• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, September 5, 2024

Content written for a fifth- to seventh-grade reading level converts at nearly twice the rate of that aimed at people with professional reading skills, according to the 2024 Conversion Benchmark Report from Unbounce. 

And it’s getting worse. Complex copy now hurts conversion rates 62% more than it did in 2020, the study adds.

But it depends on the device. Mobile draws 82.9% of the traffic, but converts at a lower rate than desktop — 11.2% compared to 12.1%. 

It is also determined by industry. Health and wellness converts 22% better on desktop, but gets 7x more traffic from mobile devices. And professional services converts a 40% higher rate on desktop but draws over 4x more traffic from mobile.

Meanwhile, the study reports that email is the highest-converting channel, as shown by these rates:

• Email — 19.3%
• Paid social — 12%
• Paid search — 10.9%
• Display — 4.1%

The findings show “the importance of readability and shocking lack of investment in mobile-first landing pages relative to traffic volume, highlighting the importance of optimizing from all angles," says Steve Oriola, CEO of Unbounce. "As consumer behavior continues to shift, these insights provide marketers with the data they need to take a strategic but simple approach to conversion rate optimization.”

Unbounce analyzed data from over 57 million conversions across multiple industries.