I wrote this article for the Delaware.Net company blog, enjoy!

Every website owner needs to pay close attention to performance in the search engines (eyeballs) and how their site content/design is leading their potential customers to produce a desired result (usability). In the case of an ecommerce customer, conversion would be someone reaching the website from a search engine and buying a product. In the case of a client who is testing market demand for a new business idea, conversion could be the amount of people who download a white paper.

The formula below illustrates how to determine the conversion rate of your website:

For instance if 200 visitors used the search term “chrome air filter” to reach your site and 10 placed an order then the Conversion Rate for the search term “chrome air filter” is 5% [calculated as (10/200) x 100%].

Why is understanding conversion important?
Without knowing the conversion rate of your website, you can not possibly understand the effectiveness of your online marketing. There are many pieces that make up the complex subjects of search engine optimization and search engine marketing but, knowing the current conversion rate of your website is a valuable and easy way to determine if change is necessary.

What can you do to improve conversion rate?
Like any aspect of your business, a website requires constant analysis and tending. Understanding what website visitors are doing while on your website is critical to your online success. Without this knowledge, you are gambling with your online identity and possibly the future of your company as your competitors embrace this technology. Delaware.net has many tools available to help website owners understand why their customers are coming to the site and immediately leaving, this is also known as bounce rate.

What is bounce rate?
Bounce rate is calculated differently depending on what software you are using for analytics but the simple explanation of bounce rate is the amount of time someone spends on one page without performing the action of a page click to another page and/or leaving the site. If someone visits your home or landing page and does not go to other pages, that would be calculated as a bounce.

How can Delaware.Net help your business?
Building successful websites for over 10 years gives Delaware.net a distinct advantage over other firms, especially when it comes to this area of website development. Websites are no longer about painting a pretty picture and hoping for the best. Our most successful clients embrace their website as a business tool and understand the need for constant attention and analysis. We offer monthly content and search engine performance enhancements for many of our clients to ensure success.

For more information, contact Greg Austin today: 888-432-7965 ext. 126