{"id":1526849,"date":"2023-09-25T09:07:57","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T13:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/?p=1526849"},"modified":"2023-09-25T10:39:43","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T14:39:43","slug":"how-traffic-sources-impact-online-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/how-traffic-sources-impact-online-sales","title":{"rendered":"How Traffic Sources Impact Online Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

How an online shopper finds a product or store impacts conversions. Thus optimizing for sales might start well before a prospect reaches a product detail page.<\/p>\n

Conversion optimization is complicated, as the authors of “Leading Online Shoppers to the Finish Line<\/a>,” a 2023 Shopify and Boston Consulting Group study, found. For starters, ecommerce merchants use varying attribution methods and buyer-journey definitions.<\/p>\n

For example, conversion optimization typically focuses on the checkout but differs on, say, page 1 or page 3. Some methods include mobile-first payments, while others don’t.<\/p>\n

To be sure, the checkout process is the most significant in an ecommerce conversion. But it’s not the only driver of sales.<\/p>\n

Traffic sources \u2014 i.e., paid versus organic search \u2014 impact conversions and provide top-of-the-funnel insights.<\/p>\n

Organic and Paid<\/h3>\n

Most online shops employ both paid and organic traffic to attract potential customers. But which one works best?<\/p>\n

The channels can have vastly different costs per conversion. Marketers generally disagree on which source \u2014 organic or paid \u2014 works best.<\/p>\n

Part of the disagreement stems from a marketer’s economic interest. For example, an article published in March 2023 on a site that sells paid search tools cited a 2009 guest post \u2014 yes, 14 years old \u2014 from Moz stating that paid search converts 35% better than organic. This dated citation implies search engine optimization isn’t important or effective.<\/p>\n

More recently, the Boston Consulting Group study, which considered sales data from more than 220,000 ecommerce stores, concluded that organic traffic sources in general \u2014 think search, social, and word-of-mouth \u2014 outperformed paid traffic sources.<\/p>\n

Your business should likely use both but not mindlessly. Understand how traffic sources interact and work together to drive sales.<\/p>\n

Traffic Measurement<\/h3>\n

Many if not most ecommerce conversions stem from multiple shopper interactions, whether it’s first-time or repeat buyers.<\/p>\n

Regardless, optimizing traffic sources starts with measuring and analyzing. It requires capturing information to understand how the source impacts sales.<\/p>\n

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Optimizing traffic sources starts with measuring and analyzing.<\/p><\/div>\n

Segment conversions by traffic source.<\/strong> Track the traffic source for each sale. Use a first- or last-touch attribution, but keep all the touch-point data along the buyer’s journey. Experiment with multiple attribution periods, such as 28, 14, or 7 days.<\/p>\n

Your traffic segments could be:<\/p>\n