7 Reasons Your Website Is FAILING To Make Sales

The definitive top 7 roadblocks preventing you from owning a profitable website that drives daily sales.

Most websites fail miserably to generate new leads and sales, and most of them are making the same exact ridiculous mistakes. We see it over and over again. And the result is always the same ‒ your business loses out on valuable income.

Avoid these common pitfalls to make your website start delivering a return on your investment.

#7 YOUR WEBSITE COPY IS LONG AND WINDED

Users scan the web! They’re not going to wade through streams of your rants just to get to the golden nugget of information hidden at the end.

Successful websites address any concerns and objections their potential clients may have. They hit the nail on the head by talking about your burning pains. They also engage visitors by using lots of headers, short paragraphs, bullet points, break-out boxes and call-to-actions. Today, many are swapping out text and using videos instead.

TIP: Make sure your homepage has at least 500 words, just to keep Google happy

#6 YOU’RE USING A CHEAP & SLOW WEB HOST

Website speed is a BIG reason users stay or leave your website. Most people abandon a site that doesn’t load within three seconds.

If your site takes more than three seconds to load, then you need to improve it ASAP! Try a better web host, or pay your current web host for more bandwidth. A website redesign and getting rid of those old fashioned flash intros will help big time.

TIP: Here’s a quick website loading speed test you can take to analyze your website.

#5 YOU’RE NOT GIVING USERS ANY CREDIBILITY OR A REASON TO TRUST YOU

First impressions matter. If your website is ugly and confusing, your visitors will take one look and head off to somewhere less dodgy.

When we’re building a website for a client, we know that they’re not just paying us to throw a few attractive pages together. We’re there to build the company’s online reputation.

TIP: Some of the things that help build credibility and trust include: great design, customer testimonials, professional logos, returns policy information and contact details.

#4 YOU DON’T HAVE AN EFFECTIVE SALES CONVERSION PLAN

We call the page with your key call-to-action the ‘goal page’. When a visitor leaves without hitting a goal page, we call that ‘a leak’.

An effective conversion plan focuses on the kinds of things that reduces leaks, such as creating good first impressions through great design, easy navigation, benefits-driven copy, accessible pricing and a highly visible call-to-action.

TIP: The conversion plan should also consider the sales funnel to pull your visitors from an initial simple action, right through all the stages of engagement to becoming a customer.

#3 YOU’RE NOT ASKING FOR VISITORS DETAILS BEFORE THEY LEAVE

So… you’ve got all these visitors looking through your well-designed website with bang-on web copy and fast load times. But how do you get their attention?

Easy. You offer them a bribe ‒ a ‘lead magnet’. Something they’re willing to hand over their email address for. Give away a bunch of free resources and tools. Checklists. Cheat sheets. Your brother’s phone number…

TIP: Make sure you include a ‘request a quote’ button or link with your lead magnets on your homepage. Give them an easy way to get in contact with you!

#2 YOU’RE NOT TELLING VISITORS WHAT TO DO

Contrary to popular opinion, people like being told what to do. They don’t want too many options either.

Don’t give your web visitors 13 options. Give them one straight-up call to action that tells them what to do next. It could be an image, a button or a line of text that prompts your visitors to take action.

TIP: Make your call-to-action big and bold. Without a strong call-to-action, your website is just a pretty brochure site that does nothing for your bottom line

#1 YOU DON’T FOLLOW THROUGH WITH CONSISTENT EMAIL MARKETING

Email marketing is a vital part of any website strategy. Many people forget this. The brand new prospect that just handed over their email address then disappears into the deep dark abyss.

Email nurturing is a great way to build trust ‒ a way for you to connect. It also helps your visitors (aka leads) work out whether or not they want to do business with you.

TIP: You might need to contact your fresh new leads at least 10 times before they become a customer. But keep at it ‒ email marketing works...