Lot of website traffic but no customers, sales, leads or conversions?
Let me tell you that you’re in Luck!
Why Luck?
Because, you’ve already taken care of half of the problem. There are millions of businesses who have less to no online traffic, but you managed to get lot of traffic, so props to you.
Now you are left with the other half of the problem to solve.
The problem of conversions and conversion rate e.g. sales, leads, customers, downloads.
Conversion for each business is different.
If you are b2b, it’ll be leads and sales.
If you are SaaS, it’ll be paid users.
If you are ecommerce, it’ll be paid customers, and high basket value.
Don’t worry, the reasons and solutions I am going to show will cover your problems also.
All of these signals can directly relate to any type of business and can also be taken separately. These reasons and solutions are in no chronological order so you can be creative and apply your own logic.
Reason No. 1 – Poor Website Design:
Problem: For your potential customer, a Poor website design translates into vendor being not reliable, not quality, not trustable, not widely used, not the best in class. Now, I am not saying to build an award winning website, all I am saying is that just reach the above average benchmark where your design incites trust and reliability.
Solution: Redesign the website to improve user experience, navigation, ease of use, visual hierarchy and visual appeal.
Reason No. 2 – Complicated Checkout Process:
Problem: Whether in ecommerce or SaaS, your checkout process is too difficult. This can be pre-checkout or during check-out.
Solution: Simplify the checkout process by reducing the number of steps and offering guest checkout options. You can also try to remove plans and packages that makes it too difficult to decide.
Reason No. 3 – Lack of Trust Signals:
Problem: You can’t make yourself (brand, website etc) appear trustable.
Solution: Add trust signals such as customer testimonials, certifications, leadership info, team members, security badges (especially for transactions), and guarantees to build trust with visitors.
Reason No. 4 – Poorly Targeted Advertising:
Problem: Are you wasting your money or spending it on ads? There’s a difference. Stats and fancy presentations can paint a fancy picture that might not be the complete truth. Whatever your goal is, brand awareness, transactions, upsell etc – make sure, your ad money translates into OKRs (objectives and key results)
Solution: Refine advertising campaigns to target the right audience with personalized messaging and offers based on ad format, device, demographics, interests, and behavior.
Reason No. 5 – Limited Payment Options:
Problem: You don’t offer payment options that has enough use that it can make 5% of your total revenue.
Solution: Offer a variety of payment methods to accommodate different customer preferences, such as credit cards, PayPal, and mobile payment options. If you serve globally and rapidly gaining momentum in traffic then learn what are the most popular methods for online business.
Reason No. 6 – Unoptimized Product Pages:
Problem: You have unoptimized product pages. It can be true for SaaS, eCommerce or any business that has transaction happening on the website to sell a product.
Solution: Improve product descriptions, add SEO, images, and pricing information to make them more compelling, informative and intuitive.
Note: I didn’t mentioned ‘unoptimized service pages’, but they’re equally necessary.
Reason No. 7 – Unpersuasive Call-to-Action (CTA):
Problem: Your CTAs like buttons, forms ‘basically anything that tells users to take X action and makes you money’ is so bad that they are not getting clicked, filled, and bought.
Solution: Use clear and compelling CTAs that prompt visitors to take specific actions, such as “Buy Now” or “Sign Up Today.” For services, your CTAs need to be relevant to each product and service. If you have 10 different products and services, make sure your CTA relates to each of them. Instead of Contact Now, make it ‘Contact Now for X Quote’. Replace X with your service or what user seeks.
Reason No. 8 – High Shipping Costs:
Problem: You are doing something wrong, like your shipping costs are so high that people are not buying.
Solution: Offer free or discounted shipping promotions, set minimum order thresholds for free shipping, or negotiate better shipping rates with carriers.
Reason No. 9 – Poor Search Functionality:
Problem: Your website lacks great search functionality. It can be true for ecommerce, or any company that sells 50+ services or products. No body is going to spend 30 minutes or more to read the information they are looking for. Make it easy for them.
Solution: Improve website search functionality with filters, sorting options, and autocomplete features to help users find products quickly and easily. Another method (not substitute) is to display your HTML sitemap (not XML) so people can easily navigate.
Reason No. 10 – Inconsistent Brand Messaging:
Problem: Your brand message (including logo, tagline, tone, slogan, theme) is not consistent. Being consistent is an immutable law of branding. You need to be consistent on your website and outside your website to make sure your message is consistent with your brand identity and values.
Solution: Ensure consistent branding across all channels, including website, social media, and marketing materials, to reinforce brand identity and messaging.
Reason No. 11 – Ignoring Customer Feedback:
Problem: You are ignoring customer feedback. This is true for pre-sale (new customer) and post-sale (repeat customer).
Solution: Listen to customer feedback and address any issues or concerns promptly to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. Align your sales support and customer support to take care of this.
Reason No. 12 – Ignoring Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
Problem: You are not doing SEO for your key pages that will drive the potential buyers. Yes, you might have traffic, but is it through search engines? Is this traffic going towards the pages that will drive the sale?
Solution: Conduct deep SEO to improve website visibility and rankings in search engine (especially Google) pages.
Reason No. 13 – Hidden Fees or Charges:
Problem: Are you charging any hidden fees or maybe billing is broken.
Solution: Be transparent about all costs, including taxes, fees, and surcharges, to avoid surprises at checkout.
Reason No. 14 – Failure to Differentiate from Competitors:
Problem: Your competitors have better optics than you. Most customers conduct research before spending their money, make sure you win there.
Solution: Identify and emphasize unique selling propositions (USPs) that set the brand apart from competitors, such as superior quality, innovative features, or exceptional customer service.
Reason No. 15 – No Social Proof:
Problem: Humans do business. Are you able to embody values of being human while trying to sell?
Solution: Showcase customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials to build credibility and trust with potential buyers.
Reason No. 16 – No Upselling or Cross-Selling Strategies:
Problem: What if your offer doesn’t really fit your customer? Have some alternate plans ready for them.
Solution: Implement upselling and cross-selling tactics by suggesting related or complementary products during the checkout process.
Reason No. 17 – Unappealing Product Images:
Problem: While you think product images are important for ecommerce. For non-ecommerce, I would also like to mention pricing, packaging, proof of work and demonstrations.
Solution: Use high-quality, visually appealing product images that showcase products from multiple angles and in different contexts. For non-ecommerce, use pricing, packaging, demonstrations that are persuasive.
Reason No. 18 – Ignoring Data Analytics:
Problem: Are you assessing and studying your statistics?
Solution: Use data analytics tools to track website metrics, customer behavior, and sales trends to identify areas for improvement and optimization. Don’t just use them, study them deeply and take actions to move the needle.
Reason No. 19 – Slow Loading Speed and difficult UI:
Problem: Are you sure your website is fast? Test and make sure the website is good enough that people are not waiting too long to complete their purchase. Test your UI also while you’re at it.
Solution: Optimize website speed by compressing images, minimizing HTTP requests, and using a content delivery network (CDN) and more. Make sure your UI is intuitive.
Reason No. 20 – No Return Policy or Guarantee:
Problem: Customers want Plan B if your service or product doesn’t work as intended.
Solution: Offer a generous return policy or satisfaction guarantee to reassure customers and reduce purchase hesitation.
Reason No. 21 – Overwhelming Product Choices:
Problem: It’s a simple psychology that if you offer too many choices for the same thing you might be deterring chances of a successful sale.
Solution: Streamline product categories and navigation to help customers find what they’re looking for more easily.
Reason No. 22 – Lack of Social Media Presence:
Problem: Presence on social media is a sign of trust. Build it. If you can’t be super active, at least post every once in a while and answer any queries.
Solution: Build a strong presence on social media platforms to engage with customers, showcase products, and drive traffic to the website.
Reason No. 23 – Failure to Build Relationships with Customers:
Problem: Are you building relationship with the customer or future customer?
Solution: Implement customer relationship management (CRM) strategies to nurture relationships with customers through personalized communication, webinar, live chat and targeted marketing campaigns.
Reason No. 24 – Inadequate Product Information:
Problem: Are you answering all the customer questions?
Solution: Provide comprehensive product details, including specifications, dimensions, materials, and usage instructions.
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