We all know that having a website for your business is absolutely essential! Or… at least we hope we’ve mentioned it enough! Most people do not realize that just “having a website” will not get the job done. What makes up your website, or it’s composition, is the most important part of your website. It’s easy to assume that the aesthetics of the site would steal the show. Unfortunately, pretty colors and exotic buttons do nothing more than distract your customers from why they are on your site. You want your audience to know right away that they are on the “right” page. Your website should SHOUT why people need your product and why they should buy it from you.
Your website should always answer the question “why”. If you are only focused on how your website looks, you need to reevaluate your business goals! An effective website should easily tell customers why they need the product, why they should choose that business to purchase from, and why they should get in touch with the business staff.
If your website is not gaining traffic or producing sales, it might be because you are making one of these five mistakes.
- Your Website Is Missing a Message
Studies show that 55% of visitors will leave your site if there is no clear message.
The message of your website is summarized by your brand value proposition (BVP). Your BVP tells the site visitor what you can do for them.
The design of your website should be focused on the purpose of your business or brand. It needs to send one, clear and direct message. Your website also needs to effectively convey that one message. You should want to give off a good impression when someone lands on your website’s homepage! Your brand value proposition should stand out. The website visitor must receive value from what you’re offering for your site to be effective. They must see your message as valuable and take action on that.
Your website needs to present only one single message. If you clutter your website with too many different slogans, phrases, and pictures, then the true goal of your site will be lost.
There are nearly 5 BILLION people on the internet every day searching for information or answers. Someone is bound to come across your site. When they do, you do not want to steer them away by your message inconsistency or lack thereof.
2. Your website is lacking a clear CTA
CTA means Call-to-Action. The Call-to-Action is essentially the “what” of your business. You first have to make the decision of what you want your website visitor to do. What action do you want them to take on your site? The most common CTA is a button that expresses an action. The purpose of that button is for the customer to click it and potentially sign up to receive something of value. It is one thing to have a CTA button and it is another to have an effective CTA button. The effectiveness of your Call-to-Action depends on the location, design, and verbiage of the CTA. Your CTA button must be easy to find, access, and understand.
Some common CTA buttons are:
- Sign up Here
- Get Started
- Add to Cart
- Chat With Us Now
- Get Your Free Newsletter
- Learn more
Your website would see a tremendous benefit from having multiple Call-to-Action buttons.
We recommend that you make all your Call-to-Action buttons the same color, style, and have similar reinforcing verbiage throughout your website. If your CTA buttons are sporting different styles and colors, your message could be confusing the customers on your site.
CTAs must complement each other, not compete against each other! Your Call-to-Action buttons should match your website’s BVP. You might also want to include a chat support button to help answer customer questions.
3. Your website is not mobile-friendly
This might be something you haven’t thought about. Your website NEEDS to be mobile responsive. A mobile responsive website is one that is compatible with mobile and tablet devices. Your website needs to be able to adapt to various screen sizes (or screens other than a computer monitor). If it’s not mobile-friendly, then you are depriving your business of potential growth.
A user should not have to zoom in and out and all around to read the content on their smartphone. We’ve all been on a page like that! It makes you want to leave immediately! If your own website looked like that, you can imagine that a user wouldn’t be staying on your page for too long.
What’s interesting is that 65% of online traffic comes from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. If your website isn’t designed to be mobile responsive, then you are losing a lot of traffic! In April 2015, Google ranked mobile responsiveness as a factor in its search algorithm. That means, if your website does not accommodate all screen sizes then your website may not be ranked.
A study by Google shows that 61% of visitors will leave a website that is not mobile-friendly and over 40% of visitors will instead do business with your website’s competitor. Your website bounce rate will increase if your visitors are leaving immediately and that will leave you with fewer sales.
4. You’re Adding Junk to Your Customer’s Spam Folder
Email marketing is one of the most effective marketing strategies out there. But, just emailing something to the customers in your email list every day isn’t going to do the trick. You have to provide something of value to them.
People spend an average of 2 and a half hours a day sifting through ads, promotions, and work emails. You do NOT want to be that “one business” that constantly bombards their inbox with completely useless information.
A majority of people have enough emails to look through as it is. They don’t want to give out their email to companies that may abuse their inbox. Although, most people would be willing to give out their email in exchange for something of value. For example, you could encourage a user to enter their email in exchange for a set of coupons to spend at your business.
Your website visitors are always thinking, “What’s in it for me?”.
What you DON’T want to do is create a lame CTA and expect your visitors to click on it and enter their email. For example, your Call-to-Action says “Sign up for an E-Book”.
Your Call-to-Action should entice people to sign up! Instead of your previous bland CTA, say “ Sign up and get my FREE EBook!”
Most of the time, whenever someone comes across the word “free”, they will stop and read more about the offer. The word “free” doesn’t necessarily add value to your offer, but if a customer sees it as valuable, then they will most likely sign up. The trick is to create something of high value that your visitors will not be able to refuse.
Place yourself in the position of the consumer. What would entice you to click on that Call-to-Action button and surrender your email address?
5. Your website is more about you than it is about your products
Microsoft conducted a study that shows websites have only six seconds to grab the attention and interest of a consumer. If you have a clear and concise message on your home page, your visitors are more likely to stay and look around.
Let’s cut to the chase. People are more interested in how you can help them and why they should choose you. People are very simple. If you cannot help them, they will find somebody who can (which most of the time tends to be your competitor).
Stop writing about yourself. Write for the visitors on your page. Start gearing your content toward those who will actually be purchasing your product. Visitors are not going to your site because you created it. They’re going to your site because you offer a product or service that they are interested in.
It would benefit you to add your work experience, educational background, and achievements to your website! Some website visitors actually want to know more about the people who make up your company, which is why they will go to your About page to learn more information. Do not go overboard, though. You need to add the information about yourself to your About page and leave the rest of the information to the home page!
Your business needs a website. There’s no doubt about that. But, just having a website is not enough. Your site needs to be focused on the brand you are trying to portray and the services you are going to provide. It has to achieve your goals! You cannot achieve those goals without following these five steps on your site. If you are not already doing these five things, then don’t worry! We recommend focusing your attention on one “mistake” at a time. Take a few days to fix up your CTA buttons and move onto the next step when you are finished. In the end, you’ll feel much better about a well-produced website than a website that’s rushed and inconsistent.