Too often, business owners believe that if they create a website and put it on the world wide web, that customers will start flooding in.
This is usually not the case.
Sadly, some people get discouraged and give up on making their website a tool for converting visitors into leads and even customers. Others (namely you, because why else are you doing research) embrace the opportunity to make changes to their website to create a lead generating machine.
Where does one start to turn their website into the 24/7 sales person they know it can be?
Start by asking yourself if you are guilty of any or all of the common mistakes listed below.
1. Your Ego Got the Best of You
Take a look at your website. How many times do you talk about how amazing your product or service is? Unfortunately, your website visitors do NOT care how awesome you are. They care about themselves. How are you going to solve THEIR problem? Make THEIR life easier/better?
Look at the call-to-action (CTA) on your home page. Are you using action words? Is it phrased in a way that is customer-centric? Again, visitors don't care if your solution has helped other people get 54% happier. They care how much happier THEY will be. Does the CTA tell the person where to go or what to do to get happier? Does it help them along the journey to happiness?
Side note: there is a place on your website that should talk about the awesomeness that is your company. The "About" page is where visitors expect you to talk about you. Visitors want to see that your company is comprised of real people they can relate to. People buy from people they like. Use your about page to make your company shine.
2. You're Not Using Google Analytics
Google Analytics is free, so there is no excuse why you shouldn't be using it and spending at least an hour a week going over the gold mine of information Analytics provides.
Some of the more important stats you should be watching are:
- Pages visitors are coming in on
- Pages visitors leaving your website
- Number of organic searches that lead to a site visit
- The breakdown of new visitors versus returning visitors
- What platform do most of your visitors use to interact with your site? (i.e. desktop, tablet, phone)
All of this information can help you determine what pages need to be addressed. Is there a call-to-action? Is the content from 1994? (But congratulations if you've had a website since '94!) Does the site have a lot of broken links?
Use Google Analytics as your monthly "to-do list" of updates and fixes.
3. You're Not Leading Your Users Through the Buyer's Journey
"Here's my product/service and this is how you buy it."
What? Why should I buy your product or service? What if I'm not ready to buy? Do you have a video, infographic or ebook to give me more information?
Not every visitor to your site is ready to buy. Today's buyers have the upper hand. They have practically unlimited information at their fingertips. If you are not providing the information they are looking for to help them identify their problem and how to solve it, they'll go get it from your competitor.
4. Your Website Content is as Interesting as Watching Corn Grow.
Okay, even I'll admit that there are some people who want to watch corn grow. Why else would there be a website for it? So there are probably visitors out there that will suffer through terrible content on a site to find what they are looking for. But those visitors are few and far between.
Ask yourself: would you read your content? Really?
Don't be afraid to relay the passion for what you do in your content (just remember to make your passion about the visitor, not you). Write genuine, customer-focused content that people would want to share.
5. You Are Not Playing by Google's Rules
As it stands today, Google is the king of the internet. Whether you are using Chrome as your primary browser or just accessing Google Search from Firefox or Safari, they are the go-to search engine for a vast majority of all internet searches.
So accept that you have to play by these rules.
- Is your site mobile friendly?
- Are you consistently updating your content?
- Are you addressing issues such as broken links, 404 errors and images that are taking too long to load?
Google rewards sites that make an effort to remain current and provide users with what they are looking for with higher search ranking positions. The opposite can be said for those websites that do nothing. Granted, this addresses traffic, rather than conversion, but you can't convert website visitors into leads or customers if no one visits your website in the first place.
Now You Know, and Knowing is Half the Battle
and if you get that reference, you grew up in the '80s
Getting your website to convert visitors into customers isn't the rocket science formula you might have perceived it to be. What it boils down to is the ability to put yourself in your prospect's shoes and continually work to provide the kind of website and information that will benefit them.
Be authentic, be genuine, and be empathetic to your visitors and customers.
Written by Nikki Wardle
Nikki has a degree in Marketing from Boise State University and worked as an Inbound Marketing Specialist at Tribute Media from 2014 to 2019. She's a Google Whiz and dog lover, now serving as a marketing director for a local veterinary clinic.
