Top Website Conversion Obstacles & How You Can Overcome Them

You have spent a significant amount of time creating a responsive web design and polishing it, as well as investing in planning a well-thought-out digital marketing strategy. However, despite all that effort, your conversion is still terrible. How is this possible?

The problem is mostly due to conversion obstacles, invisible-yet-deadly business obstacles that quietly drive away every potential conversion.

Fortunately, there are straightforward measures you can observe to transform your site from being a digital maze into one that generates high conversion traffic. In this article, we will identify possible conversion obstacles your website might face and the strategies to eliminate them effectively.

One of the most common conversion obstacles is the lack of clear communication. If your customers do not understand what you are selling and how it will benefit them, they will not be motivated to buy.

It is vital to communicate your service’s or product’s value in a clear and concise manner, focusing on your customers’ needs and how your services or products can meet them. To put it simply, it is not about how amazing your services or products are but how they can make their lives better.

Hence, when designing your website, take a “what is in it for me” approach, putting yourself in your customers’ shoes.

The eCommerce market is fiercely competitive and highly saturated, giving your customers tons of options to choose from. Hence, it is equally as important whether your conversion involves making a purchase, booking a demo, or generating leads.

If it is not clear how to make a purchase or register on your website, or if the process involves too many complicated steps, it is much easier for your potential customers to source for another website that has a less complicated conversion UX.

One way to do so is to limit your conversion UX to approximately 3-5 mandatory fields. The same applies to lead generation forms. Hence, avoid asking for unnecessary, redundant information or having too many input fields. Ask yourself what key information you require and stick to it. One way of doing so is to enable guest checkout. That way, customers who do not wish to share their personal information can have the means to purchase your services or products without filling in any forms.

Statistics have shown that mobile devices accounted for 58 per cent of global website traffic in the first quarter of 2023, proving the importance of having a mobile-friendly web design. People are not only accessing key information from their mobile devices but also to purchase products and services. If you do not have a responsive web design, you are missing out on a huge bulk of conversions.

Issues such as unreadable or small fonts, intrusive pop-ups, complex search and navigation processes, and slow loading times are elements you should avoid, especially among mobile device users. When designing a website that is mobile-friendly, some of the best practices to note include keeping your design simple, creating large buttons, avoiding pop-ups, using fonts that are legible, and optimising your image.

The lack of trust signals throughout your website is the ultimate conversion destroyer. Everybody will have their doubts and worries before purchasing a product or service online, and if your website is not able to convince them that your business is legit and secured, they will bounce to another website that guarantees that level of security.

Hence, displaying elements such as security badges, certifications, awards, social media mentions, ratings, testimonials, and customer reviews will help to assure your customers of your services and products’ quality.

However, it is also more than just including any of them throughout your website. As customers become more tech-savvy, vague and generic reviews and testimonials will not be enough. You need to tell real customers’ stories and experiences with your products and services to earn potential customers’ confidence.

Incorporating case studies that share the customer’s background and struggles, followed by how your product or service benefited them, will help to add authenticity and reliability to your brand, boosting your conversion rates.

98 percent of new visitors will leave your website without converting, with the remaining 2 percent taking action. Hence, letting that 98% go without any follow-ups results in a major lack of conversions.

To prevent it from happening, you can consider three key strategies:

• Pixel-based retargeting: This strategy will help your brand even if they do not leave behind any contact information. It works by dropping a tiny, coded pixel into their browser, allowing it to track their online behaviour, and launching a targeted ad campaign when it is the right time.
• Email marketing: If you have a form that they can fill out before leaving your website, you can retarget them using personalised email campaigns, offering them promotional deals, incentives, and discounts to attract them to make a purchase.
• Abandoned cart recovery: Supposed your potential customer stops halfway through a transaction, you should optimise your cart by identifying specific deal breakers. Some abandoned cart recovery strategies include allowing multiple payment options, displaying clear return policy information, displaying trust signals, incorporating exit intent pop-ups, and offering free shipping.

Always be realistic when promoting your products or services. Many brands get carried away in their promotion, adding exaggerated claims in an effort to attract potential customers. The trick is to achieve the balance between managing customers’ expectations and selling your products or services. Stick to achievable goals and facts, whether it is through your product descriptions or FAQs.

The majority of purchasing decisions are steered by emotions. Hence, you can grab your customers’ attention by targeting their sense of scarcity and urgency. When customers think that they are getting a once-in-a-lifetime deal or a product that is popular and running out quickly, they will usually act on their instinct quickly, converting into purchasing customers.

Some tactics to help you increase that sense of urgency are using time-limited offers, leveraging scarcity, using action-oriented phrases or words, or offering a special incentive.

Making a one-time conversion is not what you should be looking for. If you want customers to return to make repeated purchases, you need to provide great customer service. One way of doing so is ensuring that you have chatbots throughout your website, allowing prospective customers to get answers to commonly asked questions. That will help to show great customer support.

Another way to increase human contact is to offer the opportunity to direct questions to your sales and support team or initiate the conversion process offline, especially for B2B customers. With the increase in human contact, potential customers will have the impression that they are better supported after making a purchase. You can boost your business’s contactability through your Contact Us page, making it simple for customers to contact you should they face any issues or have any queries.

Lastly, utilising your social media is also a way to increase human contact by opening up opportunities for business-customer interactions. Responding to their feedback, even if it might be negative, is one way of developing transparency and openness.