There are many different things you could be doing that unintentionally are causing your website to be failing your business. When your website is failing your business, it means fewer conversions, fewer sales, fewer visitors and a smaller reach among your target audience. It means that you’re not getting the results you want to for your business. Let’s have a look at the 5 most common mistakes I’ve seen online businesses make that actually end up hurting them big time.

1. Your branding is all over the place

If you’ve been following for a while you know, I’m a big proponent of keeping a company’s branding in check. I’ve seen too many businesses, both big and small, that don’t stick to their branding guidelines and end up giving off weird and confusing vibes to their client base. This is such as a common problem that makes sure your website is failing your business.

Two distinctive patterns come to mind. The first is a website that doesn’t have a single source of truth for the company’s branding and comes off as if it has multiple personalities, agendas, missions, and values. You don’t want that. You want a strong brand that is clearly defined and speaks volumes to what your company and business are about! The second pattern I see is branding that seems shy, so to speak. Let me explain. If the first pattern is like a person with multiple personalities, the second one is someone who seems uncomfortable to be themselves. This pattern often stems from a company which never gave serious through to their branding either. In the end, the company comes off as if they don’t have specific branding at all.

Branding is meant to establish a connection

Branding is important because it connects your company to likeminded people who should be your clients and customers. However, it’s also a way to stand out and be memorable in the minds of those people.

When your website is failing your business because of poor branding, it’s not the end of the world. It can be fixed with the right designer who will make sure to give you the best possible branding and so that your website is making an impact, an impression on your visitors and therefore gets you those sales and conversions!

2. You’re not putting your passion forward

Another common example that could mean your website is failing your business is because your messaging has no soul. It’s missing that spark, that passion, and that drive!

Did you know – the number one reason why so many blogs fail is because those bloggers aren’t writing about something they’re passionate about?

Elley Mae, No one reading your blog? Here’s 6 reasons why!

When people come across strangers and companies across the web, what often draws them further in is their passion. It’s the values they hold dear to them and are unapologetic about. They know what they stand for and integrate it into their platforms. Passion is such a big motivational drive, and whether you’re reading a Tweet or a landing page, you can clearly distinguish a piece of writing that’s filled with passion versus one that isn’t.

This does go back to your branding as well. Because when have a reliable brand with clear guidelines it is easier to craft messages along this branding and messages that are filled with passion relating to why you started your business and how you can help your potential clients.

Branding helps define who your company is

From creating promotions and writing blog posts to writing your social media posts and landing page copy, when you write about stuff you or your company is passionate about, the words will come flowing naturally. I’m not saying it’s a cure to writer’s block, but it will make crafting your messages significantly more manageable because it gives you a head start in the right direction.

Lastly, I want to point out that creating anything that doesn’t align with the company’s mission or passion is not only going to be much harder but also confusing for your target audience because it’s off-brand. In doing so, you will continue to make sure your website is failing your business still.

3. Your offer doesn’t spark interest

Branding is a recurring theme of this post. It relates to this third reason why your website is failing your business as well. Whether you’re selling a product or offering services, I’m going to refer as both of those as your offer. Anyway, in order to have the best possible offer, you must know a few key things. First, what your company stands for, its strengths and ability to deliver wowing results your own clients. Second, it’s the needs, wants and inspirations of your target audience. Without these, you won’t have the best possible understanding of what you can offer between the strengths of your own business and the problem your clients need solving.

The juiciest of offers not only give a clear picture of what a client can expect but also inspires them to take action quickly. On a side note, it’s hard to inspire action when your website and branding lacks passion! Your website is failing your business when your offer doesn’t entice your visitors. Therefore, it doesn’t set a fire under their asses that they must work with you or buy from you right there and then.

The same can be true about the content you put out. If it too doesn’t spark interest in your readers, no one is going to read it, share it nor value it.

There are plenty of research techniques that can give you insight and information about the type of offers – and content – your target audience would love to see and pay for. Knowing this information will undoubtedly ensure that your website is failing your business no more. And, instead, it’s converting your visitors at significantly higher rates which is always great for your bottom line!

4. You’re relying on a single traffic source

I understand that as a small business, especially if you’re doing it all yourself, taking advantage of multiple sources of traffic can be tiring or too much. However, relying solely on one is a sure way to make sure your website is failing your business. There are plenty of ways to spread the word about your business. This can include SEO, all the different social media channels, referrals, and paid traffic sources (aka ads). Focusing on a single source of traffic does put you and your business at risk. If something changes in that source, such as Facebook algorithms again, you’re in trouble.

A strategy that aligns with your business goals and target audience behaviors (aka where they hang out online and how they like to consume your kind of content) will allow you to expand to multiple traffic streams. This will also give you a chance to ensure that your website is no longer failing your business.

As I already mentioned, studying your target audience’s needs will allow your business to come up with the best possible strategy. There are ways to go about this without putting to much pressure on your self and your business. You don’t end up burning out and affecting your business by doing so. Being strategic is your friend. It gives you a timeline and a plan which allows you to ensure that you’re doing everything as best and as properly as possible. This way, your website will end up serving your business and helping it grow, instead of failing it.

5. You’re not utilizing SEO

I do think SEO needs to be its own little section. It’s hugely undervalued sometimes. Getting the best organic search results relies on two things. Understanding your audience and your branding to make sure you’re targeting people correctly. But, also, time and effort to understand how to get the SEO part right especially so if you’ve never done it before (strategically or otherwise).

SEO can be extremely helpful in getting a new company on the map in your niche. It can also help in getting a new offer or product noticed as well. It can drive significant traffic to your website including your offers, landing pages, blog, and all your other content as well.

There is a lot that affects a website’s SEO that some people don’t even realize. There is a significant difference how SEO is also affected by the website builder you use. Yes, it matters if you’re using WordPress vs. Squarespace. Which is why I’m advocating getting the help of a quality designer and developer. We can make sure that your website is set up correctly even before you start creating your web pages or blog posts.

Full disclosure, it doesn’t always lead to a redesign and a new website. There are plenty of other things that you can take care of on your own without having to redo your whole site. However, a thorough audit of your website’s current results and setup can give light on how to best tackle this problem for your business. It’s something to think about nonetheless. Especially so if you’re seriously trying to improve the results your website is getting for your online business.

SEO can be made into a simple process

One of the best ways to make sure your website is failing your business is to avoid SEO altogether. Investing in proper SEO techniques for publishing web pages, landing pages, and your blog posts can be a significant improvement in your organic search results that could drive so many more conversion. When you have a standardized process in place, it makes publishing content with SEO in mind so much easier! I want to make a point of this. If you do publish new content regularly, it can be an added traffic source that isn’t a big deal to maintain or worry about.

The takeaway

As you can see, there are many reasons that your website is failing your business. I’ve picked 5 of the most common mistakes I see among my clients and fellow entrepreneurs. If you’re mindful of these things, you’re going to get ahead of the curve. You’re going to avoid silly yet costly mistakes. I hope that this article gave you something to think about. Being mindful of all your website, your branding and your online business is too important!