Have you ever found yourself spending hours endlessly updating your website in the hopes more people actually book in or buy from you, but no matter what you do, you feel like you’re getting nowhere?! What if I told you there were a few simple but super effective updates you could make to your website RIGHT NOW to help you do exactly that? Does that sound too good to be true?! Well, it’s not! In this blog post, you’re going to learn 5 simple website tweaks you can make today that will help convert visitors into customers and encourage them to stick around on your website for longer (plus Google will love you for it too!). Are you ready? Let’s dive in!

1 | Make it really clear what you do, who you serve and how you add value on your homepage

When a visitor lands on your website, you have around 7 seconds to grab their attention. Yep, you heard right, 7 seconds! It’s not long at all, is it?! So, we best make those 7 seconds count! The key to a high converting homepage that instantly grabs your visitors attention is to optimise your above the fold content and make it instantly clear exactly what you do, who you serve and how you add value.

Not sure what above the fold content is? Let me explain.

Above the fold content is the portion of a web page that is visible on a screen when the page first loads, before scrolling down. The portion of the page that requires scrolling in order to see content is called "below the fold". Think of your homepage as your shop window - your opportunity to showcase what your brand is all about and attract people’s attention. Your above the fold content on your homepage is like your prime real estate. You want to make sure you optimise this space the best you can.

The best way to do this? Include a simple statement that clearly states who you are, what you do, who you serve and how you add value for your customers. I refer to this statement as your ‘brand bio’. 

It’s such a simple website update to make, but don’t underestimate the power of this statement! If you can clearly communicate all of these key things to your audience in a matter of seconds - you have a much better chance of standing out, making a connection, building trust and piquing their interest enough to stick around and learn more about you. If in doubt, always try and be as clear as possible when choosing the words to put on your website. The simpler the better. 

Try out this quick exercise that I like to call the “5-second rule”

If someone landed on your website today - would they be able to figure out what you do, who you serve and how you add value within 5 seconds? If not - it’s time for a re-think. Give this quick exercise a go:

Write down:

What you do

Who you serve

How you add value 

(Tip - When writing down how you add value, think about how you’re different to others in your industry, what problem you solve and what key result you can get for your customer.) 

Here’s an example of my own brand bio! You can view it in action here.

What you do: Standout Squarespace website design & branding 

Who you serve: for unique small businesses that don’t do normal.

How you add value: Want to raise your rates, book more of your dream clients, and have total confidence and clarity around your brand? Well, you’re in the right place!  

Put them all together and what have you got?!?

Standout Squarespace website design & branding for unique small businesses that don’t do normal.

Want to raise your rates, book more of your dream clients, and have total confidence and clarity around your brand? Well, you’re in the right place!

2 | Include a clear call to action (CTA) on your homepage underneath your brand bio

If your no.1 dream client landed on your website today and could do just one thing - what would you like them to do? Maybe it’s to book a consult call, sign up to your email list or download your pricing guide. This is your ultimate website goal and should be the main thing you encourage your visitors to do throughout your website. Add a button next to your brand bio statement that invites them to take action, and leads them closer to your ultimate goal. 

For example - my ultimate website goal is for visitors to book a consultation call. So, the button on my homepage underneath my brand bio statement invites them to view my services page. Although this isn’t a direct link to my contact page to book a call, I’m encouraging my visitors to take the next step by leading them to my services page where they can view more info about my offerings. On this page, I have multiple buttons throughout the content that invites visitors to get started and book a call. 

In website design speak, these buttons are known as a call to action (CTA). When creating your buttons, make sure the words on the button are clear and tells them exactly what you want them to do. It might be tempting to try and get all clever with your website copy here, but when it comes to CTAs, clear and to the point is always best. 

3 | Lead your website visitors down a path to your ultimate website goal (aka - user journey)

From now on, I want you to look at your website as a path that leads your potential customers from point A (where they’re at in their life right now that’s led them to seek out your offerings) to point B (your ultimate website goal). Everything on your website should support your goal and guide your visitors down the path from point A to point B. 

Now you’ve established what your ultimate website goal is, think about what steps you want your visitors to take to reach this goal. 

Example:

My website goal is: Book a consultation call 

Steps visitors need to take to guide them to this goal: view services page, fill out enquiry form.

Other steps visitors may need to take in order to build trust before booking a call: view portfolio, download freebies, read the blog, view social media profiles, read about page.

4 | Include a call to action on each page of your website that leads to your website goal

Including a call to action on each page of your site will encourage your visitors to stick around on your website for longer. You may be thinking, but Kate, won’t people just go to the menu at the top to go to the page they want to view next? Well yes, perhaps. But the truth is, people have short attention spans and just want to be told what to do, where to click and how to learn more. If you don’t give them the guidance they need and leave it up to them to make that decision, chances are they might just get frustrated and leave your website. 

Now you’ve established your website goal and what your point A and point B look like, go to each page of your site and make sure you have a button (CTA) that tells them the next step you want them to take. You want to ensure you’re making it as clear and simple as possible for your visitors to get to your desired destination (point B). 

This point has an added bonus that I wanted to share with you. I don’t know if you know this - but Google just loves websites where people hang around for as long as possible and view multiple pages. If people are clicking around and viewing different pages on your site - Google will read your website as having valuable and useful content so will bump you up the ranks and make sure your site is getting viewed by as many people as possible (this is also known as Search Engine Optimisation or SEO). At the end of the day, the more people that see your site, the more visitors you get and the more opportunities you have to convert them into customers, wahoo!  

5 | Build trust by including testimonials

If you were going to purchase something online, would you look at the reviews first? I know I would! There’s no denying that buyers are influenced by the decisions and actions of others around them. It’s all well and good having a fantastic website stating all the amazing features of your products and services, but if you’ve got no testimonials to back it up - you’re going to struggle to get your visitors to commit to purchasing from you.

Testimonials are the no.1 best way to build trust and credibility with your audience. I’d recommend scattering them around all of the most important pages of your website including your homepage, services and contact page. If you’ve not got any testimonials yet, try getting in touch with previous customers or clients and ask them to give you a quick review - send them a few questions to make it as easy as possible for them to respond. 

There ya have it! My simple tried and tested techniques to improve your visitor’s experience and guide them down the path to purchasing from you. If you follow these techniques, you’ll be well on your way to converting more website browsers to buyers. No more staring blankly at your website homepage, yelling at the internet and wondering what the bleep to do next!

Here’s a quick breakdown of the key points covered:

5 simple website tweaks you can make today that will help convert visitors into customers and encourage them to stick around on your website for longer.

1 | Make it really clear what you do, who you serve and how you add value on your homepage

2 | Include a clear call to action (CTA) on your homepage underneath your brand bio

3 | Lead your website visitors down a path to your ultimate website goal 

4 | Include a call to action on each page of your website that leads to your website goal

5 | Build trust by including testimonials

Are you struggling to connect with your dream clients or looking for more guidance around what to put where on your website? Then my anatomy of a dream client converting homepage is made for you! Grab yours now!

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