Find out why people are leaving your site and how to turn them back around

There's no question that your website is one of your most important digital marketing tools. It's where potential customers learn more about your business and what you have to offer and potentially buy from you. So your website must make a good impression the minute your dream client lands on one of its pages. 

To make sure their experience is the best one possible, let's look at 5 mistakes you might be making on your website that are sending people away and see how you how to fix them quickly.

Mistake #1: Your website design only reflects your taste.

The number one mistake business owners make is designing their website solely based on their style & design aesthetic. While your website must reflect your business, it shouldn't be a reflection of your personal style. To design a website that converts, you should have an Ideal Customer Avatar (or two) in mind throughout the entire website design process. Your ICA will help you create a website that appeals to your target market and not just agrees with your personal taste.

Mistake #2: You're overloading visitors with too much information.

You probably heard the saying "less more" once or twice before, right? Well, it also applies to the amount of information you share on your website. When it comes to your website content, you want to be clear, concise and avoid too much detail. Otherwise, you risk overwhelming your visitors and turning them away.

Think about what information is most important for your potential customers to know. What will help them decide whether or not to do business with you? Then, make sure this information is front and center on your website and avoid adding unnecessary fluff.

In general, it's a good idea to keep your website content short and sweet. Please get to the point, and make it easy for visitors to find the information they're looking for.

Mistake #3: You're not clearly stating what your business does.

When designing websites, it's easy to focus on aesthetics and forget about the messaging. Assuming that everyone who visits your website already knows what your business is about is a huge mistake. Even if you think your business is well-known, there's always a chance someone will stumble across your website who has never heard of you before.

To make sure visitors know what your business is about the minute they land on any page of your site, have a clear statement saying what you do somewhere visible, such as on your logo or headlines.

Mistake #4: You forget to add calls to action on your website.

Think of your website as your best unpaid salesperson working 24/7 to convert casual visitors into fans and customers. Like a salesperson would do, your website should gently guide visitors to where you, the business owner, want them to go through little prompts we call CTAs or call to action. 

A call to action (or CTA) is a statement or button that encourages visitors to take a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter, downloading a freebie, or making a purchase. You have the control to decide what it is you want visitors to do on each page of your website. CTAs are essential for converting website visitors into leads and customers.

There are a few things to keep in mind when adding calls to action to your website:

•  Keep the CTA simple and direct. Don't try to be too clever with words - it's important to be clear about what you want visitors to do.
• Use actionable language. Use words like "Download," "Sign up," or "Buy now."
• Make the CTA stand out. Use a different colour or font size for your CTA so that it's easy for visitors to see.
• Add a CTA to every page of your website so that your visitors always have the opportunity to take action. After all, you never know where people will land when they find your business on Google Search, right?!

Mistake #5: Your website isn't mobile-friendly.

Did you know that according to Google, 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing and 40% will buy from a competitor's site instead just because of the browsing experience?

This stat should be enough to convince you that having a mobile-friendly website is no longer optional - it's essential. If your website isn't optimized for mobile, you risk losing potential customers and damaging your brand.

In March 2018, Google announced their mobile-first initiative, which means they now index and rank websites based on the mobile version of the site. So if your website isn't optimized for mobile, likely, you're not being found in search results organically.

If you're unsure whether your website is mobile-friendly, you can use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool to find out. Enter your URL and Google will analyze your site and tell you if it's mobile-friendly or not.

Wrapping up

Don't be afraid to put your website design to a test. You want to make sure the design and content of your website will help put your business's best foot forward on the internet, connecting with the right audience, capturing their interest and personal information, building trust and converting them into fans and customers.

And remember, if you're ever unsure about something, you can always hire a professional to help you out, even if you're a pro in web design yourself. Having total control of your website doesn't mean that you have to do it all yourself. You're in full control of your site when you can make changes and updates yourself, or you understand how to get changes made quickly and inexpensively. There's no shame in asking for help!