What is a conversion rate?
A conversion rate is the rate at which website visitors complete a specific action on your website. That action, or “conversion,” could be clicking a phone number to call, filling out a contact form, making a purchase, downloading an asset, spending a specific amount of time on a page, watching a video, or any other action that aligns with your business objectives.
The conversion rate is calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the total number of visitors and multiplying the result by 100 to get a percentage.
For example, if you had 1000 visitors to your website and 50 of them completed the desired action, your conversion rate would be 5%.
A higher conversion rate indicates that your content effectively engages visitors to take the desired action. It is an important metric to track and optimize in content marketing to ensure you maximize the return on your marketing efforts and drive the desired outcomes.
Why is monitoring your conversion rate so important?
Monitoring your conversion rate allows you to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of your content marketing efforts. It provides insights into how well your content resonates with your target audience and drives your desired actions. Because of that, tracking your conversion rate is a major part of goal setting, goal execution, and analyzing your return on investment (ROI).
Knowing how many conversions you generate from specific actions, you can better identify which content initiative generates the highest returns and allocate your resources accordingly. This knowledge leads to data-driven adjustments to improve:
- Day-to-day messaging
- Calls-to-action (CTA)
- Design
- Website layout
- User experience
- Content personalization
- Marketing campaigns
What’s a good conversion rate?
First, it’s important to note that “good” is subjective, and what’s good for one website or industry might not be good for another. There are a large number of factors here that determine what a good conversion rate is. However, there are some standards here that we can take a look at.
Good PPC Conversion Rates
If you’re running ads, you’re probably paying close attention to your conversion rates because you’re paying for that traffic. According to WordStream, the average Google Ads conversion rate is 3.75 percent.
If you’re sitting at less than that, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing poorly. Different industries have different benchmarks, and they also really differ across conversion types.
For instance, if your campaign centers around getting people to download a report from which you gain their contact information, that might be an “easier” conversion than getting someone to sign up for a demo or a phone call.
If you’re running campaigns for both of those, you might decide that a lower conversion rate for the demo is “good,” even if it’s less than the download, because each conversion is more valuable. It’s all subjective based on your unique goals.
Try these tactics to improve your PPC conversion rates:
- Rewrite your ad copy
- Update your targeted audience
- Run A/B testing on your landing page design
- Run ads at different times
Good Landing Page Conversion Rates
According to Unbounce’s Conversion Benchmark Report from 2021, conversion rates vary widely by industry. Catering and restaurants enjoyed a median rate of 9.8 percent, while agencies struggled with 2.4 percent. Travel got 4.8 percent, while media and entertainment got 7.9 percent.
Landing pages vary so widely, with so many different possible conversions. That makes it difficult to define a “good” rate for anyone reading this article!
Like PPC conversion rates, how you define “good” is unique to your business and website. If you’re working to improve it, you’re going in the right direction, no matter your current rate.
Try these tactics to improve your landing page conversion rates:
- Run A/B testing on your landing page design
- Add or remove landing page copy
- Adjust your targeting, either in different places or to different people
- Tweak your value proposition
- Reevaluate your customer journey
Other Ways to Improve Your Overall Conversion Rates
If your conversion goals go beyond your landing page, there are ways to boost your effectiveness.
Streamline Conversion Process
It’s your goal to make it as easy and seamless as possible for users to convert. Minimize the required steps and form fields, remove unnecessary distractions, and optimize your landing pages for quick loading times.
Improve Content Quality
Ensure your content is informative, engaging, and valuable to your audience. Incorporate storytelling and emotional appeal to create a stronger connection with your audience to increase engagement.
Enhance Website Design and User Experience
A visually appealing and user-friendly website can rapidly boost conversion rates. Take time to optimize your website’s layout, navigation, and eliminate any broken links that might be causing users frustration.
A/B Testing
A/B tests are a great way to root out any problem areas and are an easy way to experiment with improving user experience. Test one variable at a time (headlines, CTA’s, landing pages) and measure the impact on your conversion rate.
Social Proof and Testimonials
Positive reviews and endorsements can help alleviate concerns and encourage conversions. You can build trust and credibility by incorporating social proof like customer testimonials, case studies, or user reviews.
Creating Quality Conversion Rates
Overall, you need to decide how to define a “good” conversion rate based on your industry, website, and bottom line. Use data to inform your number. Take industry benchmarks into account, but don’t base your number on those alone.
Try something; if it doesn’t work, change and improve it. Maybe “good” to you just means constantly under improvement.
Improve your conversion rate with better landing page copy from ClearVoice. From catchy titles and persuasive copy to compelling CTAs, our team is ready to help. Talk to a content specialist today to get started.
