Why is my website putting off potential customers?

High Bounce Rates

If your website has a high bounce rate, it means that users are leaving your site after only viewing one page. This is a strong indicator that your website’s content is not engaging or relevant to the traffic you’re attracting. This could be because your homepage doesn’t shout  loudly, or clearly enough about exactly what you offer, and why it’s better than your competitors. 

Consider updating your content, adding some jaw-droppingly exciting hero content or rethinking what it is that your target audience really needs. Are you overwhelming your audience with wordy copy when they really need speed and convenience? At Yoyo we offer UX reviews of whole websites, or just homepages and everything in between, so get in touch if you’d like some help decoding those high bounce rates.

Low Conversion Rates

Low conversion rates mean that users are not taking any action on your website, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. This can be a sign that your website’s user experience is poor or that your calls-to-action are not effective. User’s could be confused, getting stuck in a loop of murky call-to-action buttons and pages before they give up and run into the arms of a competitor. You could have a problem with error prevention making your forms impossible to submit correctly, or your value proposition just isn’t strong enough in your content.

Consider having a professional look at your most critical user journeys, to find pain-points and opportunities for improvement that can crank up your conversion rates. You might want to consider A/B testing a few approaches to find the best solutions as efficiently as possible.

High Exit Rates

Exit rates refer to the percentage of users who leave your website after visiting a specific page. If you notice high exit rates on a particular page, it could be a sign that the content is not relevant or there are technical issues. You may find that a high exit rate makes total sense in some places, for example if you’re asking your user’s to leave the site and check something out elsewhere, or read a download you’ve provided them. If not though, you’ve likely found the exact location of whatever it is turning your user’s off - check your copy, and have an expert user test this page to find out exactly what’s going on.

High Cart Abandonment Rates

If you run an e-commerce website, high cart abandonment rates can be a major issue. This means that users are adding items to their cart but not completing the checkout process. This can be a sign that your checkout process is too complicated or that your website’s trust signals are not strong enough. Consider simplifying your checkout process by adding flexible payment methods - stopping the need for user’s to go rummaging around for their credit card and getting distracted. You could also consider adding more trust signals, such as social proof testimonials, and customer reviews.

Low engagement rates

Low engagement rates mean that users are not interacting with your website in the way you intended. This can be a sign that your content is not engaging or that your website’s design is not user-friendly. This is often down to some simple prioritisation problems, where users are being led in too many directions, instead of directly to conversion. It could also be that your content is overwhelming and asks for too much cognitive effort from your users, without providing some mental rest and reward. If you’ve thoroughly examined your user journeys, and page designs - consider adding things like progress bars and animation, which help users feel a sense of feedback and progress as they move toward their goal.

Low returning users

Google Analytics defines a returning user as "a user who has visited your website and has initiated at least one session, and then returned to your website and initiated another session." So, a returning user is someone who has visited your website more than once within a certain time frame. This might not be a problem per-say, if your website is aimed at users with a one-off need. For example users may visit a website with a specific need in mind, such as finding a phone number or address. Once they have found what they are looking for, they may not have a reason to return. If not though, your users may be simply visiting your site as part of their wider research for the right solution to their problem - and deciding that you're not it. A competitor analysis can be a great way to explore the ways you can overtake the competition by offering what they can, and more.

By paying attention to these key indicators, you can identify areas for improvement and make changes to optimise your website. However, analytics can be word salad, and more data certainly isn’t always better. Everyone is looking for better user engagement and higher conversion rates - but try not to look at any one metric in isolation. Think carefully about your own context, your audience, your specific user journeys and calls to action, and combine these to plan your approach strategically.

If you could do with some support to get to the heart of what your website needs, get in touch with the team at Yoyo.