Analytics Conversions vs. Take Rates

First of all if you don’t have google analytics on your website you should. It is free and fairly easy to use once you get the hang of it. There are tutorials on youtube and around the web OR you can always hire someone to do it. Analytics allows you to see how much web traffic you are getting on your site, where it is coming from, how people found you, and a whole long list of other important information. One of the Things that you can track is conversion and take rates in combination with adwords or another campaign intended to direct people to your website.

If you place an ad on google you can track how many people clicked on the ad and went to your site. This is important information, but it does not quite help you answer the question if your campaign was successful. You need more information. Ask specifically what did you want them to do when they went to your site: Order something, download something, or sign up for a newsletter?

The take rate is the amont of people that clicked on your ad and then went to your downloads page, shopped in your store but did not purchase,  or went to you newsletter sign up page and did not complete it.

The conversion rate is when people go to your downloads page and download the intended information, purchase something in your store, or fully sign up for your newsletter.

The difference between these two rates is very important. If you have a 50% take rate, but only a 10% conversion rate the important question to ask is WHY? What it is that is stopping people from completing the action? Finding the answer to this question could make a huge difference in your sales.

If you intend people to sign up for your newsletter and they go to your newsletter page, but don’t sign up, look at your sign up form. What is it about your form that is stopping people from signing up? Is it too long? Do you ask too much information? Is the form confusing? Is it working? It could be as simple as the form doesn’t work with a specific browser.

If you want people to download information and they go to the downloads page, but do not download, why? Again it is too complicated? is is working?

And if people go to your store and put things in their cart, but do not purchase, why? Is your shopping cart to difficult to use? Do you force people to join and maybe they only want to shop as a guest? Is your price point too high?

Just having a website and performing campaigns to drive traffic to your site is not enough. You need to look deeper into it to know if you are spending your marketing money wisely. Just because you think it should work or be a specific way does not mean your customers agree.