There are a few long standing myths surrounding digital marketing and conversion rates. Find out what they are and how to bust them.
Myth #1
Poor conversion rates stem directly from a poorly designed website.
While ugly and hard to navigate websites do contribute to a low conversion rate, a bigger reason may be that digital marketing channels are driving the wrong kind of visitors to your site. If your product is not what the user is looking for, they won’t go to your site or they will leave immediately after arriving. Many users decide in the first 15 seconds of interacting with your website if you have what they are looking for.
How can you make sure that the users that are arriving to your site will make meaningful interactions?
For starters, don’t fall victim to a second, similar myth.
Myth #2
Digital marketing channels and your website control completely separate aspects of gaining conversions.
The myth is that digital marketing channels drive users to your site, while it’s the responsibility of the website to create the conversion. However, it shouldn’t be looked at as such a linear process.
Digital marketing channels and your website work much closer together than you probably realize.
Shopify says it best:
“Digital marketing must drive the right kind of people, otherwise it will adversely impact the site’s ability to encourage [users] to act.”
So, what constitutes as the right kind of traffic? Let’s start with quality over quantity. Reaching lots of people is great, until the people you reach don’t act. Then, your conversion rate is seriously impacted.
A solution to this problem is targeting your ads so that while they may reach less people, they will reach people more likely to act. This will increase your conversion rate in the long run.
Next, one should look at what kind of channels are driving this quality traffic for your business. Two important factors are through which channels are most users clicking on your ads, and of these users, which ones are completing the intended action.
These two factors are also the two parts of the definition of conversion. We’ve talked a lot about conversion rates and conversions so far, so let’s take a minute and remind everyone what a conversion actually is.
What is a conversion?
A conversion is a user taking an action that you determine valuable to your business like an online purchase, a phone call, a contact form submission or an email newsletter subscribe, etc. The conversion is configured to be tracked each time a user performs the desired action. In internet marketing and digital ad campaigns, you want the user to interact with your ad and then take action.
The key here is “and then.” A simple click on your ad is not counted as a conversion. In order for a conversion to be counted, a user much click your ad and then make a purchase, sign up for an email list, download a coupon, share a post with friends, or something of the like.
Once you understand what a conversion is, it is easy to monitor the profitability of digital ad campaigns and stop giving valuable resources (like your marketing budget) to channels that aren’t profitable for you.
So, what now?
Use the Right Channels
Under performing channels contribute to lower conversion rates. If you have three channels performing equally well and one channel underperforming, that one channel will always drag the conversion rate down so that it doesn’t accurately reflect the success of the ad campaign.
Target the Right Audience
This is the big one we’ve discussed already. Make sure your ads are connecting with the correct demographic you’re targeting, not just driving traffic. This may lead to an overall decrease in clicks, but an overall increase in conversions. Deciding if this is beneficial to you depends on your product and your message.
Generally speaking, when you design a digital marketing campaign, budget restrictions force you to make some decisions about the people you’re targeting. If you focus your efforts more on the people that are likely to act, you’ll get a higher conversion rate and, theoretically, more business. Being able to identify this target audience for your ads will save you money and drive business to your website.
Identify the Right Moment
You must also consider the user’s journey when attempting to drive people to the site. If a user isn’t at the point in their buying journey where they are ready to make a purchase, call for a consultation, subscribe to an email list, etc., then they won’t.
No matter how great your advertisement is or how beautiful your website is, they will not complete the intended action if they are not ready to. This will negatively impact your conversion rate.
To Conclude
There isn’t one reason that conversion rates are low. Remember that digital marketing and website design work together, while remembering the 3 factors to improving conversion rates: the right channels, the right audience, and the right moment.