The conversion rate is one of the most important metrics to measure if your strategies are having the expected effect. But many entrepreneurs still do not know how to calculate it or usually relate it to sales.
Understand what is the conversion rate and see tips to increase your performance, either in generated leads or in sales.
What is the conversion rate?
The conversion rate is the ratio between the number of users who visited a page and the number of users who made the proposed action there.
Unlike what many people think, this rate does not refer only to completed sales, but to all the results achieved with marketing actions, such as filling out the registration form, downloading rich material, requesting a quote and subscribing to the newsletter. , among others.
Why calculate the conversion rate?
Through the conversion rate you have the possibility to monitor the results of your marketing actions and even compare two periods of time to know which strategies were most effective to attract traffic, capture leads and make sales.
This data, added to other metrics, is useful to optimize your expenses with digital marketing, showing if your investments in paid advertising , landing pages , email marketing and actions with influencers are bringing financial return for your business or if you are only wasting money.
It is important to remember that when a business is starting, the benefit is not always immediate. Therefore, it is important to monitor the performance of your actions periodically, in addition to performing several tests until discovering what works best for the audience of your niche.
Often, a simple change in the appearance of the page / ad can increase the conversion rate of a campaign that you considered lost.
Before calculating the conversion rate it is also important to define what the objective of the campaign is.
If your intention is to attract visibility for the brand, the number of followers and the number of “likes” are metrics that should be taken into account. If your focus is the generation of leads, the number that interests you is the number of people who have registered to receive some content of yours, because these users are one step ahead in the trajectory of the client.
How to calculate the conversion rate?
Now that you know what the conversion rate is, you should be curious to know how to calculate it, right?
And if you do not have much knowledge in mathematics, do not worry, because the formula is simple: just divide the number of people who carried out an action by the number of people impacted during the campaign, and multiply that total by 100 to obtain the percentage.
An example.
Juan created a landing page to spread an ebook about interior decoration. Of the 15,000 visitors to the page, 4,225 downloaded it as directed.
4,225 / 15,000 x 100 = 28.16%
That is, out of every 100 people who entered Juan’s page, at least 28 people downloaded it.
Let’s see another example, now related to the ads.
Silvia is selling a course on architecture and design. That’s why he created an ad on the Google search network to attract the visibility of his product. Of 10,000 people who clicked, 290 bought the course.
290 / 10,000 x 100 = 2.9%
Proportionally, every 100 people who clicked on the ad, approximately 3 bought the course.
Does it look like a low number?
It depends on the value you have invested to make the ads, how much you have spent to create the course and, mainly, the value of the product. If the course cost a thousand dollars, Silvia billed 290 thousand with the sales made at the launch . Even deducting operating costs, that value is still very expressive, okay?
There is still the possibility to try new versions of the ad and increase more that benefit. (Those who want to save on the production of their own course, we also have a post on the blog that explains how to optimize your expenses ).
What are the types of conversion rate?
There are two types of conversion rate: through direct access, which is when the user types the address of your page in the browser bar, and through organic searches, which is when the visitor finds your website doing a search on Google .
The ideal is that the conversion rate via direct access is greater, since it is formed by people who are looking for a specific solution and already know your product.
In the case of the conversion rate by organic searches there is also a distinction between the users who searched for the keyword of your site and those who found the page looking for related terms. In both cases, the conversion rate should be similar, since these users have never had contact with your brand.
But do not despair, it is possible to increase the conversion rate via organic access if you have a good ranking in the search rankings.
A recent study conducted by the Advanced Web Ranking company showed that Google’s first organic search place receives 34% of clicks, while second and third place, respectively, receive 19% and 12%.
For this reason you need to invest in quality content and SEO techniques (Search Engine Optimization) to offer the best experience for the user and that your page is increasingly relevant.
How to use the conversion rate to improve your performance?
Calculating the conversion rate of each campaign separately is the best way to know which actions and channels are giving the best results.
Having this information is important to optimize what is already working and rethink the format of ads, pages or emails that are not giving good results.
It is important to highlight that your conversion rate depends on the objective of the campaign (generation of leads or sales), the audience you have segmented and, of course, the niche in which you develop your performance.
If you offer a free product, the conversion rate of this campaign will probably be greater than that of a page focused on sales, for example, since you are delivering something of value to your client without asking for anything in return.
But, be careful, it is always good to remember that the work does not end when the user agrees to be part of your email list. It is necessary to feed that lead with content, which implies making an investment of time and money, although less than in sponsored links campaigns.
Regardless of the factors mentioned above, your objective should always be to improve the conversion rate, proposing actions that are sustainable to the size of your business.
How to increase your conversion rate?
It may seem like a cliché, but you will have to focus on your user experience and build a relationship of trust with him before thinking about moving on to the next steps in your sales funnel.
Here are some tips that can help you in this process.
Get to know your audience well
To be accurate you need, first of all, to know your client’s idea , preferences and problems, to create a content aligned to those expectations.
Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console are free and give important insights on the issues that are worth the trouble to bet.
Have good landing pages
Increasing the traffic of your channels is important, but the key is to give the user value. Your landing pages should be intuitive and easy to navigate. And that also includes good images and good distribution of text, so that the visitor finds all the information they need in a fast and practical way.
Nowadays there are several tools available in the market that can help you create high conversion pages with a minimum investment. We suggest you look hard enough to find the best option.
Use responsive design
In most countries of the world, the majority of the population access the Internet through mobile devices. Therefore, thinking about the experience of these users and using responsive design ceased to be a differential and became an obligation.
Test in different screen sizes to see if your content is adaptable and observe the loading time of the page on the mobile, as this also counts points in the ranking. A tool that can help calculate the load time of the page is Google Speed Insights, which is also free.
Create interesting texts
Texts are another fundamental factor for the good performance of your campaigns. If they are not clear, your target audience will feel confused, which reduces the chances of conversion.
This type of text is also called copy . For copywriting experts, a good sales text is one that can synthesize the main idea and the benefits of your product in a single sentence.
If you have exceeded the number of words you will have to review it. This exercise is important to train your skills, since ad networks have character limits. In the blog we have a complete copywriting text with some tips that can help you create texts that sell!
Make sure the design is in line with the copy
The design is fundamental to create a dialogue with your target audience and generate identification with your brand, in addition to transforming the publication or any graphic piece more pleasant for reading, directing it in a clearer and more intuitive way.
But, to obtain good results, it is necessary that the design of the page is consistent with the copy and one adds information to the other in order that the visitor can understand the benefits of your product.
Includes a visible call to action (CTA)
The call to action is the button on your page that expresses the action you expect the user to perform after being impacted by your campaign. It is important to make clear, once again, that this action is not always related to the sale, it can be a download, answer a survey, sign a petition, etc.
First, your call to action must be well visible and located, as it avoids dispersion. Use heatmap tools to know which areas of the pages your visitors click on.
The button should stand out from the rest of the page and have contrasting colors with the background and that facilitate reading. In this case, some design features or font changes may interfere, therefore, use it with care.
There are some myths about the colors that convert more, in the case of green, for example, but you will only be able to know what works for your business model by testing.
Do not look for formulas ready on the Internet, because each entrepreneur has an audience, and what worked for your competitor can have the opposite effect on your audience, even if they sell a similar product.
Finally, and perhaps the most important suggestion: before being interesting, your call to action has to be functional. Remember this whenever you are creating a page, because the visualization device can have a great influence on the way the visitor assimilates the call to action.
But, why is it necessary to keep in mind the conversion rate?
Think in the following way:
When an entrepreneur creates a group of ads in Adwords or Facebook there is always a potential client that goes unnoticed due to issues of segmentation and budget.
Of the total impacted, not all will click on the link and go to the checkout page, and a percentage will desist from the purchase or will not have the approved payment.
When you track your conversion rate and perform tests with your audience you have the possibility not only to “predict” those situations, but also to act quickly on the pains of your potential client and, consequently, optimize your marketing investments. That does not always mean that you will spend less, but in the right way.
We hope this text has been useful! Continue reading our blog to get more information about entrepreneurship and digital marketing!
