Conversion – What Is That?

We talk about conversion mainly in the context of online stores. However, it is a very widely used term also in connection with internet marketing. High conversion is the main goal of most marketing activities because it translates into profits. What exactly does this concept mean? What are the conversion goals and how to increase the conversion rate? Read and check!

Conversion – What Is It All About?

What is this mystery conversion? According to the dictionary it means “transforming the form of something”. The marketing industry, however, has a more precise definition of the word. In this case, we talk about conversion when the passive user changes into the active user. In other words, it takes place when the user performs a specific action, desired from the point of view of the website owner, that is clicks a specific link, subscribes to the newsletter, makes a purchase, etc. Conversion usually translates into profit, therefore, monitoring and implementation of solutions aimed at increasing it, are so important.

Conversion goals may vary. The most common of them 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, pop-up, CTA button, etc.,
• downloading a file,
• watching a video shared on the website,
• displaying the key subpage of the website,
• staying on the website as long as possible,
• displaying a certain number of subpages during one visit.

Sometimes individual criteria are also used – for example, a conversion is considered to be only a purchase above a certain amount. Defining clear conversion goals is essential for monitoring and measuring. This is the basis for determining the effectiveness of your marketing activities. It’s simple – through marketing you try to persuade customers to certain actions (purchasing, saving, leaving contact details, etc.), so it is worth regularly checking how specific strategies affect this indicator.

What Is The Conversion Rate?

Conversion rate refers to the proportion between the number of conversions and the total number of visitors to your website. This is an indicator that helps determine the effectiveness of your website. If it is low, it probably means that the website is incorrectly constructed in terms of UX (user experience) or the offer is not interesting or competitive enough. In order to convert, you need to attract the users and convince them to become customers. A low rate may also indicate technical problems on the website – e.g. an  inability to subscribe to the newsletter, an error in the cart that prevents the purchase, etc.

Conversion Rate Optimization – How to Increase It?

Usually, the number of conversions has a direct impact on profit. Therefore, increasing it should be the priority of the website owner. Conversion optimization covers all activities that should improve its rate. It should always be based on the previous analysis of the target group and the created goals and marketing strategy. Properly conducted optimization should help with adapting the presented content to the recipients of a given product. The CRO strategy should be developed to improve those elements of the website that will help to meet the target.

Usually, CRO activities are carried out along with SEO optimization. Thanks to this, the website can attract more visitors and that has an influence on the number of conversions. Additional actions to improve its rate should result in increased profits. In order to check the effectiveness in terms of strategy implementation, both website traffic and the conversion rate should be monitored. Successful optimization can be broken down into three different areas.

1. Customizing the appearance and functionality of the website

The appearance and functionality of the website must meet the needs of the recipient. This means that some steps must be taken to first understand these needs and secondly find a way to meet them. What is worth considering?

• User Experience

Regardless of the type of interaction with a potential client, you should take care of their positive experiences. In the case of a website, this includes many elements, for example visuals. The website should be clear, intuitive, easy to use and appealing to the eye, although in this matter, of course, individual taste plays a significant role. A well-thought-out design with appealing images and a clear division will affect the visitors’ feelings and encourage them to read the content, which gives a greater chance of conversion. Unintuitive, visually unattractive or even incorrectly displayed pages are discouraging, which of course affects the conversion rate lower.

• Correct action

It is also worth remembering that the website must function properly and smoothly. All messages should be brief, and links or buttons should lead to the appropriate places. It’s best to avoid distractions such as pop-ups. It is also necessary to check that all functions are working properly and that the site is intuitive.

• Clear messages

It is also extremely important to use clear, comprehensive messages. If a potential customer sees several different CTAs on one page, chances are they’ll just leave it without knowing what to do. Visitors should not be required to make difficult decisions. It‘s advisable to be careful when it comes to distractions in the form of pop-ups or flashy banners. Currently, in Web design, simplicity is the king, both in terms of functions and the appearance.

• Matching the target group

Language, content and the appearance of the website must be adapted to the target group. That is why it is so important to define the group correctly and precisely. If you meet the needs and expectations of a potential customer, there’s a much greater chance that a conversion will take place.

• Loading speed

The website should also be checked for technical reasons. Too long loading time effectively discourages internet users who are not used to waiting for the information they are looking for. Large files, specific plugins, templates or other unnecessary overlays can significantly slow down the website and you lose the opportunity of gaining potential customers.

2. Refined purchasing process

Once you gain customer interest and encourage them to read your offer, make sure they don’t get discouraged and make a conversion. Therefore, the purchasing process should always be transparent, refined and safe. What to remember?

• Encryption

SSL encryption is now a standard not only for online stores and other websites that collect user data. The certificate is mandatory for any website. It is worth investing because internet users are more and more aware and do not trust websites that do not have a characteristic padlock next to the address. Such sites are also indexed at lower positions in the search engine.

• Cross-selling and up-selling

These are two techniques that can help you increase your profit. It is enough to add a script to the website that will suggest the user goods similar or complementary to the one he/she has chosen. It’s a simple mechanism that works very often.

• Simplify the process

Remember to make it as easy as possible for the internet user who decides to convert. The process of purchasing (or saving, leaving data, etc.) should be simple. It definitely cannot take too long and involve many steps in order to minimize the risk that the customers will change their mind during the conversion process.

• Feedback

Internet users very often look for opinions about companies whose services they want to use. Therefore, it is worth giving the possibility to share opinions about your brand on the most popular websites, and you can even link them on your website.

3. Image and communication

A reliable company that is perceived as an expert in its industry inspires much greater trust. Therefore, you should not forget about building your strong position in this area. Communication with the user is also important – a quick answer to any questions or doubts will definitely help in increasing conversion. What is important here?

• Industry content

Customers are much more likely to use the services of brands that have authority in the industry. That is why it is worth speaking from the position of an expert and presenting expert content to the recipients. This has an amazing effect on the image and prestige, as well as trust. In addition, a large amount of valuable content helps in positioning. Remember also that by publishing articles or other types of content (we will get back to this in a moment), you help potential customers make purchasing decisions. Therefore, it is a good idea to compare available solutions, lists of popular products and guides on their use. Think about what information your potential client may be looking for and try to put it on the page. Industry content has a big impact on conversion.

• Uniqueness

What is the most important, the content must be unique. Copying even some parts from other websites is absolutely unacceptable. It is also absolutely forbidden to copy content within the same website – e.g. using the same descriptions for similar products. It is also worth following other SEO rules so that they match the requirements of both users and Google.

• Audiovisual content

It is also worth adding audiovisual content to the arsenal of content presented to recipients. Currently, they are definitely gaining in popularity compared to articles. In addition, a video can often convey much more information than a description or photos. You can share video content about the company and its products, including how they are used, operated or assembled.

• Attribute optimization

From the SEO point of view, the most important are headlines that contain keywords, which are clear and comprehensive and include meta data of the page. It is also worth paying attention to the optimization of photos – that means, e.g. their correct title. In addition, make sure that they catch the attention of the reader and are informative. You should also pay attention to the size of image files – too large ones will slow down the page loading.

• Communication

Provide potential clients with several communication channels so that each of them can contact the company in the most convenient way for them. Also make sure that the communication between the brand and the client is consistent and professional. In addition, it is also important to answer the questions as quickly and completely as possible.

Measuring Conversions

The effectiveness of your actions – according to the points mentioned above – you can check by measuring the conversion rate. It is not difficult at all – all you need is a basic tool that almost every website uses, namely Google Analytics. There you will find information about the number of visits to the website, time of visits and activities performed by users. Thanks to this, you will learn a lot about the problems that internet users may encounter and areas that require improvement.