Conversion is primarily discussed in the context of online stores. However, it's a very widely used concept, also in connection with internet marketing. High conversion is the primary goal of most marketing activities, as it translates into profits. What exactly does this term mean? What are the conversion goals, and how can you increase it? Read on and find out!
Conversion – what is it?
What is a mysterious conversion? According to the PWN Polish Dictionary, it refers to "transforming the form of something." However, the marketing industry has a more precise definition. In this case, a conversion occurs when a passive user turns into an active user. In other words, it occurs when a user performs a specific action desired by the website owner, such as clicking a link, signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, etc. Conversion typically translates into profit, which is why monitoring it and implementing solutions to increase it are so important.
Conversion goals can vary. The most common are:
- making a purchase,
- leaving contact details (sales lead),
- registering a customer account,
- subscribing to the newsletter,
- filling the form,
- clicking on an advertising banner on the website, a pop-up window, a CTA button, etc.,
- downloading the file,
- watching a video shared on the website,
- displaying a key subpage of the website,
- staying on the website as long as possible,
- displaying a specified number of subpages during one visit.
Sometimes, individual criteria are also used – for example, a conversion is considered only when a purchase exceeds a certain amount. Defining clear conversion goals is essential for monitoring and measuring conversions. This, in turn, is the basis for determining the effectiveness of marketing activities. It's simple – through marketing , you're trying to encourage customers to engage in specific behaviors (conversions, i.e., purchases, registrations, leaving data, etc.), so it's worth regularly monitoring how specific strategies are impacting this metric.
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What is conversion rate?
Conversion rate, in turn, is the ratio between the number of conversions and the total number of users who visited the page. This metric helps determine a website's effectiveness. If it's low, it likely means that the UX (user experience) is poorly designed , or that the offer isn't compelling or competitive enough. To achieve conversion, you need to capture the user's interest and convince them to become a customer. A low rate can also indicate technical issues on the website—for example, an inability to sign up for a newsletter, an error in the shopping cart preventing a purchase, etc.
Conversion rate optimization
The number of conversions made by users usually has a direct impact on profit. Therefore, increasing it should be a priority for the website owner. Conversion optimization, sometimes also referred to as CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization), encompasses all activities aimed at improving conversion rates. It should always be based on previously conducted target audience analyses and established goals and marketing strategy . Properly conducted optimization should tailor the presented content to the target audience of a given product. A CRO strategy should be developed to improve those website elements that will help achieve the intended goals.
CRO activities are typically conducted in conjunction with SEO optimization . This allows the website to attract more visitors, which in itself increases conversion rates proportionally. Additional efforts to improve its rate should result in increased profits. Therefore, to verify the effectiveness of the strategy, it's necessary to monitor both website traffic and conversion rates. Effective optimization can be divided into three distinct areas. Which ones?
- Customizing the appearance and functionality of the website
The appearance and functionality of a website must align with the needs of its audience. This, in turn, means taking certain steps to first understand those needs and second, find a way to meet them. What should you consider?
Regardless of the type of interaction with a potential customer, you should ensure a positive experience. In the case of a website, this encompasses many elements, starting with the visuals. A website should be clear, intuitive, easy to use, and simply beautiful, although individual taste obviously plays a significant role in this matter. A well-thought-out design with universally pleasing graphics and clear divisions will influence the visitor's experience and encourage them to read the content, increasing the chance of conversion. Unintuitive, visually uninteresting, or even incorrectly displayed pages effectively discourage visitors, which naturally lowers conversion rates.
It's also worth remembering that the website must function correctly and smoothly. All messages should be concise, and links and buttons should lead to the appropriate locations. It's best to avoid distractions like pop-ups. It's also essential to check that all features are working properly and the website's design is intuitive.
Using clear, unambiguous messaging is also crucial. If a potential customer encounters several different calls to action on a single page, there's a high probability they'll simply leave, unsure what to do. Visitors shouldn't be expected to make difficult decisions right from the start. It's worth being wary of the aforementioned distractions like pop-ups or flashy banners. Web design currently emphasizes simplicity, both in terms of functionality and the appearance of a website.
- Matching to the target group
The language used, the content itself , and the website's design must be tailored to the target audience. Therefore, it's crucial to define it accurately and precisely. If you meet the needs and expectations of a potential customer, there's a much greater chance of conversion.
You should also check your website's technical aspects. Excessively slow loading pages effectively discourage internet users who aren't accustomed to waiting to obtain the information they seek. Large files hosted on your website, specific plugins, templates, or other unnecessary add-ons can significantly slow it down, depriving you of potential customers.
- A refined purchasing process
Once you've captured a customer's interest and encouraged them to explore your offer, it's important to ensure they don't get discouraged when trying to convert. Therefore, the purchasing process should always be transparent, refined, and secure. What should you keep in mind?
SSL encryption is now standard not only for online stores and other sites that collect user data. A certificate is essentially mandatory for every website. It's worth investing in one, as internet users are increasingly aware and distrust websites that don't have the distinctive padlock next to the address entered in their browser. Such sites also tend to be indexed lower in search engine rankings.
- Cross-selling and up-selling
Cross-selling refers to cross-selling, while up-selling refers to complementary sales. These are two techniques that can help you increase your profits. Simply add a script to your website that will suggest products similar or complementary to the one the user has selected. It's a simple mechanism that often works.
Remember not to throw proverbial obstacles in the way of the internet user who decides to convert. The purchase process (or signing up, leaving data, etc.) should be as simple as possible. It definitely shouldn't take too long or involve too many steps, so as to minimize the risk of the customer changing their mind while converting.
Internet users often search for reviews of companies whose services they might want to use. Therefore, it's worth ensuring that your brand can be reviewed on the most popular websites, and you can even link to them on your website.
- Image and communication
A reliable company that appears to be an expert in its field inspires much greater trust. Therefore, it's crucial to build a strong position in this area. Communication with users is also crucial – prompt responses to any questions or concerns will significantly help increase conversions. What should you consider?
Customers are much more likely to use the services of brands that have authority in their industry. Therefore, it's worth speaking from an expert perspective and presenting your audience with expert content. This has a tremendous impact on your image, prestige, and trust in your company. Furthermore, a large amount of valuable content helps with SEO. Last but not least, through published articles and other types of content (we'll expand on this topic in a moment), you help potential customers make purchasing decisions. Therefore, comparisons of available solutions, lists of popular products, and guides on their use and application are a good idea. Consider what information your potential customer might be looking for and try to include it on your website. Industry-specific content has a significant impact on conversions.
Crucially, all this content must be unique. Copying even fragments from other sites is strictly prohibited. It's also strictly forbidden to duplicate content within the same site —for example, using the same descriptions for similar products. It's also important to adhere to other SEO principles to ensure your content meets the requirements of both users and Google.
It's also worth adding audiovisual content to your audience's arsenal of content. These days, they're definitely gaining in popularity compared to articles. Furthermore, video can often convey far more information than descriptions or photos. You can share video content about the company itself and its products, including how to use them, how they work, and how to assemble them.
From an SEO perspective , headlines that contain keywords while remaining clear and concise are crucial, as well as page metadata. It's also worth paying attention to image optimization, which means, among other things, properly titled images. Furthermore, you should ensure that they are engaging and allow for a thorough understanding of the product. Image file sizes should also be considered – excessively large images will slow down page loading.
Provide potential customers with multiple communication channels so that each one can contact your company in the way most convenient for them. Ensure that communication between your brand and the customer is always consistent and professional. Furthermore, ensure that you provide the quickest and most comprehensive answers to questions.
Measuring conversions
You can check the effectiveness of your activities – according to the points mentioned above – by measuring your conversion rate. It's not difficult at all – all you need is a basic tool used by almost every website, namely Google Analytics . You'll find information there, including the number of page views, duration of visits, and actions taken by users. This will provide you with insights into the problems users may be encountering and areas that require improvement.
Conversion FAQs
In online marketing, a conversion is any action taken by a user desired by the website owner. It's the moment when an internet user achieves a planned business goal, for example, transitioning from a passive reader to an active customer, subscriber, or lead (sales contact).
No, this is a very common myth. Although in e-commerce stores, a macro conversion is indeed the completion of a transaction, a conversion can also include: filling out a contact form, signing up for a newsletter, creating an account, clicking a phone number, spending a certain amount of time on a website, or downloading a free e-book.
- Macro conversion is the main, overarching goal of a website that directly translates into company profits (e.g., a purchase in a store or sending a B2B request for quotation).
- A micro conversion is a smaller step that brings the user closer to their main goal (e.g., adding a product to the cart, adding it to a wish list, watching an instructional video, or going to the contact tab).
Conversion rate (CR) is a percentage value that represents the ratio of users completing a desired action to the total number of website visitors at a given time. It is one of the most important KPIs for assessing the effectiveness of a landing page and advertising campaigns.
The basic and most popular tool on the market is the free Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Combined with Google Tag Manager (a tool that facilitates tracking code management without interfering with website code), it allows for highly precise tracking of user behavior and the counting of individual events considered conversions. It's also important to track conversions directly within the dashboards of advertising systems such as Google Ads or Meta Ads.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- what does the concept of conversion mean in marketing,
- how conversion rate works,
- how to increase conversion rate,
- how to measure conversions correctly.
