Conversion Rates Explained

There are all kinds of stats when it comes to your website. There’s the number of visitors, number of pageviews, number of pages per visit, and on and on and on. But to me, the absolute most important stat that a site needs to focus on is conversion rate.

What is the conversion rate? Conversion rate is basically just the percentage of your site visitors who complete the action you want them to complete. So for me, and for many users, the answer is how many people who visit the site fill out my form to contact me, or call me. It’s difficult to gauge conversion rate with phone calls, but it’s easy enough to set up a conversion rate in Google analytics to track how many people are submitting your forms.

How do I get a good conversion rate?

Well, I have some tips. These are not a secret, but many people don’t consider that their actual form can turn people away. They think, “Hey, I’ve got a form! Great!” But there’s much more to it than that. Here is what you need to know.

• Less is more. Have fewer fields. Figure out the absolute minimum fields you need to get the information required to respond to the inquiry properly. Name? Email? Phone number? Message? What else do you need to know? The fewer fields you have, the more likely people are to submit your form. Do you ask for address? If so, you’ll reduce your form submissions significantly. Studies have shown that simply removing the phone number field can increase submissions by 5%. So decide what you don’t really need, and ditch the rest.
• Don’t use “Submit” as your submit button. I know, it seems like the right thing to do, right? You want them to submit, the button defaults to the word submit. Why change it? Because putting something else there will increase your submissions. Instead of submit, try “Yes, I’m interested!” or “Send me more information.”
• Reassure visitors you aren’t going to spam them. People hate spam. Put a notice somewhere on your form so your users know their info is safe.
• Encrypt your site. Speaking of safe, is your site encrypted? Google is now encouraging site encryption to the point that your site may receive more favorable rankings if it is.  People feel more comfortable submitting your form when there’s a green padlock in the address bar too!
• Add a Badge. Got a professional affiliate? Member of a elite club or organization? Studies have shown having a badge on your site increases conversions.

Make your visitors know you are a serious business and you are trustworthy and you’ll see more conversions coming in.