I always get curious when a business owner tells me their website doesn’t really do anything for them. They usually tell me its because their clients aren’t using their website and don’t need it. However, I don’t think that’s what is actually going on.

If your website isn’t working, I will venture to say it has more to do with you than with your customers. The good news is, if the problem is of your doing, then your the one who can fix it too! And when you do, your business will grow. I guarantee it. I’ve found there are a few common reasons that websites don’t work, and you can fix every one of them.

You have no clear call to action.

Chances are unless you’re Tesla or Amazon people aren’t flocking to your website ready to make a purchase (side note, Tesla and Amazon worked very hard to earn that privilege). Your browsers are looking for information. More accurately, they are looking for a way to solve their problem. You need to tell them how doing business with you will solve their problem, and you need to tell them how to do business with you! You need to make their next step ultra-clear. 

Give them a Buy Now, Get a Quote, Schedule a Call, DO THIS NOW button. Stick it in the top right-hand corner of your website, in the middle of the screen, and in just about every content section of your website. It should be annoyingly (only slightly) obvious what they need to do next. Give them an offer to accept or reject. Honestly, for most businesses that have experienced some measure of success without a Buy Now button, this may be the only change you need to make to skyrocket your sales.

Let’s face it; not everyone is ready to buy on their first visit to your website. This reality is especially true of traffic from social media. These users weren’t shopping when you caught their attention. They were looking for information, and it is highly unlikely that you will close the deal on this very first interaction. 

Even sites with a clear call to action will lose these leads, and one visit to your website probably isn’t enough to remember you when the time comes, and they are ready to buy. So, what do you do? Remember why they were there – to learn more to get information and knowledge about how to solve their problem. Give them what they want. Give them an e-book, a video course, a white paper, a discount, or some other valuable information in exchange for their email address (and maybe their phone number). We call this a transitional call to action, and what it does is it builds your reputation and rapport and gives you the ability to stay in touch with them via email (and social media too if you set it up).

The words on your website don’t tell the right story. 

The words you use on your website make all the difference in the world. Unfortunately, the words written on most websites were written by someone who has never studied or has virtually no experience in successfully using words to sell to people. Your web designer may know everything about Photoshop and design; they may even know the latest and greatest SEO tips and hacks, but here’s the truth, people (not search engines) buy things when they read or hear the words that make them want to buy. Here’s what tends to happen when you use amateur content on your website.

1. Your website is confusing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at a potential client’s website and had no idea what they actually did. Sometimes it’s worse, and I think I know exactly what they do, but then when I talk to them, I find out I was exactly wrong.
2. Your website only talks about you. Your website should talk about your customers, what they what, what problems they are experiencing, and how they can win the day with your help.
3. Your website says exactly the same thing as every other website in your industry. I know some brilliant and caring businessmen and women who crush it on the phone or in person. But when I look at their website, I don’t get to experience any of that. You need to let your unique perspective shine through in writing just like you do in person.
4. Your website fails to inspire action. Remember the call to action above. Well, before you can call your customers to take action, you must get them ready to take action. You need to connect with their story, show you get them, and prove that you understand their problem and know how to fix it.

The takeaway here is this. Nothing will kill your website’s potential faster than using the wrong words. If you partner up with a guide or take the time to get yourself some training, it will be a worthy investment. And you’ll see just how powerful your website can be.

The images and design are wrong. 

It has never been easier than it is today to create your own website. You can build it for free and host it for as little as $3/month. But what does it cost you? 

I just stayed in an Airbnb, and the pictures looked great. But when we got there, we found out pretty quickly it was a DIY. Fortunately, it was no one big thing. Instead, it was a thousand little things. The faucets were too loose or too tight. The shelves were hung slightly crooked, the tables were rickety, having not been tightened properly. The backdoor didn’t close quite right, and the list goes on. I’m not in the construction business, but I still noticed all of this.

If your website is a DIY, we can tell.

Within 1 or 2 seconds on a website, I can tell if it was designed by a professional. Now, I work in marketing, so I’ll admit, I’ve got a keen eye for it. But even if they can’t quite tell why everyone knows something is a bit off when they look at a DIY website. Here’s the scary part. They intuitively and automatically take the next step and assume something is a bit off about you and your company. Even if they hang around, it’s going to be an uphill battle for you to win their trust.

At Eight Figure Focus, we can give you a beautiful, effective design and some fantastic content that will provide a 10x return on your investment. It will only take a couple of hours of your time and a few weeks of ours, and it will give you a lead engine that works 24/7 for years!

No one is visiting your website.

If you had a restaurant with a confusing menu and lousy food, would you blame people for not coming? If you had an incredible concert but never invited anyone to it, could you blame them for not showing up? Of course not, but if you don’t have enough traffic on your website to create the growth that you want, then you are doing the same thing. It’s not your customer’s fault that they aren’t on your website. You just haven’t given them a good enough reason to go there.

Now there is a constant supply of content on how to do this, but you just need to go where your customers are, physically and digitally. 

If you’ve built a successful business without your website, then you already know how this works physically. You’re at trade shows, networking events, and having face-to-face meetings. You’re going to where your customers are. Now you need to do the same online. You can start by advertising on the trade show and networking event websites. Even better yet, you can take advantage of the free marketing opportunity available to you on social media. However, I must warn you; it’s a long term play. You didn’t build your current reputation overnight, and you won’t build your online reputation overnight, either. 

But, if you commit to it long enough and stay consistent, then you’ll reap every bit of the same reward you are getting from your current business development, and then some. It all becomes worth it when you wake up, and for the third day in a row, you (and maybe even your whole sales team) have enough new leads sitting in your inbox just from last night. Now you’re ready to scale!

Wrapping it up

Whether you are B2B or B2C, if you think your website should be doing more to grow your business, you’re right. You can fix all of the issues in this article. You can make some fixes today; others will take a couple of weeks, and building a reputation online will take a while. Starting now moves all the results that much closer to you today!