Defining your website conversion metrics
Deciding on your website's conversion metrics are key to a successful Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) strategy. It's crucial to measure outcomes that align with your business goals. Here's a simple guide to help you determine your conversion metrics:
- Align with Business Goals: Your conversion metrics should be directly linked to your business objectives. If your goal is to increase sales, the number of completed purchases might be your primary metric. If your goal is lead generation, the number of form submissions or newsletter sign-ups would be a suitable metric.
- Understand Your Audience: Deeply understand the behavior of your users. Identify the actions they take that indicate a deeper level of engagement or a move towards becoming a customer. Knowing the actions engaged, quality visitors on your site take will help you with the next step.
- Measure Micro and Macro Conversions: Macro conversions are the primary goals of your website, like product purchases. Micro conversions are smaller steps that lead to a macro conversion, like adding a product to the cart. Both are essential for a thorough understanding of your conversion performance.
- Use Analytics Tools: You'll need to have analytics tools installed on your website that allow you to track things like conversions, sign ups, leads, button clicks, etc. Google Analytics (also called GA4) is a popular free website analytics tool that also integrates with CRO tools like Lucky Orange. If you’re using a website builder platform like Shopify, BigCommerce or Square, you’ll already have access to these types of analytics as a part of your subscription.
Remember, defining your conversion metrics isn’t a one-time task. As your business grows and evolves, so should your conversion metrics. Regularly review and update them to ensure they continue to support your business objectives.
Industry-Wide Conversion Benchmarks
Understanding conversion rates in the context of your specific industry can provide valuable insights and realistic expectations for your CRO efforts. The following chart from Unbounce presents industry-wise conversion rate benchmarks. This data is useful to gauge your website's performance relative to industry standards and identify areas where your conversion rate may need improvement. Remember, a successful CRO strategy isn’t about reaching a certain percentage, but about continuous improvement and growth.
The Unbounce Conversion Benchmark Report