At some point you have likely asked Google to reveal the secrets to attracting more people to your website. Trust me, I get it. Your struggle to consistently attract visitors to not just your website, but your social platforms, newsletters, blog posts, and more is very real. And not just to you, but thousands of business owners. We are told it’s our copy, no our images, no the layout. But what is it really? That is what we are going to dive into right now. In this attract, convert, and retain series we are going to give you juicy and actionable steps to alleviate the frustration surrounding attracting, converting, and retaining visitors on your website.

To kickstart this series we are going to cover two really common attraction mistakes that are costing you big! With each mistake I am going to give you a single actionable step you can take today, to fix the problem.

#1: Muddled Target Audience

As business owners we are told over and over again: know your target audience. But why? Of course it gives us immense insight into who we are selling to. We tap into your target audience when diving into your brand and website strategy. We harness their pain points when crafting meaningful offers that attract them. And so much more!

However, there are two common mistakes business owners, such as yourself, make regarding their target audience and it is impacting your website traffic directly. Consider these two things:

1. Your audience doesn’t feel heard because the messaging isn’t speaking to their specific pain points which leads them to go elsewhere to find someone who “understands them”.
2. Your services are too general and therefore don’t feel special which leads them to believe they can find someone cheaper to do it.

In other words, what’s happening is either one or both of the following facets are out of sync with your target audience: your copy or your services. When these are misaligned, then your visitors aren’t going to feel connected or attracted to you, and move onto someone else.

Diagnose

Check out the analytics for your website (through the built in dashboard or third-party monitor like Google Analytics). Also look into the insights on your marketing platforms to get a sense of where you’re falling short. Crosscheck your dream client avatar next to your analytics and uncover gaps in your audience. Make sure that what your website and content are attracting your visitors and drawing them in. Another fun tool I love installing on client websites is heat maps! My personal favorite is Hotjar and you can get started for free! Next, pinpoint which facet you need to start working on. Ask yourself:

1. Do the words I use on my website speak directly to my audience (using words like you, we, your)? Do I clearly convey the value that I bring through transformative copy? Do I speak directly to specific pain points and then explain how I will solve it or am I speaking in general terms?
2. Do my services solve a very specific problem that my target audience is known for having? What kind of transformation am I really great at providing? And do my services successfully allow my clients to pick and choose between services that provide them said transformation? How are my services different from my competition and how can I add more value?

Take Action

If copy is your downfall then open up a blank Google Doc, copy and paste the above questions and start writing! Really get to the heart of your audience’s struggles, their fears, their potential objections to working with you and more! Close your eyes and put yourself in their shoes. Refine your document until it sings and then start updating the copy throughout your website.

Your services are what make you the moola so they should be very thoughtful. Be sure to have a service funnel with a small ticket item that is easily repeatable and costs you little to nothing (think swipe files, templates, cheat sheets). A medium ticket item like a course or alternative to working with you directly. And finally a large ticket item that is a customized experience with bells and whistles and an invoice that makes you giddy on the inside.

#2: Swept Down River

I am an avid paddler and all-things water sport enthusiast. One of the first lessons you learn on a river is how to read the ripples and surface disturbances so you can safely navigate the waterway. Lose focus and you can get swept down river in milliseconds and find yourself in a dangerous position. The same can happen for your website visitors.

When employing a multi-channel marketing system–meaning you are showing up on multiple platforms (email, Instagram, Pinterest)–it can be easy to lose sight of the end goal. Remember, the goal: to attract and funnel your audience to your website so you can convert them. What can happen is your audience doesn’t have a focused stream of content to follow therefore giving them the chance to get swept down the content river. When attracting our audience we need to have focused efforts.

For example, if your juicy recipe video pins on Pinterest aren’t linking back to meaningful content such as blog posts, sales page, or similar. Then users will find themselves at a dead end. With nowhere to go, they will get swept down the Pinterest river and find some other fun content to engage with. Of course they could go to your profile and scroll through the other content you have published. But if there is no where for them to go from Pinterest or your Instagram feed or your TikTok page…etc. then they will keep on moving.

Diagnose

When publishing content on platforms outside of your website, are you thoughtfully linking the content back to pages on your website? Ideally in more than one way?

Do the pages you have linked, have a clear path and experience for your audience to take? Or will they simply get stuck at another dead end and click away?

Take Action

Take time to strategically map out the journey a potential visitor will take when engaging with your content. Start with something as simple as a pin on Pinterest, a TikTok video, or carousel on Instagram. Map their journey from the point of attraction via a few different variations, back to your website. Then continue the map until they land on the highest converting part of your website (usually a sales or services page).

Now streamline this process. How can you eliminate unnecessary clicks or sure up weak spots where they could get swept away from your content?

Be sure to always have a thoughtful landing place for your visitors and a way to keep them engaged. A few ideas include free quizzes, checklists, cheat sheets, captivating blog posts, tempting videos, interactive sections on your website, intriguing copy and messaging. Ask yourself, “What will keep them coming back for more? What can I do to get them to stay?”

To give you a leg up in content planning and strategy I have the perfect freebie for you! Use my free Marketing Content Flow Workbook to save you hours and engage better with your audience!

#3: Appearances Attract

Although the goldfish attention span theory has been debunked, the fact remains that the collective attention span of today’s generations are shrinking. We live in such a readily available content-heavy world, that in an effort to absorb more, we have started to shorten the length in which we consume said content.

So what does this mean for you and your website? You need to be able to capture their attention quickly and be able to hold it. One of the most successful ways of doing this is through your visuals aka your brand identity.

Your brand identity is made up of elements such as your logo, cute little marks, patterns, colors, fonts, and more! When these elements are not thoughtfully curated and used properly, they can create a visually unappealing experience for your visitors. And because we live in such a highly visual world, this quickly becomes a deterrent for website visitors thus doing the opposite of attracting visitors. Aka, if it ain’t purty, they ain’t stayin’. When you skimp on the visual appearance of your content and website the overall style and aesthetic becomes chaotic and unprofessional and therefore distracting.

Diagnose

Ask yourself: am I presenting my business in a cohesive and professional manner across all of my marketing channels including my website? Do I have a digital identity that attracts my target audience and leaves them thinking “gooorgeous!”?

Take Action

Branding is tricky to DIY, I get it! Think about investing in Canva Pro (or similar) or better yet a professional designer (book a free discovery call here) to pull everything you have together. Pick 3-5 cohesive colors and don’t stray. Select 2 varying fonts and use through everywhere. Invest in a logo and make sure it’s visible. The biggest branding mistake is to make it complicated. Keep it simple with the minimum until you’re ready for a larger investment with a pro.

Overview

So there you have it! Three really common and easily avoidable mistakes that you can now avoid or amend to attract more visitors to your website! Whether you purposely skipped to the bottom for the overview or you are taking notes and want some highlights, here you have it!

1. Get really clear on your audience and their pain points so you can create unique offers that feel custom to their needs. As well as write copy that gets to the heart of their business and struggles.
2. Have a strategic flow to all of your content that leads back to an engaging website chock-full of appealing content they just can’t resist.
3. Upgrade your visual appearance so your audience can’t help but have heart eyes when they land on your website and feel like you are a professional trustworthy enough for a large investment.

Stick around because next up we have part two of this series! Next, we will be chatting exclusively about how to take your website visitors and convert them into paying customers! I also want to be the first person today to tell you how amazing you are doing! Just by taking the time to read this and implement simple methods, you are making major waves in your business that will create major growth! Keep the momentum and read part two here in a week!