Research Note #02
Why Most Websites Don't Convert
After reading all this research, I started noticing a pattern. Different industries, different audiences, different products, different websites. Yet the same problems kept appearing. People were leaving because they couldn't answer a simple question. Or more accurately, one of four simple questions.
Observation
After reading all this research, I started noticing a pattern. Different industries. Different audiences. Different products. Different websites. Yet the same problems kept appearing.
People were leaving because they couldn't answer a simple question. Or more accurately, one of four simple questions.
The Four Questions Every Visitor Is Asking
1. What is this? What do you actually do? Not your mission. Not your vision. What do you do?
2. Is it for me? Can you help somebody like me? Do you understand my problem? Am I in the right place?
3. Why should I trust you? Can you back up your claims? Do other people recommend you? Have you done this before?
4. What happens next? What do I need to do? What happens if I click? How difficult is this going to be?
Evidence
Almost every conversion problem I found could be traced back to one of these questions going unanswered.
Practical Takeaway
Before you change your button colour or rewrite your CTA, check whether visitors can answer these four questions on your homepage. If they can't, nothing else matters.