Website Promotion, What You MUST Understand About Your Web Numbers
...my Web statistics.
"Yuck!"
"Why should I have to do this?" I thought. "I'm not a numbers person. Such small details! I want to spend time on big ideas."
Then after a few months of poor sales, I realized I needed to learn more about my numbers so I could learn how to improve my results. (You can't improve something that you can't measure.) After getting acquainted with my stats, I not only realized that this information would help me immensely, but I was relieved that it wasn't so hard after all. It had just been something unfamiliar.
There are four types of basic "Web numbers" I want you to understand. Don't worry -- if I can handle this, you can too!
1. Sales
HOW MANY SALES are you making? This should be easy to determine on your end.
2. Unique Visitors
HOW MANY PEOPLE are visiting your sales page? To know this, you'll need to know your number of unique visitors for that specific page.
Do NOT confuse unique visitors with "hits," which refers to number of graphics downloaded.
Your Web host may already provide some stats you can access, but many of these programs are hard to understand and only track hits. If this is the case, it's well worth it to use a low-cost outside tracking service such as WebSTAT that will show you your number of unique visitors. (I use them and love their service.)
3. Sales Conversion Rate
Here's where we start with some math. Take your number of sales during a given time, and divide it by your number of visitors during that time. We'll walk through this in a minute.
4. Value per Visitor
This tells you how much each visitor is worth to you. It's basically your selling price times your conversion rate.
Let's Walk Through It Together
Say Suzy Q runs a site that sells a special report on how to teach your dog to do a back flip. The report sells for $20.
Last month she had 50 online sales. Her Web stats show that during that month she had 1,500 unique visitors.
First let's figure her sales conversion rate -- sales divided by visitors. 50 / 1,500 = .0333. We'll round it down to .03. (If we're talking about percentages, that's about 3%. Or 3 sales for every 100 visitors.)
Now, let's determine her value per visitor.
The report sells for $20, and we now know that her sales conversion rate is .03.
So .03 x $20 = $0.60.
That means each visitor is worth 60 cents to Suzy, whether they buy or not.
(Here's a longer way of doing this, but it may make more sense to you: Based on Suzy's current conversion rate, she makes an average of 3 sales per 100 visitors. 3 x $20 = $60. So for every 100 visitors she makes an average of $60. $60 / 100 visitors = $0.60 per visitor.)
This number tells Suzy how much it's worth spending to get a visitor to her site. For example, if she decides to advertise via a pay-per-click search engine (such as Google AdWords), she knows that $0.60 is the maximum she'd want to bid.
Want My FREE Calculations Template?
Would you like a free fill-in-the-blanks template to help you make the calculations above? I've put one together for you! Send a blank e-mail to ali-39796@autocontactor.com and you should receive it automatically.
What to DO With Your Numbers
First of all, look at your unique visitors. If your numbers aren't as high as you'd like, work on attracting more prospects to your site via your e-zine, search engine listings, advertisements, articles, etc.
Then look at your sales conversion rate. The average for information products is actually around only 1%, according to both my testing and that of my colleagues. (So don't get upset if that's where you're at!) Often my conversion rate is a lot higher, but it depends on who's visiting that sales page. My conversion rate will be a lot higher if I'm sending my own subscribers there (people who already know, like, and trust me) versus strangers who found me from a search engine or other website. Make sense?
Aim to continually improve your sales page to boost your results.
Keep a log of what changes you make and when you make them so you can see which factors help or hinder your sales. (There's a place for these notes in that template I created for you.)
You should also do simple "split tests", but I'll go into that another time.
Don't Wait Any Longer!
Remember, you can't improve something you can't measure. Take a few minutes and start tracking these things. I guarantee that once you do, you'll actually enjoy this process, because it gives you the power to continually IMPROVE. : )
For STEP-BY-STEP instructions on all of these strategies (and dozens more) see my SPECIAL REPORT: "101 Simple, FREE and Low-Cost Ways to Quickly Build a MASSIVE EMAIL LIST" that's part of my "Boost Business With Your Own Ezine System".
© 2005-2008 Alexandria Brown International Inc.
Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown publishes the award-winning "Highlights on Marketing Success" weekly ezine with 36,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at AlexandriaBrown.com
Related Tags: ezine, internet, online, selling, sales, web statistics, conversion rate, e-zine, alexandria brown, web numbers
Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles
Recent articles in this category:
- Dating Articles - 3 failureproof mind powerplay that will work on your ex; before your ex knows it,he/she will come r
You should make your ex realize that he made a big mistake breaking up with you by serving him the s - Family & Parenting, Can You Even Trust Your Own Family?
My brother Joachim is down from Chicago to defrost for about a week until he goes back to the - Current Affairs, Dalai Lama Reiterated Non-Violence Stance To China
The red - robed monk officially expressed frustration at China's refusal to talk with the exiled - 7 Easy Ways to Ease Ezine Writer's Block?
If you publish an ezine regularly, inevitably there are times when you get stuck and can't qui - Cyclone Sidr hits Bangladesh
A cyclone killed 242 people and left much of southern Bangladesh cut off from the rest of the - Why Use Private Label Articles For Ezines
Putting together content for your Ezine or Newsletter would seem for many to be a long drawn o - Discover the Easy Way to Writing Articles that Get Results
I shouldn't be telling you this but writing articles are easy, once you know the formula. I gu - Getting Your Newsletter Read How Great Newsletters Adapt To Perfectly Match Their Readers. By Michae
One exciting feature of newsletters - frequently overlookedby their editors - is the ability t - Newsletters That Rock! Why Your Newsletter Must Get A Personality Today! By Michael Green
Newsletters are becoming ever more popular. Not surprising- since all editors know that they a - How to apply for your Newsletter Editor's License? By Michael Green
For many people Newsletter or Ezine creation is shrouded inabsolute mystery.How do I know?Well
Most viewed articles in this category:
- It's time for a Change
It's Time for a Decision As a dependent corporate employee, you have absolutely no control over ho - Rewards then who publish your article
Information about article marketing and importantness of article to make traffic on your website - Should Freelance Writers Have a Minimum Wage?
With election season here, raising the minimum wage is a hot topic. This got me to thinking about fr - Recent Laws Affect Student Loan Consolidation
Recent Laws Affect Student Loan Consolidation Legislation recently passed is expected to turn the - 8 Reasons Why Ezines Are Here to Stay
It doesn't matter what technological advances and marketing tools are the new fad du jour. Ezines - Real Businesses Send Spam, Too!
Unsolicited Commercial Email or Spam has grown at epidemic proportions. It is rapidly becoming the - CONTINUING EDUCATION HELPS MEETING THE PATIENTS' NEEDS
CONTINUING EDUCATION HELPS MEETING THE PATIENTS' NEEDS By Dr. Muhammad Imran Yousuf Lect - Delphi Technique
The Delphi Technique By Dr. Muhammad Imran Yousuf Lecturer, Division of Continui - GIVING DISTRESSED STUDENTS A FEELING OF SAFETY AND SECURITY
GIVING DISTRESSED STUDENTS A FEELING OF SAFETY AND SECURITYByDr. Muhammad Imran YousufLecturerDiv - How to Win Friends, then Make Money On-line
Feel free to use this article in your E-zine, or on your web site,as long as you use it unchanged