When it comes to developing a website or creating an online presence, there are several different things that you are likely wanting to achieve. Among the top—if not at the top—is to bring about awareness of your brand, company, or organization. This can only be done through the presence of actual people viewing your page. But, wanting and actually having traffic are two very different things.Further, simply getting traffic to your page and having them actually do what you want are two very different things. Obviously you have your page for a reason. There is something that you want people to do and this is known as the conversion or conversion rate, concepts and terms that will be developed and discussed in more detail later. If you are struggling to get individuals on your page to take action, then, it may be time to consider investing in the process of conversion rate optimization.
Of course, investing tangible assets like money or intangible efforts like time and energy is something that many page administrators, businesses, and clients do not necessarily want to do. There is a bottom line and profit margins that are important to the success of a business, be it technologically based or with a physical storefront location. Regardless, though, investing in conversion rate optimization may be something that will really elevate the business and its success. It simply depends on where that business is at and what type of momentum it really wants to gain.
In order to better assess whether or not your webpage should invest in garnering new traffic with the behaviors you seek, the following are ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization. Of course, throughout most of this article the focus will be on businesses as they have a direct profit desire as their goal. However, there will be mention of how other, non-consumer based pages can also benefit from this type of investment. To begin the discussion and the knowledge base regarding conversion rate optimization, this discussion will begin with a quick definition of terms in hopes that it will provide a basic foundation for future understanding of the process.
What Is Conversion Rate?
The conversion rate on a page is the amount of individuals that come to your page and take the action that you want them to. For example, you may have one-thousand visitors to your page in an allotted space of time. Your efforts in marketing and in promotions may be working toward the end goal of having them purchase an item or good. Of those one-thousand people, hypothetically speaking, maybe one-hundred individuals take the action that you want and actually make a purchase. That means that you have a conversion rate of 100/1000 or, more aptly put, 10%.
This conversion rate used in the previous example is extremely high. Usually, a page’s conversion rate is well under ten percent. But, in truth, there is nothing stopping you from getting this type of conversion rate if you put effort into really going for it. Sometimes, this is done through free and easily acquired marketing efforts, but more and more individuals are really investing in conversion rate optimization, to the benefit of the business as a whole.
Conversion Rate for the Non-Commerce
Based For those that are not really focusing on a bottom line or profit from their page, there may be a question of whether or not conversion rate efforts and investment are really worth it. The truth is that any popular page, regardless of type, can become profitable, even if not a business. The determining factor for that is the traffic that is driven to that page and how that traffic acts when there. For example, if the goal is notoriety and outreach, the conversion goal could be to have people share a link to that particular page. The more popular and more “word of mouth” reaction that it gets, the more advertisers will notice and want to be a part of a trending internet world. Therefore, they may actually pay a webpage money in order to advertise on that particular site. This can be very profitable and financially rewarding.
The Signs
Now that the basics have been explained, at least in general terms, the question becomes how to know if your page is ready for conversion rate help? You, understandably so, may wonder if it is still even worth it, especially if your traffic seems to be doing enough. The following ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization.
1. No Sharing Happening
Ultimately, as touched upon briefly above, you want your web traffic to share what your webpage is about. You want them sharing content, spreading the word through passing on a link, or putting your products/services on their social media pages. This should happen whether or not you are putting a concerted effort into this action or not. The reason? Because if people are satisfied with your page, regardless of your encouragement or not, they are going to share it with their friends. Therefore, a lack of post and information sharing should be considered one of the ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization.
2. You Are Overrun With Information
When it comes to promoting your products or services, you have a vested interest in sharing the most you can. You not only want to encourage people to buy, but want to be forthright with the details about the product or services benefits. When it comes to listing your products, however, the amount of information that you share can greatly impact your conversion rate. Though people want to know a lot, they really do not want to know everything. Therefore, if you have so much information regarding your products on your page that it looks like the instruction manual, consider yourself as showing one of the top ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization. Too much data can actually turn consumers off so expect low rates if you are providing more than just the enticing basics.
3. You Do Not Update
No one wants to read stale or boring content, in real life or on the net. Make sure that your consumer base and web traffic does not have to do that. If you do not update regularly, then, you need to consider doing an inventory checklist. For instance, if you know a product is out of stock, remove it! Unavailability of product can really drive sales down and frustrate the consumer, stopping them from doing anything on your page. If you have not updated your webpage in a while and do not plan on doing it regularly, consider this one of the top ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization, and allow someone else to handle that for you.
4. Low Sales
If you are a business page, than you should be focused on sales. Sales pages have a relatively clear goal in this area and that is for their traffic to purchase from them. If you see low sales via your page, however, this is concerning. Ultimately, you want your web traffic to garner some results for you in relation to your profit margin. Therefore, if you web sales or commitment to purchase—based upon your business type—then it may be time to make a change. Specifically, if your purchase rate is less than seven percent, you are witnessing one of the ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization.
5. Bouncing is a Problem
If your bounce rate is high, then, you need to consider investing in conversion rate optimization. For those that administer a webpage, this term will not come as a surprise, however, for purposes of explanation here is a bit more on this concept. Another commonly analyzed rate that individuals should know regarding their webpage is the bounce rate. The bounce rate is the amount of times that a person has come to a site and then left without doing anything. If your bounce rate is high, that means that your conversion rate—ultimately—will be low. Therefore, if you have a bounce rate in the range of thirty-five to fifty percent, this is a clear one of the ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization.
6. Your Competitors are Winning
With so many businesses around the world and so many different pages on the internet, there is no doubt going to be competition for traffic. The internet is a giant marketplace for millions. Your competitors in the localized arena of your geographical zone become your competitors online. Further, because of the connectivity of the internet, other businesses will become your competition as well. For that reason, you need to see what your competitors are doing and if they are seeing results much greater than yours in regards to their online platform. Among the ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization, is being a witness to others success. Therefore, if that is the case, consider finding a third party to help.
7. Need Help but Do Not Want Long Term Investment
If your page is in need of help but you do not want a recurring fee, consider this feeling as one of the top ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization. For many third party providers, this type of action will result in a one-time fee, rather than an investment that must be continually paid across time. That is not to say that you will not want to check in on your CRO and this may cost you, but the initial services are often a one-time expense. This means that you can improve your page and then decide what you are going to do in the future when the future presence itself or when your sales improve to the level you want. Consider this investment as an initial expense that can remain a singular fee or be built upon later.
8. You Want Traffic
Though this discussion focuses mainly on financial aspects of a business page and driving sales, there is a need inherent in this topic: driving traffic. A page that has a conversion rate, ultimately, has a lot of traffic. If you want to improve the number of individuals that find themselves exploring your page, consider this as one of the ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization.
9. You Want to Do Better
While low sales are a definitive member of the group of ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization, it is not the only determinant of profits indicating a need for change. On the contrary, if a business simply wants to do better in the way of profit margins and sales, then conversion rate optimization should be considered. There is always room for growth in any industry and improvement on the internet, with technologies changing every day. Therefore, consider investing in this type of optimization to build existing sales.
10. You Are Overhauling Your Page
If you recognize that your page needs some updating and are planning on a full on overhaul of the way it looks, acts, and provides information, this is a wonderful thing. It shows that you are taking the time to invest in reaching out to new consumers while satisfying the internet needs of your current clientele. If you are planning on a redo already, then, consider this among the ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization. Why not strike when the environment is ripe and ready for a change? Further, remember that incorporating this optimization while doing the redesign is likely an added expense and could save you a singular optimization service fee.
Invest in the Future
If you find yourself noticing that one or many of the ten signs you should invest in conversion rate optimization above applies to you, then it may be time to explore this option. Your page will benefit and, potentially, your sales will enhance. Not only that but reaching out to a third party to improve your web presence may even allow you the opportunity to focus your energy and efforts elsewhere in the business.
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