Numbers don’t matter as much as results. Focus on conversion strategies over building volume. Because if you’re not set up to convert, the volume won’t help you one bit.
Think About How Hard You Work to Get Traffic
Getting traffic isn't always easy. You optimize your web pages and build links. You write wicked blog posts, hoping for a little word of mouth and link love. You make all the "friends" you can on the social web, so they will be interested in clicking through to your information and hopefully buy your products.
Here's the problem - if you aren't targeting your IDEAL customer in all that work, you're just setting yourself up for a really high maintenance business. If you have decided that your business needs volume (rather than conversion) to succeed, you've probably done a few of the following things:
- Tried to get as many "friends" and people who like you and your website as possible. Just like in real life, more friends and fans means more emails, more phone calls, more obligations. In short, it can be EXHAUSTING.
- Were more concerned with volume than your idea target customer, hoping something would stick. Sorry, but the more generic and wide-appealing your message, the less likely you'll convert and in the process you may alienate your actual target market.
- Didn't implement a strong conversion strategy because you thought it might affect your volume. We all want to be liked, but we're also here to run a business...so run your business. If you lose people along the way, the reason is simple. They weren't your customers to begin with.
So, here's the big question. How are your conversions? Do you know?
Calculating Your Conversions
The calculation for conversion is simple and if you already get this part, read on as there might be a few tips in this section you hadn't thought of before.
The basic calculation is this:
For example, if I have 3 sales during an ad campaign that achieves 274 visitors, my conversion rate is: 1.1%
Or if I have 120 visitors and 30 opt-in to my newsletter, my conversion rate is: 25%
It's a simple matter of dividing your actions/sales/opt-ins by the number of visitors. Simple as that.
So What's a Good Conversion Rate?
It varies. It depends if you're selling a product or looking for leads - obviously, a lead is easier to get than a sale. It also depends on your source of traffic.
Traffic from your opt-in or customer list should convert better than a general advertising campaign.
Traffic from affiliates who effectively warm up their referrals will often be higher than a pay-per-click campaign.
Of course, people want some kind of barometer to ensure they're somewhere in the ballpark of where they should be.
