I am so passionate about conversions that when I talk about them, I have this image of Madonna signing “Con-ver-sions” into a microphone with her white gloves on, to the same tune and beat as “Like a Virgin”- Anyone else? No? Well, you should!
Conversions can take a mediocre digital campaign and make it a stellar digital campaign. Why all the hype when it comes to conversions? Conversions are going to allow business owners a peak behind the curtain so they can see what consumers are doing on their website once they get there. Are they looking for more information? Are they showing interest and trying to gather more information by initiating a conversation via a live chat box, or clicking on a phone number listed to be connected to the business right then and there? As a business owner, you want to know that people are engaging with your website, and conversions are a great way to show that.
The name of the game when it comes to any form of marketing and advertising is not just about getting more leads, but more qualified leads. It’s easy enough to see how many hits you get on your website, but what good is it if people aren’t doing anything once they get there? By tracking conversions and being able to see what people are doing once they get to the website, you are guiding people further down into the sales funnel in hopes that they will convert, and go from being a potential customer, to a paid customer. The people that are engaging with the website are the ones that are more likely to convert.
One thing business owners need to consider when it comes to determining conversions, is what is it that they want their potential customers to do AFTER they land on the website? Do they want more phone calls coming in? Do they want them to make a purchase? Do they want people to schedule appointments/consultations online? Are they running a current special that they want people sign up for? The goals of the advertiser will help determine what kind of conversions they will want to track.
Some people might think that when it comes to getting people to convert on a website, it’s a little like the old saying “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”. If people land on your website, it’s up to them what they do next. While there is some truth in that, there are things as a business owner that you can do to help the consumer take that next step. For example, if you visit a website and the form they are looking for you to fill out is 13 fields long, the chances of you filling it out are slim. Also, we live in an instant gratification society; we want things yesterday. As consumers, we don’t want to have to search around for something on a website, so make it as easy as possible for the consumer to take that next step. If they have to scroll multiple times to find a place to click in order to bring them further along in their search, game over.
Something else for business owners to consider when they are thinking about getting people to take that next step once they are on the website is the bounce rate of their website. Bounce rate is the percentage of total visitor sessions that leave the website after visiting just one page. One of the main reasons for a high bounce rate can be the amount of time it takes for a website to load. In recent research done by Google, it was found that sites that loads within 1-3 seconds have a possible 32% increase in bounce rate, and a site that loads in 1-5 seconds will possibly have a 90% increase in the bounce rate. Now, one or three, or even five seconds might not sound like a long time, but grab your phone, click on a website, wait for it load, and count how long it takes to you to hit the back button- go ahead, I’ll wait…
By the time you were at “two Mississippi”, you were hitting that back button like a maniac. Google has a fun little tool for business owners to use that can show them how fast their mobile website is loading: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/feature/testmysite/
Now that you have a better understanding of what a conversion is, the next time that you’re on a website, look and see what your own consumer behavior is. Are you willing to fill out a super long form, or are you more likely to fill out just a few fields? Are you looking for answers now and will start a live chat or call the business? Did you find what you were looking for all on one page? Use these relatable examples to help business owners get a better understanding of what their potential customers are also looking for to get them to convert and over that “Borderline” (get it? …It’s another song by Madonna).
