5 Ways Your Website Is Driving Dog Training Clients Away
If your website is getting decent traffic but your books aren’t full, your site might be working against you. Here are some of the most common ways that your dog training site is failing to convert leads to clients.
1. Poor Visual Design
We humans are visual beings. We appreciate good aesthetic appeal, even if we can’t pinpoint exactly what that constitutes. And when a website has poor visual design, it’s an immediate turn-off. In fact, users form an opinion about your business within 0.05 seconds of landing on your site. Professionally designed websites account for things like typographical hierarchy, adequate white space, good color contrast, eye-catching images and clean graphics. All these elements combine to create a great first impression that keeps your visitors on your site longer and ultimately convert them to clients.
2. Not Optimized for Mobile
If your site doesn’t look as fantastic on smaller screens as it does on your desktop, it’s driving clients away. The majority of your visitors are viewing your site on their phones and if they have to pinch and pull to zoom in and out in order to absorb the content, they’re simply not going to bother. Wonky spacing and overlapping elements are just as off-putting. Equal, if not more, attention to detail should be placed on your site’s mobile views. Gone are the days that they can be a mere after-thought.
3. Poor Navigation Structure
Your site’s navigation should be the Google Maps of your visitor’s travel experience. Good navigation means that users know exactly where to go to find the information they’re looking for. In the dog training sphere, this means organizing information by case type (Manners, Puppy Training, Separation Anxiety, etc.) rather than type of offering (private training, group training, packages, etc.)
But good navigation doesn’t begin and end with the site’s menu. It also includes internal links within the body and additional navigation in the footer. Take as many opportunities as possible to steer users onto the correct path as they move through your site. If they feel lost, they’ll take the path of least resistance and move on to one of your competitors' sites.
4. No Clear CTAs
Calls-to-Action (CTAs) prompt your website visitors to take action. You might have the best visual design and navigation, but if there is no clear way for users to move to the next step in your sales funnel they’ll navigate away from your site. You can think about CTAs as the cues you give to dogs during training. Clear cues get the behavior you’re after (sign up, book now, etc.) but no cue results in guessing and ultimately giving up. Strategically placed CTAs are essential in converting your leads to clients.
5. No Prices Listed
Prices are one of the most important pieces of information users are seeking when they visit your site. Not providing this info at best leaves your potential clients unfulfilled and at worst raises red flags. Give them the information they seek. It’s a dated practice to use prices as a lure to get clients to reach out to you. They’re smarter than that. They deserve full transparency in your pricing just as much as they do in your training methods.
Long story short, these 5 factors are the absolute minimum requirements to convert your website visitors into clients. A professionally designed site will take it to the next level and make it irresistible for prospects to become loyal customers. If you’re ready to make the investment in a first-rate website, get on my waitlist.