If there’s one thing I’ve learned from working in content, UX and CRO, it’s that most websites don’t lose conversions because of big technical problems. They lose them because they don’t understand user behaviour.
At BrightonSEO this year, one theme kept coming up. Traffic and rankings might look good on a report, but they don’t tell you much about how people actually behave once they land on your site. Conversions only happen when people feel clear, confident and encouraged to take action.
And most websites don’t support that human decision making as well as they think.
Here are the main reasons your website may be losing conversions and what to do about it.
People make emotional decisions first, rational ones second
One of my favourite sessions looked at behavioural psychology behind conversions. The takeaway was that people are emotional, reward seeking and easily distracted and very few decisions start with logic. They start with instinct.
If your page feels overwhelming, unclear or that it’s an effort to navigate, you’ve already lost people before they even process what you offer.
Good CRO is about reducing effort, not adding more information or trying to be clever. Clarity, simplicity and reassurance are what actually convert.
Your first section isn’t doing enough heavy lifting
The first few seconds a user spends on your website can be make or break. People decide almost instantly whether they understand what you do and whether it’s relevant to them.
Yet so many websites either say too little or try to say everything at once.
The top of your page should quickly answer:
- What you do
- Who it’s for
- Why it matters
If someone has to scroll far down the page, search or think too hard to understand the basics, they won’t stick around long enough to convert.
Your calls to action aren’t clear enough
CTAs are one of the easiest things to fix but one of the most commonly overlooked.
The problem is usually one of two things:
- They’re too vague
- They don’t stand out enough
Phrases like ‘Learn more’ doesn’t give users a reason to act. ‘Get your quote’ or ‘Book your place’ does.
CTAs should be specific, benefit led and easy to find. When in doubt, give them more breathing room and make the value of the click obvious. This means a bold, clear button with white space around it. Clear CTAs guide the emotional brain straight to the next step.
Your footer isn’t helping people decide
The footer is so often overlooked and might be the last thing you notice, but it’s often the last thing users look for before making a decision.
People who scroll that far are almost always looking for reassurance. They might want pricing, support, reviews, contact details or a simple next step.
Instead of treating the footer as a dumping ground for links, think of it as your final chance to encourage action. A clear CTA or a trusted page here can make all the difference.
You’re not using emotional triggers the right way
Emotional triggers are powerful when they’re used well and honestly.
A few that genuinely improve conversions include:
- Scarcity and urgency when you actually mean it
- Personalisation that feels tailored, not creepy
- Showing progress in forms so people know how far they’ve come
None of these are tricks. They’re simple ways to support how people already think and behave.
Your teams aren’t working together
It sounds obvious, but conversions never come from one department alone.
- Content sets the message and builds trust
- UX makes journeys effortless
- Design guides attention and emotion
- Development controls speed, accessibility and technical performance
When these teams work in silos, the user journey feels disconnected. When they collaborate, it feels easy and drives conversions on your website.
You’re not testing the right things
A lot of brands test colours, button shapes or headlines at random. But the biggest gains come from testing around user behaviour.
Start with:
- The first section of the page
- CTA wording and placement
- Form steps and progress indicators
- The structure of your content
- Anything that reduces effort or increases clarity
Good CRO is not about guesswork. It’s removing friction one small piece at a time. I always track behaviour using heatmaps (shoutout to Crazy Egg!) which provides useful insights into how users are actually navigating your website.
In summary, CRO is human centred
Everything I took away from BrightonSEO confirmed what I see every day in my work: Websites convert when they support human behaviour, not when they overwhelm it!
If your site feels confusing or unclear, no amount of traffic will fix that. But psychological shifts can create huge wins.
Conversions happen when users feel understood, guided and confident in their next step. If you’re not sure your website is doing that, that’s the perfect place to start.