Why Is My Conversion Rate Dropping?
Are you constantly struggling with a lack of traffic or conversion rate? It’s not uncommon for digital marketing to feel like a constant uphill battle. As marketers, we can spend weeks coming up with the perfect campaign and invest in the best tools to track performance, only to see little ROI because there’s always something that can be optimized further. The traffic vs. conversion problem is one of those things that you don’t realize is an issue until it’s directly in front of you. Both sides need to work together as efficiently as possible if you want your business to grow and thrive. Thankfully, there are ways to solve the underlying issues and make sure your marketing strategy works in tandem from start to finish.
Why Do You Always Lose Money?
The traffic vs. conversion problem begins with a lack of traffic, which can be attributed to a few different reasons: Your chosen marketing channels might not be effective for your audience. If you’re trying to sell running shoes for marathon runners to people who don’t run, you’re going to have a really tough time converting those visitors into customers. It’s important to know your audience and where they spend their time online so you can speak to them in a language they understand.
– You’re not investing in the right tools. If you’re not using the right conversion tracking software, you won’t know what’s working and what isn’t. Without the proper data, your marketing campaigns will feel like shots in the dark.
– You’re taking too long to close the sale. Shoppers are less likely to make a purchase if it takes them more than five minutes to find what they’re looking for. Your landing pages, checkout process, and website as a whole should be designed with purchase intent in mind.
Why is There a Traffic vs. Conversion Problem?
As important as traffic is to the success of your business, conversion rates are even more so. Getting a higher volume of traffic might seem like a better option, but that doesn’t account for the fact that the majority of that traffic will be people who aren’t ready to make a purchase. That’s why it’s essential that your marketing strategy begins with the end goal in mind. You can’t just throw money at one random channel after another and hope for the best. You have to plan out your entire marketing strategy with a focus on conversion rates from the very beginning. If you don’t, you’re guaranteed to run into issues down the line.
Strategies to Solve the Problem
- Define Your Customer Personas. Before you can figure out what type of traffic you should be focusing on, you have to understand who exactly those people are. What do they like to do in their spare time? What kind of music do they listen to? How old are they? What are their pain points? Once you know who your ideal customer is, it’ll be a lot easier to
focus your efforts in the right areas.
- Define Your Customer Personas. Before you can figure out what type of traffic you should be focusing on, you have to understand who exactly those people are. What do they like to do in their spare time? What kind of music do they listen to? How old are they? What are their pain points? Once you know who your ideal customer is, it’ll be a lot easier to
- Follow a Strategic Marketing Approach. Your marketing strategy should be broken down into phases, starting with a solid foundation. Create an effective website, invest in content, and find ways to gain valuable organic traffic before you start investing in paid traffic. Paid traffic can be an extremely valuable tool when used correctly, but it shouldn’t be your first priority.
- Prioritize the Conversion Funnel. When it comes to your marketing strategy, there should be an unshakeable focus on the conversion funnel. You don’t want your paid traffic to go to waste, so you have to find ways to keep them progressing through the buying cycle. Make sure your website is designed with a conversion funnel in mind. Your product pages, checkout process, and other purchase decision-making factors all have to come together seamlessly.
Stop Chasing Big ROI Weighed By Big Investments
Big ROI numbers sound great, but they won’t do anything for you if you’re spending all of your resources on one channel and neglecting others entirely. Focus on your highest ROI channels and leave the rest for another day. If you’re constantly chasing the highest ROI numbers, you’ll never have enough resources to distribute among multiple channels. Start small and work your way up as you figure out what works and what doesn’t.
Try Something Different and Track the Results
Chances are you’ve been investing a lot of time and effort into one or two channels. As much as you’d like to believe that the majority of your traffic is coming from those sources, they’re probably not. You’re not engaging with enough potential customers on a consistent basis to reach a large enough audience. One quick way to solve the traffic vs. conversion problem is to try something different. Try hosting a contest or giveaway, start guest posting, or find other ways to reach out to new audiences. You also have to be able to track your results in a way that makes sense. If your marketing efforts are scattered, you won’t be able to understand what’s working and what isn’t.
Change Your Measurement Tool Strategy
Measurement tools are incredibly valuable for marketers, but they’re only as useful as you make them. If you’re only tracking sales and conversions, you’re missing out on a huge piece of the puzzle. If you’re struggling with a traffic vs. conversion problem, it might be time to add some secondary metrics to your tracking strategy. You want to be able to see the complete picture so you can optimize your marketing efforts accordingly. What is your customer journey? Where are they coming from, what are they reading, and how are they interacting with your brand? This can be done through social channels and email marketing. You want to see what your customers are interested in so you can create more content for them. What are your customers talking about? You can also discover what people are saying about you and your brand through social media monitoring. This will help you understand customer sentiment and find opportunities to improve.
Bottom Line
When it comes to your marketing strategy, you have to start with a clear understanding of where you want to go. Once you know what you want your company to look like in five years, you can start mapping out the steps you need to take to get there. You also have to understand how your traffic and conversion rates are currently affecting your bottom line. The sooner you figure out how to solve the traffic vs. conversion problem, the sooner you’ll start to see your profits grow.
