How to Use Conversion Rates to Increase Revenue Online
In online electronic commerce, conversion promotion is selling with the aim of increasing sales – that is, website visitors who are actually paying for a product or service. There are many methods of driving traffic to your site, and a few can help you convert more visitors into paying clients. The basic process of raising the conversion rate, then, is known as conversion rate optimization, or conversion optimization. Conversion can be thought of as the number of people who purchase a product or service, versus the total number of people who visit your website. So how do you convert more visitors into paying clients?
Landing pages are critical in any online campaign. These pages contain the “hook” – the most important information that persuades visitors to stay on your site. They act like “stalls” – information that visitors must wait for before they are ready to purchase. And the more hooks there are, the higher the conversion rates on your site. For example, a site promoting mortgage offers could include a loan calculator, an APR calculator, and a section devoted to shopping tips.
One of the most powerful ways to increase the number of conversions is through search engine optimization, or SEO. Increasing traffic and conversions occur when your site is featured prominently in a list of the most popular search results. Certain keywords bring in traffic based on the popularity of those words. If you can get your site to feature in search results for those specific words, your conversion rate can go up significantly. There are tools available to measure keyword popularity and conversions.
A secondary way to increase conversion rates is to use content that encourages visitors to take certain actions. For example, if you sell loans, your site could have a page that asks potential borrowers to submit loan specifications. If the site collects email addresses and includes an opt-in form, those who complete the opt-in form will be encouraged to convert to borrowers. Conversion to borrowers increases the number of conversions.
The last method I’ll discuss for increasing conversion rates is to use social media. The growth of social media has increased its importance in both business and personal life. Many people do not identify themselves as being a fan of a particular company on Facebook or Twitter. When they do start to engage with a brand, they are more likely to perform an action based on what they read or see on social media sites. Conversion to sales is easier to track with social media than with any other technique I’ve described.
If you are still wondering how to use conversion rates to increase revenue online, try adding some forms of customer engagement. Encourage customers to share a blog post or recommend a YouTube video about your company. Encourage participation by encouraging visitors to “like” or share your posts. This gives them the incentive to follow through and convert to customers. These techniques can be used together or independently to create an effective conversion strategy that increases your company’s bottom line.