Which conversion should I report?
August 11, 2008
Understanding Your Conversion Rates
The question is a rather odd one: “What’s your conversion rate?” The correct response would be another question: “Which conversion rate?” What most people are really asking is how many sales have you made? But the sales process – in almost all cases – takes more than one step.
Fact is, every step in between can be viewed as a conversion. And each of these micro-conversions can reveal interesting information about your sales path and how well it is functioning.
When you get to this level, it’s easier to determine the conversion rate because a sale has occurred. This is the one conversion rate most people rely on. As you can see, however, all the steps beforehand are vital to getting people to this moment in time. If one is out of sync, the process can potentially shut down.
When you test your copywriting, take it one conversion point at a time.
After reading an excellent post by Karon Thackston, I wanted to add that many clients only care about the final figure when they are evaluating month end results. Managing each conversion event is crucial for website optimization and the selling process but too many times clients want the bottom line figure.
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