Are Customers Making U-turns On Your Blog?

U-turns are usually the least liked signs some drivers want to see on a road. And there is a good reason for that. Many drivers prefer driving straight or making left and right turns. A u-turn usually tells a driver that they have come too far, and that they have to turn around their entire car. This kind of an experience exists in the online world too. U-turns are everywhere online, and your blog may be making your customers make unwanted u-turns.

In addition to making sure that your customers have a great time on your blog, you have to make sure that the different blog features you offer do not result in your customers wanting to literally back off simply because of feeling stuck. From bad blog design to inconsistent ways of incorporating new features into your blog, you may actually be forcing your customers into making u-turns on your blog. And you may thus be losing readers, customers and money because of such u-turns.

RA Project shows you 3 ways your customers may be making u-turns on your blog, and not liking you because of that.

3 Examples How Customers Make U-turns on Your Blog

1. Sending them to other websites in order to do tasks on your website.

   The most popular example of this mistake is the trend of sending your readers onto another website to have them sign up for your newsletter, and then to have them press the back button or close windows to get back to your website. A better alternative is to allow your readers to subscribe to your newsletter on your website, like the RA Project Subscribe page.

2. Making users click the “Back” button on the browser.

   Many websites do not have a flexible and consistent navigation throughout their website. The Hootsuite Blog is an example of this, where the top navigation of the blog is not consistent with the rest of the website and thus does not give users any links to reach the homepage or their dashboard accounts.

3. Sending customers onto unclear sales pages.

   While you may be able to bring in thousands of customers to a page titled “FREE iPad! No strings attached!“, those customers may immediately make a u-turn once they realize that in order to get the “FREE iPad“, they have to buy your $100 product. A page with a title “FREE iPad for Product A customers!” is a better title that will make your customers want to actually buy “Product A” from you in order to get the free Apple iPad.

Are your customers making U-turns on your blog?

In the end, your customers will feel at ease if your blog gives them a safer environment to browse within. The more clear and straightforward you make your blog, the less u-turns your customers will have to endure.

Have you noticed any such u-turns on your blog? Are your customers directly or indirectly making u-turns on your blog? Do they have a smooth access to float around your website, or are they stumbling around?

Please share your opinions, experiences or tips in the comments below. Thank you for reading.