first visit.
By regularly monitoring and optimizing your conversion rate, you can improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and increase your overall return on investment.
Where to Implement a CRO Strategy
Improving your website's conversion rate can lead to more visitors taking your desired actions. Four key areas can benefit the most from conversion rate optimization: your homepage, pricing page, blog, and landing pages. Applying conversion rate optimization best practices to these areas can enhance the user experience, improve site functionality, and increase conversions.
1. Homepage
The homepage is often the first place visitors see and can make a big impression. To keep visitors on your site and guide them to other pages, consider these tips:
- Highlight links to product information.
- Use clear calls to action for signups.
- Utilize chatbots to engage with visitors and answer questions in real-time.
By optimizing your homepage, you can turn more visitors into customers and achieve long-term growth.
2. Pricing Page
Your pricing page is crucial for converting visitors into customers. Here's how to make it more effective:
- Adjust pricing intervals and product descriptions.
- Provide a phone number for price quotes.
- Add simple forms or popups for email signups.
For example, Hotjar increased its leads by over 400 in three weeks by adding a straightforward email opt-in popup on its pricing page.
3. Blog
Your blog can be a valuable tool for generating leads. To make the most of it:
- Publish informative and engaging content related to your industry.
- Include strategic calls-to-action (CTAs) in your articles, prompting readers to download related ebooks or reports by providing their email addresses.
4. Landing Pages
Landing pages are designed to encourage visitors to take action and can achieve high conversion rates. On average, landing pages have the highest conversion rate of all signup forms, with 23%. To optimize your landing pages:
- Use videos or images to make them more appealing, such as showcasing last year's event to encourage signups for this year.
- Offer preview content to persuade visitors to download free resources.
Focusing on these critical areas and using conversion rate optimization strategies can improve your website's performance and increase conversions.
Conversion Rate Optimization Best Practices
Here are some simple tips for improving your company's conversion rates.
1. Create Text-Based CTAs in Blog Posts
Sometimes, traditional banner CTAs only work if people pay attention to them. Instead, use text-based CTAs within your blog posts to catch readers' attention.
2. Add Lead Flows on Your Blog
Use pop-ups like slide-in boxes, drop-down banners, or pop-up boxes to catch visitors' attention and offer them something valuable, like a free guide or discount.
3. Run Tests on Your Landing Pages
Use A/B testing on your landing pages to see which designs, content, images, and form questions work best. This helps you find what appeals most to your audience.
4. Help Leads Become MQLs
Make it easy for high-intent visitors to become marketing-qualified leads (MQLs). Use clear copy, smart CTAs, and well-designed pages to encourage them to take action quickly.
5. Build Workflows to Enable Your Team
Use marketing automation software to streamline processes. For example, set up automatic emails, allow leads to book meetings, and notify reps when leads take essential actions.
6. Add Messages to High-Converting Web Pages
Use live chat software on high-performing pages, like pricing and product pages, to offer real-time support and answer questions. This can help convert visitors into customers.
7. Optimize High-Performing Blog Posts
Identify blog posts with high traffic but low conversions. Improve these posts by adding relevant offers or optimizing CTAs to increase conversions.
8. Leverage Retargeting to Re-engage Visitors
Most visitors wait to convert. Use retargeting to show ads to visitors who leave your site without converting. Follow best practices to create compelling ads that bring them back.
These simple conversion rate optimization practices can improve your website's performance and turn more visitors into customers.
Conversion Rate Optimization Best Practices: Conclusion
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is vital for improving your website's performance. You can convert more visitors into customers by following CRO best practices and a checklist.
CRO is a continuous process. A CRO specialist can help identify and prioritize improvements using the PIE framework, focusing on projects with the most significant impact.
CRO benefits include increased conversions, better user experience, and higher ROI. For more information, check the FAQs or consult a CRO specialist.
Using seobase can also help optimize your conversion rate effectively.
