If you’re like most small businesses today, you’ve probably invested a significant amount of time and money into building (and maintaining) a web site for your business. Maybe you’ve even taken steps to promote and market your web site, or invested in having the site professionally optimized to perform better in the search engines. So why doesn’t the site convert more visitors into customers?

There are perhaps dozens of reasons for poor web site performance, but whatever the reason, the goal is to figure out exactly what is not working on the site, and why it is not convincing visitors to take the actions you want them to take.

Here are six areas of your web site that may contain obstacles to converting web site visitors. With a little tweaking, though, these obstacles can be removed, clearing the way to better conversion rates for your web site.

1. Headlines – Web visitors tend to skim page content rather than read it, so headlines are vital to capturing your readers’ attention. Break up long blocks of text with sub headings, and try using various techniques for grabbing attention. For instance, use percentages (like “nine out of ten” or “90%”) to prove your point, or ask questions to get readers to take notice.
2. Call to Action – Be sure to include a clear call to action on each web page that uses action-oriented language, like “learn more” or “help me choose”. Replace boring button titles like “submit” with action phrases like “contact us” or “download now”.
3. Reassurance Points – When you are asking visitors to take some sort of action on your site – whether it’s making a purchase or signing up for a mailing list – they need to be assured that you are trustworthy. Always place guarantees, privacy policy, and other promises where visitors can clearly see them, preferably near the point of action you are asking them to take. For example, adding a link to your privacy policy beside your newsletter sign-up form lets visitors know that you will not misuse their personal information or give out their email addresses.
4. Contact Info – You need to make it easy and convenient for customers to get in touch with you, so be sure to include a link to your contact information on every page of your site (or better yet, link to a specific Contact Us page). Another simple change that could help convert visitors is moving your phone number from the footer of the page to the top of the page, and increasing the font size so visitors can’t miss it.
5. Page Download Times – Few things are more frustrating to users than a page that takes too long to download. In fact, studies show that users would rather click the “back” button and move on to another site than wait for a slow page to download. Optimize your site’s images so they download quickly, because visitors simply will not wait for a slow page to display.
6. Navigation Trail – Once visitors land on a web page, they typically skim the content to see if the page contains the answer to their question, or if it matches their specific interest. Make sure your navigation is consistent on each web page so visitors can move around the site with ease until they find what they are looking for. Visitors are fairly comfortable with their first click not providing exactly what they are looking for, but the second click must keep answering their questions and providing useful details, or they won’t stick around for a third click.

You’ve probably already put a lot of time, effort, and money into your small business web site, so of course you want it to convert visitors into customers and produce a positive ROI for your business. But if your site’s conversion rate is not currently what you’d like it to be, take a look at these six areas to see if there are hidden problems that could be standing in the way. By removing the obstacles, you can make it easier for visitors to take the action that you want them to take, and improve your site’s conversion rate and overall success.