7 Reasons Why Your Website Isn’t Converting

You can find a lot of advice online on how to drive traffic to your website. However, what you should be focusing on first and foremost is how many of these people turn out to be profitable. In fact, the most important metrics for any website are the conversion rate and how many customers you have. Websites can vary in how many visitors they convert to paying customers, and sometimes, conversions can be because of factors completely out of your control. But in some cases, you can inadvertently interfere in that process and get better results by correcting bad habits. Here are seven reasons why your website isn’t converting.

Your Website Is Focused on Design, Not Goals

Too many websites have a beautiful design, but end up looking more like a lovely online banner ad than an actual ecommerce site. Your website must be completely aligned with your goals, whether it is selling products or collecting customer information. Follow your customers’ goals, not the latest design trends. Ensure that your website clearly delivers what you promise your visitor.

Also, never neglect the power of white space. Some people may think that white space is wasted space, but knowing how to use and manage white space is one of the core principles of sound web design. White space helps minimize clutter, which is a conversion killer, and helps accentuate important elements, like lead capture forms for instance. Line spacing also makes content more readable and increase chances people will read your whole copy through.

You Get in Customers’ Way

A common mistake is getting in a customer’s way. One form of this is when a website throws pop-ups in front of customers who just came to the homepage. Don’t over-sell to customers who are already on your website. You’re going to annoy them and increase the odds they’ll leave. If it is a first-time visitor, annoying them reduces the odds they’ll ever come back.

A related mistake is using too much jargon and branding. Don’t have your logo all over the webpage when the objective is to sell products. Don’t clutter a webpage with irrelevant images, but post relevant videos and images. Give people what they want, whether it is information or products and services they want to buy.

You Aren’t Giving Them the Information They Need

Beautiful pictures of products may hook a potential buyer, but it isn’t enough to convert them to a customer. They want to see details about the product or service. Share pricing information. Let them know how your offers compare to the competition. Give them your address and store hours, as this is the critical information they need to decide whether to come by your store.

Recognize that your visitors may be looking for specific information. The solution is to work with a professional team creating many pages, each crafted to answer a particular question. Direct response copywriting inspires the reader to take a particular course of action at the end of the piece of content. This converts a researcher into a customer when done right, whether that is enticing them to buy the product at the link below or telling them how to reach technical support to resolve their problem. Furthermore, this approach to content creation may eliminate the need for annoying call to action buttons on the webpage and the over-selling that can drive people away from your site.

You Aren’t Tracking Metrics

There are two variations of this mistake. One is failing to track website activity at all. The other is collecting data but never reviewing it. In both cases, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. The solution is to review your numbers, determine what is working and what isn’t, and then fine tune your site to improve your metrics. Suppose you have a good website; you should be utilizing A/B testing to determine what works better than what you already have. This is essential when you’re creating different landing pages for each customer demographic.

You Talk to Customers but Don’t Listen

Too many websites try to talk to customers like billboards or television ads instead of interacting with clients. You have to present them with your value proposition within seconds. Show them why they want to stay on your site and how you can help them. Give customers the ability to find the information they need immediately, because most people will abandon a website instead of searching for a customer service phone number and calling it. Make it easy to sort through products to find the one they want. Don’t overload a website with too many options and assume a customer will scroll through dozens of pages.

Your Page is Too Complicated

There are several ways your overly-complicated website can get in the way of converting visitors to customers. If your menus are jam-packed, they won’t be able to find the right option. And they’re more likely to abandon the site and never come back. Another mistake is failing to give each page a single, clear goal. For example, you should have only one, clear call to action on each webpage. If you have a different call to action, put it on a different website. Be careful about demanding too much information, though, or you’ll prevent them from converting.

You Are Not Showing That Your Website Is Trustworthy

Customers want to see reviews by real people proving that your business honors its commitments and delivers good service. Provide relevant public mentions and case studies to make your case. Share testimonials and third-party rating agency data on your business. Make sure that you have the right security certificates and proudly show security badges. Making information security icons prominent will make people feel more comfortable with sharing their financial information.

If you manage to address these issues, you could dramatically improve your conversion rate. This will allow you to focus less on getting more traffic, but making sure that you get more from the traffic you’re currently getting.