Conversion

Conversions are processes in online marketing that lead to a defined conclusion.

Conversions are processes in online marketing that lead to a defined conclusion. A user is converted from being a visitor or prospect into a buyer or customer. In technical language, it is also said that the user “converts”. A conversion is an important KPI for commercial websites. In order to measure the efficiency of advertising or SEO activity the conversion rate is often determined. A conversion can take place in a variety of ways and, alongside a purchase in an online shop, can also consist of a newsletter registration. A branch of search engine optimization is conversion optimization or conversion rate optimization. rung.

Types of conversions in online marketing

There are various types of website conversions. A conversion does not have to refer to the conversion of a prospect into a buyer. The conversion of a visitor into a prospect can also be counted as a conversion.

• Conversion of the user of a search engine into a website visitor: In this case, every website visit be considered a conversion.
• Conversion of a visitor into a subscriber of a newsletter.
• Conversion of a newsletter recipient into a buyer.
• Conversion of an occasional customer into a regular customer.
• Conversion of a visitor into a prospect, who fills in a contact or inquiry form. In this case the conversion overlaps with the lead, which is a contact initiation for a potential buyer.
• Conversion of a user who is looking for a phone number on the website and calls up.

It essentially depends on company goals when it comes to which action is considered a conversion.

Calculating a conversion rate

The conversion rate is a ratio of defined actions to actual visitors of a website multiplied by 100. The conversion rate is therefore always given as a percentage.

For example: A company receives 1,000 visitors to its website. A conversion is defined as when a user buys a product. Of 1,000 visitors, 10 buy an item online. The conversion rate is then calculated as follows:

10 actions / 1,000 visitors * 100 = 1.0 percent. The conversion rate would in this case amount to 1.0 percent.

Defining whether a conversion rate is good or bad is depends on the type of conversion, the industry and the offer. For example, a webshop with high-priced / luxury products will generate a lower purchase conversion rate.

A website with topical content and a download link to a free e-book, on the other hand, will generate a significantly higher conversion rate, if the download is considered as a conversion.

Conversion rate optimization

Conversion rate optimization plays an important role when it comes to online commercial offers. Ultimately, the optimization of a website is about receiving as much qualified traffic as possible. This makes traffic generation the first, key element of conversion rate improvement. In a second step, the existing content must convince the visitor to go through with a conversion.

Eventually, further factors play a role if the proportion of visitors and conversions is to be improved:

• Loading speed: The faster a website loads, the better the user experience. Similarly, the longer a visitor remains on a website, the likelihood of that visitor converting increases.
• Content marketing: The placement of qualified leads is important for the improvement of the conversion rate. The better the content meets user intent, the more likely the user carries out a conversion.
• Call to action: If website visitors are called to take an action (or a ‘call to action’) the likelihood that they carry out the desired action rises. This means an invitation such as “buy now” or “download study now” can create action.
• A Safe and straightforward shopping basket processes: In e-commerce, the shopping basket process is one of the most difficult areas of the customer journey. In this journey, the customer must reveal their personal details as well as payment details. The higher the level of trust in the site and the simpler the entire process is, the more likely it is that the customer carries out the purchase (in this case the conversion). As a result, on-line retailers are very focused on conversion rate optimization during the payment process.
• A/B tests: A/B Testing is the practice of testing one or more similar landing pages against one another. Typically, the differences between pages is limited to one or two elements. Pages A and B are then asked to ‘compete’ against each other with the higher converting page declared the winner. From there the process continues.

Tools for conversion measurement

A conversion can be measured with web analysis tool such as Google Analytics. To track purchases, the e-commerce tracking must be setup first. Otherwise, “goals” can be defined in the backend of the program. It is also possible to monitor “events”. If the Google Analytics account is linked with a Google Ads account, the goals can be taken on as conversions in Ads. With the advertising program, further conversions such as calls or the sending of a contact form can also be generated. To this end a separate tracking code usually has to be added to the source code of the target page.