Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Web Site Conversion Optimzation

Writen by Mark Carey

One of the most important web business strategies is conversion optimization. It is one the most effective methods to increase online earnings that most people have never heard of.

What is Web Site Conversion Optimization?

Web site Conversion optimization is the science and art of turning web visitors into paying customers. The goal is to convert as may visitors as possible into customers. One way to summarize the value of conversion optimization is:

There are two ways to double your revenue from a web site: 1) double the number of visitors, or 2) with the same number of visitors, convince twice as visitors to buy, or take other action that makes you money.

By making some modifications to your site, you can probably improve the conversion drastically, earning you more money with the same level of visitors.

Conversion Ratio (or Conversion Rate)

The conversion ratio (also known as the conversion rate) is the percentage of visitors who take action towards a conversion goal. A conversion goal can be defined by you, some action that you want visitors to take. It is often the purchase of a product or service, but it may to fill out a form, a mailing list subscription, or clicking on an ad. So if you get 100 web visitors and 2 of them buy your product, that is a conversion ratio of 2%. Typical conversion ratios vary by industry and type of conversion, but in many cases, conversion rates over 1% are considered very good. Conversion optimization seeks to maximize the conversion ratio.

How to implement Conversion Optimization

You can optimize the conversion of your web site by testing. By making small adjustments to your web site, it can have a significant impact on the conversion ratio. Most people are stunned by the impact of minor changes - I know that I was shocked at first. Often, changes that you think will make no difference, end up making a huge difference. Here are some example of things that you can test:

  • Page Layout
  • Headline Text
  • Color Scheme
  • Font Size
  • Page Length
  • Position of Offer
  • Navigation Path
  • Menus

Conversion Tracking

When doing conversion optimization tests, it important to implement conversion tracking to measure the success of those tests. When doing a test, you should modify only a single factor of your site, and then compare the conversion ratio between the two. If your site converts better with the change, keep the change, othewise try another test. If the site does convert better, you should continue testing other factors, tracking the conversion rates each time. Conversion optimization is a continual process of refinement.

Mark Carey is Internet Makreting in the areas of search engine optimization, pay-per-click adversting an conversion optimization. For more information about conversion optimization, see Mark's Conversion Tracker web site at http://www.roiconversiontracker.com

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