As you improve your marketing strategies, you want to know that your methods work. Conversion rates provide critical information to help you track the success of your marketing efforts.
Learn more about conversion rates, why they matter, and how to improve your conversion rates by getting more people to complete desired actions.
What does conversion rate mean?
Conversion rate refers to the percentage of users on a website or other online platform that convert. Converting means completing a desired action. These actions may include:
- Clicking a call-to-action (CTA) button
- Opening an email
- Signing up for a giveaway
- Downloading content
- Filling out a form
- Making a purchase
Digital marketers use the conversion rate percentage to evaluate website traffic performance, marketing campaigns, and conversions. It’s a vital metric to track as you seek to improve your visibility and achieve sales online.
How to calculate conversion rate
Calculate the conversion rate by comparing the total size of a particular audience to the number of users who convert — or complete a specific desired action.
Here’s the formula for conversion rates: (Number of users who convert/ Total size of audience) x 100
This formula works for various scenarios. For example, compare the total number of page views for a product to the number of sales. When determining email conversion, you might compare the total number of subscribers to the number of people who opened the email.
On a landing page, compare the total number of page visits to the number of contact forms filled out. For example, 200 people might visit a landing page in a month. Out of 200 people, 15 filled out the contact form. Using the formula, the conversion rate for this landing page would be 7.5%.
Tracking tools like Google Analytics show metrics like conversion rates to simplify the calculation process.
What’s a good conversion rate?
On average, conversion rates range from 2% to 5%. An acceptable conversion rate depends on the industry. Industries like finance have higher conversion rates, while sectors like commerce have lower rates. Businesses should strive for 10% to earn an above-average rate.
When determining conversion rates, you should also consider the channel you’re using. Social media often has low conversion rates, while methods like organic marketing have higher average conversion rates of 16%.
Here are a few other factors that may influence your conversion rates:
- Device type
- On-page messaging
- Types of conversions
- Region
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
The value of conversion rates
Conversion brings people one step closer to becoming a customer. By filling out a form or downloading content, users indicate an interest in your company or products. A high conversion rate means more interest.
The conversion rate metric also measures how people respond to various marketing efforts, making it a valuable tool when developing and refining your strategy. Other benefits of conversion rates include:
- Data-backed decisions: When you track conversion rates, you determine the success of various marketing channels and can adapt your strategy based on data.
- Improved sales: Knowing your conversion rates lets you adjust your practices to get more sales even with the same amount of traffic to a page.
- Better ROI knowledge: Your return on investment (ROI) measures the success of marketing campaigns. Compare spending to conversions to see how much you spend for each conversion.
- Tailored metrics: Conversion rate may refer to anything from form completions to website downloads. The broad range means you track what makes the most sense for your business.
- UX insights: Low conversion rates may indicate issues with your website’s user experience (UX). Changing the design may improve conversion rates.
How to improve your conversion rate
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) focuses on improving your website to make it easier for users to take particular actions. This process tailors your website for conversions, allowing you to improve your conversion rates.
Here are a few strategies to improve conversion rates.
1. Implement A/B testing
A/B testing involves changing minor elements of a page to see whether visitors react better to the change. While you display the change to some users, you keep the page design the same for others.
Displaying the original design and the changed element lets you determine which gives you a better conversion rate. After testing, you will show the more successful design to all users.
A/B test website elements like button colors, placement of product copy, or CTA text. The test results provide valuable information to improve other site pages.
2. Improve your CTAs
Calls to action get people to convert, so improving your CTAs allows you to increase conversion rates. Here are a few factors that make effective CTAs:
- Gets right to the point
- Stands out from other page content
- Shows the user a clear benefit
- Has the proper page location and size
Provide clear guidance about the next steps for users so they perform the conversion action you want. This action may include signing up for a newsletter, purchasing a product, or completing a contact form.
3. Shorten intake forms
Keep intake forms short for contacting your business or signing up for emails. Long forms with many elements often discourage people from filling them out.
Email signups likely only need a name and email address. A contact form might allow users to add questions they would like answered.
Keeping website content and forms short especially benefits mobile users. It improves their experience, making them more likely to convert.
4. Fix website navigation
A confusing website leads users to click away before completing the desired action. Improve your website navigation to help users find necessary information and pages.
Most websites use a navigation bar at the top of the page. Others use a sidebar to display pages. Beyond navigation bars, use internal navigation to point users toward other valuable pages or conversion actions like a contact form.
Turn to SEO.com for conversion rate marketing
Looking for professional support to improve your conversion rate? Our team of digital marketing experts provides conversion rate optimization services to help you. We have a team of seasoned experts to offer you trusted expertise to improve your website for better conversions, more leads, and more sales.
Start working with our team to improve your conversion rate by contacting us online today!
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