Conversion rates are another one of the three main KPIs that I keep a close track of for every campaign. CTR tells me how well the ads are doing their jobs. Ads get people to a page. The page is what gets people to take action. Yes, the ads themselves can have actionable items attached to them, but for anybody selling a service or a physical product the page plays a huge role in their PPC campaigns.
What is a conversion?
A conversion is just the measurable action that you want your customers to take (in Google ads, this is the number of conversion actions taken compared to the number of clicks, written as a percentage). This could be signing up for a subscription, selling a product (shoes, pans, dog chews, etc), submitting contact information, or completing a phone call. Google Ads and other PPC platforms offer a variety of different ways to register conversion actions. The main thing is deciding what you want that conversion action to be, and the accurately placing the conversion tracking snippets into your site.
What is a good conversion rate?
Much like CTR, this is going to require some research. A high volume campaign will likely yield a lower conversion. Lower traffic campaigns have to take advantage of a higher conversion rate, so a higher goal is needed. Do some comparative research on your market, your target audience, and the types of products that are being sold. High demand and a huge market might mean a fairly high conversion rate. Low demand and a small market could mean that your conversion rate is going to be lower to start. My “Gold Standard” is to start at 10%, and then raise or lower my expectations based off of the results. If the research shows that my expectations should be lowered or raised up front, then I’ll do so.
Quick Tips
Working on conversion rate is part of the daily management that I put into every campaign. Some tests take longer to run, while others yield more immediate results. Keywords and ads can both play a part in increasing conversion rates over time, but page testing and conversion monitoring will make a bigger long term difference. Here are some of my best practices for a page that converts well:
Make sure the call to action is clear at the top of the landing page. This could be a form, phone number, or cart. The steps to take should be clear from the time the visitor hits the page.
Consider adding a video above the fold. What you can write in text for users to read, you can easily give to them in a video. A video helps to build a relationship between your potential customers and you, your products, and your brand. Keep it to 1-2 minutes and highlight what makes you different and the problems that you solve.
Disable navigation at the top of the page. This can help to keep clients from getting distracted by other pages, and keep them focused on the call to action and the video above the fold.
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