Conversion Rate - What's Acceptable?

[crafta]

I spend about $200 every day for Google adwords. My Conv. Rate is less than 1%. In other words, every 100 potential customers that comes in, less than 1 person actually make a purchase. Is this normal?
What is the average Conv. rate?

www.crafta.com

[sbeco]

crafta,

The figure I've heard as the average conversion rate is 3%. But you can do much better than that. Since you are spending $200 per day, and yet only achieving a 1% CR, in my humble opinion there are a lot of people clicking on your ad but they are not buying. And right now I'll bet you're saying, "Of course, you idiot!"

Hang on, hang on a second! I'm responding to your post to suggest a few things you can do to improve your CR.:)

One, delete those keywords that never convert. Just stop using them. You're wasting your money with those keywords. This alone could raise your conversion rate.

Two, your ad should be very specific in order to discourage "tire kickers" from clicking on your ad and then realizing your product is not what they wanted, so they stay only a few seconds and leave.

Three, if your product or service has a specific price, especially an inexpensive price, then include the price in your ad. This also will discourage tire kickers. The idea is not to try and trick people into clicking on your ad. Let them know exactly what they will find when they click. This will save you money and improve your CR.

Four, decide what specific problem your product or service provides. Put that solution in words in your ad, in the first line. In the second line state the "unique benefit" people will get when they buy your product or service. (And include the price.) Your ad should focus on the buyer's needs - desires, problems, issues, dreams - and not just the product itself.

There's a lot more you can do, but I know of an expert who has written a terrific book about profiting from Google AdWords campaigns that will give you stacks of great advice about how to increase your conversion rate. The writer's name is Perry Marshall. (BTW, this is not an affiliate link. Nevermind the "?=sp".)

http://www.perrymarshall.com/adwords/?=sp

And lastly, I don't know if you are currently using Kanoodle to promote your site, but I've discovered a nifty little freebie service that Kanoodle offers that will help you find excellent keywords for your AdWords campaign. Once you've signed up for a Kanoodle account, in their membership area there is a link to a free service you can sign up for that will give Kanoodle permission to analyze your site and give you a long list of keywords to use. You can also tell them how much you are willing to pay per word. They gave me 42 inexpensive keywords for my site, words and terms I would never have thought of for my site. I think Overture charges for this same type of service.

Anyway, if you are looking for help deciding what keywords will create buyers for your AdWords campaign, (especially after you delete a lot of your current keywords), Kanoodle may be a new source of information for you. It cost's $50 to join, but when I joined I used a promotion ad that gave me a free $5 account to test Kanoodle. So I got my keywords for free and was able to test Kanoodle.

My two cents. Good luck out there.

[sbeco]

Four, decide what specific problem your product or service provides. Put that solution in words in your ad, in the first line.

What I meant to say is: Four, decide what specific problem your product or service "solves." Not "provides."

Ahem, sorry about that.