How Many Clicks Should It Take to Convert a Sale?
May 5, 2008
I often read people at DigitalPoint ask how many clicks per sale is considered a good conversion rate. The answer from the community is usually the tried and true “it depends”. Since this isn’t very helpful for someone who is just starting out, I thought I would share my perspective of the question.
Because I rely on the search engines for traffic instead of PPC, the formula is bit more complex for me. Generally I set up a simple website with a main page and 4 or 5 articles to start with. I will then submit another 5 original articles to places like ezinearticles.com to build a small traffic flow. This process usually takes a couple of days and my goal is to earn two or three sales. Obviously this isn’t much, but it does let me know that the sales page converts on some level. Ideally I would see a conversion for every fifty clicks to the offer.
Now I know there is some potential and I can test out some new keywords. Let’s say I built a site about attracting women. If I targeted the phrase “attract women” and had some success, then I will continue my other online strategies to boost traffic for this term. Once I average 50 visitors a day I can gauge if this keyword will produce on a consistent level. If it doesn’t then I know it is time to try the next approach. Remember, I have already experienced some sales so I know the product has potential.
The second phase of testing involves trying a new keyword to increase conversions. In the example website above, I might write some content focusing on the phrase “meeting women” or “dating women”. Even though this may seem like a subtle change, it could be all it takes to increase sales. If your sales spike after promoting these terms then you know you need to focus more on the new terms. If conversions decline, then perhaps you hit the nail on the head from the beginning.
They key is to keep throwing new keyword content into the mix and finding what sticks. Even though your site will start slowly you can still measure results between the different terms. Always think in future volume. How proportionate are the conversions to the time and money you spend on them. If you are in a niche where you can easily get five hundred visitors per day, then you might only expect 1 in 300 to buy. If however it takes a lot of work to get steady visitors and only 1 in every 100 convert, then it might not be worth your time.
It is not always easy to pick a proven winner in affiliate marketing. Everyone writes and thinks about things differently. So while your buddy might convert on every 30 clicks for a product, your particular style and strategy might not even reach 1 in 100. That being said, it might be worth it if it was easy for you to gain your 100 visitors.
It is all about how much time and effort is involved when measuring productivity with article marketing and SEO. The only thing you have to be cautious of is giving up on a project too early. You could literally wake up one day and find yourself in the top 5 search results and your sales steadily growing. So let a project simmer if you are getting frustrated. Submit it to 700 directories and work on something else for a few months. Once your site climbs the SERP’s it could be whole different story.
