It is the frustration of every website owner. You look at your analytics at the end of the week and are delighted to see that your traffic has increased, but you have not seen the same increase in sales or leads. There are probably a variety of reasons why your website is not converting as well as it could, but I will try to highlight just a few of them – hopefully those that you can fix right away and see your conversion rates start to increase.

Problem #1 – The Misleading Ad or Search Result

Just because you are seeing an increase in PPC or organic traffic doesn’t mean that the customer’s needs and wants are being met when they enter your site. For the sake of consistency, we will assume that your site only sells basketball jerseys. Not football, not hockey, not baseball jerseys – ONLY BASKETBALL. First of all, let’s take a look at your PPC or Pay-Per-Click campaigns. The first rule with PPC ads is to "Be Specific." Every time a visitor clicks on one of your ads and doesn’t buy a basketball jersey, you lose money. This means that if you bring a visitor to your site under the impression that they can buy a football jersey, or a baseball jersey, or any kind of jersey at all, they are not going to be satisfied when they visit your site.

The same goes for your SEO or organic search result. Yeah, it would be great if your site was ranked for "jerseys", but don’t you think that your conversion rate would be higher if you were ranked for basketball jerseys? Make sure that your page titles and content are written in a way to let the visitor know that your site only sells basketball jerseys, that way visitors looking for any other kind of sportswear will not be disappointed when they see your listing.

Problem #2 – Too Many Decisions to Make

Ok, so you’ve got a visitor that is clearly interested in your basketball jerseys. How do you lead him through the buying process with as few distractions as possible? Well, you basically start him down a path where the only place he can end up is with one of your jerseys in his shopping cart.

You need to help the visitor pick out a jersey that is right for him or her. If the visitor didn’t specify which team or player they wanted, it might be a good idea to introduce them to your top 3 best selling jerseys. This will narrow down the initial choices they have to make and might lead to more conversions since the visitor isn’t overwhelmed. It is a good idea to keep your site neat and organized so that visitors can find what they are looking for quickly and easily. Keep all team jerseys in one place, keep all retro/throwback jerseys in another place, keep the all-star jerseys in a separate place, etc. If a visitor has a specific jersey in mind, but didn’t specify it with his search, make sure that any tools they would need to find the specific jersey are easily available. This could include drop down menus to narrow jersey choices by team, size, etc.

The long and short of it is – if a visitor knows what they want, let them do their own thing. If a visitor isn’t sure, provide them with what you think are the best options and then let them do their own thing.

Problem #3 – They Don’t Trust You

Buying a jersey from a website is a lot different than buying it from a store. In a store, you get to see the jersey, touch it, feel it, and make sure it fits. Then, with your jersey firmly in hand, you pay the cashier and walk out of the store with the product bought and paid for. When buying from a website, it is completely different. A customer finds your site, but they don’t know if your business is even located in this country, let alone if what you are selling is authentic or real. They are expected to size themselves, pay an invisible cashier, select shipping options and cross their fingers and hope that the jersey arrives on their doorstep in 5-7 business days.

If a visitor does not see your site as credible, they will not, and I repeat WILL NOT purchase from you. So how do you convince your customers that your product and delivery is going to be real? With credibility indicators, of course! Coming from a visitor that frequently shops online, I understand that even with some of the best companies, things are not going to run smoothly all the time, so I like to see an easily visible customer support phone number or hotline, where I know I can speak with someone if my order goes awry. This also gives your site a more personal feel.

Another thing that I look for is the security of the site. In order for me to submit any information about me or my credit cards, I must be assured that my information will be secure. This can usually be achieved with a seal on your site that verifies it as secure, or the https:// before your URL that lets the client know that their visit is secure.

Lastly, I will want to see reviews. I want to know that I am not the first person in the world to buy a product from this site. I want to read about how other customers liked their jersey or how it was delivered on time. I want to read about how their customer service representatives fixed any problems before they got out of hand. Again, I want to feel like I am buying this from the store down the street, not from the warehouse halfway across the world. You can achieve this level of confidence with general customer testimonials or testimonials specific to the products on the page.

The three factors above that affect your site’s conversion rate are easily fixable and should lead to an increase in conversions for your site. Traffic without sales or leads is irrelevant traffic and doesn’t help your bottom line at all. Start increasing your conversions today by implementing any or all of the suggestions listed above!