Not much can be more frustrating than seeing lots of website traffic coming to your site and zero sales or leads coming in. Along with many things we have worked with people on over the years, one of the main questions get we get asked is about why websites are converting visitors into buyers. And, as you can guess we have run across several reasons why this happens over and over again. Some of the issues are simple to solve, and some of the issues are real obstacles that take time, research, and lots of testing & tweaking to overcome. For this example, we are going to assume you are getting decent traffic to your website. But first, how do we measure your website conversion success? We do this by figuring out something called your conversion rate.

How do you calculate conversion rate?

First, we have to know the current conversion rate for your website. So, how is the conversion rate calculated? Conversion Rate is calculated by taking the total number of visitors to your website and dividing it by the total number of orders. So, if you have 100 visitors and 2 of them purchased something, you would have a conversion rate of 2%. And, believe it or not.. 1%-2% is the real conversion rate that most websites get. So, if you are lucky 2 out of 100 visitors will buy from you. ( Learn more about google analytics)

Why websites don’t covert.

1. Clunky Website Design

This is the foundation and the issues below will derail your website from making the sales you want. But, what does “clunky” mean? This has to do with both the performance, layout, and overall look of your website. If your site doesn’t come up easily on their phone or is hard to navigate you are in trouble. Here are a few questions to ask in regards to the clunkiness of your website. ( learn about our website design services )

1. How fast does it load? More than 3 seconds?
2. Does it have a mobile version? over 50% of searches are being done mobile.
3. How old are the design and graphics? More than 3 years old? People trust websites that look new and clean.

2. Missing Call To Actions

This is 101. You have to lead people to the action you want them to take. Here’s the thing though, You don’t have to overthink this too much. People have a tendency to get tripped up by this step. Anything you start out with can be changed if you see it isn’t working as well as you would want. That’s the great thing about the web. You can test and tweak and change as much as you would like. Just pick out the main goal of the page, and create one main call to action that is clear and easy to follow. And, try to make it a different color than the main colors of the theme so it stands out more.

3. Too Many Call To Actions

You’ve heard the saying before. “Too much of a good thing can be bad”. Well, This can cause loads of confusion. It’s kind of like walking through Times Square in New York. So, don’t overwhelm your website visitors with too many choices. Pick one for each page and go from there. You will find that the less distracting a focused you make the page, the easier it will be for your website visitors to follow the path you want them to.

4. Missing Social Proof or Reviews

People will do what’s popular. So, the more “social proof” you have in the way of positive customer reviews the more likely people will trust the reliability of your product. So, add reviews to your products or the ability for people to leave them. It’s amazing what having several of those pretty shiny stars will do to help your website sales increase.

5. Poor Or Non-Competitive Pricing

This is a BIGGY! You have to make sure that your pricing is equal or at least similar to your competitors. If you have a similar product, people will generally go with the lowest price if you have clearly stated your competitive advantage. So, do your research on your competition! It will help you know how to better position your product against there’s if your price is higher. If you don’t and they feel like your price is unfair, then they will leave and look for other vendors. Which may cause you to lose them forever.

6. Poor Product Descriptions

There is a rule we use. The bigger the decision, the longer & more detailed the description. The bigger the decision means the cost of the product. As you are well aware the higher the cost the longer the purchase process. So, make sure you write out a product description that lays out every detail and leaves no stone unturned. Post as many great pictures of your product as possible, as well as videos.

Also, Make sure you list your competitive advantages over your competition and highlight what you include in your product that they do not. You can do this by a side by side list or chart. But, make sure that you easily point this out!

Remember, This may be the only chance you get to talk about why your product is better. Your website visitors will look at you as a resource if you do this which will put you ahead of the competition. Additionally, long product descriptions will help your website show up higher in search engines. ( Learn about our SEO Services )

7. Your Product May Not Be What They Want

This is the hardest thing to swallow for some website owners. One reason that your website will not convert is that your product may not meet the total need or style of the person. The style reference is for clothing companies. Color, pattern, etc can determine if you will get the sale. I’ve worked with a few and clothing is a fickle business. So, make sure your advertising is spot on with who you are targeting and driving to the website. Otherwise, they will not buy and it will sink your conversion rate which will leave you frustrated and confused.

We know that going through all of this on your website and your analytics can be a little daunting. Or, maybe you feel like you’ve done all of this and nothing is working. Either way, put my 20 years of marketing experience to work for you today! Feel free to reach us and let us do a quick review to see where we can help you get your website converting.