One of the most trending topics leading up to the new year involves what we can expect to see in regards to the online retail community. Whether you own a successful virtual store or you have just recently decided to embrace a part-time career, there are numerous factors which will serve to define your success. One of the most prevalent (and least-understood ) terms involves the roles that click-through rates play. Let’s take some time to define this concept before moving on to appreciate some of the tools and techniques at your immediate disposal.
Click-Through Rates Defined
Understanding the basics of click-through rates is actually quite simple. These rates are essential figures that intend to illustrate the popularity of a website or a particular page. However, please keep in mind that click-through rates do NOT necessarily correlate directly with sales or revenue generation. They instead help to indicate trending pages and topics (as well as any content that might not appeal to your audience). Having said this, it only stands to reason that higher click-through rates will often be associated with better sales figures from a long-term point of view.
The Barometer of Success
Click-through rates are highly statistical in nature, and yet, their proper interpretation does not necessarily have to involve brain surgery. These figures can be thought of in a similar manner to playing a game of darts. If you throw only three darts, the chances of hitting a bulls-eye are relatively low. However, throwing 20 or 30 darts dramatically improves the chances of landing in the centre red. Additionally, an important point should be mentioned here. Success involving click-through rates has little to do with chance or random luck. Not only must you be able to accurately determine the results, but you will likewise need to take the appropriate actions when the time is right. This brings us to our next major point.
Leveraging the Power of Click-Through Rates
First and foremost, it does little good to examine the click-through rates associated with the entire website. While this will provide you with a basic understanding of how your business is performing, you will not be able to appreciate the finer points. Break these rates down further on a page-by-page basis. Then, ask yourself these important questions:
– Which pages are performing well and which might need a bit of improvement?
– What time of the day do these rates regularly appear to be at their highest?
– Do seasons have an impact on click-through rates?
– How have your recent sales and marketing campaigns been performing in relation to these rates?
The main takeaway point is that you need to develop a top-down understanding of how your website is performing. You can then “tweak” certain sections as may be necessary. Never be afraid to experiment a bit, as it can take time to become accustomed to the mechanics of modern click-through rates.
Why Does Social Media Make a Difference?
Click-through rates and social enjoy a synergistic relationship, and this is a major trend that we should fully expect to gain ground in the coming year. This arises from the fact that click-through rates are much more than merely technical figures to be determined by applications such as Google Analytics. On the contrary, they are some of the best ways to monitor the performance of your website within a real-time scenario.
We need to emphasise the phrase “real time” to get a complete understanding. Any successful business realises the fact that customer engagement is a determining factor in regards to success. Social media portals provide you with a free and unfettered means to speak with your audience base. This is also an excellent way to appreciate any feedback that they may have to provide. In turn, you can use such suggestions in order to boost (or rectify) any ongoing campaigns. If you have tried numerous other actions and you still find that the associated click-through rates are suffering, the chances are high that you might need to boost your social media engagement. The same holds true for any marketing tactics that may or may not be performing as expected.
Putting it All Together
Click-through rates are one piece of a much larger puzzle. These need to be taken into account with other principles such as search engine optimisation (SEO), cross-channel marketing, the use of multimedia and automated email advertisements (to name but a few concerns). Still, it is impossible to deny the importance of click-through rates in modern times. If you are hoping to take your business to the next level in the coming year, please keep the suggestions mentioned above in mind. You can likewise refer back to this article or perform additional online research to learn more.
