If you’re a fan of makeovers, you’ll love today’s website review and makeover post.
It’s even better than ones you see on talk shows, where they pull people off the streets, slap on some spiffy new clothes and have some famous makeup artist redo their hair and face so they look nothing like the person who walked into the studio.
This is far more exciting. Because these are the changes that can make you money. Ka-ching!
I took a website header from a friend of mine’s website (apologies Jerry!)and tore it up optimized it for conversions as I do in a website review.
Let’s jump in… here’s the OG page:
Note: Let me start by saying there’s nothing horribly “wrong” with this page. It’s fairly typical of fitness websites. And therein lies the problem…
Here’s the video walk-through:
Anatomy of a Webpage Review from Linda Melone on Vimeo.
When you’re in a business with high market sophistication, you’re one voice among many, many others. So differentiating yourself from your competition is more important than ever.
This site doesn’t stand out from all the rest. And it needs to if it’s going to attract clients and customers.
For example:
1. You can’t tell by the headline who this is for or the transformation promise.
Is it for athletes? Beginners? Over 50 people? Young people? All of the above? People who want to do Tough Mudders?
We don’t know. So a more specific headline would “wake up” people who may see themselves.
2. The promises for gaining confidence, building a healthier body and enjoying a happier life are all good goals – but they’re super vague. They also mean different things to all of the aforementioned people who may be reading these words.
What do any of these look like as they relate to the promise of this program?
Plus, what kind of program is this? One-on-one coaching? Group classes? Virtual streaming?
3. The phone number and email address seem like an afterthought. It’s not a call to action, but hey, let’s pop it up there and see if someone calls. They won’t.
4. Below this header is what appears to be a lead magnet, e.g. a freebie to add people to a subscriber list. Great idea. But the question about stretching doesn’t fit with the rest of the website message. Are we transforming through stretching? If not, why would I care?
5. Lastly the call to action button is hidden. It’s both too small and the color isn’t eye-catching enough.
So here’s my edited version (I use editing software that doesn’t change the actual page, just my view.)
AFTER
1.This may not be the audience they’re targeting, but I used this as an example. If the reader is a beginner looking to start running or targeting a 10k, this speaks to them. Otherwise, this would need to be changed to suit a different audience.
2. Adding the word “Your” here makes the message more personal.
3. Quotes give real-world credibility. When I’m doing research for a client, I may pull out a quote such as this. But if I don’t have permission to quote the person (for example, if I found it in a blog comment section), I’ll leave it as is. Put naming names would make an attribution stronger.
4. A call to value (vs. call to action) button here sends people to the information they may need later on down the page. I talked about this in detail in THIS post.
5. The free plan now connects with the overall fitness message.
6. Lastly, make that call to action button big and bold by using a contrasting color so it POPS. Plus, CTAs with “get” tend to get more action.
The real results of these changes would need to be tested, of course. But the second page has a much greater chance of converting over the original.
This is a snippet example of how my website reviews work. Only yours would be, obviously, personalized for your message and site.
Got questions? Send me a note at linda@lindamelonewrites.com or check out the deets on my page HERE.
In the meantime, here are a few other posts you may enjoy:
How to Turn Buttons into Conversion Machines
Are You Making These Costly Copy Mistakes?
7 Headline Formulas that Practically Write Themselves
Talk soon!
