Average Website Conversion Rates - It’s Complicated
Anyone who has investigated the issue of average website conversion rates has probably learned that ecommerce conversion rates for most sites are around 2-3%., but also found the report showing conversion rates as high as 14 percent for some retailers like Proflowers.
But i recently found a great article by Jared Waxman explaining why these rates are probably unattainable by many sites. See: website conversion rates.
Also, having worked at eBay myself I can tell you that the conversion rates for their PPC campaigns are usually well south of 2-3%. Moreover, overall conversion rates for many of the companies mentioned in the report Mr. Waxman cites are also aided by their well-known brand names, which result in alot of people coming directly to their sites for the purpose of executing a transaction.
For smaller websites, the incidence of such navigational searches is considerably less. For less well-known websites, trust is also an issue, which may result in more visits before a transaction takes place.
Finally, there’s the issue of how much free traffic that hits your site, but doesn’t convert before expiration of your tracking cookie. That traffic, possibly acquired via SEO, linking or some other free source, will lower your conversion rate, but if those visitors bookmark your site and come back later, or refer your site to others, it’s still beneficial in the long run.
In short, I agree with Mr. Waxman’s rebuttal of Brian Eisenberg’s assertion that aiming for a 2-3% conversion rate is “aiming for the gutter”. In fact, a 2-3% conversion rate is excellent for many smaller to mid-sized websites that don’t have the brand-name impact of companies like eBay or the seasonality benefit Mr. Waxman cites for companies like Proflowers.
