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You get on a sales call, and the first ten minutes go to explaining stuff that’s already sitting on your website: what you do, who it’s for, how it works. It was all there, but they never found any of it.
Andie Huber runs Surefire Studio, where she turns outgrown, embarrassing websites into strategy-first conversion tools that actually book clients. Her clients are usually established, six-figure businesses who know exactly what they offer, but their website just hasn’t caught up.
Her fix starts with the navigation menu.
That’s because most businesses treat their navigation like a filing system instead of a user journey, labeling pages by what they are instead of what the visitor’s actually looking for.
This tip is specifically for people with zero design background. It’s as simple as changing a page name.
Why it works
Navigation copy shows up on every single page, which makes it some of the most-seen writing on your site, yet most businesses default to whatever the industry standard is without a second thought. When a label is vague or trying too hard to be clever, visitors hesitate, because they don’t know what they’re clicking into. When it’s clear and conversational, they self-select onto the right path before they ever talk to you.
Results
- Fewer wrong-fit leads booking calls in the first place, since the navigation does some of the qualifying before anyone reaches out
- Faster sales calls, since leads arrive already understanding what you do and who it’s for, instead of you repeating your own website out loud
- A direct lift in newsletter signups when key resources got their own clear spot in the menu instead of staying buried
- When Andie changed her services page label from “Services” to “Start here”, viewers clicking to it increased by 20.5%, and it went from her 4th most visited to 2nd most visited page.
How you can do it
What you can knock out on your lunch hour
- Pick one label to change first. Don’t worry about the whole site, just whichever tab gets clicked most, usually “Services” or “About.” Check where that page’s traffic actually comes from. Referral traffic tends to arrive warm, already trusting you. Google search traffic tends to arrive cold, they don’t know you yet. A cold visitor wants an overview and a diagnosis of their problem. A hot one wants proof and a way to book. Caution: Only change at a time so you can actually tell what worked.
- Swap it for something conversational and specific. You can use the list below as inspiration.
But don’t swing too far the other way either. If a visitor can’t guess what’s behind the link, a clever label is just as bad as a generic one. Andie’s rule of thumb: if you don’t know what’s behind a link, neither does your visitor. Confusing them “cleverly” is still confusing them.
When you have more time, here’s where it goes next:
3. Map your menu to how people actually move through your site. Think about the information your visitor needs in order to move closer to buying from you. Organize your menu to reflect each of those steps to guide them to converting. Andie had a client with two audiences and two course tracks. The fix was a dynamic menu that let each visitor self-select the right path instead of guessing. Example: Start here → Meet [Name] → Free Resource → Book a Call is stronger than Services → About → Contact because it’s more about the order in which people experience your website, rather than just clicking around reading random bits.
4. Give key resources their own spot. A blog, a free community, anything worth finding, gets its own line in the menu instead of getting buried inside a paragraph on another page. One of Andie’s clients did this and saw a direct jump in newsletter signups. Viewers coming from YouTube could finally find the free resources instead of hunting through video descriptions.
5. Measure it before you decide it worked. Look at what people click next from your homepage, not just bounce rate. Give it a month, or 50 to 100 visits, before you call it. You can also just ask. Andie has her clients bring it up directly in discovery calls: “how did you find your way to me?” tells you a lot.
Tools
- Not sure where to even start with your website analytics? This article breaks down the key metrics to track based on your business and marketing goals.
- No analytics set up? Just look at where your last five clients actually came from.
Once your website starts sending well-informed leads your way, the next question is what happens between the moment they book and the moment you’re actually on the call. That’s exactly what Talica’s tip covers.
See you tomorrow,
Stacy
P.S. Andie Huber is the founder of Surefire Studio, where she helps coaches and online service providers turn outgrown, embarrassing websites into strategy-first conversion tools that actually book clients. Check out her Blueprint offer at surefirestudio.co/blueprint, or find her on LinkedIn.
