Nine signs your website is underperforming

Nine signs your website is underperforming

Woo hoo – your DREAM customer has just landed on your site! Cue the celebratory cupcakes.

‘Cos this is it: Your chance to transform them from stranger to loyal customer by convincing them that you’re the solution they’ve been searching for.

… But is your website up to the task?

Let’s be honest: We ask a lot of our digital homes.

They must be persuasive, powerful, memorable, meaningful, easy to use, enjoyable, clear, compelling, captivating and *catches breath*, let’s not forget, prove that we’re the best of the best.

And they’ve gotta do all of that (and more) 24 hours a day, 365 days year.

But how can you tell if that’s what they’re actually doing?

… Or is your website sleeping on the job?

Here are nine signs your website is underperforming

You’re attracting the wrong type of customers.

Can’t remember the last time you worked with your dream customer? Feel like you’re always stuck with the tyre-kickers, hagglers and Negative Nancy’s?

Attracting the wrong types of customers is a sure sign that you’re failing to attract your dream customers.

Which means, you got it, your website isn’t doing her job.

This could be because you haven’t properly identified who you want to work with, or it might be because your graphics, copy, branding, products, services, pricing or online experience aren’t up to par.

It’s up to you to pull on your Sherlock Holmes cap and figure out what it is that’s holding your website back.

Your load time is lengthy

Does loading your website feel like waiting for the latest instalment of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones book series?

Bad news, friend, it’s doing more than just frustrating your visitors; it’s likely cramping your conversion style too.

Research has shown that anything longer that two seconds doubles your bounce rate and sends your dream customers packing. Speaking of which …

Your bounce rate is abysmal.

Your bounce rate is a website analytic that reveals what a visitor does after they arrive on your site.

If they fail to click through to another page on your site (for example, arriving on your home page and clicking through to your about page), and, instead, hit ‘back’ or close their browser, this is counted as a bounce.

A bounce, or bouncing, isn’t a good thing for your website.

After all, you want all of those dream customers to stay on your website and make themselves at home – not leave after you’ve barely introduced yourself.

So, what’s a bad bounce rate?

Good question. Well, as a general rule, anything below 50% definitely requires your attention. If more than five out of ten visitors is hitting it then quitting it, your website is underperforming.

Your contact form is attracting cobwebs.

Been awhile since a customer got in touch with you? Ruh-roh, Scooby Doo. Things have definitely gone awry.

A good website attracts consistent feedback and enquiries.

A great website has the queries and kudos rollin’ in on a daily basis.

So if neither of these descriptions feel like your situation, your contact page likely needs a little love.

Your first stop? Double check that your contact form is actually working. Then, if it is (yay), it’s time to devise a plan to optimise it and drive traffic to its digital doorstep.

Your sales are sluggish.

Your website should be making sales. Simple.

So if you’re not reaching your sales goals, then your website is underperforming.

The good news? It can be fixed!

First, you just need to identify what’s blocking your sales flow (whether it’s your website design, website copy, user experience, online journey or branding) and then realign it with your target market and vision.

Your SEO sucks.

Languishing in the shadows of the third, fourth or even higher search results page? Feel like you’ll never get your website onto the first page of search results?

Gulp.

Sure, you can’t expect to always be on the first page for every single keyword you’re targeting. But, there should be at least one keyword that you rank highly for. 

Search results account for up to 90% of web traffic, so if your website hasn’t wiggled its way into Google’s heart, she’s sleeping on the job.

You don’t have repeat visitors.

Pop into your Google Analytics account and compare your ‘users’ and your ‘sessions’ stats. How do they look?

Your ‘users’ are your individual visitors.

And your ‘sessions’ are how many times your website has been visited.

Ideally, you want there to be more sessions that users, as this means you’ve got people coming back to your website and revisiting your content.

This is important, as potential customers need to interact with your brand several times before they feel ready to invest.

Your offerings aren’t being viewed.

While you’re having a poke around your website analytics, take a look at your most visited pages too.

Typically, these will be your home page, your about page and then any content you’re currently promoting.

But within this selection, you also want to see your top offerings.

For me, that’s my website copywriting and sales funnel copywriting. These two babies are my bread and butter. And, when people visit my site, it’s my job to make sure they check ‘em out.

After all, if my visitors aren’t sussing out my stuff, then how will I ever work with my dream clients?

Spoiler alert: I won’t.

Sad face.

You aren’t proud to share your site.

Do you hesitate to hand over your website deets?

Hmm. Not a good sign.

You see, I believe you should love your website with all your heart and your soul. Sure, a website is an ever-evolving creature and it’s natural to tweak, change and revise it frequently (in fact, I recommend doing so!)

BUT. Your website should be one of your proudest accomplishments. It should represent who you are and reflect your vision. It should have a personality aligned with your brand (and your dream customers) and it should be stunning AND strategic.

Again, I know we ask a lot of our websites.

But you deserve it.

You deserve a website you can’t wait to share with the world …

… And one then alchemises the conversions and kudos you deserve.

Feel like you’re missing the ‘creative website copywriting’ element of a successful website?

I can help! Head on over here and get to know my creative website copywriting service.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *