How do your conversion rates measure up?

I am often asked about benchmarks or expectations for response rates from web tactics I recommend. For most of our B2B clients, one of the primary goals of web design, content creation and related SEO is to convert a lead into an opportunity, contact or account.  I was happy to find that Marketing Sherpa published some data on the topic a little while back  from an online survey of professional marketers that make up their primary audience.  I republish it below.

Not surprisingly, it is easier to generate a lead than to close the business - for the most part. One exception noted below is when the buyer has organically found you (i.e., found you by typing key words that your site ranks for). This helps support the case for on- and off-page SEO and generating content that will resonate with your buyer personas. If nothing else, these numbers provide a useful yardstick. How do your conversion rates measure up?

PR in a Web 2.0 World

Having a degree in public relations, I am amazed at the impact the internet has made to the industry. It wasn’t that long ago that PR firms and newswires were the main mediums (and expenses) to get your message to the media – and ultimately your targeted audience(s). If the “news” your company generated, and the pitch by your agency of record resonated with the media, articles and coverage would follow.

Today, we’re seeing mainstream media closing down editorial bureaus and trade publications eliminating or greatly reducing print runs in favour of online models. Sometimes even revised business models can’t survive in an era of diminishing advertising revenues. Earlier this year, Crain Communications pulled the plug on the venerable RCR News, one of the key wireless trade publications in North America with a 25 year track record.

Web 2.0 has changed the game and some claim that technology has made journalists obsolete. It may be true to a degree. Companies today can publish their news directly through less expensive internet distribution mediums to a series of websites, traditional news services and blog authors. Cutting out journalists altogether is possible. While I agree with the benefits of this approach from a pure search engine optimization (SEO) perspective, it does beg some questions: What releases are truly newsworthy? What releases further the aims of the company? This is where your in-house PR practitioner, marketing communications professional or outside counsel adds value in determining a communications strategy. Furthermore, I still believe journalists have a critical role to play. At a minimum B2B enterprises should be targeting their key trade editors/journalists and analysts. If future investment or employee recruitment are key requirements, local business media should also be targeted.