Your website acts as your business’s digital storefront. It is a 24/7 salesperson working tirelessly to attract and convert visitors. But what if, instead of sealing the deal, your website is driving potential customers away? Believe it or not, many websites are riddled with hidden roadblocks that are sabotaging conversion rates and losing potential clients.
If you suspect that your website may be to blame for a downturn in leads, don’t fret. We are here to break down 6 common website faux pas that ruin conversion rates – and how to fix them.
1. Expectations vs. Reality
One killer of conversions is not meeting your visitors’ expectations. In marketing, one of the most basic principles is continuity. Your website is receiving visitors from a variety of sources, be it social media, an advertisement, or search. Wherever this click is coming from, they are expecting to find out more information about what the source advertised or complete the action that they were prompted with from the source. When your content doesn’t match your promise, this leads to immediate click out and a lost customer.
Fix it:
Don’t clickbait! Be honest about the information you will be providing and develop a compelling title or CTA to accompany it. Your advertisements, SEO titles and social captions should match the content on the landing pages that they are driving to. A symptom of mismatch to look out for is a high bounce rate or a short average time on the page. Your tone on social media or in advertisements can be different from your website, but your brand should still shine through and be recognisable.
2. Your user’s experience is poor at best
In a digital world, user experience (UX) is of the utmost importance. Confusing and poor design leads for an unfavourable first impression, and you have about 2 seconds to make a good one. People tend to be impatient with websites; in fact, 40% of users will abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load, and a 1 second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions.
The speed of your website is a huge part of the user experience, along with the overall design. If the navigation is complicated, or the colours are hard to read, you’re setting your page up for failure. If your website is unappealing or difficult to navigate, users are not going to wait around to figure it out: There is always another website waiting on the Google Search results page.
Source: NeilPatel.com
Fix it:
More is not necessarily merrier when it comes to UX. Simplifying your design makes the page less crowded and complicated, two things that will surely not amount to conversion. Reducing the number of CTAs, design elements, and menu options gives people less opportunity to navigate away from what you want them to do. Direct all of the focus on the step that will take the user towards conversion. Additionally, improve your loading speeds with streamlined code and a mobile-friendly structure. Ensure that your elements are clear, concise and searchable, with helpful navigation to guide people around the page.
3. No customer support
So you’ve got the user on your page, but they have a question that can’t be answered from looking at your website. If you don’t have a solution for them readily available, they will certainly be navigating away and searching for a different option. Your website is just one part of the funnel for a lead, and in each phase of the customer journey there are certain questions or needs on their mind. It is your job, as the business, to answer their queries and support them along the way.
Fix it:
You aren’t expected to be available 24/7 – that’s what the website is for. So, make it your salesperson. Great content is the backbone of a knowledgeable source and can help in answering questions for any potential leads. Make your content searchable and relevant with targeted SEO keywords. If content isn’t enough, the most important step is to ensure that contacting you is quick and effortless. Live chat is the best option for customer support, but if you do not have these resources, a chatbot or quick email messaging system is the next best option. Don’t let several days go by without responding to email queries – ensure that the turnaround time for an answer is less than 24 business hours. Timely and accurate responses and service retains visitors and nudges them towards conversion.
4. Broad targeting
Relevance is key when turning traffic into conversions. If you are not targeting your content or keeping in mind the customers you are hoping to attract, you are missing out on conversions. With cloudy or broad messaging, you are not making your position entirely clear and your narrative will feel vague and unappealing. Your targeting needs to be specific if you want it to be successful.
Fix it:
First, identify who the target audience is for your product or service. There may be multiple, very different target audiences, but to adapt your website to serve them, you need to understand each one individually. Ask: What are their needs? How will my business serve them? What are they searching for? You’re going to want to create unique marketing campaigns for each audience with their unique interests, and target long-tail keywords for your organic SEO and paid search campaigns. If you successfully target these narrower audiences, you will bring in high quality traffic with higher conversion rates.
5. Complex navigation
Navigation is of the utmost importance, but can quickly become a nuisance if it is too complex and confusing for visitors to use. The more pages your website has, the more challenges you will face in getting users to convert. The biggest issue with a complex navigation system is that you will send your users off-course. Of course, you need to communicate your company’s values, which may mean multiple pages (for example: About Us, Services, Products, Case Studies, etc.). However, in order to keep users on track to convert, key design decisions when it comes to navigation must be made.
Fix it:
In terms of a landing page, the best thing you can do is remove the navigation altogether. A good landing page’s purpose is to convert right off the bat and should not require a navigation menu to explain what the business does elsewhere. This does not mean that other parts of the site cannot be linked in the landing page, but they should not distract from the main CTA. However, if it is just a webpage, consider a simplified menu that expands on click. Fewer clickable options is always better. If you can control the user to click on one key CTA, this will improve your conversion numbers immensely.
6. The silent treatment
Your website shouldn’t be a monologue; it should be a conversation with your visitors. If you do not have any action for them to take on the page they land on, they will very likely navigate away and look for a different option. If your website does not engage the user in some way, they will not feel a connection to the website. Without a space to interact with your visitors, you are also hurting the UX and not addressing their needs and concerns – the reason they are on your page in the first place.
Fix it:
Compelling CTAs are the first way to engage your visitors in conversation. Whether it’s a “Contact Us” button or a “Buy Now” button, CTAs guide the user through their customer journey to eventually a purchase. If your offer is a Get In Touch button, be sure you are getting in touch with them promptly. If not the same day, a next day reply is necessary to build trust and credibility. Don’t leave your potential clients on read! If you want their business, provide them with helpful and prompt feedback.
Conclusion
If your conversion rates are struggling, make sure you are addressing these 6 potential issues that could be compounding your success. Standing out in the market can be difficult, but by redeveloping your site with the user in mind, you will be on track to generate conversions in no time.
And if your website is still not performing, fear not. The experts at Novicell UK are here to help...
About Novicell
At Novicell, we are not just another digital consultancy. We seamlessly integrate into your team like an extension of yourself: We collaborate with key stakeholders and understand your goals and challenges, then apply our diverse expertise to craft bespoke solutions that propel your business forward. Our team are experts in all things digital, from front end to back end, and we are ready to become your ultimate strategic partner. Ready to ditch the conventional and embrace exceptional? Together, we can bring your business to the next level digitally. Contact us today.
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