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Secret Formulas to Improve Online Results

Bryan Eisenberg, Jeffrey Eisenberg and Lisa T. Davis
HarperCollins Leadership, 2006
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9

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Recommendation

Over time, humankind has perfected a set of bedrock sales principles that work well in most circumstances: know your product, outdo the competition, work harder than the next person, and so on. Unfortunately, because the internet is such a razzle-dazzle and often nonintuitive marketing venue – with perplexing protocols and sophisticated technologies and terminologies – these gilded dictums are not enough online. Thankfully, the Eisenberg brothers, Bryan and Jeffrey, writing with Lisa T. Davis, offer help to the uninitiated. Starting with the fundamental concept of conversion rate, these internet marketing experts cut through all the complexity and confusion about how to generate online sales. They combine the best ideas from their articles on ClickZ and GrokDotCom, two online marketing magazines, with practical “conversion tips” from successful clients and a handy glossary. getAbstract strongly recommends this savvy, clear, comprehensive guide to “e-tailing.” Faithfully apply its principles and procedures to start boosting your online sales.

Summary

Conversion Counts

To do well in internet marketing, you need to know and understand your conversion rate (CR), the percentage of people who act in response to your website. Ironically, many internet marketers have no idea what their CRs are. To calculate your website’s CR, divide the number of visitors who take a desired action – for example, buying something or subscribing – by the overall number of people who come to your website. The resulting figure tells you how effective your online content is. The higher your CR, the more successful your website. Now compare your conversion rate against your industry’s average CR. For instance, from December 2003 to March 2004, home and furnishing sites averaged a 2.0% CR, travel sites averaged 2.1% and online catalog stores averaged 6.1%, according to the Fireclick Index. On the web as a whole, the average conversion rate was a low 2.6%.

How can you increase your CR? Simply enticing more people to your website is not the solution. You must also focus on visitors’ “micro actions” – those that lead up to their “macro action,” the decision to buy, subscribe or ask for more information. Each micro action is a conversion point, ...

About the Authors

Brothers Bryan Eisenberg and Jeffrey Eisenberg are authors, speakers and co-founders of a firm that coaches individuals and companies in online marketing. Writer Lisa T. Davis is the director of content for Future Now.

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