People very rarely purchase your product or service on their first visit to your home business website. According to statistics it usually takes seven or more trips before they decide to become paying customers. For this reason alone you must make a lasting first impression when they drop by the first time. Return traffic can be the life blood for any home business online and if your potential customers don’t return for a second visit you may be wondering why?
There could be several reasons why your visitors aren’t coming back for more. The first thing you should examine is your website content. As the old saying goes on the web “content drives traffic” and the same can be said for return traffic. You have to give them what they want but at the same time leave them wanting and coming back for more.
There is a fine line between these two objectives which sometimes creates a balancing act. You have to provide what they’re looking for on their first trip but don’t over do it to the extent that they feel they have no reason to return. You can also err on the opposite end of the spectrum by not giving them enough on their first visit so they have the feeling there’s no reason to come back because you just don’t provide what they want.
First of all do you provide free information which is also original content? If you write articles do you make them available to your visitors free of charge? People love information but what they like even more is free information they can’t find anywhere else. So make sure your articles are on topic and available for your potential customers to download at no cost to them.
Secondly, besides free information visitors to your home business website also want and enjoy receiving free software. You should make an effort to find all the free software you can related to your home business theme and make it available for your guests to download free of charge.
Next, people like to socialize online, hence the popularity of Facebook and all the other top social sites on the web. Provide a chat room for your visitors where they can meet and greet and discuss topics related to your home business. It would also benefit your business greatly if you joined in the discussion and asked for suggestions on how to improve your website and your home business in general. Make a feedback form available and have a “Contact Us” link on your home page.
People also enjoy contests and games. Invent a monthly contest or quiz and provide a prize at the end of each month. This is a great way to create return traffic and it also helps establish relationships with your customers and potential clients. The more often someone comes back the more likely they will eventually become a paying customer.
Finally do you offer a free affiliate program? People are always looking for a way to make more money and by creating an affiliate web page you’re not only creating return traffic but you’re also generating new visitors and sales by enlisting affiliates to promote your product. This is also a great way to build your email contact list so you can up sell your current clients and convert your potential customers to paying patrons.
So if your return traffic is declining or non existent take a hard look at your content and ask yourself what need you aren’t satisfying for your guests on their first trip to your home business home page.