Before we dive into why your sales page isn’t converting and what to do to fix it, let’s get on the same page (*wink wink*) about what a sales page actually looks like, what it should contain, and how to read that data.

What is a Sales Page?

While there’s no technical definition for a sales page, for the purposes of this article a sales page is any webpage created for the sole purpose of selling a product or service. This could be a digital or physical product, but it is different from an online shop or other digital storefront.

On the sales page, the copy and layout are both specifically designed to bring your lead through a specific journey and towards a checkout. There is generally no “cart” function, as we want the lead to commit to purchasing as quickly as possible.

Sales pages can be long form or short form (something I most often refer to as a “squeeze” page), can feature video (video sales letter or VSL is a common type of sales page) or not, and can be designed for all kinds of traffic from ice cold to burning hot.

What analytics should I pay attention to when reviewing my sales page conversion?

The most important analytics you need to have access to are heat maps (most platforms do not include this data, but luckily for you, Kartra does!), visitor stays of 10sec+ (or bounce rate), number of visitors (NOT the same as page views), and number of sales.

For example, here’s some data from a sales page that I created for a client using Kartra last year.

While all of this is certainly useful information, I’m paying the most attention to the number of visitors, the percentage of visitors who stay past 10 sec (in this example, it means the bounce rate was 18%, which is very low!), and the average scroll.

The scroll percentage is provided by the heat map (not pictured). The heat map will show the percentage of visitors who saw that part of the page before exiting. In this example, more than half the visitors consumed the entire contents of the page.

Something to keep in mind: Those who end up purchasing at the top of the page also won’t see the later content, so keep this in mind when reviewing your analytics.

How to calculate a conversion rate

To calculate your conversion rate, simply divide the number of sales by the number of visitors and convert to a percentage. 

Follow this example:

5 sales / 10 visitors = 0.5, which is equivalent to 50%.

A more likely example:

8 sales / 300 visitors = 0.026, which is equivalent to 2.6%.

What is a good conversion rate?

Conversion rates vary across industries, types of traffic, offers, and so many other factors. However, research shows that a good conversion rate is somewhere between 2-5%. My own experience working as a sales funnel implementation expert is the same. 

This means, if you had 300 visitors, you should see at least 6 sales to hit the average. 

Don’t let these low percentages discourage you from selling your products online. While it can take a ton of effort to even hit 300 visitors, it gets much easier to finetune your sales page to increase the number of sales. 

How do I increase the conversion rate on my sales page?

Now that you understand the basics of sales page anatomy and how to read that data, here are 3 things you can do right now to improve the conversion rate of your sales page.

1. Revise your hook

A good hook is mission critical for your sales page. This is the very first thing your lead will read, and will determine whether they scroll down to read the details of your offer or not. One of the biggest mistakes I see in sales pages (or the copy that I receive from my own client’s when I’m designing their pages), is the lack of hook.

You need a hook, and you also need to test it! If you have low traffic, start out with one and tweak as you go along. If you have higher traffic, start with a split test as soon as possible. Not all platforms offer a split test function, which is another reason why I recommend Kartra for sales pages.

How do I know if my hook needs revision?

Personally, I think hooks can always be revised, tweaked, tested, and revised again. However, you’ll know for sure whether your hook needs to be revised sooner than later when you view your heat map and 10+ sec visitor count. 
If no one scrolls down your page (or more than 10% don’t), you know that your hook could be repelling people. This might be due to other factors (such as list item 2 below), so make sure to review this article in full before making any changes!

Often when I see that a high percentage of visitors are bouncing off a sales page, it’s due to the page load speed (covered below), lack of hook entirely, or incomplete market research.

Check out this video on Sales Page Best Practices to learn more about hooks.

If you’re not sure how to write a good hook, I’ve got some great examples and prompts for this inside my Sales Copy Engine. 

2. Check page loading speed

Often taken for granted, page load speed is incredibly important for the overall health of your sales page campaign. If your page takes too long to load, you’ll find through your analytics that few of your visitors make it to the 10+sec visitor count. This means your visitors are bouncing off the page before it even loads. 

Luckily, it’s easy to see if this is the case! Use a tool like Google’s Page Speed Insights to find out how long it takes your sales page (or any of your webpages!) to load. Remember, in 2022 our attention spans are short. While we should all strive to have our pages fully load within 1 second, on a sales page that’s often not possible. I’ve found that 2-3s load speeds can still yield excellent conversion rates.

3. Lack of purchasing opportunities

I get that you don’t want to be salesy or appear too desperate for a sale. However, that line of thinking can make it difficult for your customers to buy! Try not to think of buy buttons and call-to-actions as being salesy or pushy. Instead, you’re simply anticipating where your lead is at in their journey, and providing the means to checkout when they’re ready.

I like to use several call-to-actions throughout my sales page designs. They should see a purchase button every 1-1.5 mouse scrolls. Don’t make them search for it– or just they might search elsewhere!

Bonus tip!

Since we’re discussing purchasing opportunities, ensure that your copy is clear! Your buy buttons should contain a very clear direction, so that your potential customer knows exactly what to do and what will happen when they click that button. Clear over clever, wins everytime!

Ready to improve the conversion rate on your sales pages and sales campaigns? My sales page services work with you, for you to create the best campaign for your product! You can choose to write the copy yourself (or have someone else do it), or book an all-in-one copy + design service. Click here to learn more about these sales page services!