If you’ve been trying to learn about Internet marketing, you’ve probably come across some insider language such as “Analytics” and “Conversion Optimization” and “Funnels.”
These terms are intimidating and turn a lot of people off from Internet marketing. But these are just fancy terms for pretty simple ideas. If you run a business, these are common sense ideas you’re already familiar with. It’s just a matter of translating what you know to the web.
Analytics is the application of computer technology and stats to solve problems in business. In order to use analytics–how to use the web to grow your business– you’ve got to understand Internet marketing funnels.
But Internet marketing funnel just describes the journey that’s taken by a web consumer, from seeing the search results to visiting the site to clicking on the services/products offered to making the purchase. Internet marketing funnel is what we all do everyday: looking for services or products online and deciding whether to spend our money.
The numbers narrow as the customers move through the journey of searching for your services to buying this service from your site. This is why it’s called the funnel. But don’t get lost in the terminology. Conversion optimization and funnels are just ways of describing the bigger question: how do you grow your business?
Purchase funnels have been around for a very long time. Why you need to learn about the Internet marketing funnel is because you need to see what your business site is doing well and what it needs to better.
For instance, maybe your search engine optimization needs work because not enough people know your business, or maybe your site gets plenty of views but doesn’t convert enough views into sales. This process- from search results to views to sales- is called conversion optimization.
So you need to understand funnels in order to know how to improve your business. Here’s an example of a funnel:
1- Impressions 100,000. (Searched Results for your site)
2- Clicks: 50,000. (People who click on your site)
3- Pageviews: 42,000. (People who make it to your site)
4- 4,000 Sales. A Conversion Rate of 4%.
5- Contact form (thank you page).
This is the most basic kind of funnel. Likely, your site is going to have many more pages (blog posts, informational pages, etc.) so the Funnel will be much longer. But the process is the same. You need to break down the funnel from search results to purchase. Naturally, the numbers go down as the clients moves through the journey of buying or not buying your service. But where do the numbers drop off and why? What is my conversion optimization?
Understanding the funnel is about studying the stats of your sites. Once you know the stats, you’ve got a sense of what your site needs to change in order to improve revenue!
Understanding analytics and understanding funnels isn’t anymore complicated than that. So start to analyze your Internet marketing funnel and conversion optimization today and see what you can do to grow your business!
