e-dreaming

I am regularly asked the question, "What SHOULD a website or landing page conversion rate be?"  Unfortunately, there's not an easy answer.  The industry average is easy enough: it's somewhere around 1.5% to 2%.  And while that number is ridiculous, the real bad news is that too many folks are willing to live with that.

Top online retailers are upwards of 10%, including Amazon at 16%, ProFlowers at around 20%, and 1800petmeds is converting at 24%, just to name a few.  But there are some websites that come it closer to 50%, e.g. Schwans at almost 46%.  At 30dps, we've even seen conversion rates as high as 60%.  The nature of some businesses and their websites (like Schwans) help facilitate higher conversion rates, i.e. Schwans' customers are reordering staples, like milk.  But few websites convert at those levels without doing some things very well.

When asked the question about the "right" conversion rate, I usually respond with the thoughtful line "it depends!"  While I would concede that it's a pretty silly reply, it's also true.  There are a lot of factors that go into producing websites with higher conversion rates.  But the the single most important factor is a determination to convert at the highest level possible, then doing everything possible to make it happen.  Hire a consultant, agency, or employee that really understands conversion optimization.  Then listen to them!

For those whose livelihood is largely driven by their website (and that number is likely to increase over time), conversion rate is almost certainly the single most important factor that will determine profitability.  So, based on that, what's the "right" conversion rate?  I say set the bar at 100%, then do everything possible to act like it's achievable.  If you do THAT, I guarantee that you'll experience something much higher than the typical 1-2%!