July 1, 2025 • 12 mins
Ever feel like your website should be converting, but it’s just not? You’re not alone. A lot of business owners jump straight to redesigning their homepage when sales are slow—but that might not be the real issue. In this episode, we’re chatting about what could actually be going wrong (hint: it might be your funnel or customer journey) and how to figure out what’s really holding you back so you can stop wasting time and start seeing results.
This week’s episode is sponsored by our Search Engine Optimization Mini Course. Our Free online digital course that teaches eCommerce and website owners how to level up their search engine rankings with some simple, doable steps! Join us at www.ecommercemadeeasypodcast.com/seominicourse/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carrie Saunders (00:01):
Ever feel like your website should be
converting, but it's just not so.
Here's the thing Not everyproblem with a website is a
homepage problem.
Sometimes it's your funnel oryour journey that your customer
is taking on your website, andif you're fixing the wrong thing
, you may be wasting time andyou may be losing sales.
So let's figure out which oneis actually holding you back and
(00:24):
what to do about it.
So let's get started.
Welcome to the e-commerce madeeasy podcast.
I'm your host, Carrie Saunders.
When we started this business,all I had was a couch, a laptop
and a nine month old my maingoal to help others.
Now, with over 20 years in thee-commerce building industry,
and even more than that in webdevelopment, I have seen a lot.
I love breaking down the hardtech into easily understandable
(00:47):
bits to help others besuccessful in their online
business.
Whether you're a seasonede-commerce veteran or just
starting out, you've come to theright place.
So sit back, relax and let'sdive into the world of
e-commerce together.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we're talking about whatyou might be having problems
with on your website.
Is it your homepage or is it afunnel?
(01:08):
And then I want you to keep inmind when I say the word funnel,
it could mean, you know,subscribing to your newsletter,
like all the steps to get there.
It could be purchasing aproduct on your e-commerce store
, or it could be purchasing aservice if you're a coach or
course creator.
So think of a funnel as thatsales process, those steps that
(01:29):
they take to purchase, or theconversion process where they're
signing up on your newsletter.
But let's first talk aboutwhat's really the difference
between these two the homepageand whatever funnel that you're
using on your website.
So, in what they're responsiblefor?
So your homepage is actuallyresponsible for your first
impressions, your direction,where you want them to go next
and your trust Unless you'rehaving an ad goes directly to a
(01:53):
funnel.
This is what your homepage isgoing to do.
It's going to start buildingthat trust, giving that first
impression.
It's like they just met you forthe first time if they're not
familiar with you.
So we want to make sure that itis supporting the buying
journey, that it is evokingtrust right away and making sure
that they're comfortable withyou and your business really
(02:13):
soon and really quickly, becauseit only takes a few seconds for
them to make a judgment.
And a funnel is basicallytalking about how it supports
the buying journey and, like Igave you an example at the
beginning of this little section, there are different, many
different types of funnels, so Iwant you to keep each of those
in mind.
You know whichever one appliesto your business as we talk
(02:34):
through this episode, and it'scritical to know what stage your
visitor's in.
Are they brand new to you?
And then you need to supportthem more on the homepage.
Do they know you a little bitbetter?
And that you need to make surethat that funnel is smooth.
Now, obviously you want to bedoing both things, but we need
to see which one do you reallyneed to focus on at this moment.
(02:55):
So it's just like your homepageis your front store window.
If you had a brick and mortarstore and your homepage is your
front store window if you had abrick and mortar store and your
funnel is a sales process insideyour shop, it's your.
You know bringing them back in,whether it's signing you know
signing up for the newslettercould be bringing making sure
they are, feel comfortable andwant to come back in, or it
could be, you know, making thatpurchase or that sale on your
(03:18):
store.
So there are a few signswhenever we have a homepage
problem.
One of them is your bounce rateis high.
So if you use Google Analyticsas some sort of analytics
software, you're going to wantto see what is your bounce rate,
and we want to make sure thatthat is decently low.
And look at trends for yourwebsite too, not just a point in
(03:38):
time.
We want to be looking at trendsto make sure it's getting
better and it's not gettingworse, and we want to make sure
that people aren't confusedabout what you do.
So you can take a poll ask somepeople who've never been to
your website.
Have them look at the homepageand give them only a few seconds
and ask them what do you thinkI do?
(03:59):
And see what they say, see ifit compares to what you think
you're telling your potentialcustomers what you do.
And we want to make sure thatwe're building trust and
credibility really fast on thehomepage.
We want to have those easy toread, clear call to actions.
We want to have language thatis trustworthy, and then we also
(04:20):
want to have you know customertestimonials or reviews of your
products or services and we wantto make sure there is a clear
direction on what to do next Ifyou walk into a store, a
physical store, and there isstuff everywhere and absolutely
no direction on where to go.
That's what we can feel like ona website that doesn't have a
clear direction on what's thenext step with you.
(04:42):
So make sure you have a reallygood next step on your homepage.
We want to be fixing clarity,we want to simplify layout, we
want to add social proof and wewant to make sure that our main
message is above the fold.
Now some signs that you mighthave a funnel problem.
Whether that's signing up foryour newsletter, buying a
product or service.
(05:02):
We want to make sure that theyknow what to do next after
visiting your homepage.
So is it clear from yourhomepage what to do next?
That's where that clear call toaction comes into place.
We want to make sure you'recapturing leads and guiding them
through a decision.
So is this working?
How is your lead generationdoing from your website?
(05:24):
Are you actually getting themto sign up for your newsletter?
Are you getting them to startadding to their cart?
If they, you have an e-commerce.
Are you getting them to book acall If you're a product you
know, service provider or coach?
If you're not getting those,then that that means you might
have a conversion problem withyour funnel.
And if you have a freebie oroffer but no structured
(05:46):
follow-up you don't have anemail sequence to follow it up,
you don't retarget them, youdon't do things like that to
help bring them back then youmight have a funnel problem.
That's a really easy way tohave people fall through the
cracks in a funnel because we'reall getting, we're all busy.
You know, we all know this it's, you know, busy times.
And if they get pulled away, doyou have a way to bring them
(06:10):
back to your website?
You know, maybe they were inthe grocery line just checking
out something on their phone andthey found you and they're
started down your funnel, butthen, oh, it's time to check out
, then they might forget to comeback.
So do you have a way to bringthem back?
We want to make sure that wehave a bridge between their
interest in your products orservices and the purchase.
(06:33):
So we want to build or refineyour funnel.
We wanna make sure that youhave a clear lead magnet or
clear newsletter sign up orsomething that's a value to them
, that doesn't cost themanything.
You also want to have somestrong nurture emails whenever
they do sign up for yournewsletter or something on your
(06:54):
website, to make sure that theyclearly understand who you are
and who you serve, so that theyknow they're in the right place.
And then you can also segmentthese you know newsletters to
different paths to paid offersbased upon their interactions
with your website.
So I want to challenge you to doa quick self audit.
(07:15):
So which one do you think it is?
Do you think it's your homepageor do you think it's your
funnel area, like again,whatever type of funnel you use
on your website?
So ask yourself do people visitbut don't stay on your website
very long?
That is very much likely ahomepage issue.
They don't either feel likethey're in the right place.
They don't trust you.
(07:35):
They don't feel like this istheir good fit for them to keep
looking further.
Do people sign up but thennever buy?
Do they sign up for yournewsletter but never buy?
Do they start that checkoutprocess but never buy?
You probably then have a funnelissue here.
So you want to start looking atthe steps of your funnel to see
where there might be adisconnect or an issue or
(07:56):
something that's confusing.
Are people confused oruncertain of what you offer.
That means you might need somehomepage clarity.
This is something that's reallyeasy to not quite get right,
and so it takes a bit of time tolook at this and keep
evaluating to make sure thatyour homepage is clear and not
(08:16):
clever.
And then do you lack next stepsafter the homepage?
That means you have a funnelgap.
You don't have a clear call toaction.
You don't have a clear what'snext.
You don't have a clear let's godown this aisle and look for
this in a store type example.
So we want to walk through yourown website and experience it as
a visitor.
Try to put yourself in theshoes of you don't know anything
(08:40):
about your website.
Try to pretend that you don'tknow anything about it and start
walking through it as a visitorand see what you come up with
and see where you might getstuck.
And you can ask a trustedbusiness friend to help you with
this too, to see where they getstuck and where they get
confused.
Trusted business friend to helpyou with this too, to see where
they get stuck and where theyget confused.
So then let's talk about whatto fix and why we fix each one.
(09:02):
So if your homepage confusespeople, that is first.
You definitely want to fix thisfirst because it is the
building block, it's thefoundation of your house.
We like to talk about ourwebsites as a house.
It is your foundation, and theywon't go to that next step, to
that funnel, to that newsletter,sign up, to that service
purchase, to that productpurchase, if they don't feel
(09:25):
confident on your homepage.
So make sure you fix that first.
If your homepage confuses peopleand if your homepage is strong,
if you feel like it's prettystrong but your sales are weak
or your conversions are weak,then your funnel needs work.
Make sure that each step isvery clear.
Make sure they understand whatthey're getting.
Make sure it's not like just aclick here.
(09:47):
Make sure that you are tellingthem what they're getting
whenever they click there andwhat's their next steps during
each funnel.
And so don't adjust yourwebsite in the dark.
Look at your analytics to guideyour decision.
We don't want to have this be aguessing game.
There are some great free toolsout there to help you analyze
your website, including GoogleAnalytics.
(10:07):
There are Chrome extensions forGoogle Analytics that can also
help you out.
So start looking at those andseeing where you think your
problem might be, whether it'syour homepage or one of your
funnels and adjust it a littlebit.
Give it some time, see howpeople react and then keep
iterating on these adjustments.
(10:28):
We don't want to be changing toomany things at once or you
won't know what actually fixedthe problem.
So make sure you iteratethrough each of them, change one
thing at a time, see how itworks.
Give it you know, depends onhow often you get visitors a
week or two at minimum, maybe amonth if your number of visitors
is low, so that you have enoughdata there and then adjust
(10:48):
again and just keep repeatingthe process.
Don't let it be overwhelming.
Just take it step by step andsoon you will have your homepage
or your funnel back up to snuff.
That's all we have for thisweek's episode of the e-commerce
made easy podcast.
Thank you so much for joiningus today.
I hope this was super helpfuland if you would be so kind, we
(11:09):
would love it If you rated orreviewed us on your favorite
podcast player, including Applepodcasts, and we will see you
next week.
Ever feel like your website should be
converting, but it's just not so.
Here's the thing Not everyproblem with a website is a
homepage problem.
Sometimes it's your funnel oryour journey that your customer
is taking on your website, andif you're fixing the wrong thing
, you may be wasting time andyou may be losing sales.
So let's figure out which oneis actually holding you back and
(00:24):
what to do about it.
So let's get started.
Welcome to the e-commerce madeeasy podcast.
I'm your host, Carrie Saunders.
When we started this business,all I had was a couch, a laptop
and a nine month old my maingoal to help others.
Now, with over 20 years in thee-commerce building industry,
and even more than that in webdevelopment, I have seen a lot.
I love breaking down the hardtech into easily understandable
(00:47):
bits to help others besuccessful in their online
business.
Whether you're a seasonede-commerce veteran or just
starting out, you've come to theright place.
So sit back, relax and let'sdive into the world of
e-commerce together.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we're talking about whatyou might be having problems
with on your website.
Is it your homepage or is it afunnel?
(01:08):
And then I want you to keep inmind when I say the word funnel,
it could mean, you know,subscribing to your newsletter,
like all the steps to get there.
It could be purchasing aproduct on your e-commerce store
, or it could be purchasing aservice if you're a coach or
course creator.
So think of a funnel as thatsales process, those steps that
(01:29):
they take to purchase, or theconversion process where they're
signing up on your newsletter.
But let's first talk aboutwhat's really the difference
between these two the homepageand whatever funnel that you're
using on your website.
So, in what they're responsiblefor?
So your homepage is actuallyresponsible for your first
impressions, your direction,where you want them to go next
and your trust Unless you'rehaving an ad goes directly to a
(01:53):
funnel.
This is what your homepage isgoing to do.
It's going to start buildingthat trust, giving that first
impression.
It's like they just met you forthe first time if they're not
familiar with you.
So we want to make sure that itis supporting the buying
journey, that it is evokingtrust right away and making sure
that they're comfortable withyou and your business really
(02:13):
soon and really quickly, becauseit only takes a few seconds for
them to make a judgment.
And a funnel is basicallytalking about how it supports
the buying journey and, like Igave you an example at the
beginning of this little section, there are different, many
different types of funnels, so Iwant you to keep each of those
in mind.
You know whichever one appliesto your business as we talk
(02:34):
through this episode, and it'scritical to know what stage your
visitor's in.
Are they brand new to you?
And then you need to supportthem more on the homepage.
Do they know you a little bitbetter?
And that you need to make surethat that funnel is smooth.
Now, obviously you want to bedoing both things, but we need
to see which one do you reallyneed to focus on at this moment.
(02:55):
So it's just like your homepageis your front store window.
If you had a brick and mortarstore and your homepage is your
front store window if you had abrick and mortar store and your
funnel is a sales process insideyour shop, it's your.
You know bringing them back in,whether it's signing you know
signing up for the newslettercould be bringing making sure
they are, feel comfortable andwant to come back in, or it
could be, you know, making thatpurchase or that sale on your
(03:18):
store.
So there are a few signswhenever we have a homepage
problem.
One of them is your bounce rateis high.
So if you use Google Analyticsas some sort of analytics
software, you're going to wantto see what is your bounce rate,
and we want to make sure thatthat is decently low.
And look at trends for yourwebsite too, not just a point in
(03:38):
time.
We want to be looking at trendsto make sure it's getting
better and it's not gettingworse, and we want to make sure
that people aren't confusedabout what you do.
So you can take a poll ask somepeople who've never been to
your website.
Have them look at the homepageand give them only a few seconds
and ask them what do you thinkI do?
(03:59):
And see what they say, see ifit compares to what you think
you're telling your potentialcustomers what you do.
And we want to make sure thatwe're building trust and
credibility really fast on thehomepage.
We want to have those easy toread, clear call to actions.
We want to have language thatis trustworthy, and then we also
(04:20):
want to have you know customertestimonials or reviews of your
products or services and we wantto make sure there is a clear
direction on what to do next Ifyou walk into a store, a
physical store, and there isstuff everywhere and absolutely
no direction on where to go.
That's what we can feel like ona website that doesn't have a
clear direction on what's thenext step with you.
(04:42):
So make sure you have a reallygood next step on your homepage.
We want to be fixing clarity,we want to simplify layout, we
want to add social proof and wewant to make sure that our main
message is above the fold.
Now some signs that you mighthave a funnel problem.
Whether that's signing up foryour newsletter, buying a
product or service.
(05:02):
We want to make sure that theyknow what to do next after
visiting your homepage.
So is it clear from yourhomepage what to do next?
That's where that clear call toaction comes into place.
We want to make sure you'recapturing leads and guiding them
through a decision.
So is this working?
How is your lead generationdoing from your website?
(05:24):
Are you actually getting themto sign up for your newsletter?
Are you getting them to startadding to their cart?
If they, you have an e-commerce.
Are you getting them to book acall If you're a product you
know, service provider or coach?
If you're not getting those,then that that means you might
have a conversion problem withyour funnel.
And if you have a freebie oroffer but no structured
(05:46):
follow-up you don't have anemail sequence to follow it up,
you don't retarget them, youdon't do things like that to
help bring them back then youmight have a funnel problem.
That's a really easy way tohave people fall through the
cracks in a funnel because we'reall getting, we're all busy.
You know, we all know this it's, you know, busy times.
And if they get pulled away, doyou have a way to bring them
(06:10):
back to your website?
You know, maybe they were inthe grocery line just checking
out something on their phone andthey found you and they're
started down your funnel, butthen, oh, it's time to check out
, then they might forget to comeback.
So do you have a way to bringthem back?
We want to make sure that wehave a bridge between their
interest in your products orservices and the purchase.
(06:33):
So we want to build or refineyour funnel.
We wanna make sure that youhave a clear lead magnet or
clear newsletter sign up orsomething that's a value to them
, that doesn't cost themanything.
You also want to have somestrong nurture emails whenever
they do sign up for yournewsletter or something on your
(06:54):
website, to make sure that theyclearly understand who you are
and who you serve, so that theyknow they're in the right place.
And then you can also segmentthese you know newsletters to
different paths to paid offersbased upon their interactions
with your website.
So I want to challenge you to doa quick self audit.
(07:15):
So which one do you think it is?
Do you think it's your homepageor do you think it's your
funnel area, like again,whatever type of funnel you use
on your website?
So ask yourself do people visitbut don't stay on your website
very long?
That is very much likely ahomepage issue.
They don't either feel likethey're in the right place.
They don't trust you.
(07:35):
They don't feel like this istheir good fit for them to keep
looking further.
Do people sign up but thennever buy?
Do they sign up for yournewsletter but never buy?
Do they start that checkoutprocess but never buy?
You probably then have a funnelissue here.
So you want to start looking atthe steps of your funnel to see
where there might be adisconnect or an issue or
(07:56):
something that's confusing.
Are people confused oruncertain of what you offer.
That means you might need somehomepage clarity.
This is something that's reallyeasy to not quite get right,
and so it takes a bit of time tolook at this and keep
evaluating to make sure thatyour homepage is clear and not
(08:16):
clever.
And then do you lack next stepsafter the homepage?
That means you have a funnelgap.
You don't have a clear call toaction.
You don't have a clear what'snext.
You don't have a clear let's godown this aisle and look for
this in a store type example.
So we want to walk through yourown website and experience it as
a visitor.
Try to put yourself in theshoes of you don't know anything
(08:40):
about your website.
Try to pretend that you don'tknow anything about it and start
walking through it as a visitorand see what you come up with
and see where you might getstuck.
And you can ask a trustedbusiness friend to help you with
this too, to see where they getstuck and where they get
confused.
Trusted business friend to helpyou with this too, to see where
they get stuck and where theyget confused.
So then let's talk about whatto fix and why we fix each one.
(09:02):
So if your homepage confusespeople, that is first.
You definitely want to fix thisfirst because it is the
building block, it's thefoundation of your house.
We like to talk about ourwebsites as a house.
It is your foundation, and theywon't go to that next step, to
that funnel, to that newsletter,sign up, to that service
purchase, to that productpurchase, if they don't feel
(09:25):
confident on your homepage.
So make sure you fix that first.
If your homepage confuses peopleand if your homepage is strong,
if you feel like it's prettystrong but your sales are weak
or your conversions are weak,then your funnel needs work.
Make sure that each step isvery clear.
Make sure they understand whatthey're getting.
Make sure it's not like just aclick here.
(09:47):
Make sure that you are tellingthem what they're getting
whenever they click there andwhat's their next steps during
each funnel.
And so don't adjust yourwebsite in the dark.
Look at your analytics to guideyour decision.
We don't want to have this be aguessing game.
There are some great free toolsout there to help you analyze
your website, including GoogleAnalytics.
(10:07):
There are Chrome extensions forGoogle Analytics that can also
help you out.
So start looking at those andseeing where you think your
problem might be, whether it'syour homepage or one of your
funnels and adjust it a littlebit.
Give it some time, see howpeople react and then keep
iterating on these adjustments.
(10:28):
We don't want to be changing toomany things at once or you
won't know what actually fixedthe problem.
So make sure you iteratethrough each of them, change one
thing at a time, see how itworks.
Give it you know, depends onhow often you get visitors a
week or two at minimum, maybe amonth if your number of visitors
is low, so that you have enoughdata there and then adjust
(10:48):
again and just keep repeatingthe process.
Don't let it be overwhelming.
Just take it step by step andsoon you will have your homepage
or your funnel back up to snuff.
That's all we have for thisweek's episode of the e-commerce
made easy podcast.
Thank you so much for joiningus today.
I hope this was super helpfuland if you would be so kind, we
(11:09):
would love it If you rated orreviewed us on your favorite
podcast player, including Applepodcasts, and we will see you
next week.
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