Conversion Tracking

Conversion tracking is a specific, targeted method of gauging the commercial or other value of traffic for a website. For many websites, especially businesses, simply having traffic passing through is not all that valuable. Some goal of greater importance is desired from this traffic, be it a specific page reached or a transaction of some kind. Reaching this goal is called a conversion, with the conversion rate calculated as the percentage of traffic successfully led to this goal.

By far the most common goals to be tracked online are sales. Every time a surfer clicks on a banner ad or is redirected to a commercial site in some other way, web statistics software will track not only how he uses the site, but also what he buys. Conversion tracking can then produce statistics concerning the actual dollar output of a user's visit from a specific ad or other referral method.

For example, consider a website selling pianos that has decided to advertise on all Google searches using the phrase "grand piano." Suppose 100 surfers visit the site from these ads and 10 buy a piano, each at an average profit of $200. The conversion rate would be 10 percent. If paying per click, as is normal, the piano company would conclude it is worth buying the ad if the cost-per-click is less than $2. Conversion tracking is thus a central measure for ascertaining an ad's effectiveness and value.

So what else can be tracked as a successful conversion besides a sale? For online groups and clubs, getting a member registered is such a conversion, often leading to inclusion on an e-mail or regular mailing list. Gaining a subscription to a newsletter, finding a user's e-mail, displaying a specific page, or even getting the user to click on someone else's advertisement can all be considered conversions, the content of which is entirely left up to that website.

Methods of conversion tracking mirror other strategies in web analytics. Logfile analysis can be used, but page tagging or website tracking methods are usually more effective. The latter carries drawbacks, however, because it requires embedding cookies on a user's hard drive. Google now offers such a conversion tracking service, called Google AdWords, for advertisements on its search engine. Interestingly, the software notifies web surfers they are being tracked.