In today’s digital age, your website is your digital storefront. You merely have seconds to make an impression, communicate what you offer, and make it clear to your client whether you can help solve their problem. Today, we’re going to talk about three common mistakes that make ideal clients close their tab on your site, even when you offer the exact solution they’ve been looking for. 

The good news is, with a few adjustments, you can have more potential clients scrolling your site longer, seeing why you’re the perfect service provider for them, and taking the next step to work with you! Let’s dive in.

Mistake #1: You’re Not Presenting The Potential Before-and-After

Remember, this is not just about your services, this is about what your services will do for your client. How will they feel during or after working with you? What will they have achieved or be able to achieve? When I say “Before-and-After,” I don’t mean there has to be some huge, magical, life change for your client, but there is a transformation. Even if you think it’s small, it’s still impactful and that’s what you need to make clear on your website.

So how do you do that? Here are a few ways:

• Include quality testimonials from previous clients. And don’t be afraid to ask for them! Ideally, you’ll want to know “What was it like before we worked together?” and “How are things different now that we’ve worked together?” Aim to get testimonials that don’t just say how wonderful you are to work with, but also that share a result.
• Share a case study or portfolio pieces if your work is visual. And if you’re newer to your field or haven’t had a ton of clients yet, create mock projects that you love! Dream up an amazing client, then produce amazing work for them and demonstrate it on your site. This is a great way to attract the kind of work that you’re really excited to do.
• Use a clear, specific “I help” statement. For example, instead of just writing “ Pinterest Virtual Assistant Services” in your header, you could write “I help bloggers supercharge their website traffic with my Done-for-You Pinterest services!”
• Present “What If” scenarios to help your client better imagine what it will be like once they work with you. For example, if you’re a weight loss coach, “What if you could fall in love with food again?” “What if you could eat your favorite foods, reach your goal weight, and drop the shame game all at once?”
  

The grocery store gives out samples to give you a taste of what you could have, right? Next thing you know, you’re walking out with a pack of tiny barbeque sausages that you didn’t know you’d love, but are SO happy you bought! This is the same principle, give your site visitors those “samples” too. Once your client better understands what awaits them on the other side of working with you, they’re much more likely to become a paying client.

Mistake #2: Your Website Isn’t Skimmable Enough

The world moves fast and digital content is more abundant than ever. No matter what you do, most people won’t spend a ton of time on your website. Still, we want to make that visit worth their while! You want to give your potential clients the info they need FAST.

So what’s the best way to do that? Have clear, organized, skimmable content! That means:

• Include clear headlines for each section.
• Break up your text into smaller paragraphs. Unless you’re writing a blog post, you likely only need about 3 sentences per paragraph max! Remember, people will also be scrolling on their phones and the breaks in content will make it easier to digest.
• Emphasize what’s important with different font sizing and bolding.
• Make sure your buttons are a contrasting color that stands out. Most likely your buttons will have important next-step actions you want site visitors to take, so make them bright and obvious!

This all comes back to providing great service to the client. It starts at the very beginning with making it as easy as possible for people to learn about what you do. Writing a novel about your services and why you’re the best at what you do does not serve your clients. But having concise, useful information about what your offer includes and how it benefits the lucky people that get to work with you? That’s the gamechanger.

Mistake #3: There’s Not Enough Repetition

Repeat after me: saying something once is not enough. This is especially important when it comes to Calls to Action. Now that your website demonstrates what your client can get from working with you and you’ve made your site content easily digestible, it’s time for them to take the next step. Should they book a call with you? Get on your email list? Buy a product? If so, make sure that is on multiple buttons per page.

You’re not overdoing it! Again, many people will be accessing your website on a phone, so they’ll need multiple chances and reminders. Get that “Book a Call” button in multiple places, or consider having it stick in your navigation header for constant easy access. If you want to grow your email list, offer your opt-in freebie on multiple pages where people have a chance to see it more than once.

Repetition is the name of the game. Think of it as a convenience. Once your site visitor has gotten the information they need to feel ready to take action with you, you want to make it super easy to do. You don’t want the client to have to search long for what to do next.

Wrapping It All Up

For your website to convert more sales, you need to help your potential clients envision their amazing experience of working with you, make it super easy for them to learn about what you offer plus how it benefits them, and give them tons of chances to take action on connecting with you.

If you want a gorgeous site that’s already built with all of these strategies in mind, be sure to check out our website templates. With our templates, you can have an optimized site up and running FAST, just customize with your content and brand style then you’re good to go in no time.

Have you struggled with any of these website mistakes? Don’t worry, you wouldn’t be the first and you certainly won’t be the last. Which update are you going to tackle first?