Some traffic sources convert better than others. You might get a 10% conversion rate from JV partner traffic and 1% from banner ad traffic. That’s normal, but…
…Recently I made an interesting discovery about two wildly different conversion rates from the SAME source, Twitter.
I’ve been experimenting with a Twitter traffic system with some success. I’ve been able to get hundreds of clicks in a day without too much effort.
I’m excited about that. But it’s also important to monitor the conversion rates of that traffic.
Right now there are two ways I get traffic from Twitter: 1) links within tweets themselves and 2) a link in the bio of my profile.
Both links go to the same squeeze page, but the two links have wildly different conversion rates.
When people click on the link in my bio, the conversion rate is DOUBLE that of clicks from promotional tweets.
Why? I’m always careful when making assumptions. But I can offer a guess.
My guess is similar to a post I just read on the Internet Business Box blog titled “Sales Letters vs. Blogs.”
Their theory is that people resist being sold to. Copywriters are taught this as well.
The author believes that when people are allowed to click around and control the shopping experience, they are more likely to buy. It’s an interesting experiment and I look forward to seeing how it works out.
So what’s the difference between the two conversions coming from Twitter?
Links that appear in Tweets come off as advertisements that the reader responds too. They’re being sold to and they know it.
But when a visitor clicks a link in the bio, they may feel like THEY’RE initiating the shopping experience. They may feel more in control and feel less resistance to the offer.
It’s just a guess, but I think a good one.
What do you think, is there a better explanation for the difference in conversion rates from nearly the same source?
