Conversions: The Beginning of the End


A conversion is defined as “the number of times a desired outcome was accomplished” (Week 1 Lesson, n.d.). Because there are so many kinds of conversions, it is important for a company to determine what type of conversion they are seeking and who they are seeking that conversion from. For example, a business to business (B2B) company might consider a conversion to be a ‘web form submission, views of a marketing video, [or] white paper downloads” (“What Is A Conversion”, n.d.). On the other hand, a business to consumer (B2C) company might consider a conversion to be a “phone call, appointment, view of a map/directions page” (“What Is A Conversion”, n.d.). 
The ultimate conversion is when a customer actually purchases your product or service. Unfortunately, in most scenarios a purchase is not made the very first time that someone visits a product page (Hammis, 2016). According to Hammis, a conversion can be considered as a “touch point” in the marketing funnel (2016). Once a conversion is made, that visitor can now be considered a lead; once the visitor has become a lead, it is easier to convert them into a sale (Hammis, 2016).

The figure below is an illustration of how the visitors to a website are led to conversion. According to the figure, the visitors must first be attracted to the website. Some of the ways that visitors become attracted to the website are through a display ad, a direct Google search, a referral link from a friend, a social media post, and so on (Lee, 2018).  The visitors must then be led to have some form of engagement on the site. This engagement causes them to be led to conversion. Conversions, if done correctly, ultimately lead a website’s visitors to make a purchase.



            


Figure 1: (Lee, 2018)

An example of a conversion being put to use is through the company Cisco in its effort to promote the Umi home videoconferencing system (Brinker, 2011). The website attracts visitors because of its “clean and professional layout” and its “warm, attractive, and well-integrated images” on the first page (Brinker 2011). Visitors are then able to engage with the website by browsing the main pages with titles such as “what you need” or “see it live” (Brinker, 2011). Finally, Cisco urges the visitor to convert by using a green “Buy Now” button in an unconventional location: the top right corner (Brinker, 2011). By placing the button at the top of the screen, it is one of the first things that a visitor will see on the web page. When the visitor is finally ready to make a purchase, he or she will know exactly where to go to begin making a purchase.




Figure 2: (“Brinker, 2011)

A conversion is extremely important in the world of online marketing as it is one way to “turn visitors into leads and leads into a sale” (Hammis, 2016). In order to reap the desired results, it is important to determine what specific action a company is seeking in regards to conversion. It is also important to remember that a conversion happens when a customer makes the desired action on your web page; it does not necessarily mean that a purchase has been made. A conversion can be viewed as “the end of the customer’s journey on your website” and the beginning of a sale (Heijmans, 2018).


References
Brinker, S. (2011, February 23). A Successful Example Of Conversion Content Marketing. Retrieved from https://searchengineland.com/a-successful-example-of-conversion-content-marketing-65193
Hammis, E. (2016, June 10). What Are Conversions & Why You Should Track Them? – Marketing And Growth Hacking. Retrieved from https://blog.markgrowth.com/what-are-conversions-why-you-should-track-them-f81beeb67e61
Heijmans, M. (2018, October 11). What is conversion? • SEO for beginners • Yoast. Retrieved from https://yoast.com/what-is-conversion/
Kirkpatrick, D. (2017, June 21). Marketing 101: What is conversion? Retrieved from https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/conversion-defined/
Lee, S. (2018, March 05). What is Conversion Marketing? What you need to know. Retrieved from https://responseiq.com/blog/what-is-conversion-marketing/
What is a conversion? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bluecorona.com/faq/what-is-a-conversion/

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