Most organizations today use the "launch" stage as the first stage of user testing. Although web site design is a continuous process of measurement and improvement, the launch stage should serve as the representation of what was learned in BETA user testing.  Regardless of where you are in user testing, you can make improvements to your web site's conversion ratio through consistent measurement and analysis of not where you intend your visitors to go, but where they are winding up.

Set Standards for Measurement:
Conversion ratios can be assigned to any web site. The key in doing so is identifying a constant (and fair) success threshold that will be universally applied throughout the given analysis period. Playing with benchmarks will provide erroneous usability data and will only become more skewed during time. Identify the parameters of a successful web site visit and take this throughout your analysis lifecycle.

Develop Multiple Tiers of Success:
Although customers may not make a purchase or fill out the contact form, their visit may not be a complete failure.  These customers may fill out your mailing list, or move to the page that contains your company telephone number.  Simply put, there are multiple levels of success and your organization should assign appropriate levels to such web site activities.

Web Site Conversion is Directly Related to these Basic Web Site Principles :

• Your web site's ability to provide a speedy page load, even in narrow band environments 

• The web site’s ability to put forth a concise message with clear distinction among direct product/service information and supporting service environments 

• A contributing as opposed to complicating layout and web site design. Navigation must provide easy to recognize access to successive web pages 

• The quality as opposed to quantity of the information that exists on the web site. Ensure customers have enough information to take the next step in your predefined conversion metric 

• The capabilities of your internal site search engine to provide access to all information throughout the web site 

• The ability for your web site to provide error recognition by the user and also subsequent recovery options

Establish Site Exit Points:
Any good web analysis program will provide you with "exit pages".  If a web site visitor exits your web site from a product page, it usually indicates a failure.  Whereas if they visit a contact page, or place the item in your shopping cart (where applicable), it represents a success.  Ascertain where your visitors are exiting your web site and provide added access to contact and/or further steps as defined in your existing conversion strategy.

Understand that Pages have Two Objectives:
With modern search engines, often times content or product pages are indexed more pervasively than a web site's homepage.  Ensure that content pages have enough navigation for users to quickly find associated pages that will assist in making further progress towards your predefined success metric.

By adhering to good usability standards, you will be making more out of every single customer visit on your web site.  When time is added to this proposition, the results become even greater.