Consumers and businesses buy products and services online. That’s a given these days. If they’re not buying from you, you need to learn why not.

Good for you. At least you have a website. Believe it or not, there are still many businesses that don’t, just as there are companies still doing their bookkeeping work on paper instead of with QuickBooks or Xero.

Some prospects will find you because they know your name and URL. They’ve been referred by someone else, saw a mention of you somewhere online, or learned about you in some other way. You have a leg up with these potential customers because they sought you out.

But they, as well as the prospective buyers who find you through a search engine, need a good reason to stick around. Your website is your round-the-clock virtual sales team. If that team isn’t closing deals, you need to find out why. Here are five common culprits.

• People Can’t Find You – If your website isn’t using SEO effectively, your potential customers may not know you exist. In a highly competitive marketplace, high rankings in search engine results are essential. Test your website using a computer you don’t usually use and search with as many keywords and phrases as you can think of. If you’re not on the first page for those searches, you’re not visible.
• Your Content is Not Appealing – You get about 15 seconds — once a visitor lands on your website — before he or she clicks the back button and goes to some other website. What content is on your landing pages that will keep visitors on your site? Make your website compelling, and visitors will stay.
• Your Website’s Design is Not Welcoming – Your early pages especially should make your visitors feel comfortable. They at least shouldn’t startle them. So stay away from garish graphics that employ odd colors, and if you use sound, make it optional. There’s a lot of web-surfing – and shopping – that goes on in workplaces, and a sudden blast of music is a dead giveaway that someone in a nearby cubicle or office isn’t hard at work. If you or your staff don’t have design skills, hire a professional. You’ll likely make up the cost in extra sales.
• Visitors Can’t Find — or Understand — What You Offer Them – If the navigational tools on your website don’t actively lead visitors to information about your products or services, they may not learn about them. Also, if the amount of information about those products or services isn’t sufficient or clear, you won’t make the sale.
• You’re Not Asking People to Buy – Always be closing. Once visitors learn about what you are selling, sell it to them. Make it easy to buy, ask them to take action, and give them a reason to buy now — and from you. Use price, convenience, fast delivery, and other strategies to convince visitors to act.