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How to get on the first page of Digg in less than 4 weeks. 
While we used to talk about average site conversion rates around 5% to 7%, it seems that these figures are becoming something of the past. Websites continue to struggle converting visitors into consumers and the numbers aren’t getting better. Here is some of the data that was published on fireclick index about average website conversion rates:
As you’ll notice the average website conversion rate is around 2.1%. Some industries do a little better, others are plain old horrible.
| Type of site | Conversion rate |
| Catalog | 5.8% |
| Software | 3.9% |
| Fashion and Apparel | 2.3% |
| Specialty | 1.7% |
| Electronics | 0.50% |
| Outdoor and Sports | 0.40% |
Catalog sites continue to have the highest online conversion rates. Outdoor and sporting stores convert less than half a percent of the traffic they receive. The purpose of this data is to help you compare your site to your average conversion rates for your industry. By no means am I trying to make you feel better if you are within your industry average. Why? Because the averages stink
Your site does not want to take my money
Here is an idea. Get 10 people and give each of them a credit card. Direct them to a website that sells electronics. Require them to buy a specific model of video camera. How many of these 10 do you think will actually be able to complete the purchase? Remember these guys are required to complete a purchase. They are not spending their own money. All they have to do is navigate to a site, find an item, add it to their shopping cart and check out. You would think that at least 8 of them would complete their purchase. Wrong! Only 2 are able to complete a purchase. If only two are able to complete the purchase under these circumstances (full motivation and no fears or objections), then it’s no wonder why everyday consumers do not convert on the web.
So, if you want to compare your site to someone, here is a list that is worth looking at. Here are the top 10 sites in terms of conversion rates according to Nielsen’s MegaView Online Retail report:
| Type of site | Conversion rate |
| Lane Bryant Catalog | 24.7% |
| QVC | 16.7% |
| Oriental Trading Company | 15.2% |
| Blair.com | 14.5% |
| Jessicalondon.com | 13.7% |
| Symantec | 13.5% |
| Roamans | 13.5% |
| The Sportsman’s Guide | 12.2% |
| Christianbook.com | 11.9% |
| Lillian Vernon | 11.8% |
Compare Lane Bryant Catalog conversion rate of 24.7% to its industry average of 5.8%. The guys at Lane Bryant must be doing something right. It is also notable how The Sportsman’s Guide converts about 12.2% compared to its average online industry of 0.40%. Proflowers used to lead the pack with a conversion rate of around 24.5% back in November of 2006. In this latest report, they dropped off the list completely. I am almost certain that the drop was because they choose not to participate in the survey.
So, moral of the story; there is always room for improvement. Do you know your site conversion rate?
Is your conversion rate less than 10%?
- Do you need help increasing your campaign or site conversion rates?
- Do you need landing page optimization services?
- Is your ecommerce website generating all the sales it should be generating?
- Is your site generating all the leads it can?
Our clients had an average conversion rate of 14.56% in 2007. If you would like to see results like these, contact us today!
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