Much like a crossroad offers different paths to travelers, a website presents multiple routes for visitors to take. While some may proceed toward conversion, others might take a different turn.
It’s all about providing clear signposts and a smooth journey to help visitors reach their destination, whether that’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or taking another desired action without any unnecessary detours or roadblocks.
So, if you’re not getting any conversions, this blog will teach you how to convert website visitors into customers as we look at:
• Why Your Website Visitors Is Not Converting
• Conversion Funnel Best Practices
• Conversion Rate Optimization Frequently Asked Questions
Why Your Website Visitors Is Not Converting
Let’s dive into each reason below. You’ll also find conversion rate optimization tips in each point.
1. You Are Not Invested in SEO
Perhaps you’re not engaged in search engine optimization (SEO) to begin with. SEO is the science behind a website’s visibility and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). Without a search-engine-optimized website, you essentially have zero visibility and authority in the SERPs — which ultimately means zero organic traffic and conversions.
The three main types of SEO are:
1. On-page SEO focuses on all the content seen on your web pages, such as metadata and content structure.
2. Off-page SEO deals with external elements impacting your website performance, like backlinks and social media presence.
3. Technical SEO concerns the technical factors of your website, like sitemap, responsiveness and load speed.
Some marketers treat SEO as one of the ways to future-proof a business’s website or overall online presence. This is because SEO’s end goal is to stabilize your website’s organic traffic, independent of any paid advertising efforts.
“Beyond organic traffic, SEO ensures you’re pulling in users who are actively searching for what you offer,” said Elaine Geneston, Thrive’s resident CRO specialist.
If you have covered the on-page and technical SEO of your website, you can start exploring off-page SEO through HARO link-building to have a better backlink profile. HARO can be used for free, or you can pay a premium for certain features.
Related read: Tips To Write a Successful HARO Pitch
2. You Are Driving Irrelevant Traffic
Irrelevant traffic is usually visitors who bounce. A “bounce” occurs when a user views a page but does not click on any element within that session.
If you’re seeing a decent flow of traffic to your website but have few to zero conversions, you might be attracting the wrong audience. This could be a result of your organic or paid campaigns only targeting popular search terms with a high traffic potential.
In SEO, popular search terms are often short-tail keywords that many users search for without any specific intent to convert. On the other hand, long-tail keywords are likely search terms used by fewer high-intent users.
“Targeting more precise search terms results in better engagement and conversions,” Geneston said.
For instance, a newly opened coffee roasters shop in Charleston, South Carolina, can either target a popular keyword, “coffee roasters,” or a more specific one, “coffee roasters charleston sc,” for visibility.
| Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer tool shows that “coffee roasters” has an average monthly search volume of 24,000 and a keyword difficulty (KD) of 89. Meanwhile, “coffee roasters charleston sc” has a significantly lower search volume and KD. KD is rated up to 100; the higher the score, the harder it is to rank for the term on SERPs. |  |
Now, between the two search terms, which one do you think is more likely to be used by users in the particular locale with a purchase intent?
Related read: Long-Tail Keywords: What Are They and How To Find Them
3. Your Website Is Slow
“A delay in page load time can drastically decrease conversion rates,” Geneston noted.
Think about it: Would you wait half a minute when you can easily open a different website that can give you what you’re looking for?
Thus, even if you manage to attract the right audience to your website, it would be futile if your page takes too long to load. A high page load time website forces users, including high-intent ones, to leave without viewing any content. So, that’s a loss in engagement, conversions and sales for you.
Apart from heavy traffic, here are some causes of a slow website:
• Unoptimized images
• Hosting videos internally
• Unnecessary plug-ins and integrations
• Multiple custom web fonts
• Unreliable web hosting service
• Not using a content delivery network (CDN)
You can look into the factors above and identify wherein you can improve your site speed and start reducing bounce rate. Optimal speed prevents users from leaving prematurely, Geneston added.
4. Your Web Content Lacks Deciding Information
More than a functional and appealing web design, website visitors demand content that directly answers their questions. Content that does not address user intent misses out on supplying the exact information the visitor is seeking to help them convert.
“A well-informed visitor is more likely to convert,” Geneston pointed out.
To better approach your content, here are the four main types of user intent:
| Informational – The user is asking a specific question, often mentioning terms, what, when, who and how. | What are the benefits of an e-reader? |
| Commercial – The user is almost ready to purchase, often mentioning terms, best, reviews or versus (vs). | Best e-reader |
| Navigational – The user is searching for a specific web page, often mentioning a brand name. | Kobo Libra 2 specs |
| Transactional – The user is ready to purchase, often mentioning terms, buy, free or download. | Free classic ebooks |
Similarly, you want your brand’s value propositions on your landing pages. Otherwise, potential customers won’t be able to distinguish your offerings from those of competing brands they may also be considering.
Again, for better landing page conversions, your web content must speak to the questions and doubts of potential customers.
5. Your Website Navigation Is Not Intuitive
Your website has all the right content, from informative blogs to convincing social proof. But the problem is users don’t know how to get around your website or find themselves lost mid-browsing. In this case of poor website design, users may feel frustrated and leave your website without completing their intended goal — a lost conversion for you.
A navigation menu facilitates users to explore your website with ease. Simple as they seem, navigation menus must be backed by design principles and testing.
“Straightforward navigation leads to a frictionless user journey that ends in conversion,” Geneston noted.
Navigation menus are commonly found as horizontal bars on top of your web pages, but they can be the following:
• Dropdown navigation menus are often used to organize multiple, different sub-categories or criteria.
• Vertical side navigation menus are commonly seen in blogs, articles or other long-form content to outline table of contents (TOCs).
• Hamburger navigation menus typically appear as three horizontal lines and are used in mobile browsing.
Images: Slack
Navigation can also be found in the footer of websites. In reducing bounce rate, you can test your website’s navigation menu through website usability issues testing, heatmaps, and surveys.
Related read: 5 Signs It’s Time for a Website Redesign
6. Your Website Is Not Mobile-Friendly
Over half of the global web traffic comes from mobile devices, excluding tablets, with a recorded nearly 59% in the first quarter of 2023 (Statista). Geneston said having a mobile-optimized website ensures this segment of users has a seamless experience that leads to conversion.
What’s more, previous data revealed that if users have a poor mobile experience on your website, their likelihood of making future purchases from your brand plummets by 62% (Google). Notice it says “future purchases,” so even if they encounter your marketing campaigns down the line, your brand’s chance of being considered is below half.
Try browsing your website using your phone. Sometimes, your mobile site may appear fine on the surface, but the buttons or sign-up forms could be problematic. Be sure to thoroughly test all the components, taking into account different devices, operating systems and screen sizes.
Remember, website responsiveness is fundamental to reducing bounce rate.
7. Your Landing Pages Are Counterproductive
A landing page is an independent web page that potential customers “land” on or arrive at when they click your ad, email or another online source.
“Each landing page should have a singular focus,” Geneston pointed out.
The main goal of landing page conversion optimization is to guide users to fulfill a specific desired action. However, this objective can be undermined when landing pages have extraneous elements like navigation links or an overwhelming design.
While some are skeptical about doing away with a navigation bar or links on their landing pages, a study on the impact of removing navigation on landing pages revealed a 28% lift in website conversion rate (HubSpot).
Image: Shopify
Shopify’s free trial landing page is the antithesis of a counterproductive page. It also doesn’t have navigation links, a solid illustration of a straightforward approach. It offers users just the right amount of information without unnecessary clutter.
The image only shows the page’s hero section, but if you were to visit the page and scroll down, it would still be evident what the sole objective of the page is, which is to get visitors to sign up.
A strategic landing page promotes effective lead generation and conversion optimization.
8. You Have No CTA
Having a call-to-action (CTA) is about meeting people where they are, whether on your home page or blog page. You must have a CTA on every page of your website, or it’s a case of poor website design.
“Without a CTA, users lack direction,” Geneston noted.
When you make the next steps plain and simple for users, you facilitate their movement through your sales funnel. Some common examples of CTA are the following:
• Sign up
• Contact us
• Read more
• Subscribe
• Learn more
• Add to cart
• Check out
Image: My Storytime
Your CTA could also be as simple as “Start.” Although some may find it a bit vague, My Storytime took a minimal approach. Upon clicking the CTA, users will be prompted to sign in using their email address — an easy way to collect a user’s email.
But CTAs are not merely transactional tools for effective lead generation; they are instrumental in delivering a satisfying user experience. An experience where your website visitors feel guided, so there’s no need for guesswork on their part.
9. You Have an Unclear CTA
Still, it’s not enough to set up a CTA to kick back and watch the conversions come in. If you’re putting money into ads to attract visitors to your website, but your CTA isn’t optimized for appeal or visibility, you’re only squandering your marketing budget as visitors will fail to take action.
“CTAs should be specific, compelling, and easy to locate,” Geneston advised.
Otherwise, your CTA may cause confusion and hesitation to the user, Geneston said.
Here are some common CTA mistakes to be aware of:
• Obscure visibility – CTAs must not blend with the rest of your content; this goes for both the colors and placement of your CTA.
• CTA overload – Ideally, you only want one CTA per page, or users might experience analysis paralysis.
• Vague language – The copy must be clear on what action the visitor is taking. There should also be a supplemental copy next to your CTA.
Image: Evernote
Above, you see the hero section of Evernote’s website. While it has two CTAs, one in the middle and the other at the upper right, it’s apparent which is the main one.
Similarly, this is the approach you want to go for. The CTA, “Sign up for free,” is direct, and it’s impossible to miss the button.
You can test out different CTAs and perform a website conversion rate analysis to see what works best.
10. Your Sign-Up Forms Are Too Long
Perhaps you’re finding users getting into your sign-up form, but they’re not completing it. If so, you may want to revisit your forms and check for website usability issues. Remember, when users are faced with a lengthy sign-up form, they are likely to feel deterred.
“The probability of a successful conversion tends to diminish with every extra field added to a form,” Geneston revealed.
People seek convenience online and offline. So, to appeal to users, Geneston advised implementing a strategy called progressive profiling. It is an approach where, instead of asking for complete profile information upfront, you gradually gather more details about a user over time.
Image: Google
For example, you can limit the data you ask in your form to only the email address, just like Google’s newsletter subscription.
11. You Did Not Conduct A/B Testing
“A/B testing reveals what resonates best with your audience,” Geneston said.
Regrettably, a lot of website owners and developers bypass A/B testing. So, they miss out on valuable insights that could otherwise inform their strategy to convert users.
A/B testing is a research technique that involves running two or more variations of a website or its features to identify which one yields superior performance. It’s one of the foundations of conversion rate optimization that allows you to collect both qualitative and quantitative user feedback.
In such a test, you can create and assess variables such as two entirely distinct web content and layout. Or, it can be as minor as modifications in headers, CTAs, button colors or text fields in your sign-up form.
For example, for your landing page, you could do an A/B test of two different CTAs.
Remember, A/B testing may seem like extra work, but it’s how you determine which element or layout gives you the best conversion. As such, you stop second-guessing and let the users decide.
12. You Have an Inactive Social Media Presence
Outside your website, your social media presence has a direct impact on whether visitors convert.
“Active business profiles establish brand credibility and are potential avenues for relevant traffic,” Geneston said.
When users come across your brand online, the top places they’ll go next to learn more about your business are your website and social media pages. Users will form a perception of your brand based on what they see on your social media.
If they see no post for days on end, users will likely see your brand as unreliable and may decide not to do business with you. Geneston advised to not only maintain activity through regular posting but also responsiveness via message inquiries and comments.
Image: CZI
Like the image above, your website should also have social buttons so visitors will know which platforms they can follow.
Related read: How To Use Your Social Media Channels As Lead Generation Tools
In the next sections, we’ll focus on why eCommerce websites are failing to convert shoppers.
13. You Have Poor Quality Product Images
Online shoppers are exceptionally visually oriented. Since products are intangible in a virtual marketplace, they lean on product images.
Even if you’re confident in the premium quality of your products, remember that users can’t physically interact with them. The online shoppers’ perception of your product’s quality depends on the pictures they see while browsing. Product descriptions provide additional information in this context.
To increase buyer confidence and reduce returns, Geneston advised offering more clarity through high-resolution product images in multiple angles with zoom. This way, you better set expectations for online buyers.
14. You Don’t Have Flexible Payment Options
Users often abandon their shopping carts when they can’t use their preferred payment option. What a shame it is to lose potential customers at the final stage of the conversion process.
So, take it from the world’s largest online retailer. Let’s look at the accepted payment methods of Amazon:
| • American Express | • MasterCard, Visa, or American Express prepaid credit or gift cards |
And it’s not as complicated as it looks. You can integrate payment gateways like PayPal or Stripe to optimize your eCommerce website. This integration allows customers to make secure and convenient payments, enhancing the overall shopping experience.
15. You Lack Social Proof
You have high-quality product images and flexible payment options. Now, what else could potential customers want to complete a purchase?
Answer: online reviews.
Between a compelling marketing message and an authentic product review, you can bet on the latter as the more effective salesperson. Potential customers view product reviews as unbiased. They are like peer validations, Geneston added.
If users don’t find social proof on your website, they are more than willing to scour the internet to make an informed purchase decision. But after reading reviews, they may or may not go back to your website. There’s a high probability for user interest to shift to a different brand once they leave your website.
Thus, you want your website equipped with social proof so shoppers won’t have to look elsewhere.
Conversion Funnel Best Practices
A conversion funnel is a structured view of the customer journey. There are many conversion funnel best practices, but here are three overarching tips on how to convert website visitors into customers.
Map It Out With a Customer Journey Analysis
A customer journey analysis is the detailed examination of the steps and touchpoints a customer goes through, from their initial interaction with your brand to the final conversion. You map out the whole journey step by step.
In such a process, you also identify crucial moments or potential roadblocks where users might drop off mid-journey. Ultimately, you use the insights in your customer journey analysis to better satisfy users’ needs and expectations at each phase.
Quantify Factors With Website Conversion Rate Analysis
Conversion rate analysis is more focused on the specific metric — the rate at which visitors or leads convert into customers — and every factor that influences it. When you conduct a website conversion rate analysis, you’re essentially evaluating the effectiveness of your CTAs at different stages.
Apart from tracking how many visitors take the desired action, such as completing a purchase or signing up for a free trial, you can also look into the profile or segment of users that convert. Then, for landing page conversion optimization, you can create or test a more tailored CTA based on the findings.
Look Into Conversion Rate Benchmarks
With conversion rate benchmarks, you see how your conversion rates stack up against industry standards or against competitors. Benchmarking allows you to understand where your business stands and guide your decisions.
However, take note that every business is unique, with its own set of goals, customer pool and industry nuances. What might be considered a high conversion rate for one might not hold the same weight for another.
CRO Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
In this section, Thrive’s in-house CRO expert, Elaine Geneston, further imparts her knowledge by answering CRO FAQs.
| CRO FAQs | |
| Q. | What is conversion rate optimization (CRO)? |
| A. | CRO is the practice of increasing the percentage of visitors who convert, into customers or take any desired action on a webpage. It involves understanding user behavior, testing different site elements, and refining the user experience to maximize conversions. |
| Q. | How do you calculate conversion rate? |
| A. | Number of conversions / Number of visitors X 100 = Conversion rate Divide the number of conversions (like purchases, form submissions, sign-ups, or other desired actions) by the total number of visitors, then multiply the result by 100. This should give you a percentage that represents how many of your total number of visitors converts. |
| Q. | What is a good conversion rate? |
| A. | Between 2% and 5% is often considered average in many online industries. But always strive for better! The goal is continuous improvement. A “good” conversion rate varies widely based on industry, the nature of the website, and the specific action being measured. |
| Q. | How often should I do CRO? |
| A. | Continuously. While there’s no strict rule, I recommend running regular tests and making iterative improvements. Always analyze performance, and when you see areas for potential improvement, take action. Remember, user behaviors and technologies change, so regular CRO ensures you’re always offering the best experience. |
| Q. | What are the best conversion tracking tools? |
| A. | Google Analytics, Optimizely, Hotjar, Crazy Egg and Convert.com These are my top five recommendations. But, the best conversion tracking tools often depend on the specific needs and goals of a website. |
For more questions on how to convert website visitors into customers, you can ask our CRO experts.
Get More Than Website Traffic: A Visitor-to-Customer Solution
Are you finding any of the reasons we listed above too familiar?
Don’t fret – Thrive is here to make things happen. Our team of CRO experts, writers and designers can strategically reduce friction in every stage of your conversion funnel.
Talk to our team and get more conversions.
