#18 Website Traffic but No Sales? Check Your Customer Journey
I had a client come to me recently (she had booked my Course and Funnel Audit) as she wasn't getting any sales of her core offer, a CPD-certified on-demand programme for those looking to improve their public speaking skills. It turns out all her ad traffic was going to her Homepage. She was getting around 800 visitors a month to her site but, despite this, they just weren't buying her course.
On our strategy call together, she mentioned that she had a free webinar which was getting consistent sign ups, so I was really surprised that her ad spend wasn't being directed there instead. After further discussion, it turns out that the course itself wasn't the problem, the path to it was.
This article explores in more detail why low course sales doesn't automatically mean the offer is wrong and why, in fact, it's more likely to be a confused customer journey or you're expecting people to buy from you too soon.
The short answer When a website gets visitors but no sales, it usually means there's a gap between attracting people to the website and persuading them to take the next step. It doesn't automatically mean the offer is wrong or there's not enough traffic to your site. In many cases, it's because it's not obvious what you're selling and visitors are often asked to buy before they trust you. Getting clarity on your Home page is a good first step to fixing the problem.
In this post
- Why does a website get visitors but no sales?
- Why isn't my message clear to visitors?
- Why isn't the next step obvious?
- Am I expecting people to buy too soon?
- Try this today
- FAQs
- About Lynne Kerr
Why does a website get visitors but no sales?
Why isn't my message clear to visitors?
It is important that your messaging is clear. Visitors should understand within seconds who you help, what you help them achieve and why they should choose you. Remember, it's all about the transformation. If they have to work hard to figure out what you do, they'll often leave.
It's also really important to have all your core offers clearly listed on your Homepage. In this client's particular case, the visitor had to visit a number of different pages to discover her core offers and services.
Why isn't the next step obvious?
Problems can also arise when the next step isn't compelling or obvious. Visitors shouldn't have to guess what to do next. Multiple competing calls to action such as "Buy Now", "Book a Call" and "Join My Newsletter" lead to buyer confusion. One of my recent coaching clients had 8 possible steps a potential client could take on his Homepage (needless to say, this was significantly reduced to one after review!). It led to a clearer customer journey and a 20% increase in sales of his online course.
Vague calls to action or a complicated buying process also create friction. The key is to give the Home page a clear primary purpose, use specific calls to action such as "Book Your Strategy Call" and make the next step easy to complete.
Am I expecting people to buy too soon?
Lack of sales can also arise if you expect people to buy too soon. Not every visitor is ready to purchase on their first visit to your site, in fact very few are. Some need to understand their problem better, compare options or get to know you before committing. This was the case for my public speaking coach client, who had been advised to direct all her ad traffic to her Homepage, which had been partially restructured as a sales page. Despite lots of traffic, she was getting very few sales for her core offer, a CPD-accredited on-demand course. Meanwhile her free webinar had no ad spend at all.
It was also unclear what her services were. Her Home Page was structured as a long landing page covering the full bootcamp. As part of my Course and Funnel Audit I recommended that her homepage served one purpose, directing the right visitor to the right next step, and that her ad spend was directed to her free webinar rather than to the Home page.
If your ads send people to your homepage, change the destination this week. Point them at your best free offer first, such as a webinar or a helpful piece of content, so they experience your teaching before they're asked to buy. Then give your homepage one job: sending each visitor to the right next step.
Try this today
☐ 1. Do the 10-second test. Show your homepage to someone who doesn't know you. Can they say what you sell, who it's for and what to do next?
☐ 2. Give your homepage one job. Show your key services or products as short pathways, each with a two or three sentence description and one button.
☐ 3. Offer a free first step. Make a webinar, guide or video series easy to find for visitors who aren't ready to buy.
☐ 4. Check your call to action buttons and your metrics. Make sure your buttons are consistent across the page, and that you can see which ones get clicked and where visitors leave.
☐ 5. Check your ad traffic. If you're spending money on ads, be clear about exactly where you're sending people, so you're not rushing the buyer journey and encouraging them to buy before they're ready. Directing them to a free offer or helpful content is a good first step.
FAQs
How do I tell whether it's my offer or my customer journey?
Check where visitors drop off before you change anything. If people reach your sales page and buy, the journey is the problem. If they reach it, read it and leave, look at your message and trust signals. If they never reach it, look at your homepage and ad destination.
How do I find out where visitors leave my site?
Connect Google Analytics to your website and use your platform's own analytics too. Look at which pages have the highest exit rates and which buttons get clicked. Without that data, every change is a guess.
Should I send my ads to my homepage or a free offer?
Cold visitors don't know you yet, so send them to a free offer such as a webinar or guide first. Use your homepage as a clear gateway for people who already know who you are.
Do I need a free offer before people will buy?
It helps most when your offer is higher priced or your audience is cold, because people get to experience your teaching first. A direct sales page can work for warm audiences, such as your own email list or referrals.
Not sure what's holding your sales back?
Book a free 20 minute discovery call. We'll look at where things stand, what's holding you back and whether I'm the right fit to help.
About Lynne Kerr
Lynne Kerr is an Online Business Strategist and Verified Kajabi Expert who has spent more than 25 years making the complicated make sense from corporate IT to teaching kids to code. She now helps coaches, consultants and course creators find what's not converting, fix what matters & build a system that converts without complexity. | Audits | 1:1 Coaching | Tech Implementation. Find out more at lynnekerr.co.uk.
