Why Conversions Are More Important Than Clicks

You built your website and are driving traffic to it. You wrote compelling copy and set up an analytics program to monitor traffic trends. Now it's time to sit back and reap the rewards of all your hard work, right?

Wrong.

Now it's time to analyze all those charts and graphs within your analytics program, and optimize your site for lifting conversion rates.

A conversion occurs when a user visits your site and takes the desired action (makes a purchase, subscribes to your service, submits a form, downloads an eBook, etc.). Your conversion rate is the percentage of your overall traffic that takes the desired action. The reason to optimize your conversions is to increase the percentage of users who do what you want them to.

Three years ago, conversion rate optimization was the new kid on the block; a few people were listening, and a few people were preaching, but most were more interested in how to get the click than how to convert them.

Last year, conversion rate optimization became the hot shot on the block with everyone discuss-ing it online, in conference rooms, and at marketing conferences around the world. Today, conversion rate optimization has arrived in all its glory, and is fast on its way to becoming the leading strategy for online marketing.