What is a conversion?

A conversion is an action that converts a passive user into an active one. Conversion occurs when he makes a purchase, is interested in the service, clicks on the link or subscribes to the newsletter.

Properly selected and implemented conversion ultimately translates into profit, not only for stores and websites, but also online training conducted by specialists who want to make contact with a potential customer and sell their knowledge via the Internet.

What is conversion then? It is a process that occurs when you manage to attract the user’s interest – through entries, the appearance of the page, text, graphics, newsletter. The idea is to attract recipients who will stay for longer and become not only temporary visitors to the site, but active users and clients. If you expect such effects at home, then take care of proper optimization and positioning of websites.

What is the conversion rate?

A conversion rate or indicator is a term that describes the number of conversions that have taken place on the number of visitors to a page. The result helps determine the page’s effectiveness and the number of visitors who have made purchases or otherwise responded to the conversion goal.

Conversion Goals

Goal conversion is an important strategic element that will allow you to create website or online store assumptions and optimize your website. It will help determine the strategy of action targeted at the given target group. Set conversion goals will help turn users into active customers.

Conversion goals can vary – depending on your company’s business profile. The goal in the online store will be to finalize the purchase, for websites – the customer using the service or simply establishing a relationship with the company (e.g. by contact or newsletter). The goal of the conversion is not just a one-time visit. We want the user / client to remember the page, stay on it as long as possible, use the offered service, but also to come back and make further transactions.

What goals can the conversion have?
– Purchase made by the customer,
– The user will remain on the page as long as possible,
– Returning to the site,
– Registering customer account,
– Subscribing to the newsletter,
– Leaving your contact details,
– Filling out the form, statistics, surveys, studies,
– Clicking on the banner advertising made available on the website,
– Watching the movie on the site,
– Viewing and clicking graphics and infographics, downloading them,
– Going to subpages within the website,
– Customer sharing e.g. of an article or product on social media,
– Downloading free graphics, pdf files or e-books that are available on the website.

Conversion goals are set in Google Analytics, and individual elements are implemented through Google Tag Manager.

Conversion Rate Optimization

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is all actions on the website that are to improve the overall conversion rate. This will ultimately translate into the purchasing process, contact with the customer and his later return to the site. Conversion optimization should be preceded by setting goals, determining who is the recipient of the content, services or products that appear on the page. Appropriate optimization is to achieve these goals and adapt the appearance and content of the site to the needs of the client/recipient. The final result is to be a satisfactory conversion rate. Conversion optimization is also called the CRO strategy and aims to improve on the website all elements that will help achieve the intended goal.

CRO should be combined with SEO optimization, because organic traffic and increased activity on the part of the recipients increase the chance of conversion. In addition, Google’s crawlers take into account behavioral factors when indexing a page. Conversion optimization combines with SEO and web analytics, User Experience (UX) and SXO, so these aspects should be taken into account when implementing goals.

The site’s appearance and functionality adapted to the recipient

User experience – the first impression is important. The appearance of the page, its intuitiveness, accessible functions and general design affect the positive user experience, which allows you to decide on the purchasing process. Pages that do not have interesting graphics, their service is unclear, they do not display well on mobile devices – they will generate a low conversion rate. Therefore, it is important to work on optimizing user experience (SXO) that affects conversion.

Clear and intuitive page – each of the elements on the page should work properly, the purchasing or contact process must be clear and concise. Users may not be distracted by pop-up advertising windows or functions that are out of order. Even if he made a choice and put products in the basket that interested him, he will not complete the purchasing process if the site in the last stage is suspicious for him. The website must be useful, well-structured with a clear menu and appropriate navigation. The clear interface makes the user want to stay on the site.

Minimalist look, clear messages – a page that contains too many graphics, screaming banners or bright colors will cause overstimulation, and a potential customer will not want to stay on it. It is worth using clear messages, e.g. about discounts, promotions, new offers that are striking. Website design trends show that websites that are transparent and intuitive, with bright colors and concise messages work best.

The target group – the appearance of the site, offer, content, graphics or photos – all these elements must in terms of content and design reach a specific target group. If customers’ needs are not specified correctly, it will negatively affect the conversion rate.

Page loading speed – a site that takes a long time to load or does not display some subpages will generate a bounce rate and thus will not convert. There is a risk that an impatient user will leave the site if he doesn’t see the home screen quickly.

Safe, fast and convenient shopping

Encrypted SSL protocol – security certificate definitely improves the comfort of staying on the website, and in the case of SSL online stores it is even necessary. This element also affects trust in the brand and affects the sense of security of the user who is to leave his data on the site.

Online feedback – positive feedback increases reliability and trust in the company. The user is more willing to use the services of an enterprise that has good opinions on the web.

Cross-selling and up-selling – cross-selling and complementary sales are other factors that are designed to maximize profits. It is worth introducing such an option in the online store and proposing additional or similar items to the customer, but for example with a higher and lower price range.

Simplified purchasing method – a user who already decides to buy should go through this process as soon as possible. The icons that tell the client how many steps he will have to complete to complete the transaction work well.

Expert position, building brand reliability and efficient communication with the user

Industry content – the position of an expert increases credibility, but also helps the customer make the final choice. Expert blog content not only builds the content that is needed for website positioning, but also provides industry knowledge, dispels doubts, enriches with new issues and enables you to make a choice (e.g. through an article on the topic on which saw to choose). It is worth sharing knowledge on your website. Users can get to the site through keywords and queries that have been included in the content, and if they like the text, they are likely to share it, e.g. on social media. Content can greatly increase the conversion rate.

Unique content – content cannot be copied from other sites. Content on the page must be unique. It is important to know how to write SEO texts so that they are accessible to users and search engine robots. This is an important element not only of conversion, but also positioning of the page. A site with an internal and external duplicate will lose the trust of users as well as crawlers. Create consistent and targeted content, share knowledge, and personalize product descriptions. Think about what content the recipient can expect and what knowledge to gain from it.

Optimization of photos – it is important to have good photo titles, especially to correctly describe the alt attribute. In addition, photos should be encouraging and allow a thorough view of the product from all sides. At the same time, the graphics must be optimal in size so that they do not slow down the page loading speed.

Video – a short film about a company, product, assembly or how it works, is another factor that affects website conversion. Video placed on the site with some products may affect the final purchase decision.

Header optimization – not only for valid h1-h3 markings, but also for naming. Do not use summary information in product titles and names. Article, category or product description should be properly written using key phrases, long tail and product specification.

Communication – a quick and comprehensive answer to customer doubts helps to increase the conversion rate. In addition, real-time communication (live chat or Messenger) generates a greater number of satisfied customers who return to the store. According to research conducted by Paraphrase-Online.com, as many as 79% of customers prefer live chat because it offers an immediate response. However, as many as 92% of users are satisfied with the level of service, and 63% of consumers return to the store that provides such a way of communication.

There is no one good way to optimize and thus increase the conversion rate. Each time you need to adapt it to a given page, think about what the potential customer expects from it, what can interrupt it in making the final purchasing process and what to do to change it.

How to measure the conversion?

Google Analytics is an indispensable tool for creating goals and measuring conversion effects. Through this tool you can analyze whether the implemented optimization elements give the desired results in the form of new customers and completed purchasing processes. Measuring conversions should include analyzing user needs, implementing them, and correcting what is not working properly.

With the help of this tool you can specify:
– how many people went to the homepage,
– how long they stayed on the site,
– what and how many pages the user viewed at that time,
– what actions did it perform on the site.

Reports from Google Analytics will allow you to analyze the quality of the page and tell you if you will need to implement new facilities on it that will interest the user and lead to a conversion resulting in the purchase or use of the service.

A / B tests

This is another way you can see if your conversion rate is increasing. The A /B test involves creating two versions of the page, in which the interface, layout of graphic elements and content as well as the overall design are different. Then it is measured and analyzed which version attracts more recipients. A/B tests can be performed in Google Optimize, which allows you to edit and correct HTML code, Javascript rules or cascading style sheets (CSS) – without the help of programmers. This tool allows you to later test different variants of the page. The conversion of A and B pages is also measured via Google Analytics or tools that track customer traffic on the website (heat map website).

How to increase the conversion/conversion rate in the online store and on the website?

The basis for increasing the conversion rate is setting goals that minimize the effect of empty traffic (i.e. short visits to the site that are not profitable). What is the reason for this situation? That the customer did not find what he was looking for on the page. He could have been addressed to her via keywords, but the content and products ultimately did not match his expectations. Work on every detail of your website – headers that will reach a specific target group, a category tree that should be legible with overall consistency and credibility. Find out what other ways are there to increase conversion on your website or online store.

Newsletter – it is worth encouraging the user to subscribe to the newsletter. A good way to convince him of this is a bonus, e.g. a discount for first purchases or a free e-book with practical knowledge. It’s worth using the tool to create personalized emails here.

Choice of payment and delivery – customers have their own preferences regarding the choice of payment and delivery methods. It is worth providing some of the most popular options on the site.

Call to action – visible buttons calling to click work well. They can be placed directly on the page or in the text (also in the form of internal linking).

Graphics and infographics – illustrating the purchasing process, graphic category tree, photos that make the product seem more tangible – these are the elements that affect the conversion.

Banners promotions and sales – clear and legible messages about discounts and promotions available on the site encourage potential customers to click on them and take advantage of the promotion.

Social media – consistent actions on social media (matched to the business profile), builds reliability and increases the brand’s position in the eyes of the customer.

Web push – web push notifications are small pop-ups that engage the user. It is also a way to generate leads.

Countdown clock – countdown clocks, which, for example, counts down the time to end the promotion, increases the user’s sense of uniqueness and transience of an attractive offer, which speeds up the purchasing process.

Exit Pop-up – a pop-up window appears when the customer wants to leave the site. The banner that appears at the time of exit should arouse interest and keep the potential customer for longer, e.g. through a discount on purchases, if he subscribes to the newsletter.