It’s always a good idea to have a content strategy in place. However, there is one thing to keep an eye for every single time you publish your content. That is your conversion rate optimization.
What exactly is it? And how can you understand it better in order to determine whether or not some adjustments need to be made? We’ll be diving deep as to what a conversion rate is and how you need to optimize it if and when you have to.
What is a conversion rate?
A conversion rate is key when you want to determine how well your sales funnel is performing. Here’s an example. Let’s say you have a sales funnel that consists of the following: first, you have a Facebook ad. It will lead you to a landing page that will ask you to sign up for a free ebook. You punch in your email, you get the ebook sent to your email inbox. At that time, you’ll also be a part of the mailing list where you get emails on a regular basis.
From there, you get emails that will pitch you a product or service. If you decide to purchase something as part of being on an email list, you are converted from a subscriber to a buyer.
Let’s set take this example one step further. If you have 1000 subscribers on your email list and 100 people buy a product or service in one email, that’s a 10 percent conversion rate. And by most standards, that’s actually pretty crazy. It’s important to set a goal for a conversion rate when setting up your funnel. If you are new to the game, a simple 1 to 3 percent conversion rate will do some good.
What causes a low conversion rate?
Let’s say that you have a funnel that is not performing at it’s best. The overall conversion rate is performing below your goal. What could possibly be the problem? Well, it can be a certain number of issues. Here are some common issues that can affect conversion rates:
Wrong message in front of the wrong people: One of the key tenants of marketing is getting the right offer and the right message in front of the right audience. If your offer sucks, no one will bite. And that will make conversion rates suffer quite a bit.
Weak call to action (or none at all): No call to action will leave someone completely lost and not knowing where to go. It’s also a good idea to have a strong call to action that will get people to subscribe, watch a video, or even buy your product or service. It can be short, sweet, and to the point. Also, some subtle details like the color of your CTA button will also play a role in conversions.
Want to really amplify the urgency? Switch your CTA button to red and match it with a message that screams “get it now before it’s too late”.
You may be charging too high or low: This might not be a huge factor. But pricing can be a major turn off for most of your target audience. There is no right price or wrong price. Some can afford it and some won’t. But if it might seem too high to at least half of your market, it might be time to play around with a different price point. Nothing too cheap or too high. Know the true value of your product and service.
Make Adjustments When Needed
If there is a part of your funnel that is not doing it’s job, then you’re going to need to make some adjustments. It’s always a good idea to split test copy.
Which piece of copy will win, A or B? The numbers will help you decide on the winner based on the conversion rate. Once you choose the winning copy, you can run it through your ad, landing page, or wherever else. That’s the beauty of testing things out and making adjustments when things don’t go the way you want it to.
Conclusion
Conversion Rate Optimization
Having a great conversion rate will be key for any internet marketer. In the final analysis, it’s the sales that count. Not the open rates or any silly vanity metrics. Your goal is to sell and create lifelong customers and strong relationships. If you are running a funnel, be sure to check it regularly to see if it’s functioning the way it’s supposed to. If there are some things that are not working, be sure to adjust accordingly so it meets the conversion rate that you want.