Conversion Rate for a Website: What It Is and How to Improve It
How much money do you want to make? That is the question that many business owners ask themselves when they are deciding what to do with their website. If the answer is “a lot,” then conversion rates are important for your business. Many businesses spend time trying to increase traffic to their website, and fail to improve conversion rates once they get there. This is a huge mistake.
In this article, I’ll discuss conversion rate optimization strategies and how they can help generate more revenue for your business!
What is a conversion rate?
The conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete a conversion goal, whether that’s making an online purchase on an ecommerce site, signing up for your newsletter or lead magnet on a landing page, downloading an ebook or whitepaper from a blog post, etc.
A conversion rate is a metric that helps you determine how well your website or app works. In ecommerce, conversion rates are used to track the percentage of visitors who make purchases on websites and apps. This number can be applied to any type of business where there is some kind of goal for each user (a conversion goal).
Some businesses do not have conversion goals, but most do. For example, conversion rates are commonly used by ecommerce stores and SaaS companies (software-as-a service).
A conversion goal can be anything that will generate revenue for your business. This includes newsletter signups, contact form submissions or completed lead generation forms. On an ecommerce website, conversion goals typically include sales and, in some cases, lead generation.
Why do conversion rates matter?
“I want to make a lot of money.” These are six words every business owner wants to hear. But, conversion rates matter for your small business because they help you determine whether or not your website is effective at generating revenue and leads. If users don’t convert on their conversion goal, then conversion rates are important. Use conversion rate optimization strategies to improve the performance of your website and generate more revenue.
Conversion rates allow you to gauge the success of your site or app. If users do not convert on their goal (for example, making a purchase), then there is room for improvement.
Take these steps to improve conversion rates on your site or app:
- Use eye tracking to find out what parts of the conversion funnel users are having trouble with.
- Conduct A/B tests and multivariate tests on key pages in the conversion funnel to see which variations perform best.
- Review heatmaps from tools like Crazy Egg, Hotjar and Clicktale for additional conversion rate optimization suggestions.
How to calculate conversion rates?
Conversion rates can be calculated using a few different methods:
- The most common metric used is the percentage of visitors that make a conversion goal (for example, ecommerce conversion rates). You will need to divide your total number of conversions by your total unique visits over the same time period.
- Another conversion rate metric is the number of visitors that are making a conversion goal out of your total unique visits to that page on your site or app (for example, pages per visit). This tells you how many people are visiting a specific conversion funnel step and converting. To calculate this conversion rate, divide the number of conversion goals by the number of unique visits to that conversion funnel step.
- A third conversion rate metric is email signups per session, which tells you how many people are signing up for your newsletter or email list on each page visit. To calculate this conversion rate, divide the number of total emails collected during a specific time period (for example, a month) by the number of sessions during that same time period.
What is a good conversion rate for a website?
A conversion rate can vary depending on the industry you’re in and your target market. For ecommerce stores, a conversion sales of around two percent is good; however, there are many factors that go into how well an ecommerce store performs, including average order value (AOV), discounts offered and marketing budget.
A conversion rate can vary depending on the industry you’re in and your target market. For ecommerce stores, a conversion sales of around two percent is good; however, there are many factors that go into how well an ecommerce store performs, including average order value (AOV), discounts offered and marketing budget.
SaaS companies typically see conversion rates of anywhere between one and 15 percent, depending on their industry.
Lead generation sites might be able to expect a conversion rate of around three percent (BtoB lead conversion rates are typically higher than BtoC).
Additionally, the average website conversion rate for all industries is about two percent. This means that out of every 100 visitors, two of them will make a conversion goal.
What are conversion rates by industry?
Conversion rates vary depending on your industry.
For ecommerce (retail), conversion sales of around two percent is good; conversion rates for lead generation sites can be anywhere between one and 15 percent.
The average website conversion rate is about two percent, as well. This means that out of every 100 visitors, two of them will make a conversion goal.
Email signups per session (how many people are signing up for newsletters on each page visit) can vary depending on your industry as well.
For ecommerce stores, email conversion rates range between one and five percent; while lead generation sites may see conversion rates of around three to four percent. The average email conversion rate is around two percent.
This means that out of every 100 visitors, between one and five will sign up for your newsletter on each page visit.
Ways to increase your landing page conversion rate
- Turn on conversion tracking
The first step in conversion rate optimization is to turn on your conversion rates so you can begin measuring conversion data. Whether it’s through Google Analytics or another tool, make sure conversion tags are activated and that everything is being tracked properly.
- Test the design of your landing pages
Different page designs may affect conversion rates. Try A/B testing different designs to see how they affect conversion rates, as well as bounce rate and time on site.
- Offer a free trial or demo of your product
If you’re selling software or an app that requires payment for installation and use, offer a free trial period (or money back guarantee) so users can test your product. This will allow you to gather conversion data without worrying about collecting payment information from users who may not convert on their conversion goals.
- Make sure the landing pages load quickly and are mobile responsive
Landing page speed affects conversion rates, so make sure yours loads fast by using a content delivery network or caching system to host images and files.
- Create compelling copy that outlines value of your product or services
Even though conversion rates are about getting the user to take a desired action, you need to make sure they know what it is first! Use quality content to explain the benefits of using your service and outline how users will benefit from conversion goals. Make certain messages stand out and highlight the value of conversion goals.
- Offer social proof to encourage conversion
The more people trust your product, service or message, the better chance you have at getting conversions engaged with conversion goals. Social proof can come in many forms – testimonials from happy users and industry experts are common types of social proof that help make a case for conversion rates.
What are some examples of conversion?
There are many conversion goals that can be measured with a conversion rate.
For ecommerce, conversion rates may include things like purchases made and items added to the cart. For non-profits or lead generation sites, conversion goals could involve signing up for updates or making donations.
A conversion goal will always have some sort of action the user needs to take in order for conversion tracking data to be collected.
Conversion rate and return on investment
Using conversion rates to measure the success of your website or app is a great way to gauge ROI and figure out how well certain initiatives are working.
If conversion rate remains steady while you’re spending more money on marketing efforts, this indicates that those campaigns are successful; however, if conversion rates drop after an increase in advertising expenses, it could be a sign that the money you’re spending is not being put to good use.
With conversion rate, it’s important to keep in mind what your conversion goals are. If they remain steady or increase over time despite fluctuations in conversion rates, this indicates success and means there has been an increased return on investment (ROI). However, if conversion goals are not being met despite conversion rates remaining steady, this indicates that money is being wasted on marketing campaigns and other efforts to drive conversion.
Many online courses teach conversion marketing strategies
An online conversion course is a great way to learn all the details of conversion, including what drives conversions and how to best implement conversion goals.
There are many courses available that teach students about conversion marketing strategies and how conversion rates work. They also highlight certain types of content that can increase conversion rate for ecommerce sites as well as websites where conversion goals are related to lead generation or sales.
If you’re looking for conversion courses to help you learn conversion marketing, consider searching for online conversion classes and see which ones are available.
AWOL Academy teaches you conversion rates and how to improve them by providing conversion marketing strategies. Read I Buy I Review’s comprehensive review of AWOL Academy here.
I buy and review courses so you don’t have to. Sometimes, I even find courses that are legitimate and worthwhile; and that’s how I accidentally came across one that led me to building a 6-figure business in a little under 5 years. Now, I still review courses because it’s my favorite hobby. 🙂 Learn more about me here.
