

Ask HN: Spend time on increasing conversion rate or increasing site visitors? - starter

I recently built a Website Hosting Provider website that converts approximately 5% of unique visitors. I know I need 400,000 visitors at this rate to hit my income goal - should I focus on getting more hits or high conversions?
======
ifearthenight
From my experience 5% is generally (depending on service obviously) a pretty
good conversion. The real question comes down to ROI though I guess. How much
do you need to spend to increase conversion and how much revenue will that
generate? Likewise how much would it cost you to drive more traffic? This ROI
will change over time. Sounds like (albeit with limited info to go on) that it
might be cheaper for you to drive traffic at the moment but as your traffic
gets higher, and keywords you need become more expensive then they focus may
very well shift.

~~~
starter
Saved your answer - Thanks for your input! I thought 5% was decent myself. I
like your ROI suggestion. Any recommendation on where to start? PPC to drive
traffic looks like a scary way to burn capital right now. You think its my
best option?

------
steventruong
You should increase both if you have low traffic and low conversion. But once
you get to a certain point, focus more on conversion. Increasing visitor count
doesn't necessarily mean the ratio of sign up will stay the same. Focus on
increasing the number that matters.

~~~
starter
Makes sense. I guess I'll focus on more traffic for now to see if that 5% is
something I can hold. Thanks for your input!

------
sirwitti
i guess that depends on your current traffic. 5% sounds quite good to me, but
it depends on absolute numbers. if you have 1.000 unique visitors a month you
propably should focus on getting more traffic. on the other hand if you have
100.000 uniques a month a/b split testing would be a great way to increase
sales.

hope that helps, martin

~~~
starter
Thanks Martin! I will focus on getting more traffic for now, I think. More
than 100 so maybe its not too soon for a/b split testing. Thanks for your
input.

