The most common mistake people make on their website and how to avoid it
Does your homepage have a clear call to action for your visitors? Do you welcome your visitors by showing them through to where they need to go? Questions likes these might not always be top-of-mind, but they help put yourself in your customers shoes to better understand their needs, and ensure you’re offering them a positive online experience.
I recently did a website audit for a well respected cultural organisation, who have produced and curated thousands of interesting articles, podcasts and events on a diverse range of topics. Despite a rich treasure trove of content and a talented and driven team, I discovered their website wasn’t engaging their audience in the way I’d have expected. In fact, a dive into their analytics quickly revealed a high bounce rate. Those visitors who lingered, generally did so to a purchase a ticket to an event, and then left.
There’s a range of reasons why this might be the case, particularly with a large website that has grown organically over many years. However, one omission that immediately leapt out at me, and one I see on many other websites, is that there was no clear call to action for their visitors.
By that I mean, it’s not immediately clear to the visitor what they should do when they first land on the website. This becomes even more important on a large, content-rich site that offers visitors a myriad of options to explore and discover. Just like when you greet someone at your front door, you need to usher them in and guide them to where you’d like them to go. In my home, I tend to guide my visitors through to the kitchen, because that’s where all the action happens. In addition to making your call to action crystal clear, you also need to make it compelling. Tell them why taking that particular action matters and how it’ll benefit them. For visiting family and friends they know our kitchen is where the coffee and freshly baked treats are made and where all the conversations happen!
A website isn’t that different. You need to decide what you want your visitor to do when they land on your web page and then direct them there. Maybe it’s to buy your new online class? Or perhaps purchase something from your latest product range? Goals like these make sense because it’s essential your website drives sales and profitability in your business.
However, when a visitor first lands on your website, it’s unlikely they’ll buy from you right then and there. Why? Because most people like to get to know you first. They want to know what your products are like, what you value and care about, and whether they can trust you. Even when you make a good first impression, and they’re interested in what you offer, they usually like to consider their options before opening their wallets.
I know when I’m considering an online purchase I like to find out what other people’s experiences have been, who has made the same purchase, and how it compares with similar products or services on the market. I will also usually talk to my partner about any bigger ticket items before making a decision. In fact, I will rarely make a purchase on the spot, unless it’s something I already know I want.
So if visitors aren’t likely to buy from you when they first visit your website what’s the most important action you can ask them to take? Sign up to your email list! If they don’t and they click away then you risk losing them for good.
By getting them on your list you have the opportunity to connect and build trust with them not just when they visit your website, but every time they open an email from you. This means that next time they visit your website they’re that much more likely to purchase from you or engage more deeply with the content you offer.
In fact, done thoughtfully you can offer those who sign up to your mailing list significant value, and by getting to know them, a superior customer experience. Follow the action steps below to find out how:
ACTION STEPS
Create a valuable opt-in offer
No doubt at some point you’ve encountered the pesky sign-up forms, that repeatedly pop-up disrupting your on-page experience. I’m not a fan and think pop-up boxes like these can appear self-serving and spammy. In fact, they generally make me want to click away and never come back! The good news yours don’t need to be like this. Think of a question, problem or need your customers encounter over and over again. What do they come to you for? What do they find difficult or challenging? Use this as the basis to offer your customers something of value in exchange for their email address. This could be a downloadable PDF with tips and advice to overcome a specific challenge, or a sneak-peek and first dibs on an upcoming event, or perhaps a discount code to use in your online store. The point here is offer your customers something of significant value, that will benefit them, in exchange for their email address.
Add an opt-in form to your site
This is where your customers opt-in to your mailing list in exchange for what you have created. Opt-in forms come in many different guises, like the pop-up boxes discussed above to simple in-line forms that are embedded into your webpage. Whichever style of form you choose you’ll need a field for your customer to enter their name (this is so you can personalise the emails you send them) and another one for them to enter their email address.
Behind the scenes it’s also important that any information you collect meets the privacy requirements of your country or jurisdiction (such as GDPR). Noting your privacy policy in your opt-in form shows you respect your customers privacy and how you manage their personal information reflects current best practice. A good email marketing program will guide you through creating your opt-in sequence to comply with best practice.
Test your opt-in in different places on your website
Next, test your opt-in to make sure it’s working properly. Use different email addresses to check people are being added correctly to your list. You’ll find that some opt-ins will work better than others so try adding them to different places on your website. Places to test are the sign-up button on your menu, as an opt-in box centred on your home page, or at the footer of your site, and see what works. The most important consideration here is to make sure your opt-in is actually relevant to your on-page content. For example, having an opt-in called ‘5 easy website tweaks to turn visitors into customers’ would make sense at the end of this blog post, but would make less sense, for example, on my About page.
Limit other on-page distractions
Make it clear what you want your visitor to do. Where should they go? What should they click? And most importantly minimise other on-page distractions. You don’t want your opt-in competing with other interesting alternatives like booking a ticket to an upcoming event, purchasing a limited release new product bundle or clicking away to scroll through your social feed! You can direct your visitors to your other offerings once they’ve signed up to your email list.
The takeaway?
Show your visitors where to go to sign-up to your list before they do anything else. It helps them get to know you better and helps you build trust.
