Digital marketing has its own vocabulary, and part of our job is to make sure it never gets in the way of a productive conversation.
One of the first terms we use with almost all our clients is ‘conversion,’ so before we go any further, let’s make sure we’re speaking the same language.
A conversion happens when someone interacts with your marketing and completes an action you want them to take.
It’s the moment when a stranger becomes a lead, a lead becomes a customer, or a past customer returns.
Imagine walking into a store, looking around, and then buying something at the counter. That purchase is the conversion. Online, it’s similar, but instead of a cashier, it might be a button on your website.
What an Online Conversion Looks Like
What counts as a conversion depends on your goals and where your audience connects with you. Some of the most common examples include:
- Filling out a contact or quote request form
- Calling your business from a website or ad
- Making an online purchase
- Signing up for an email list
- Clicking a link inside an email campaign
- Scheduling an appointment
- Sharing or saving a social media post
- Sending a direct message through a social platform
- Clicking directions to your location
- Downloading a file or guide you offer
Most online actions can be tracked as conversions. Choose the ones that match your business goals and start measuring those.
What is a conversion rate?
After you understand conversions, the next important metric is conversion rate.
Your conversion rate is the percentage of people who took the action you wanted out of everyone who had the opportunity.
For example, if 100 people visit your website and 5 fill out your contact form, your conversion rate for that action is 5%.
A higher conversion rate usually means your message, design, offer, and user experience are working well together. If your conversion rate is low, it might mean people are interested, but something is holding them back from taking the next step.
What counts as a high conversion rate depends on your industry and business model. A 5% conversion rate might be exceptional for one company and underwhelming for another. The most useful benchmark is your own historical data. If your rate trends up over time, you’re moving in the right direction.
Why We Track Conversions
We track conversions because guessing is expensive. We want our clients to understand what their marketing is doing and how customers are engaging across their online presence.
Conversion tracking gives you data on examples like which ads are leading to calls and which pages on your website are getting people to act. It also shows where people lose interest, so you can make informed decisions based on what’s working and what’s not.
What Counts as a Conversion Is Up to You
Conversions are different for every business because each one has its own goals and audience.
Your conversions should be the actions that matter most to your goals. We help you define those goals first, then set up tracking so you can see when and how often conversions happen.
How We Use Conversions to Grow Your Business
When we meet, we’ll ask questions like:
- What’s the number one thing you want people to do on your website or marketing platform?
- What does success look like for you in the next six to twelve months?
From there, we create your marketing strategy to bring the right people to your platforms and make it easy for them to take action. We track conversions, test different buttons, headlines, and layouts, and keep improving until we see the results we want.
Now You’re Thinking Like a Marketer
When you start looking at your digital presence in terms of conversions, it becomes much easier to measure your marketing ROI.
So next time we’re in a meeting and talk about improving your conversions, you’ll know exactly what we mean. We want to encourage more of your online visitors to take the next step to grow your business.
Let’s chat about what that could look like for you.
