Your website gets traffic, but leads/sales are flat—what’s happening?
Marketers have never had so much data to play with. Digital platforms keep count, so we know the who, what, where and when for every click. (The why is a different story for another time).
It’s easy to see marketing as a simple equation. If x is the number of people who visit your website during any set period and y is the number of conversions over the same time, then increasing traffic should result in more sales, right? But we know it isn’t that simple, especially for smaller brands competing against big ones with much bigger budgets.
A far more pragmatic and cost-effective option is to focus on improving the conversion rate, and the best place to start is good website design.
This may sound like a statement of the bleeding obvious, but it’s astounding how many companies invest thousands in campaigns that funnel people to poorly designed, user-unfriendly websites.
Here are some of the most common shortfalls that can be easily rectified.
1. Weak Value Proposition: If visitors can’t grasp how your brand can help them in under 5 seconds, they bounce.
Hype Fix: Stop thinking your website is all about you. It should be all about them—your customers. Craft a clear, benefit-driven headline that speaks directly to your audience’s needs. Use images and video that convey the benefits of using your brand.
2. Complicated User Journey: Confusing navigation or too many steps to complete an action can kill conversions. People are busy, don’t make them work hard to find what they are looking for.
Hype Fix: Simplify your website structure, eliminate all those landing pages, favour scrolls over clicks, use intuitive menus and clear CTAs in multiple places.
3. Lack of Social Proof: Testimonials, case studies, and reviews build trust—don’t skip them.
Hype Fix: Link to review and rating platforms, use written and video client testimonials, share detailed case studies.
4. Slow Load Times: 1 in 4 visitors will abandon a site that takes over 4 seconds to load.
Hype Fix: Optimise images, leverage browser caching, and for heaven’s sake, use a reliable hosting provider. Website hosting is one service where you really do get what you pay for.
5. Mobile Unfriendliness: Have you checked your Google Analytics to see how much your website traffic is on mobile devices? You’ll be shocked. The latest research suggests as much as 63% of traffic is mobile, yet many sites still struggle here.
Hype Fix: Implement responsive design and test across multiple devices.
Get these five things right and enjoy watching your conversion rate and ROI climb.
If you need a hand with any of it, reach out.
