I believe that a website should do more than take up space on the internet. I’ve created websites with features ranging from online booking to membership programs to interactive quizzes, and y’all, the power of a website as a business tool is massive.
A pretty universal goal for most any website, however? Get someone to click something. Whether it’s filling out a contact form, visiting an info page, or clicking a “buy” button, you want your visitors to engage somehow. You want them to take the next step.
What’s getting in the way of that? Chances are, it’s at least one of the following reasons.
They Don’t Understand What You’re Offering
Part of your website’s job is to educate your audience on what you’re offering them. If they don’t understand it, they won’t know if they want it… so why would they click through?
If you’re not getting those click-throughs, think about your website as if you were totally new to it. What would someone who doesn’t know you or your product need to know to decide if it’s right for them? A few bullet points or an explainer video could go a long way towards getting your audience excited.
They Don’t See How It Can Help Them
Okay, so now it’s pretty clear what your offering is, but you’re still not getting clicks. That means you may not be giving them quite enough detail about your offering. They can see what it is, but they aren’t seeing why they need it.
So, give a little attention to the value: what does it do for them? Is it a shoe that can survive a hurricane? Is it the perfect massage tool to solve their back problems? Is it a cool piece of tech that can save them a ton of time and money?
You don’t have to write a novel about it on your homepage, either—just give them the highlights, and invite them to click through and learn more.
They Can’t Tell What To Do Next
Okay, so you’ve got them educated, and they’re interested. It’s clearly something they need… but what if they can’t find the next step?
This can be for one of a couple reasons:
- The Action Isn’t Obvious. Do you not have a call-to-action link they can click on? Add one! Is your “Order now” button getting lost on top of a busy photo? Make it bigger and bolder, or try adding some color.
- Too Many Options. If there are too many eye-grabbing elements, they won’t be able to decide which one to click. If you hit them with too much text, they’ll get overwhelmed and leave your website. Instead, think about it more like a story that unfolds as they move through the site: give them just enough to keep them interested, but no more.
Whether you’ve got Too Much or Not Enough going on, here’s a good gut check: when you look at your homepage with an unfocused eye, does the next step jump out at you? Is it easy to find? It should be obvious and easy to take the next step, so if it’s not? See how you can make it so.
When it comes to website strategy, this just scratches the surface, but hopefully you have a better handle on the basics.
If you’re looking for individualized help with strategizing and updating your website to get you more of those spicy-hot leads, you can reserve a One-Day Website Intensive and get our help with making big changes in a small amount of time.
