Nevertheless, Ukip has not yet managed to convert that success into the byelection spectaculars that have marked the SNP's progress.
But unlike the Freedom Party, they have struggled to convert electoral success into real power.
So how does one set about converting summer success into sustainability?
A company called Verenium in Lafayette, La., has cut ribbons three times in one locale since 1998 on plants that would supposedly make fuel from sugar cane waste, and has yet to sell a drop because of problems converting laboratory success into smooth, commercial-scale operation.
The question is which will be the most adept at converting past success into new winnings.
Leaders of some other countries have complained that Germany has not done more to convert its export success into demand for products and services elsewhere in Europe.
So we are left asking: How is it possible to liberate a country, depose a ruthless dictator who at least in the past had weapons of mass destruction, and convert a preordained success into a diplomatic fiasco?
It's a topic that made headlines this past december when fellow YouTube star Gaby Dunn wrote a candid editorial on the predicament faced by a large sub-section of creators, who've built big enough followings to be considered famous, yet haven't been able to convert their YouTube success into fully liveable wages.
Examples: YouTube channels like Markiplier, PewDiePie, etc. Viral Tip: If you gain popularity with a Let's Play channel, convert your viral success into cash!
But the FN is facing a difficult battle to convert its first-round success into solid wins after the ruling Socialist party withdrew its candidates from two regions and urged its leftwing supporters there to back Nicolas Sarkozy's Les Républicains to stop the far right.
Elections expert Prof John Curtice, from Strathclyde University, said UKIP still faced a challenge to convert its by-election success into seats at the general election.
