e-dreaming

Industry statistics show that 1-2% is the industry norm for online conversion rates, i.e. only one or two out of 100 visitors do what they came there to do.  Shouldn't we be asking ourselves WHY?  When someone walks into a brick and mortar store, the percentage of those who buy is somewhere in excess of 40%—so why do we settle for such low online conversion rates?  Heck, setting aside the lost revenue implications for a second, what a shame it is to disappoint so many visitors.

Owners may be frustrated with the poor profitability of their website, but lack the understanding or even the vocabulary to properly express the concern to their web developer.  And the truth is, depending upon the relationship the owner has with their website developer (in-house or outsourced), the website developer may have no interest or stake in ensuring the website is effective, i.e. they may have already moved on.  But more often than not, the real problem is that mainstream website developers simply don't have a real understanding of conversion optimization, so even if they want to make things better, their chances of tangible and predictable success are minimal.  As a result, most of their (largely futile) efforts are based upon hunches, personal opinion, or anecdotal evidence.

Over the next few years, the gulf between the websites that perform and those that don't (and, as a result, often times, the companies that perform and those that don't) will be determined by the website owners' investment in conversion optimization.