There are two kinds of websites: Lead Generation Sites and E-Commerce Sites.
There are two kinds of traffic: First-Time Visitors and Repeat Visitors.
All calculations on this sheet can be made for your site for any fixed period of time.
1. Traffic Generation
To maximize your results, you must begin with what happens before the visitor comes to your site: At the search engine, portal, affiliate web site, email link, or offline advertisement. What percentage of people who see your link or advertisement click through? This is the ratio of impressions to visitors:
Visitors
# Visitors who clicked through to your site # Who did NOT click through
Number of Impressions: A=_____ Number of Visitors: B=_____ Cost per Click: D=_____ Click-Thru Rate: C=B/A x 100%=_____
How to improve click-thru rates: Better copy & headlines, brainstorm more relevant keywords, message to market match, higher search engine rank, higher pay per click ad rank, affiliate sites that match your ideal customer, joint ventures, link swapping, endorsements from credible people, clear compelling offer, careful measurement of everything.
2. Traffic Conversion
Most sites have some sort of intermediate action, such as a newsletter signup, downloading a file, etc:
Actions
# Who took action # Who did NOT take action
Number of Actions: E=_____ Action Rate: F=E/B x 100%=_____
There may be several action steps in the process of obtaining a sale or sales lead. Every significant action should be measured and improved. In an E-Commerce site, the desired result is an online purchase. All good lead generation sites have a response form.
Getting people to fill it out is the chief desired result of the site:
Sales or Leads
# Converted # Not Converted
Number of Sales OR Leads: G=_____ Conversion Rate: H=G/B x 100%=_____
Total Sales Volume: J=_____ Cost of Sales: K = DxB = _____ Return on Sales Investment (Gross): J/K x 100% = _____
Cost per Sales Lead: K/G = _____ Visitor Value (Gross Sales per Visitor): J/B = _____
How to improve conversion rates: Better copy & headlines, message to market match, personality & human touch, addressing concerns (i.e. fear of SPAM), linear sales process with very definite purpose, clear call to action, clean appearance, fast loading pages, fewer choices & distractions, custom landing page for each traffic source, experimentation with offers, upsells, downsells, quality information, unique content, credibility builders, testimonials, popup windows, exit surveys, limited time offers, contests, white papers, information “widgets,” gifts, free reports, memberships, access to private areas of site, measuring everything, and testing, testing, testing!
Getting visitors to return dramatically improves your conversion rate. Ways to bring them back: Autoresponders, e-zines, personality, fax, postcards and direct mail, well-written reports and white papers with solid information, high quality products, good service, one-on-one communication and rapport, personalized emails, discussion & chat boards, memberships, dynamically changing content, hyperlink & USP on your signature file, quality & quantity information on site, industry related links, new content, news and publicity.
3. Results
The bottom line for an E-Commerce site is profit. For a lead generation site, the bottom line is qualified sales leads.
Profitability
Net Profit Cost of Goods + Cost of Sales
Cost of Goods: L=_____ Net Profit: M = J-L-K=_____
Net Profit Margin: M/J x 100%=_____
OR
Leads Generated
# Qualified Sales
Leads
# Nonqualified Sales
Leads
Qualified Sales Leads: N=_____ Cost per Qualified Sales Lead: P=K/N x 100%= _____
After lead generation, the next sequence in the sales process is similar to this sheet, with typical steps being
callbacks appointments quotations orders.
How to increase profitability: Systematically increase response rates and reduce advertising cost at each step. Stick to business & direct marketing basics. Buy in quantity, minimize shipping & overhead costs, carefully monitor ROI on every advertising campaign, test small before spending big, drop poorly performing campaigns. Use this sheet for continuous improvement.
How to increase qualified sales leads: Generate leads with problem solving information instead of product information. Gather information about buying cycles and plans. Grade leads according to schedule and purchase size. Thoroughly follow up via email, direct mail, telephone, fax, face-to-face sales; Use Joint Ventures to profit from leads you can’t convert.
Systematic Improvement: Online marketing success comes by continuously improving the results of each step.
©2002 Perry S. Marshall & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced without written permission.
Perry S. Marshall & Associates
1508 Ridgeland Avenue
Berwyn, IL 60402 USA
Phone +1(708)788-4461 Fax (708)788-4599
