Why Your Website Isn’t Converting
You’ve been investing in your website. Publishing content, using the right keywords in the right places, and regularly posting on social media. Your analytics show that people are visiting the site, but when you compare that traffic to your leads, the outcome is disappointing.
Putting time, money, and effort into something you care about and not seeing results can be discouraging, but it’s especially true when that something is your livelihood.
If you’re not seeing a return on your investment, your conclusion might be that you should put even more effort into increasing traffic. In most cases, that’s the wrong choice. The real issue is what happens after a potential customer lands on your site.
Why your website traffic isn’t turning into leads
Every visitor to your site is gathering information, trying to decide whether or not your business is the solution they’re looking for. They’re searching for clues that tell them you understand their challenges, that you’re experienced in solving their problems, and that you’re a good fit for their style of work. This assessment can take place in as little as three seconds.
On the other hand, some visitors may click through a few pages, gathering information and drawing preliminary conclusions. That’s exactly what you want, right? But then they leave without taking action. Unlike the visitor who draws a conclusion after three seconds, this exit doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve written you off. They may be conducting research to compare your business to competitors, or they might not feel confident taking the next step. This is often where the problem starts.
When your digital marketing is driving potential customers to your website, they arrive with a specific expectation based on what they saw. If there’s a mismatch, and what they see on your website doesn’t meet that expectation, it creates uncertainty. The gap between visit and lead is a direct result of what they experience on your website.
How to evaluate your website like a first-time visitor
One of the challenges with identifying where your website might be falling down is that visitors who leave without taking action don’t tell you why. This leaves you stuck with the task of trying to determine the issue on your own. The best way to solve this is by evaluating your website from the perspective of someone seeing it for the first time.
Try looking at your website as if you’ve never seen it before. Imagine you’re a potential customer in need of the product or service your business provides. You understand what your problem is and you’re looking for a solution. To improve your conversion rate, you need to honestly evaluate each page of your website for focus and effectiveness. Here are four steps to use as a framework for reviewing your site.
Step 1: What question is each page answering?
Visitors come to your website with questions. That means each page has to answer a question that moves them forward in the customer journey. For the home page, a potential customer usually wants to know what your business provides and whether it matches their needs. A product or service page should make it clear what you offer and how it solves a specific problem. A contact page should explain what will happen if they reach out.
Most visitors won’t take the time to read or explore pages that don’t seem immediately relevant to their needs.
Step 2: Move on to the next natural page.
After evaluating your home page, ask yourself where you would go next. Most visitors instinctively follow a logical and natural path to learn more about your business. Typically, this means that from the home page, they click to a product page and then move on to the contact form. Clear navigation, informative content, and well-placed calls to action are their best guides.
As you follow this path, if you have to stop and think about where to go, your visitors will too. And they’ll be a lot less forgiving.
Step 3: Look for gaps in information.
As you move through the site, take note of the questions about your products or services that come up. Are the answers clearly presented on the service pages, or do you have to dig through several different pages of FAQs to find them? Your headlines and H2 headers should be able to stand alone, leading visitors through a natural progression as they move down the page. Supporting copy should expand on that message by providing clarity.
When a potential customer has to stop and search for answers, their time to conversion increases. And that is exactly what you don’t want!
Step 4: Identify where your content is weak.
Establishing your expertise and building trust with potential customers is a prerequisite to making a sale. As you review your pages, take note of any areas where your content feels weak, confusing, or incomplete. If the substantive part of your website isn’t consistently reinforcing your expertise, potential customers will be wary of moving forward.
Fortunately, this kind of evaluation usually only requires adjustments to layout or content rather than a full redesign. But even these minor changes can make a significant difference in your conversion rates.
Are you communicating your value effectively?
Of course, the value of your products and services is clear to you. You’ve put a significant amount of time and effort into building a business you’re proud of. You know what you offer, who your audience is, and why you’re better than your competitors. Someone who finds you through organic search or a pay-per-click ad doesn’t automatically have that same understanding.
Each piece of content on your website should tie back to not just what you sell but also the value your business brings to the client. Keep in mind this isn’t about adding more explanations, words, or unnecessary detail. Making sure you’re communicating your value can actually mean removing or streamlining what you already have. Every section of every page on your website should be focused on answering questions quickly and directly without adding fluff just to create more content.
Even if you’re presenting information accurately and succinctly, you might not be doing it in a way that makes sense to a prospective customer learning about your business for the first time. This is where the type of content you’re publishing can make the difference. Case studies show how you’ve solved similar problems for other businesses. Testimonials are social proof of your experience and good work. Without giving away proprietary information, explainer videos show how your internal processes work. Blog articles communicate your brand personality and demonstrate your expertise.
Everything on your website plays a role in helping potential customers understand if you’re the right fit for them and if it makes sense to move forward with you.
Helping visitors take the next step
Potential customers should always have a clear understanding of what you want them to do next. This is the job of your CTAs, but they don’t always function the way you intend them to. Just like Goldilocks, visitors are reacting to whether the options you’re offering are too many, too few, or just right. If you offer too many or too few options, they can be confused as to what their next step should be. You’re looking for the “just right” balance where your content and CTAs work together to guide visitors without overwhelming them or leaving them without direction.
The path forward should always be clear, whether you want a potential customer to read more, download a resource, move to another page for more details, or schedule a consultation. A confusing call to action does the opposite of what you want. It leads to no action being taken, even if the visitor is interested in your business.
What’s preventing visitors from moving forward
Improving the flow and usability of your website is what will start turning more leads into customers. When your messaging is clear, the experience of moving through your website is straightforward, and your content is helpful, potential customers are more likely to take the next step.
The roadblocks to conversion aren’t always obvious. It may be the service page that doesn’t clearly explain what you do, a CTA that is confusing, or content that doesn’t communicate your value. While each issue can be its own challenge, together they can create enough friction that potential customers choose not to move forward.
That’s why evaluating your website from the perspective of a first-time visitor is so important. When you take an honest look at the flow of your pages, the quality of your content, and the direction you’re providing, you’ll start to see the gaps.
If your website isn’t producing the leads and sales opportunities you expect, recognizing and addressing these gaps should be your next step. For help finding and fixing these issues, talk with one of our marketing experts today!
