I recently read that the average conversion rate for advertising online is a dismal 0.2%. What percentage of visitors to your site convert to sales? We get around a 1% conversion ratio based soley on word of mouth and search engines.

The highest we see for hosts in FindMyHosting for traffic converted to sales is approx 10%, the worst is 0% - with many in-between - but certainly skewed toward the 0% end.

The biggest factor is your site's ability to sell.

The 0.2% is probably very accurate though for the internet as a whole.

If you do wish to use FindMyHosting.com I would highly recommend it free to list, and the invoicing is great. They are very helpful. I would say we are probably in the middle not much traffic to our site but we have about a 6-7% conversion ratio from traffic to site not just to plans page, which is a bigger conversion than we got from using Google, and less costly :)

Thanks FindMyHosting.com and a :agree: to NovaW.

Here are the rates on FindSP.com

468x60 banners: 0.8% - 1.8%
120x600 Skyscraper: 1.95% - 3.3%
Showcase: 8% - 42.1%
88x31 Buttons - Low CTR used mostly for branding.

Originally posted by Lonny
Here are the rates on FindSP.com

468x60 banners: 0.8% - 1.8%
120x600 Skyscraper: 1.95% - 3.3%
Showcase: 8% - 42.1%
88x31 Buttons - Low CTR used mostly for branding.

What do you mean by showcase?

Showcase is an image and a text description. I think this needs com clearing up, I think this orig was about ratio of people going to the site to signups, not ctr's

ahh ok :)

We've been hearing that approx 1 out of every 30 - 45 visitors we send converts to a signup.

I'll tell you though, us hosting directory guys seldom get credit for the visitors that we send to you site, they bookmark you, check out a few other hosts and come back in a day or so using their bookmark to signup up. But, who's complaining.

Here are the rates on FindSP.com

468x60 banners: 0.8% - 1.8%
120x600 Skyscraper: 1.95% - 3.3%
Showcase: 8% - 42.1%
88x31 Buttons - Low CTR used mostly for branding.


This is CTR - not conversion of clicks to sales

In this case I agree with LPGuitars - the traffic is very targeted - but it really depends on the hosts. By the way - a good webmaster will never sign up a host the first time he'll visit his site....

So the Sign up ratio coming from hosting directories is something that is very difficult to measure.

So the Sign up ratio coming from hosting directories is something that is very difficult to measure.

We measure it directly - even if the customer comes back weeks later and buys. Each host has our code on their site that directly tracks sales.

What we see is that about 70% of people do research and then buy over the same day.

the traffic is very targeted - but it really depends on the hosts

Very very true

BAH :rolleyes: I gave up long ago wading through conversion stats and the likes thereof. It's a total WOT [waste of time], IMO. :D

We don't advertise, don't promote and still get on average, 3 new accounts per day. They just come through word of mouth. As your client base gets larger, your client base will get larger. Organic customer acquisition through word of mouth is as good as it gets folks. :D

Psssssst - and guess what? - it's free. :D:agree:

BAH I gave up long ago wading through conversion stats and the likes thereof. It's a total WOT [waste of time], IMO.

We don't advertise, don't promote and still get on average, 3 new accounts per day. They just come through word of mouth. As your client base gets larger, your client base will get larger. Organic customer acquisition through word of mouth is as good as it gets folks.

That's great! - it can only be a measure of offering great service & building a solid business. Getting to that position takes a lot of time and effort. For new companies and companies in a less enviable position - the science of marketing is king.

I never believe on conversion statistics. No one knows when a customer will get tilted towards you and the kind of ad the customer likes. Actually it all depends on word of mouth publicity and the service you offer.

Agreed - predictions of conversion rate mean nothing because so much depends upon the your own ability to convert prospects into sales (& as you suggest the image or reputation that already exists - which has a huge impact in differentiating your service)

The only conversion stats that mean anything are the ones based on hard data that relate directly to your own business. If you are going to spend any money on advertising you owe it to yourself to put some science behind it. Tracking conversions not only lets you make educated decisions about which mode of marketing spend is the most cost effective but it also provides over time a wealth of info that can be directly used to improve the conversion rate. You can only improve what you measure.

Originally posted by NovaW
That's great! - it can only be a measure of offering great service & building a solid business. Getting to that position takes a lot of time and effort. For new companies and companies in a less enviable position - the science of marketing is king.
The response of a gentlemen and a diplomat. :agree:

Here's my advise to folks just starting out - offer your services to your family and friends. Then expand out to your associate's circle. You can then organically grow out from that point. Remember, each client has a circle of friends and assocoiates. You need to tap into that by being the best darn host around and wowing their socks off your clients with fast, responsive service. They'll being 'em in through the door for you, no worries at all. :D

Conversion rates and click through rates are nice to track, but if you are not going to use the results then it is a lot of trouble for nothing.

If you are using your conversion rate in relation to the amount of money you spent on a particular advertising campaign to figure out how much each new customer costs you to aquire, then you will have something that you can use. Well not yet.

Then you have to find out what your average customer is worth to you. For example...if you are charging a monthly fee for a service that on average is bringing you $10/month profit per sign up, then you can assume that a new customer will be worth $10/month to you.

Now what this customer is really worth to you over time is very much a subjective matter. Some hosts, or any other business for that matter, may have a track record long enough to know how long the average customer uses and pays for their services. Say your average customer is worth $10/month profit to you and stays with you for 1 year on average, then you could say that you should profit $120 over the next year from each new sign up.

Then you have a big decision to make. How much are you willing to pay to get that average customer? Would you pay $10 to get that customer? Or would you pay $50 to get that customer? Then you can determine whether the pricing of your ad campaign that is bringing you 5% conversion will actually turn a profit for you.

These types of stats are only really good if you use them. If you are not using them to figure out exactly what you're willing to pay per click or per impression, etc, then it really is a lot of trouble to go through just to know.