If you’re finding that you’re getting website traffic but no sales, you’re not alone. Folks not completing their purchases once they’re on the site is probably the most common issue we help brand owners with.
The thing is, it’s not as simple as, “I have traffic but no sales.” This problem is actually pretty nuanced, and there are very specific actions you can take to solve this problem for your brand.
The first thing to do is to identify the root cause of the problem. Only then can you know what to do about it.
Here’s how to find the root of your sales problem.
Rooting out the “Traffic but No Sales” Problem.
Because there are multiple actors at play here, you’re going to need to get familiar with your data to sort out your problem.
Step one: Look at your conversion rate
Sometimes when people think they are seeing traffic but no sales, they forget that the average conversion rate on Shopify and Woocommerce is around 1.5%.
You can’t have a half a person, so at the average conversion rate, you’re getting a sale 1 time out of every 100 visitors. At 200 visitors, you’ll have 3 purchases, and at 300 visitors you’ll have 4 purchases, etc. So if you want to sell 10 items per day at a 1.5% conversion rate, you would need 667 website visitors every day.
We like to see conversion rates above 2%. Do you see the conversion rate you want?
If yes, focus on improving your traffic numbers with a holistic content marketing strategy.
If not, focus on improving your conversion rate by optimizing your website. I usually start by identifying where people are falling off.
Step two: Check out your abandoned carts
If you’re not getting sales, I always recommend checking out what is going on with your abandoned carts. This will help you figure out if you have an issue with your checkout process, if people are dropping off at a specific part of the process, or if they’re not engaging with your checkout at all.
If people are adding things to their carts but not completing their purchases there are two things for you to focus on completing:
Optimize your checkout procedure!
Make sure that people can actually check out from your site. That means you need to place an actual order!
Also, make sure that it’s hella easy to go through. We often tell people to ask someone like a father, an aunt, or a non-technologically inclined friend to go through your checkout process. Watch how they interact with the procedure and take note of any hiccups or confusion.
Add an Abandoned Cart Series!
If people are dropping like flies during the checkout period, make sure that you add an email marketing automation. This will help you to capture some of the potential customers that are abandoning their carts.
Sign up to get your guide to the top three email automations.
If you notice that no one is even adding products to their cart, abandoned carts aren’t your main issue right now. Check out what could be happening on your product listings that makes people drop off.
Step three: Look at your product listings
Because you’re building a small sustainable business, and you’re not Amazon, your products have to be more interesting and communicate better than your average brand.
The harsh reality: If your product listings aren’t interesting or helpful, people will leave and find a cheaper, less sustainable option.
Work on making your products personally appealing by talking about their benefits! Tell a story about the user’s experience with your products. Make sure you have great, consistent imagery throughout your site and your product pages.
Here’s an article about how to write a good product description page.
If You’re Really Seeing Traffic but No Sales: Look at Your Audience
If you really are seeing traffic but no sales, check out your traffic data. (Good thing you’re tracking that, right?)
Look at the behavior patterns of the people that get to your site. Where do they land, and where do they go? Is your bounce rate super high, or are they sticking around and educating a bit before leaving?
People may be looking for information that you’re not providing them right now. They might need more information before being convinced to make a purchase. Set it up so that it’s very easy to collect email addresses from your audience. This gives you the chance to reconnect with them and work to become an authority in your field. Then you can garner their trust and respect over time.
Gathering trust from the folks in your network is the best thing you can do for the longevity of your brand.
Something to be wary of when you see lots of traffic but no sales.
If you’re seeing traffic with a very low time on the site and a high bounce rate coupled with very few sales, it’s possible that you’re not attracting the right people to your brand.
We see this a lot with small brands, especially when they’re running Facebook ads. It’s so, so, so common that Facebook ads just don’t convert the way that you expect them to. For a brand dealing with low sales, that’s a problem.
If you’re seeing traffic but it isn’t converting, you might require a larger structural change to your marketing strategy.
Start by taking a look at your ideal customer. Ask yourself:
- Are you speaking to them?
- What do they expect from you?
- What are you solving for them?
- Are you communicating that properly?
I can’t stress this enough. If you’re not speaking to your customers, your business will not grow. It’s unfortunate, but it’s true!
If you’re struggling with traffic but no sales, reach out to schedule a call. We will help guide you to the right solution!
