Instead NPA is declaring 2006 to be the Year of Conversion.  

Conversion, as NPA defines it, is a measurable action taken by a web site visitor; i.e. donating, signing up for the email newsletter or signing a petition. Therefore, the conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your web site that take such an action.

In 2005, Rick Christ was quoted as saying, "Conversion stinks." That's true. Not only are the conversion levels dismal, few nonprofits are actually making online business decisions based on conversion data.

In 2005, most large nonprofits were in disaster fundraising mode – either because disaster relief is their primary mission, or because donations to non-disaster organizations suffered. A ton on money was raised online in 2005, yet the conversion rate still hovered under 2%. Imagine how much could have been raised if conversion was just 3%. (No, not 50% more, but the residual effects of 50% more from EACH campaign!) Nonprofits are spending big money on technology tools and integrated sites. They are increasing spending for online acquisition through keywords. They are sending regular email communications to ever increasing lists. Yet VERY few are actually testing what works online and what doesn't.

Conversion is about setting the goals for a particular campaign, creating copy and landing pages that support that campaign, testing the variables, establishing and tracking the appropriate data to measure success, and then using that data to make your next decision.

So get ready, because for a whole year we are making life about conversion. We are going to teach it, preach it, profile it, and practice it. No matter what topic we cover, our suggestions will be based on increasing conversion.

We want to know what you want to know about conversion. Send us your questions and comments, your ideas and your frustrations. comments@npadvisors.com

January 2006