My conversion rate - Is it good or bad?

[majjk]

I know there are plenty of similar threads, but as all sites are different, I think I need to ask for input that is specific for my site.

I'm running a site selling items that normally cost about $50-$70. I'm in a very competitive field (loads of sites offering similar items, but my prices are good. 75% of other sites have higher...) From the last 1000 visitors I have had 4 sales, which is rather typical for the site. But is it not quite low?

Should I expect 1-2%?

[Morgenhund]

1. What do you mean "visitors"? Are they proven humans or could probably be bots?
2. The question you're asking is wrong :-) Better one would be "if there is room for improvement"? If you could reach a higher value, your current ratio is bad. Otherwise, it must be good :-)

[TheGrid]

We usually do 1-2% but the economy is bad now and it's affecting our numbers. Also, r u sure those are 1000 sets of eyes ? Do you count traffic from sites linking to your images too as hits or robots as hits ?

[majjk]

re the visitor count... I'm using google's analytics, which is using js, so should exclude bots and hotlinked images.

[Jack_Hughes]

Our site conversion rate is around 0.13-0.20% we do have a lot of traffic that is unrelated to what the site sells however which tends to dilute the conversion rate. the conversion rate for branded searches tends to be pretty good at around 5% (but then it would be surprising if it wasn't a lot higher). I think @Morgenhund hits the nail on the head, you are where you are and can continually try to improve your site's conversion.

[T_Miller]

Our conversion rate for 2009 is 2.1%
2008 it was 1.8%
Our traffic is up about 40% too.
I made a lot of tweaks to the site over the winter, so I look like a genius right now considering the economy ;)

[majjk]

Our conversion rate for 2009 is 2.1%
2008 it was 1.8%
Our traffic is up about 40% too.
I made a lot of tweaks to the site over the winter, so I look like a genius right now considering the economy ;)

how much is your average order?

also, am I right in thinking that conversion rate is linked to price level, i.e. sites selling more pricy items have lower conversion rate than those selling cheaper ones?

[ogletree]

Every website is going to be different. It really depends on where that traffic comes from. The conversion rate from all visitors is not very useful. You need to break that down. Look at conversion rate from organic search, from paid search. Then even split that up between head terms and tail terms then between informational terms and buying terms. Then look at brand terms. Also look at different types of referral traffic. Look at new visitors compared to returning visitors. Each one of these stats is going to require different tactics to improve conversions.

One of the most important things to look at is shopping cart abandonment. That is a very important stat. Work on improving that.

[Jack_Hughes]

Our average order is around $350-400 so it makes sense that it is going to be harder to get people to spend that amount rather than say Amazon get you to buy a $10 book. Still, we do sell stuff. Best single unit sale was $6500 on a single product without ever contacting us prior to the sale. When that happens you know the site must be communicating trust pretty well!