What’s an Acceptable Website Conversion Rate?

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Having a website is no longer a luxury; it’s now a necessity for businesses in nearly all industries. This allows them to remain competitive. 

However, having a website does not mean you’re automatically going to succeed as a business. Therefore, you have to design your website so it encourages users to take action that leads to increased sales.

This process is called conversion rate optimization (CRO), and it’s an essential part of having a successful website. 

So, what is an acceptable website conversion rate? And how can you improve yours? Read on to find out how you can make this occur.

What is a Website Conversion Rate?

Conversion rates represent the percentages where website visitors take a specific action. The activity could include anything from purchases to subscribing to a newsletter.

A number of factors can affect your site’s conversion rate, such as the overall design, the quality of the content, and your target audience.

Therefore, improving the conversion rate can be a challenge. Nevertheless, it’s worth the effort if you can increase the number of leads or sales you generate.

How to Calculate the Conversion Rate

You can calculate the conversion rate in one of the various methods. The most common method is to take the number of conversions and divide that number by the number of visitors to your site.

However, this method doesn’t give you the whole picture. That’s because it doesn’t take into account the number of people who didn’t convert  – but may have only been interested in your product or service.

A more accurate way to figure your conversion rate is to take the number of people who took action on your site (e.g. made a purchase, subscribed to a newsletter, etc.) and divide it by the total number of unique visitors to your site. This will give you a better idea of how many people are actually converting, rather than just visiting your site.

Once you have your conversion rate, you can start working on ways to improve it. A number of factors can affect conversion rates, so it’s important to experiment and test different methods to see what works best for your business.

For example, Forbes recommends optimizing the user experience (UX). To do this, you need to focus on usability, page design, process design, navigation, website speed, and how you lay out your email.

To ensure better conversions, you may have to make modifications to page headlines or improve specific features, such as content, voice, offers, calls to action, creatives, messaging, size choices, and colors. You may also need to use A/B testing to find out the best approach for driving conversions.

What is a Satisfactory Conversion Percentage?

Again, a website’s conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to the site who take a specific action. 

Therefore, a satisfactory conversion rate is relative to the goals of the website and industry. For example, if a website’s goal is to sell products or send out newsletters, an acceptable conversion rate represents better sales results or signups. 

The rate is propitious then if it helps you achieve your objectives or the vision you have for your company.

With respect to sales, an average conversion rate usually falls between 2% and 5% for e-commerce businesses. Any rate over 5% is considered “superior” or above the norm.

Industry by Industry Percentages

Let’s take a closer look: industry by industry.

E-commerce businesses show an average rate of conversions is around 3.70%, with top percentages hovering around 6.25%.

Business-to-business (B2B) websites report a conversion rate of about 4.30% for average progress and 11% if they’re converting well.

Legal websites are not doing too bad if they have an average conversion rate of 4.12% and are growing by leaps and bounds when conversions reach a top tier of 6.45%.

Finance websites typically show average conversion rates of around 11% and top percentages of about 24%.

So, a conversion rate is not cut-and-dried. Your rate highly depends on your field. As you can see, finance and business-to-business websites convert at higher rates than legal or e-commerce sites. Therefore, you need to consider these factors when you’re designing your website.

How to Improve your Website’s Conversion Rate

A high website conversion rate is the key to success for any online business. After all, what’s the point of having a website if no one is buying from it?

You’ll discover several ways to improve your website’s conversion rate. Here are some of the most effective:

1. Improve your Website’s Design

Your website’s design has a big impact on attracting new buyers. If your site is outdated or poorly designed, visitors won’t trust it as much and therefore avoid making a purchase. In response, you need to make sure your site is up-to-date and uses attractive visuals to guide guests through the buying process.

2. Make your Value Proposition Clear

Visitors need to know what they can expect when they do business with your platform. Make sure your value proposition is prominently displayed on your home page and throughout the web pages on your site. That means using compelling copy and persuasive calls to action to convince visitors that you’re the best choice for their buying needs or services.

3. Streamline the Checkout Process

Don’t lose potential customers at the final hurdle by making your checkout process time-consuming or complex. Keep it as simple as possible. This will allow visitors to complete their transactions quickly and easily. Include guest checkout options to further reduce friction at this phase in the game.

4. Offer Customer Support

Make sure you offer customer support in case visitors have questions or problems when they navigate your site. Live chat and phone support are helpful as well as FAQs that cover all the basics of ordering, returns, and charges.

Conclusion

You can use some general benchmarks to gauge whether the conversion rate for your website is healthy. Depending on your industry, your conversion rate number is definitely a telling feature. While most e-commerce sites have median to top conversion rates between 2% and 5%, finance sites may see percentages between 11% and 24%.

Increase Your Website Conversion Rate by Calling Website Depot Today

If you want to increase your sales, you need to experience higher conversion rates. To help you in this pursuit, contact Website Depot today. Call (888) 477-9540 to grow your website and experience sales success virtually and locally.