The average website conversion rate is 2% with only the top 25% companies converting at a rate of 5% or higher. Unfortunately, most businesses only concentrate on generating visitors, not understanding the importance of turning them into buyers. Anyone who lands on your website has an interest in what you have to offer, but not everyone will visit a site with an intention to buy.
Some users may be only interested in acquiring information, not making a purchase. Hence why your conversion rate can never be a perfect 100%. But if you’re lucky enough, you might be able to enter the top 10% with a conversion rate above 12%.
Below are the top seven reason that your website is not attracting visitors. And more importantly, why you are not generating conversions.
1. Your domain name is not user friendly
A poor domain name can be the first thing to put people off.
Perhaps your web address is difficult to spell or memorize. Maybe your website is 27 letters long. You should try to keep your website to a single word, or phrase if possible.
Anything over three words is usually too long to remember. Ideally, the domain name should relate to the content and you should avoid replacing letters with numbers
Also be aware of cryptic messaging. Sometimes when two words are placed together they can be misread as other words (Bobs Exchange as a domain would be bobsexchange.com). This is not something you want as the backbone of your website.
Before you decide on a domain, try reviewing it with members of your organization. Multiple views can help with picking up on subtle idiosyncrasies.
Changing a domain name isn’t easy, but it is possible and could be worth the hassle if it boosts your traffic.
2. Poor Search Engine Optimization
Search engines are the primary source of traffic for websites. Most people don’t consider sites beyond the first page when using search engines. By investing in SEO (search engine optimization), you can help to improve your rankings when people enter specific keyword phrases.
SEO is a difficult business. Most people think it’s all about use of keywords. Although, keywords play a significant part, they aren’t the only factor in search engine optimization. There are sources online that can help you to understand elements such as on-page SEO, link building and user experience if you plan to go the DIY route. Alternatively, you may prefer to simply hire an SEO company to do the work for you.
3. Your website is not Mobile Responsive
Mobile devices are most peoples primary avenue to access the internet. If your site isn’t mobile responsive, you could be preventing visitors from accessing your site. Which, in turn could be a big reason for a lack of visitors.
Most websites are automatically mobile responsive. If your website doesn’t seem to load on a mobile device, you can always hire a web designer to build a mobile version of your site.
Some sites may load on mobile devices, but many not be mobile-friendly. For example, text viewed on a PC screen may be too small when viewed on a mobile screen. Likewise, you may want to create a mobile version with enlarged buttons; tiny buttons that may be easy to click on using a PC may be difficult to click on when tapping them with a finger.
4. You haven't kept your Website up to date
If your website hasn’t been updated recently, it could be turning visitors away. This is something to look out for with blog sites. If you haven’t published a new post in a while, people may think that you’ve quit writing.
For company websites, failing to update your website could make people think that your company is no longer in business. Posting new content regularly reassures consumers that your website is still active and will encourage them to keep coming back.
Regular updates are also good for SEO. A site that is updated frequently has better rankings than a site that isn’t updated regularly. This could be essential for attracting new visitors.
5. Your website loads too slowly
Another issue that may be affecting your website is slow loading time. If your site takes forever to load, visitors will grow impatient and decide not to proceed.
A slow loading time can be the result of many factors. It could be that you’re using a slow hosting server. Some servers may contain data from huge amounts of websites leading them to become slow. Moving to a new improved hosting server or even setting up your own hosting server could result in a quicker loading website.
You could also simplify the amount of data on your website. If your website contains lots of videos or high definition images, it could be causing it to load slowly. Try to limit embedded media such as videos and gifs. Also, make sure your website designer is optimizing your picture for web use. Most charge an extra fee, but we do not.
6. Poor Design
If your website doesn’t look good, you will not get many return visitors. There are so many factors that can lead to a website looking ugly.
The first is the use of colors and fonts. Certain clashing colors could make your website unreadable, as could various fonts. Try to stick to a simple font that isn’t overly artsy. Make sure that your colors contrast their background well too.
Next you should consider the text to image ratio. Walls of text should ideally be avoided because they can intimidate people and prevent them from reading. Try to keep text condensed to short and snappy segments while focusing on large images.
Finally the navigation is an important factor to consider. If people can’t readily find information on your website they will get frustrated and not return. Create a clear tab system or use a search bar for people to easily to look up the information they need.
If you’re not sure whether your website is ugly or not, consider holding a survey or getting a professional to review your website.
7. You are not marketing elsewhere
If it’s a personal website, you may not need to do much in regards of promotion. However, if it’s a business website and you want more visitors, you may want to consider promoting your site elsewhere.
Many companies have started incorporating their website address into their everyday branding. This could involve printing it on the side of your company vehicle, printing it on business cards and/or placing it in your email signature. In the past people have always done this with phone numbers so it makes sense to also do this with your website, allowing people to easily find your company.
hour23design can help
If you are dealing with issues regarding website visitors, hour23design can help. Contact us today for a free consultation and get started on increasing your page views today!
