Conversion rates: Normal is far higher than average.

The pace of online innovation is thrilling. The momentum of an industry that’s merely 15 years young continues to build. And the behaviors of users continue to evolve with their online environments.

Everything is in flux. But we consider some things to be set in stone. I doubt I’m the only one that finds the irony in that. Sorry, let me get to the point.

There is no normal.

The web is too young, its development too fluid, and its users too fickle for us to declare what’s normal. Yet we do. And we defend those premature norms with righteous indignation.

There are averages.

We declare those premature norms based on averages… average time spent on a page, average number of pages visited, average click-through-rate, average conversion rate… you know the list. I’d suggest that promoting the averages to norms 15 years into a fluid industry is jumping the gun. There is no stable baseline against which we can measure ourselves. We don’t have enough experience, and we’re not good enough at all of this web stuff to doggedly declare what behaviors are ‘normal’.

The potential for the norms is far higher than today’s averages.

Take paid-media conversion rate for example. The Fireclick average hovers around 4% depending on the category. For many online marketers, if they’re in that ballpark, they’re content. Sure, there are outliers who beat the averages, but if you’re in that 4% range, odds are you’re okay with it.

That’s nuts. Those outliers are converting at 12-40% instead of 4%. And if they happen to be your competitors, they’re eating your lunch by acquiring a customer for a fraction of what it costs you to do the same thing.

Who’s to say that normal isn’t 20% instead of 4%? If it’s attainable with reasonable effort, why isn’t it normal?

Across many industries what’s normal in online marketing is being redefined. With reasonable effort organizations large and small are making their online marketing 3-10 times more effective than average. Are they doing the same things as the ‘average’ crew? No. But with similar effort, comparable or lower spend, they’re getting more customers.

Sooner or later, the average will catch up. That’s the way it works. But will those satisfied at 4% today ever catch up once they lose that ground?

I published an article the other day titled The Potential of Online Marketing in an Increasingly Competitive World. It was penned for CMOs, but you can read it online or download the PDF (no registration). It offers examples of mainstream organizations that are redefining performance expectations in online marketing. I hope it’s of above-average quality.