Finally: An Easier Way to Understand Website Traffic & Conversions

If you'd like more conversions (sales, clients, email subscribers); there are two ways to gain traction with your website:

(1) Send more traffic to your page 

(2) Get a better conversion rate from the traffic you're already getting

Think of it like this: Let's say you own an ice cream store. Last month, one in four people who walked by came in and bought ice cream. If you'd like to sell to twice as many people the next month you either need (1) Two times as many people to walk by, or (2) The same number of people to walk by, but two in four to buy ice cream.

People walking by = traffic to your website

The number of people buying ice cream = your conversation rate
 

Building or tweaking your social, ad, email, and guest posting strategy will contribute to more traffic (people walking by). Optimizing your landing page and/or website increases your conversion rate (the number of people doing what you hope they would--buying ice cream; buying a product; scheduling a call...).

Another thing we can learn from the ice cream example is why both traffic and conversion rate matter. If you have the best advertising and 2 X as many people come in the next month, but your ice cream is terrible, you won't have repeat customers or referrals (tanking future sales). On the flip side of the coin, if you have the most delicious ice cream, but there's no sign out front indicating that you sell ice cream, people are going to have a hard time finding you.

Of course, the importance of each one doesn't stop people from coming to me and asking: What do I change first; my website or my social/ad strategy? I'll examine both, and if the website is decent, we may start with traffic goals. But if both elements need work, start with your website. You don't want to invest in driving people there only to disappoint them: No one wants to be known for making bad ice cream.