Tag: web entrepreneurship

A Key Stat For Web Entrepreneurship Is The Conversion Rate


Is the Conversion Rate (CR) really the key stat for a website? It is when you are paying for clicks. The conversion rate is a similar stat to ROI (return On Investment) though not exactly the same, since one (ROI) stat has to do with money in your pocket after advertising expenses and the other (CR) focuses more on the efficiency with which you convert clicks to sales.

We can safely conclude therefore, that when you pay for clicks, the conversion rate is really the only measure that counts in determining theme and message. The thing about conversion rates, though, is they can change quite dramatically with things like the website design, sales copy, products on the front page, range of products, product descriptions, guarantees, pricing, ease of payment and such things. In short there are many things you can do to get conversions up.

One of the unique features of any Web business is that you can make a change, measure the result and if it doesn’t work, you can change it back. You’re constantly trying new things to see if it affects your figures. There is a danger that you can change too many things too quickly in which case you might find it difficult to gauge the results of different factors. Sand if you’re going to be tweaking and testing make sure to not do it during busy seasons like the Christmas holidays.

You can experiment with pricing over a 30 day period. If you’re not getting any clicks, you should reduce your initial price and compare the results. If this does not increase your conversion rate then pricing may not be the problem. Or you may want to compare your hottest product with one that is not so hot by using the exact sales page and message. If sales fall on the hot product then you know the sales page, the message or both must be changed.

You can also experiment with your sales copy by making your “money back guarantee” more prominent. This way when people visit your site, credibility would not be the thing that they become concerned about. You can also put the address at the page top so that people know you are easy to physically track down, and put the Visa and Mastercard symbols near the top for legitamacy. These are all areas you can tweak in order to affect conversion rates.

There is a feature in both AdWords and Overture which, once you have inserted a piece of html code into your payment page, it will allow you to track conversion rates by keyword. You’ll need to build enough data for the tracking to make sense, but it allows you to cut out keywords which don’t convert well.

Having said all that, if your product or service is inferior or somehow does not fill a need in your marketplace (something in demand?), there’s probably nothing you can do to improve sales except replacing the product/service. Most sales pages are effective and some are extraordinary (almost works of art…painting a picture with words?), but none of them can perform a magical feat to sell something that is unsellable.

You shouldn’t have a problem with finding a good-to-excellent product to sell, if this is indeed the problem, because there are so many available product sources. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just search for a few of the eCommerce merchants with affiliate programs already in place and you can get started immediately. Whatever your approach to business on the Web, I hope you find the following tidbits helpful:

  • Work with relatively unknown niche products (excluding the book business)
  • Your product/service should be a familiar item in the Internet community (you don’t want to have to create a whole new market by yourself)
  • You must have keywords that people are searching for that can apply to your product/service, but which are not shared with other products (for example “gift baskets” and “oil paintings” are good “gifts” would probably not work)
  • Do a search on Google for the product. If less than 5 advertisers come up on the right hand side, then chances are you can get reasonably priced traffic.
  • Try to avoid a support apparatus to get it working. Things that need technical support are often too problematic. You need a product that is easy to use so that you can sell it and forget it.
  • Make it a habit not to hold or carry stock, especially if you’re working from home which many Web marketers do. At least until you have strong sales and good demand.
  • A final point that you shouldn’t have to wait and learn from your own experience. Try to work with a $50+ margin per product. The cost of attracting customers for paintings or massage chairs is not much higher than the cost of getting customers for gift baskets, although the conversion rates may indeed be lower. It is easier to reach break-even with bigger ticket items.
  • It also helps if your affiliate product is one that you have bought yourself and got interested in and passionate about.

A primary business tool on hold

Based on these criteria I have opted to promote and market electronic goods at Amazon.com, Marketing of a revolutionary creation system and classified advertising at AdlandPro, among others. One of the constants found in the marketing of anything on the Web is the need to tweak and test and update on an ongoing basis if you are paying for advertising because ultimately, your conversion rates lets you know exactly where you stand.

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First Steps Towards Your Own Web Entrepreneurship


First steps: Choosing the business

When starting an Web-based business there are a few things you should consider must-have requirements.

  1. Business Name – Domain
  2. Web Hosting
  3. Advertising (Marketing) Budget
  4. Web Marketing Tools

Among the most important requirements when starting your Web-based business is the business name. Since you will also need a domain name to make it possible for Web users to find your business, it will serve you well if you can get a domain name that is the same as, or very similar to your business name. Reason being, in the case of a Web-based business, your website IS your business; so having a domain name and business name that is the same will improve your marketing and optimization efforts.

Web Hosting is to your Web-based business as commercial space is to your offline (brick and mortar) business. You need a space in which to operate, where your customers can come and visit your store, look around, browse and perhaps make a purchase. Web Hosting provides that space for your web-based business. The Web Hosting company may be viewed as similar to your offline – retail space – landlord. They both provide the space from which you operate your business, making it a must-have requirement.

Exposure for your business

Now that you have your business/domain name and your Web hosting, you’re going to need exposure for your business. This aspect of your Web-based business can also be compared to an offline – brick and mortar – business in that advertising is essential to the success or failure of the brick and mortar and is even a more crucial element to your Web-based business because you would not have the benefit of “walk-in” traffic with a Web-based entity. So you must have an advertising and marketing budget.

In order to be as proficient in marketing your Web-based business – as you must assume your competitor is – you will need a Web marketing toolkit consisting of the kind of Web marketing tools you’re most comfortable with to facilitate your marketing campaigns. This is an area in which you will find several options. Web marketing tools you will be able to choose from include (it’s assumed that you’ll have a computer and internet connection):

  • Website/Blog
  • Lead Capture Software
  • Autoresponder
  • Video Producer
  • Web Conferencing
  • WYSIWYG or Other HTML Editor

You will also have at your disposal a number of Web marketing methods, techniques and resources that are proven to get results based on prior use by many successful and well established Web business owners who came before you. Types of marketing I refer to are:

  • Content Creation (Article Marketing)
  • Social Media Marketing (Social Networking)
  • Copywriting (Salesletter Composition)
  • PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Campaigns
  • Traffic Exchange Surfing
  • SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Profitability: The ultimate goal

Some of these methods you may not be familiar with in the early days of your Web-based business. However, you will always have the option of hiring someone who is an expert in one of these areas to do a professional job for you, which is why an “advertising and marketing” budget is among your must-have requirements.

After you’ve put together the best combination of your must-haves, Web marketing tools and types of marketing you intend to utilize, you can then decide whether or not you want to do most of the work, hire professionals to do the work or automate – as much as possible – your Web-based business so as to reduce your workload.

Let’s not forget what may be the most important element of your Web-based business. It must be Profitable! You may requireme that the business have the potential to generate at least $1,000 per month in profit, so as to replace the income from your job, thus making your Web-based business your full time job.

Only you will know the amount of revenue you want your Web-based business to generate. Once you’ve set a monetary goal and your other must-have requirements are in place, you can be off to the best start expected of any Web-based entity. Good Luck!