As surprising as it sounds to many, the majority of online businesses do not suffer due to the lack of traffic. They get stuck because as people appear, things go downhill from there. When the number of visitors increases but your bank account doesn’t, the answer lies in this guide. Revenue – all of the money received, excluding costs – depends on only a few numbers. Having them in your system, you know where to push them.
The Four Numbers That Move Everything
Think of your income as a simple multiplication problem:
Visitors × Conversion rate × Average order value × Purchases per customer
Let’s say you get 10,000 visitors a month, 2% of them buy, each order is $50, and customers buy once. That’s 200 orders and $10,000. Now increase each number by only 10%:
| Metric | Before | After (10% improvement) |
| Monthly visitors | 10,000 | 11,000 |
| Conversion rate | 2.0% | 2.2% |
| Orders | 200 | 242 |
| Average order value | $50 | $55 |
| Monthly sales | $10,000 | $13,310 |
These are some made up numbers to illustrate the mechanics—use your own numbers instead.
An increase of 3 small ones (10%) will take you just 33%. This is the silent force that is multiplication. There’s no need for a miracle; there are just a few good improvements.
Your first step: download the last 90 days of data, and calculate all the numbers. Choose the one which appears the weakest for your niche.
Where Should Your Income Come From?
You should be realistic about the sort of income you’re creating. So, let’s take a look at the five most popular choices for small online businesses:
| Source | Effort to start | Predictable? | Room to grow | Good fit for |
| Display ads | Low | Not really | Medium | Websites that have a regular audience |
| Affiliate links | Medium | Somewhat | High | Review and comparison sites |
| Digital products | High | Somewhat | Very high | Individuals who have the expertise |
| Subscriptions | High | Very | High | Tools, communities, memberships |
| Services | Medium | Somewhat | Low | Quick cash early on |
If you’re just beginning, it’s best to test the waters with services or affiliate income, as this is the quickest method to see if people will pay. When that is functioning, add a product or subscription so that your month is not a stumbling block. Relying on a single source is the typical reason for small businesses to plateau.
The 5-Question Leak Check
Before you spend more money to get more visitors, know where the existing visitors are going. For these be honest:
- Does anyone know what you’re offering in one sentence? People decide fast. A vague title makes them click off.
- Do they have an option to purchase within 3 clicks or less? An additional step is yet another opportunity to quit.
- Are there any proofs close to the buy button? Most where doubt strikes are taken care of by reviews, results, or a guarantee.
- Have a reasonable upsell at the checkout? This is the simplest and most effective way to increase order value, and is well received by customers.
- Do you follow-up after the sale? Giving a short thank you and a helpful email can convert one-time buyers to regulars.
Each “no” represents a leak. Solve them sequentially since problems close to the beginning of the trip are more costly than problems close to the end of the trip.
A Simple 30-Day Plan
Do not attempt to solve all the problems at once. Here is a pace that works!
Week 1: Measure. Work out the 4 numbers and record them. If you don’t have a starting point, you’ll never know whether a change worked or not.
Week 2: Go through the house and repair one leak. Select the lowest number and make one change. Low conversion? Change up the headline or shorten up the checkout. Low order value? Provide a package or upgrade.
Week 3: Re-integrate in a circle. Create a welcome e-mail and a post-purchase e-mail. A simple arrangement helps to generate repeat business.
Week 4: Review. Compare with week 1, retain successful strategies, discard unsuccessful ones and go to the next number
Mistakes That Quietly Cost You Money
There are some common “traps”. The first is to purchase traffic while the page isn’t done; that’s simply spending more to get rid of people. The second is that there are five things that have changed, and you don’t know which one made the difference. The third is ignoring past customers despite any sales that have been made with them being cheaper than sales to a stranger. And the fourth is mixing up sales and profit. Your income may increase, but your margins may decrease—they go hand in hand, so always monitor costs alongside.
The Takeaway
Successful growth is seldom achieved from a single “magic bullet.” It is based on observing your numbers and identifying the lowest number and then repairing it at a time and gradually increasing one or more additional sources of income. You can boost revenue this month by beginning with the base calculation. It takes minutes and gives you a clear direction of what to do.
