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Did you know that the average website converts just 2.35% of its visitors?
So, out of 100 visitors, only about 2 people will contribute to your sales. And, only the top 25% of websites manage to hit 5.31% or higher conversion rates.
Clearly, most businesses struggle to turn their visitors into real customers. This is why brands must reassess their website strategies to achieve higher ROI.
In this interview, Ventus Design Studio Founder Nicole Sauk, a specialist in creating high-performing websites, discusses:
- The key indicators that a website is underperforming
- How to recognize it’s time for a website redesign
- The most common website design mistake businesses make
- How to turn your website into a high-ROI business asset
- How evolving digital trends are shaping website strategy
Who Is Nicole Sauk?
Nicole has been creating websites since 1999, receiving her first web design award when she was still a teenager. Her lifelong passion for design and business development led her to become an independent contractor after working as a professional designer in different industries. In 2012, she founded Ventus Design Studio to help other business owners use their websites as a tool for growth.
Nicole and I first discussed the key indicators that a website is underperforming and how businesses can recognize when it's time for a redesign.
“Websites do have a life cycle, and you should be planning for a redesign about every three to five years, depending on how well it was built and maintained.
Technology advances, design trends change, your business goals evolve, and your website needs to keep up with that,” she says.
She highlights that if organizations don't get much business from their websites, then they are probably underperforming, pointing to the need to rely on analytics for real data.
“You should also have analytics installed on your site so you can see clear numbers of how many people are visiting your website, where they are coming from, and what they are doing when they arrive on your site,” she adds.
Watch Nicole’s video to learn how you can build a completely free website:
Digital marketing analytics also helps reveal key website metrics such as traffic, bounce rates, and conversions, showing how your business performs and whether it is time for website redesign.
Nicole shares a case study of a client who had a very basic starter website when he just began his business.
But as his business grew, the website had to be rebuilt to support this growth. This included adding in a quote request form that connects to his CRM and building a page to showcase the new local shop.
Nicole highlights that after the redesign, this client is now #1 in the organic local search results for the target keyword.
Common Website Design Mistakes
A bad website design can push visitors away and greatly affect your conversion rate.
Factors like poor UX design, complicated navigation, and slow-loading pages can also hurt your business reputation.
According to Nicole, the most common mistake she sees on websites is no clear call to action (CTA).
“We want to get your website users to take action so you can reach your goals, so you have to tell them to do that.
You also want to make sure you aren't telling your website users to do too many different things because people will easily get confused and do nothing,” she explains.
I agree with Nicole. It truly matters how you formulate your CTAs.
In fact, a test run on an American shipping company’s website showed that just by simplifying the CTA button design and text, lead generation increased by 232%.
The study above is proof that how you design CTA buttons matters in increasing overall conversion rates.
Ever wonder why visitors don’t stay long on your website? Watch our video below to know the five reasons why users leave:
I was curious to hear from Nicole about how she helps clients identify and define their pain points before starting a website project.
She says that she likes to talk about business goals during the initial phone call.
“My recommendations are going to depend on what they are hoping to achieve with a new website.
The main goal is often more clients and customers, but sometimes, building trust and authority is also a big priority, and of course, supporting the planned marketing efforts,” she adds.
Performing a website audit is vital in understanding how the site performs and in identifying key problem areas. To do this, Nicole recommends checking web analytics reports.
“If you are getting a ton of traffic, but not a lot of conversion, something is wrong with your website. If you are not getting a lot of traffic, you probably also aren't getting a lot of sales, no matter how nice your website is,” she points out.
Turning Your Website into a High-ROI Business Asset
Integrating your website with your overall digital marketing strategy can help turn your site into a business growth driver.
“Your website can't act alone to get you more business, it needs to work alongside other marketing efforts. And you need to consider your marketing when you are planning your website.
For example, if you do a lot of social media marketing, it's often a good strategy to bring them to your website with a lead magnet and have them sign up for your email list. Email marketing can net on average $36 return for every $1 spent,” she says.
Nicole suggests that businesses can also get creative with monetization, highlighting that there are so many ways a website can make money: affiliate marketing, ads, print-on-demand, dropshipping, and traditional eCommerce.
“For example, if you have a popular restaurant in a high tourism area, maybe you want to consider offering print-on-demand products with your logo on them that people can purchase as a souvenir,” she adds.
But what metrics should businesses focus on to measure the success of their websites in ensuring ROI and driving growth?
“This is usually very easy; you want to track how many people are completing your call to action. Often, this is a contact form, so you can track how many people are filling out that form every month and comparing that with your traffic trends,” Nicole explains.
How Evolving Digital Trends Are Shaping Website Strategy
I asked Nicole how she sees the role of website strategy evolving as the digital landscape continues to change.
She says it's exciting to think about the new ways we can track customer behavior.
“It's already so cool how we can show targeted ads to customers who have already visited our website, and it's fun to think about how that can evolve even more,” she adds.
Advancements in technology are making it easier to track how customers interact with websites, revealing meaningful audience data.
However, businesses should analyze and use this knowledge correctly so that they can achieve success and drive conversions.
Driving business growth and achieving better ROI may be challenging, especially if you are just starting. However, it’s not impossible.
All it takes is finding out the best marketing strategy for your industry and your business, building a website that supports that with a clear call to action, and tracking analytics.
Editing by Katherine 'Makkie' Maclang
