If your website is getting solid traffic, but your shopping carts are collecting dust, I’m here to show you some website mistakes to avoid if you want to convert traffic into sales.

Some of the points below touch on content, while others touch on copy. What’s the difference? Basically, all copy (words written to make sales) is content but not all content (words, images, video, etc.) is copy.

With that distinction made, let’s jump right into these five content-related reasons why I might visit your website but refuse to buy:

Your Website Copy is Too Generic

Copywriting is all about crafting words in a way that will convince someone to buy—and let’s face it, many business websites out there aren’t very convincing. A common problem is that their copy is just too generic. They’re trying to be all things to all people.

Here are a few guidelines to make sure your ideal customer knows you’re talking to them.

• Define your ideal customer and the problem you help them solve.

Before you write a single word for your website, you need to know to whom you are writing and what problem you’re helping them solve.

• Write a headline that directly addresses their problem and your solution.

When someone lands on your homepage for the first time, you want them to think, “Hey, that’s me!” They want to know they are in the right place. Usually, this can be achieved by simply stating a problem your ideal customer has and your solution. For example, let’s say you sell eco-friendly glass water bottles to the earth-conscious consumer. Your homepage might start with a headline that says, “Tired of throwing away harmful plastic water bottles?” or “Want a reusable water bottle that’s good for the earth?” That ideal customer is going to answer with a resounding “yes!”

Your Business Doesn’t look Legitimate

E-commerce faces a significant challenge. Potential clients can’t see you or your product in person. This can be a huge barrier to establishing a trust that you are who you say you are.

When someone walks into a clothing store, for example, they’re often greeted by a smiling employee, and they can get a feel for the atmosphere. That goes a long way toward building trust, and very quickly.

But when someone visits your website, they’re missing all those physical cues; you need to fill them in with great content that builds trust.

Here are some content pieces you can add to your website to build credibility:

• Reviews- We as consumers love hearing about others’ experiences with a product! So if you have an e-commerce site, install a ratings/reviews plugin to increase conversions.
• Testimonials-Reach out to your favorite clients or customers and ask them to tell you what they like best about your business. Then ask if you can display that on your website and marketing materials. Adding testimonials to a page boosted the conversion rate up to 25%.
• Your physical location– This is the easiest little piece of content to add to the footer of your website and/or your contact page. It helps show that you’re a real business!
• Guarantee– If you can, offer a guarantee. There’s no better way to vouch for your product than to say you’ll give someone their money back if they’re not satisfied. It could even be free shipping/returns.
• Information about and photos of you and your team– People want to do business with people, not a website. Show your face to help them feel more at ease with the transaction. The perfect place for this is your About page, an often-overlooked page that can boost your conversions.

Your Blog is weak

There are so many benefits to blogging for your business, and one of the big ones is that it can help convert traffic into sales. Here’s how your blog can work for you:

• Attracting the right customers. Your blog content should be crafted in a way that attracts relevant visitors and helps move them through the sales funnel, from awareness of a problem, to considering different options, to acting and buying.
• Generating leads. According to HubSpot, businesses that blog generate four times more leads than businesses that don’t. And more leads mean more sales!

Make sure you get their information so you can keep nurturing that relationship. Blogs are a fantastic way to do that because you are offering your expertise for free, and that will entice a visitor to hand over their email address in the hopes of getting more.

Level Up Your Website Content to Convert Traffic into Sales

Now that we’ve talked about some website mistakes to avoid regarding your content, did you spot any that you’re making? Maybe you’ve got a beautiful website. Maybe you’ve got lots of traffic. Good design and high traffic are great—but they’re meaningless to you as a business if they don’t convert buyers.

So, if you want to convert traffic into sales, try these solid tips for improving your content:

• Show proof that you’re a credible business.
• Write helpful blog posts that solve your ideal customer’s problem.
• Craft copy that speaks to your ideal customer.

Although social media engagement has dropped by 50% over the last three years, 92% of marketers still believe that social media is vital to their business. This is probably because social media marketing doubles the conversion rate compared to traditional outbound marketing methods. 
Why? Because social media engagement strengthens brand loyalty, builds customer-brand relationships, and increases word-of-mouth advocacy, which is a much more effective conversion tool than advertising.

So, what’s caused this massive drop in content engagement? A common business misconception that simply being on social media is enough.

Showing up isn’t enough anymore. Intelligent marketers know that you can’t just throw a bunch of posts out there and hope that something sticks.

Audiences today are so desensitized by the flood of content that brands need to find new ways to proactively reach out, rather than passively waiting for them to engage.

If you’re seeing a decline in your engagement rates, here are five tips to break you out of your slump.

1. Be Active

The number one key to social media engagement success is to build long-term, meaningful relationships with your audience. Viral content isn’t going to cut it anymore. What audiences really want is responsive conversation, interaction that they know will make a difference.

Most brands have adopted social media, but their engagement efforts have generally only been one-way. They’re using social media as a bullhorn, rather than the walkie-talkie it’s designed to be.

If brands don’t respond to comments or messages, it screams, “We don’t really care about you.” Consistently responding to followers can create a domino effect, starting with an increase in your post’s organic reach and visibility on news feeds, leading to even higher engagement rates.

Respond quickly and consistently to as many comments as possible; never use cut-and-paste responses.

Flaunt Your Personality

People will judge your brand based on the way you interact with them on social media, so always be genuine. Understand your social media brand voice!

This is particularly important because 80% of people on social media choose to follow brands based on whether their content feels and sounds genuine.

In fact, people often unfollow brands for not having a personality, or for using slang and jargon that doesn’t match their brand voice.

“Don’t just give your customers something to talk about, give them somebody to talk about.”

Jay Baer

Whether you’re sassy like Wendy’s, or quirky like Starbucks Coffee, know who you are and don’t be afraid to let that personality shine.

P.S – Try replying to comments and messages with GIFs or memes occasionally  Its’s an easy way to inject some fun into your page.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback

Ask your followers for feedback on your service or product and respond to each of their comments- especially the negative ones.

Start a conversation about a trending topic. Ask what questions they would like to see answered in the next blog or post. Ask them how they tackle certain challenges or what was their best experience with a certain product. The more you know about your audience, the easier it will be to come up with great questions and better content. Increasing social media engagement moves beyond extracting likes to making real connections with consumers.

Alternatively, set up a poll just for fun. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram all have built-in poll functions for you:

4. Set a clear call-to-action

If anything, 2019 is the year of transparency. The cultured audience knows when they’re being tricked into something and 66% of consumers feel deceived when they realize they’ve been baited into reading sponsored content.

The main takeaway is this: be upfront with what you want.

Using words like “follow”, “retweet”, or “follow” can result in 20x the engagement rate compared to posts without clear CTAs.

5. Recognize your fans and post user-generated content

Fans appreciate being recognized by their favorite brands, and reposting UGC is a great way to strengthen your community and potentially increase sales.

Don’t believe me? See how the ‘InstaWhopper’ campaign by Burger King gathered over 34,000 coupons in 3 hours. Or, how this #AIRMAXLINE campaign by Nike resulted in over 15 million impressions and an increase in social media engagement in just two weeks – 100% organically.

Basically…

At the end of the day, social media is all about building relationships. Be a good listener, be authentic, be consistent, but shake things up sometimes. And remember that it’s not just about you and your needs.

In exchange, you’ll get a better understanding of your consumer base, which will help you to build better products or provide better service– both key components in improving your business.

Remember, relationships also take time to build, so don’t be disappointed if your engagement rates don’t immediately increase overnight.

Most importantly, social media is a continually evolving playing field, so be ready to adapt your strategy at any time.