Running a website successfully, especially if for a business, is more than just sharing information online. It is more than just logo promotion and random words on a page. At least, it should be. Administrating a page to a true and tangible value of a company means knowing and understanding customer or potential customer behavior on a site. Specifically, the goal of one aspect of research on a page includes understanding what happens after an individual clicks on a page’s link.
Known as conversion tracking, an analysis that focuses on the behavior of consumers is important. It tells how individuals respond to a particular page and what they do while there. Yet, conversion tracking is more than just a term used for guesstimates and assumptions. It requires thought, a process, and mechanisms for analysis. The following article delves deeper into the ins and outs of conversion tracking, what it entails, and why it is important for a page’s success. First—as any good discussion should—this article focuses on understanding more about just what website conversion is.
What Is Conversion?
A website is not made simply to be there, especially when it comes to a business page with an end goal of sales. On the contrary, a webpage is usually developed for a particular reason. These reasons can vary greatly. For instance, a business page devoted to an organization that sells umbrellas has an end goal of more people purchasing umbrellas. A nonprofit organization may have an end goal of garnering donations while a third webpage may have a goal of getting individuals to sign up for an electronic newsletter or referral.
Regardless of the nature of the end goal, conversion is when this particular behavior happens. For instance, utilizing the above examples, a conversion would include the buying of an umbrella, a donation, or a newsletter signup, respectively. Conversion, then, is the desired action of a page coming to fruition.
What Is Conversion Tracking?
Knowing, then, what conversion is provides for a solid foundation of what conversion tracking is. Conversion tracking is the process by which the amount or number of conversions is identified and watched over time. This number is identified in a relatively simple mathematical process, though the impact this number can have is much more than an answer to a base level division problem. Known as the conversion rate, it is found by taking the total number of desired actions divided by the number of visitors to the site.
Again, utilizing one of the above examples, the umbrella business page would find their conversion rate by finding the number of online sales of umbrellas divided by the number of visitors. If, for example, the site had four-hundred visitors and two-hundred purchased umbrellas, conversion rate would be 200/400 which would equal .5. The conversion rate is commonly defined in terms of percentages so, in this example, it would be 50%.
Now, this example of a conversion rate is hyperbolic at best and ridiculously exaggerated at worst. Though it would be amazing to have this type of result, it is highly unrealistic. The average conversion rate for a company is well below fifty-percent. In truth, it is well below ten-percent for most sales based websites. The average conversion rate for a business—at least when measuring a valuable behavior—is just above 2%. That means that if one-hundred visitors came to a site, that to would take that action, like buying the umbrella.
It is important to understand, too, that every industry can vary in their conversion rate. There are some industries that see more conversion than others. This, however, is a factor that would be analyzed and considered by a conversion tracking software or often a conversion tracking team.
Conversion Rate & The Search
Not only is conversion tracking an analysis of the actions of interest to a company—or the value behaviors—it is also the analysis of search driven traffic as well. More and more individuals are using online search engines to find webpages to peruse. For example, someone interested in buying an umbrella may utilize a search engine in order to find a business in their area or online that is focused on selling these protective devices. Analysis of these keywords is often a part of conversion tracking analysis because it shows what drives individuals to a particular site to take the measurable activity like purchasing and they words that a consumer uses is especially important.
Because search engines work by an individual putting in information or keywords in order to get to a particular or random page, these words matter. A search engine like Google bases the returned results based upon several factors, including the language that is utilized throughout the webpage. This is a common conversion tracking service that is provided to an individual’s webpage or to a business page.
Conversion and “The Click”
Sometimes, your conversion success may simply be getting individuals to your page. Maybe it is a blog page that is funded by you or funded by advertisements. Regardless, simply getting individuals to the page and having them have the opportunity to see said advertisements is a success, not the more involved mentioned above.
The click rate, then, is often included in conversion tracking. It analyzes how many individuals come to your page through clicking on your link. Your click rate is tied into your conversion rate, but they are not necessarily the same thing. A complete and involved conversion tracking analysis will tell you the click rate, conversion rate, and guide you in a variety of ways, many of which are discussed below.
Why Should A Page Care?
When it comes to promoting a website through an online marketing strategy, there is an end goal. For each company or web administrator, this goal can vary. For a service or goods industry, the result that is desired may be to have someone participate in a certain activity, like buying a good. For others, it may be donating to a particular cause. Still, for others, it may simply be to look around the site and participate in a non-financial way. Regardless, these are important goals to have and purposes to putting a website online.
Yet, if there is no analysis on this activity, the webpage is at a loss of whether or not its particular marketing strategy is effective. If there are any conversion tracking mechanisms built into a site—especially if it is a home-run page that does not have an advanced technological team—these analytics can be very base level. For other companies and individuals, the reports and information from said research can be hard to understand and assess. That is why conversion tracking becomes such an important mechanism of understanding. More than that, though, there are several ways that conversion tracking can alter the future of a business. But, how?
1. Changes in Marketing
One way that individual webpages and businesses change after getting the results of a conversion rate or tracking analysis is to change their marketing plans. If a large campaign online or advertisement, for example, is not garnering a higher conversion rate than prior to its placement online, then, the marketing schematic might shift and refocus. If the conversion rate increased, however, there would be no need to change the marketing plan and things may even expand rather than shut down. It all depends on the rate and the tracking analysis.
2. Changes in Content
As aforementioned, part of conversion tracking involve the words that are used within that page’s content. The search results, then, are telling in that they can see what worked to drive traffic to your page. If your content is not driving individuals to your page for the purpose of your measurable conversion, then, this can greatly impact the conversion rate. For that reason, conversion tracking is important in that it can change how content is driven and created. Many webpage’s get their conversion tracking and begin to develop new content or they may also reaffirm their own success rate.
3. The Investment
Ultimately, if you are putting any money into your page, you are making an investment. Whether it is the server, the host, the domain name, or the man hours that are spent putting it together and creating content, you are investing. For that reason, you want to make sure that you are getting a return on that investment that is worth the effort, energy, and resources that you put in. Conversion tracking is a great way to achieve a better understanding of it was well spent.
For instance, if you have a large marketing team that is devoted to your page, and you are getting a low conversion rate, then you are not making a smart money move and something needs to be altered. Your investment in said team could be altered as a result of the lack of conversions. Therefore, a return on an investment and how you react to that is a great change that is often made after conversion tracking takes place.
The Company
Unfortunately, knowing that conversion tracking matters and having the time to invest in tracking it. That is a reality of business and running a webpage. Sometimes, the investment can seem not worth it or it may seem like wasted energy. You may also simply not have the time to invest because you are busy with other aspects of your business, outside of the webpage.
All of these points are realities and they are the result of having a thriving or functioning business at any level. Yet, the fact that you may not have the time to devote or the staff to handle the load of conversion tracking activities does not mean that its value and importance lessens. In fact, if you are not able to handle a webpage to its fullest potential—understandable again—conversion analysis is all the more important. That is why finding a quality and comprehensive third party to provide you with the information that you need regarding conversions are so important. So, what should you look for in conversion analysis teams?
1. Comprehensive
One of the most important aspects you can look for in analyzing a team for your conversion analysis is whether or not they are comprehensive. A comprehensive team should look at the page’s successes in conversion and also in their failures. There is something to be learned from both of these so neither should be overlooked. Successes can help to show where you should go and weaknesses help to identify where the page needs to change. It is that simple and yet, that complicated at the same time.
2. Responsive
Conversion tracking is not about the third party company. It is about YOU and YOUR PAGE. Every page is different and each has a different end goal. That is why you need a company that is responsive to your needs, wants, and your beliefs in your page. For that reason, be sure to choose a company that is based not in some one-size-fits-all approach to analysis. If this is the case and you feel that you are not getting your wants heard loud and clearly, then, it is time to look for another page.
3. Consistent
You will also want to work with a conversion tracking team that is not only responsive to your wants but also is very much consistent. Conversion tracking is not a one-time activity. It is needed regularly to see how the page is performing and how your actions are affecting your conversion rate. If your company is not doing this, they need to be.
4. Feedback
Numbers are numbers until action is taken upon them. Your company should not just provide them to you but should help you to understand them. This provides more value to your conversion tracking statistics. A company should look at a page, analyze it, and provide explanation behind the numbers. It should also provide recommendations on improving or what needs to remain the same. A qualified and substantial conversion tracking team should provide this to you.
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