There are a couple of ways you can take the subject of this post. We aren’t saying directly that your website “sucks” in the traditional sense of the term, but again we might be.
It is to what level it “sucks” that is in question.
Gone are the days where a website is used as a showcase piece, an online brochure, to highlight how great your company or what your products are. Today you need more of a competitive advantage as more and more consumers are turning to the web to make their buying decisions.
Your website should be more about function and purpose. It should “suck” the visitors into the marketing message and point them in the direction you want them to go in order to make a buying decision.
Your website could do one of two things… It could “suck” the visitor in and serve a specific purpose by generating you more leads or sell more stuff or it simply could flat out “suck” by turning visitors off in droves before you have had a chance to present what it is that you have to present.
This, of course, starts with the type of traffic you are sending but a big player in this is the perception given on your landing pages.
If you don’t think you have problems with your landing pages and they aren’t performing as well as they could, we would challenge you on that.
It is often that we can take a quick glance at a site and find 3-5 things, based on past test results, that can increase results 20%-50% almost immediately.
So the question is… Does your website “suck” or does it “suck”?
Here are 3 reasons why your website may have the majority of your visitors running for the hills before ever even thinking about buying from your company.
1. Too much information
There are far too many distractions online and as a result, people don’t read, they skim. If you are trying to pack in all the information you can about your product or service into a tiny space such as a website you have lost the game before it even started.
Sure there are benefits to having content on your site for SEO purposes but for the sake of selling your landing pages shouldn’t be cluttered up with long paragraphs touting the latest features. Instead, try breaking up the pages with clear and concise blurbs backed up with benefit-driven bullet points.
2. Distractions
Sure you want to give every option you can to your visitors to educate them on why they should choose to do business with you. But having a bunch of pages with full background images, fancy sliders, and video backgrounds aren’t doing you any favors. We have case studies to prove it.
They may be flashy and trendy but they are distracting and turn off the majority of the visitors. Instead leverage static images that highlight your product, with the main highlights and benefits above the fold or on the first scroll down the page. After that visitor attention drops dramatically.
3. Too many options
We have highlighted this in multiple case studies here on the blog but it bears repeating.
Do you have a free trial? Great! Have a demo they can sign up for? Perfect! Want the visitors to watch a short video overview? That works!
But don’t give your visitors the option to choose between all 3. Give them ONE choice to signup or at least put the majority of attention on the main desired action you want them to take. Having multiple calls to action and entry points into your sales process is confusing and is most certainly hurting your conversions.
The same goes for your menu options. If I mouse over your menu and up pops 40 different options I am going to bounce faster than an acrobat on a trampoline. Keep the main objectives in mind and let your site be the guide to the end goal you are looking to achieve.
So let us ask the question again… Does your website “suck” or does it “suck”?
Here are just three examples of how to engage more visitors on your site and get them to do what it is you want them to do more often. Let your website “suck” visitors into your sales message, highlight the benefits and give them a specific action they must take for the next step.
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If you would like to get a complimentary site review to see if we can find the 3-5 things that could help you boost your results be sure to reach out, we are happy to help!