Turning a Website Traffic Jam into New Clients

Website traffic without conversions is a traffic jam! Having a beautiful website that showcases your business, staff and finished product is great, but what if there aren't any conversion actions on the page? Now more than ever, it is important to transition your website from a brochure to a lead generating machine. 

Your website should be bringing you new potential customers in every single day. If it is not, there could be one of two issues:

1. Your website isn't getting sufficient traffic 

2. Your website is not built to convert your traffic into a lead - We will dive deeper into this!

Currently our data shows that salon and spa websites are being accessed by mobile devices between 65-75% of the time. That means that your website should be designed for a mobile device first, and a desktop second. It is suggested that both forms of the site look and perform with conversions in mind.

Here are a few tips to drive more conversions via your website:

1. Create an "app-style" look on your main landing page to load on mobile devices. Doing this can help increase conversions by giving the user a simplified "menu" that can help direct them to what you want them to find.  

2. Your website should have a floating menu bar that gives the user the option to Call or Book Now on mobile devices. No matter where the user is on your site, when they are using a mobile device, ensure they can always TAKE ACTION!

3. Use a Pop-Up maker for online bookings. This technique can be used with most scheduling software. If your CMS (Content Management System, ie Wordpress, Squarespace, etc) allows for you to create a pop-up, it is fairly simple to link it to a button click using some CSS code. This is for more advanced users, but can be done with a little DIY youtube research!

4. Ensure there is a Book Now or Request Appointment option on your website. Even if you do not currently offer online booking, you can direct the user to a contact form to request an appointment.

5. Start offering online booking. This is a PIA in the beginning sometimes, but it is worth it in the end. You already pay for your salon software, why pay for an hourly person to book appointments that could be done by your software?

Sometimes "ugly" sites convert better than pretty sites. Would you rather have a website that is beautiful that brings in ZERO new clients per month, or a website that is less visually appealing to you, that brings in MANY new clients per month? Yes, you can have a website that checks both boxes, but we consistently see salon owners that prefer what they think "looks good" to a website that "performs good". If your website isn't converting 30% of your traffic, it's time to implement some changes. If you have NO CLUE what your conversion percentage is... seek help from someone that can get events and goals set up via Google Analytics!

About the Author: Lucas Renfroe is a founding partner of Salon.Marketing, a digital marketing agency specializing in the salon and spa industry. Lucas also owns Roots Southern Salon, with his wife Susan, in Savannah, GA. He works with other salon owners on a daily basis to overcome the challenges of leveraging Search Engines to generate more new clients. You can reach him at lucas@firstpagelife.com.