There is no substitute for understanding when using website statistics.
You have to get the reality behind the numbers.
I’ve noted that a 1% response or conversion rate for website visitors is typical. Of course that is a very rough rule of thumb and any given site could be doing great with a lower percentage or lousy with a higher one, depending on all sorts of things.
Let’s take the example of a site that suddenly gets a lot more traffic and the conversion ratio goes out the roof, hitting 10%, even 15%.
Maybe what happened is the site or product got some publicity and lots of people are going to the site specifically with buying the product in mind. Conversion ratios from publicity are often way higher.
They can also be way lower if the publicity isn’t really catching potential buyers! A great example was the huge viral marketing campaign successfully built around the movie “Snakes on a Plane”. You went to a website and entered some information and an automatic dialer called a friend of yours with a personalized voice recorded message in Samuel Jackson’s voice.
That was HOT. People loved it.
But it didn’t translate into moviegoers, because the viral marketing appealed to lots of people who would never go see a movie like that.
Again, the point is, you have to get the reality behind the numbers. Then you can gloat over the real triumphs, glower over the failures, and work out what to do next.