Comments on: Conversion Question

By: Stefan Wobben

Stefan Wobben — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:12:47 +0000

i think overall conversion can help as a benchmark for other conversions. The freezer/hotplate example ‘it gives you more perspective on how cold is cold and how hot is hot’.

I kinda like the idea of breaking down overall conversion into small steps. By isolating steps it’s easier to see where opportunities lies. It makes me thinking of Business Driver Dialogue.

By: Captain Blackbeak

Captain Blackbeak — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:45:50 +0000

@Soeren;
Conversion rate is a KPI. If it’s too low on average you need to do something about it.

I agree with your concept of looking at where people are leaving a funnel and optimizing that. In my book (due out in April) the Insight model describes similar steps to do a conversion assessment.

I look at exit rates, bounces and poor engagement as defined by the goals of the site to pinpoint areas to optimize conversion. That’s why I said that bounce is important to measure. It is a direct measure of an irrelevant visit to a page.

It surprises me that so many people are discounting bounce rates from their conversion optimization process. It’s basically where you should start and one of the easiest things to find from the tools.

By: Soeren Sprogoe

Soeren Sprogoe — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:16:51 +0000

To me, the basic conversion rate is utter useless and most often confusing, and a basis for making wrong decissions.

First of all, it’s an average over how all trafic is performing through all of your site. It’s like saying that if you stand with one leg in a freezer and the other on a hot plate, on average you’re okay

What you need to do is to expand the concept of Conversion Rate into a Conversion Funnel. And start measuring where exactly it is people drop out your webshop, and start optimizing that.

A basic conversion funnel could consist of the following steps:
1) Visits
2) Non-bounces (Visits – bounces)
3) Visits to the beginning of the checkout process.
4) Conversions
(your could add a 3a, each checkout step)

That way you’ll get a clearer view of where exactly it is you are going wrong with your site/shop. And you can start optimizing towards lowering the dropout rate for each of the steps. Don’t pay too much attention to the overall CR, take it in steps.