The other day I posted in my Facebook group Service that Sells about a woman who said she didn’t think a website is necessary nowadays.
I got a lot of amazing responses from group members all chiming in that they feel websites add so much credibility to someone when you are looking to hire someone for a service.
But I also heard this from some of you: “But I still have yet to book a client from my website.”
I hear the disappointment in those words.
I get it. It’s hard to spend time on something that doesn’t seem to do all it promised to. If you've poured your heart in and your website's not working to attract and book clients, it can be tempting to abandon it as a marketing strategy.
The thing is: This doesn't mean you can't book clients from your site.
There are fundamental reasons why your website is not converting. It’s not esoteric. These things are 100 percent fixable.
Usually when a site isn’t selling like it should, at the most basic, there are problems at one or several levels:
Poor design
Unclear messaging
Confusing structure
Not enough traffic
Let's break these down:
1. Poor website design
People make decisions about you in 50 milliseconds within seeing your site. It might feel like design is a “nice to have.” But human beings are drawn to aesthetics. That’s why Louis Vuitton or Apple are a thing.
Have you ever gone to book a hotel and the website looks like it was from the 80s? It doesn’t matter how classy it is in real life. That will make you assume the experience at the hotel will be similar to the website.
People might be assuming a similar thing about you. If you want your website to sell your services, it should have high-quality design.
2. Unclear messaging
The words we use matter. How we talk about our offer will have a direct correlation to whether people book.
If we are confusing people or we aren’t getting to the heart of their problem, they might not take action.
3. Confusing structure
This is one of those unseen things that really makes a huge difference. I can’t tell you how often I go to a website and it either sends me everywhere or nowhere.
You need to have clear and tangible actions you want people to take. And your site should be structured to guide people on that journey to take those steps.
Ever go to your phone to do something, forget what you were going to do, and then end up on Instagram watching reels for an hour? I do this 10 times a day. We are all so distracted.
Does your website reinforce the distraction? Or help people overcome it and stay on course?
4. Not enough traffic might be why your website's not working
If you have worked on all three things above and your site is amazing and functional, it might just be a traffic issue. Most websites convert at 1 to 3 percent. That means for every 100 percent of people who go visit, one buys. If you only have 50 people going to your site every month, that’s why no one is buying. It’s a math problem.
You simply need to increase the number of people who are going there to increase your bookings.
If you have a site, don’t give up and say “websites don’t work.” That’s like saying “cars don’t work” if you go out and your car doesn’t start one day.
Instead, it’s time to figure out what the issue is and fix it.
Need help? Let’s see where the issue might be for you. Book a call here.