Getting customers in the digital era is no piece of cake. With so many ways to reach your target market and new technology emerging every day, it can be hard to keep up with the trends let alone make sure you're selling effectively.
That's why it's important to keep an eye on your conversion rates. By monitoring your conversion rate, you can figure out what's working and what isn't, and make the necessary changes to increase sales.
In this article, we will discuss conversion rates, their calculation and the ways to monitor and improve them.
Table of Contents
What Are Conversion Rates?
A conversion rate is the number of times a user completes an action divided by the total number of users. The desired action could be anything from making a purchase to subscribing to a newsletter.
Conversion rates are important because they show how effective your marketing efforts are.
The equation is simple: if you’re not converting, you’re not growing your business.
Calculating Your Conversion Rates
Conversion Rate = (Number of Conversions / Number of Visitors ) * 100%
This is the key formula that gives you an insight about your well your business is performing.
For example, if you have 10,000 visitors to your site in a time period of three months and 200 of them subscribe to your newsletter, your conversion rate would be 2% for those three months.
You can also use the formula to gauge the performance of individual teams at the company. For instance, you can get the sales conversion rate by taking the number of leads and dividing it by the number of sales.
Now that you know what a conversion rate is and how to calculate it, let’s discuss the factors that come into play when trying to increase your conversion rates:
The quality of your traffic: You can have a million visitors to your site, but if they’re not the right people (i.e., they’re not in your target market), they’re not going to convert.
The offer: What are you offering users? Is it something they want or need?
The copy: Is your copy well-written and persuasive?
The design: Is your site easy to navigate and aesthetically pleasing?
The CTA: Is your CTA (call-to-action) effective?
Testing: Are you constantly testing different elements on your site to see what works best?
By answering these questions, you can optimize your conversion rates. Here are 9 ways that can help you do it:
9 easy ways to increase conversion rates
1. Be Informed About Your Customer
The first step is to know where your customers are coming from and be informed about the conversion rate in your niche.
Aim to be above the average conversion rate at all times. To make this happen, you need to dig into the people who became your customers. Everything worked right for them that’s why they chose you. Here you can make use of surveys to understand what drives the most action for your company. You can learn more in Attests article about a great survey tool.
Understanding your customers’ perceptions and learning their thought process will allow you to replicate the process. In this way, you can convince all those people who are not converting. The best way is by learning their pain points and offering them an incentive.
2. Offer Free Trials or Samples
If you’re selling a product, one way to increase conversion rates is to offer free trials or samples.
Many SaaS companies offer customers a free trial of their monthly subscription service - usually for a 30-day period. This allows customers to experience the product and decide if it’s something they’d be interested in before they have to commit to a purchase. Giving the option of trying out for free can help increase confidence and reduce buyer’s remorse.
The satisfaction when the customer opts for a paid subscription after the free trial or sample is unparalleled. It is a sure way of saying that your customers actually liked your product and are not just trying it out by paying for the first month.
If they do not opt for a paid subscription after the free trial version ends, you still know that the person or company showed interest and the lead nurturing phase kicks in.
3. Implement a Lead Nurturing Strategy
Lead nurturing is the process of developing relationships with buyers who have shown some level of interest in your product or service, but are not yet ready to purchase.
Scarcity can be a great tactic to use at this stage as it creates the perception that there is a limited supply of something. It is human nature to believe that when something is in a scarce supply, you are more likely to want it.
Using this tactic in your marketing can increase conversion rates by creating a sense of urgency and making it clear that there is a limited time or quantity available.
At this stage, you can also send targeted content, offers and reviews of other people who are using your product to your leads. You want to increase the likelihood that these people will eventually convert into a paying customer.
4. Provide Social Proof
Social proof is the idea that people are more likely to do something if they see others doing it. When potential customers see that other people are using and enjoying your product, they are more likely to want to try it themselves.
There are a few different ways you can provide social proof, including customer testimonials, reviews, and social media mentions. When sending out email content or newsletters of social proof, remember to have a clear call-to-action (CTA).
5. Make Your Call-to-Action Stand Out
Your call-to-action (CTA) is the part of your website or advertisement that tells users what you want them to do next. It could be something like “subscribe now” or “buy now.”
To increase conversion rates, your CTA should be clear and easy to spot. It should also be highly relevant to the user and match their current level of interest.
6. Use Images and Videos
Images and videos can be very effective at increasing conversion rates because they are eye-catching and can help explain complex concepts.
When you are selling a product, using videos to show how it works or images to highlight key features can convince users to buy the product.
In addition, the signup process may be a bit technical but having a clear infographic can make the process convenient bringing us to our next tip.
7. Simplify the Purchase Process
The easier you make it for people to buy your product or service, the more likely they are to do it. The purchase process should be as simple and streamlined as possible.
Your website interface should be so simple such that a 5th grader should be able to complete the checkout process with ease.
Too many distracting elements on the page can lead to cart abandonment. Distraction is also more common in mobile users which brings us to our next point.
8. Focus on Mobile Users
Mobile devices are becoming increasingly important in the world of online marketing. More and more people are using their smartphones and tablets to access the internet. Analyzing the web traffic from 2015 to 2021, it is seen that the percentage of mobile traffic is 52% - the highest all over the world. However, the conversion rate of mobile users is lesser than that of desktop users.
Therefore, focusing on mobile customers is very important if you want to increase conversion rates. As a result, you want to make sure your website is optimized for mobile users and you ensure they have the best user experience.
Have a mobile-friendly design and make sure your purchase process is quick and easy to complete on a small screen. Make sure the features are easy to navigate and the back button is accessible.
Remember the best way to improve the user experience is by making sure the checkout process is as fast as possible. If there is a form that needs to be filled, there should be an auto-fill option so that the process is quick.
9. Test, Test, Test!
The only way to know for sure what works best for your business is to test different marketing tactics and see how they impact conversion rates.
Try out different strategies and track the results so you can continue to improve your conversion rates over time.
There might be an email marketing campaign that has the highest open rates and led to most clicks. Try replicating the same campaign with a different CTA. Similarly, there might be a social media advertisement that performed really well, so you can experiment by using the same ad but increasing the budget.
Wrapping Up The Ways To Monitor and Increase Conversion Rates
Companies need to optimize their conversion rates and to make sure that their marketing efforts are resulting in real business growth.
The goal is simple: You need to turn your site visitors into paying customers by making sure they finish their task or purchase!
By focusing on the key areas discussed above, you can increase your conversion rates. By making small changes in these areas, you should analyze the difference in your results. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, experiment!
Author Bio: Osama is a technology content strategist who is passionate about content marketing and all things SEO. He has helped various companies in ranking their content on the first page of SERPs. In his free time, Osama loves to play football and travel.