April 21, 2006

Get Conversions, Not Just Clicks!


A lot of people have asked the question, "How can I get a high conversion rate from my Pay-Per-Click advertisements?"

Well, first we need to understand exactly what a "conversion rate" is! And thankfully, that's a very simple thing to do...

A conversion rate is simply the percentage of website visitors who take a "desired action."

And a "desired action" can take on many forms, all of which will be different from website to website.

Examples of Desired Actions include:

Sales of products, membership registrations, software downloads, newsletter subscriptions, information requests and pretty much any activity beyond simple page browsing.

A high conversion rate will depend on these factors:

  • the interest level of the visitor
  • attractiveness of the offer to the visitor
  • how easy it is to complete the desired action

1. The interest level of the visitor is maximized by matching the right visitor, with the right offer, at the right time.

2. The attractiveness of an offer includes the proposed value, in addition to how well it's presented to the visitor.

3. The visitor's ease of completing the desired action is very much dependent on the website's usability (user-friendliness), which includes:

  • pages that load quickly
  • pages that are easy to navigate
  • content that's organized and easy to understand
  • easy-to-read font (Times New Roman, Ariel or Verdana)
  • easy-to-read font size (12-point or higher)

Marketing Secret: It's definitely worth pointing out that small, impulse items will generally have a higher conversion rate than large shopping items will!

Write your ads for sales conversions, NOT for clicks!

This is very important! Personally, I see way too many ads that actually try to trick people into entering a website. They say things like, "Free Ringtones Here!" Or, “Get Your Free Ringtones!”

Well, of course this can get you tons of clicks, but will it get you conversions??? Remember, you're paying PER CLICK with your advertising, so you definitely want to make certain those clicks count!

So with the Ringtones, for example, let's take a look at the facts of the offer:

  • People put in their phone number and get free Ringtones
  • People get 15 free Ringtones when they sign up
  • People are charged a monthly fee after they get their free Ringtones

Use these to write an ad that will convert at a higher percentage!

An example of a bad ad would be: "Get Free Ringtones - Just Click Here For Free Ringtones!

An example of a good ad would be: "Get 15 Free Ringtones – Just enter your phone number and receive your Free Ringtones!"

Another example of a good ad would be: "Free Ringtones – Get 15 Free Ringtones with each new subscription!"

Bottom line…

Don't ever attempt to trick or fool your customers! If you do, your ads will surely get the costly clicks, but they will not convert into sales. And your potential customers will leave your site the second they think you're trying to pull a fast one on them!

And the overall result? ...Many clicks, but very few sales. Being 100% straightforward will definitely generate many more sales for you! :)

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