Smarter Online Business - Tech, Tools & Truths for Websites that Sell
Struggling to turn website traffic into real sales? It's such a common thing we see client struggle with until we start helping them. Welcome to Smarter Online Business, the podcast for course creators, coaches, and eCommerce entrepreneurs who want their websites to actually work for them. Each week, you’ll get practical advice to help you boost conversions, simplify your tech, and attract the right customers without burning out or overcomplicating things. Hosted by Carrie Saunders, tech strategist, website conversion expert, and founder of BCSE, this show blends 20+ years of hands-on experience with real talk and simple strategies that work. If you want your website to finally pull its weight and support the business you’re building, this is the show for you. 🎧 Subscribe now and start making smarter decisions for your online business. You can find us on the web at: https://www.bcsengineering.com And our show notes are at: https://www.smarteronlinebusiness.com/
Episodes
Your website can look “fine” and still be quietly leaking sales every day.
And after 20+ years in web development and ecommerce, I’ve seen the same website mistakes come up again and again.
We’re pulling this favorite from the archives because the fundamentals haven’t changed.
In this episode, we’re looking at the things that can make visitors hesitate, get confused, or si...
Your website might look polished. It might even load quickly.
But is it actually doing its job?
Here’s a question we use to look at websites differently:
If your website were an employee, would you promote it…or fire it?
Because your website should be doing more than looking good. It should be attracting the right people, building trust, and helping turn visitors into customers.
In this epis...
Your website can look amazing and still lose the sale in seconds.
And the problem might not be your design, your offer, or even your checkout.
It might be your navigation.
Think about it.
Someone lands on your website and has a question. Can they quickly figure out where to go next?
Or are they clicking around, opening menus, guessing what things mean, and eventually giving up?
We’re revisiting a fa...
Have you ever had someone tell you they were ready to buy... and then somehow they never finished?
Sometimes we assume they changed their mind. And sometimes they did. But sometimes the problem is much simpler:
They were trying to give you money, and your buying process made it harder than it needed to be.
That can happen in a traditional eCommerce store.
It can happen when someone is ...
Black Friday might feel a long way off right now...
but if you run an online business, this is actually the perfect time to start thinking about it.
Not because you need to build some giant complicated promotion.
I think the opposite is true.
The more complicated you make Black Friday, the harder it is to prepare for, the harder it is to explain, and the harder it can be for your custo...
Have you ever opened your website to make one small change and 20 minutes later you’ve somehow convinced yourself the whole thing needs redone?
You notice one problem. Then fixing that makes you think about another page. Then another. Then you start second-guessing the design, the copy, the navigation...and suddenly you don’t know where to start at all.
If that sounds familiar, this ...
You can have a lot of followers, post consistently, and feel like you’re doing all the right things to get visible...
and still wonder why that visibility isn’t turning into clients.
Being seen isn’t really the end goal.
What matters is what happens next: the conversations you start, the relationships you build, the people who join your email list, and ultimately the peopl...
I have a feeling a lot of business owners listening to this do not have an idea problem.
You have plenty of ideas.
New offers you could create.
New software you could try.
New marketing strategies.
New content ideas.
New things you could add to your website.
And a lot of them may actually be good ideas.
The problem is that every good idea does not need to become a p...
Have you ever had one of those moments in your business where you KNOW you're qualified...
You know you have the experience.
You know you can help someone.
And yet there's still that little voice saying, "Who am I to do this?"
I know I have—and I've been running my business for almost 25 years.
So why does imposter syndrome keep showing up, even after we've done the work and...
How many pieces of software are you paying for in your business—and do you actually know what all of them do?
In this episode, we’re talking about why it’s so easy to get caught in the cycle of buying the latest tools, apps, and software recommendations, only to end up with a more complicated business and a pile of monthly subscriptions.
Instead of buying software because someone els...
Have you ever felt like you’re doing all the work in your business? You’re posting on social media, sending emails, answering the same questions, explaining your services, chasing leads, and following up...while your website is just sitting there. But here’s the thing: your website shouldn’t just be an online brochure. It should be one of the hardest-working members of your t...
If your business isn't growing, there's a good chance you've asked yourself one of these questions:
"Do I need more traffic... or do I need a better website?"
More SEO?
More social media?
More ads?
Or should I be improving the website I already have?
The problem is, if you focus on the wrong one first, you can waste a lot of time—and a lot of money.
Today, I'm goin...
Have you ever started creating a course, felt excited about it for a few weeks, and then watched it slowly stall out?
Maybe you've got folders full of outlines, half-finished lessons, sticky notes, and big ideas that never quite made it across the finish line.
Most courses don't fail because people lack expertise. They fail because course creation is often as much a psychology challenge as it is...
A few weeks ago, someone asked me a question: "Carrie... do I even need a website anymore?"
With social media, link-in-bio tools, online marketplaces, AI, course platforms, and Facebook groups, it's a fair question. Is a website still necessary? My answer may have surprised them because it wasn't automatically "yes."
In this episode, we're going to talk about when you really need a we...
Every single day, there’s another AI tool, another AI feature, another AI newsletter, another AI prompt, and another AI “game changer.” But I think a lot of business owners are exhausted. Not because AI is bad—I actually use AI almost every day—but because somewhere along the way, we’ve started asking, “What can AI do?” instead of, “Should AI be doing ...
Have you ever felt like you should be sending a newsletter... but every time you sit down to write one, you overthink it?
Maybe you're wondering:
- How often should I email?
- What should I even talk about?
- Am I emailing too much?
- Am I not emailing enough?
- And am I accidentally breaking some newsletter law I don't know about?
A lot of business owners make newsl...
If you've been in business for more than five minutes, you've probably heard advice like:
"Done is better than perfect."
"You need to be everywhere on social media."
"Hustle harder."
"Automate everything."
While each of those ideas has a little truth to it, I've learned over the last 24 years of running a business that the best advice isn't always one-size-fits-all.
Success comes f...
Have you ever looked at your website and wondered why it isn’t converting?
Maybe people are visiting and sticking around for a bit, but they’re not clicking, buying, or booking.
Often, the problem isn’t your design. It’s your messaging.
Today’s guest, Josh Allen Hull, is a coach, messaging strategist, and storyteller who helps business owners craft words that move people to acti...
Hiring a developer can feel a little like dating. Everyone looks great on paper, everyone says they can help, and everything sounds promising in the beginning. Then, six months later, you find yourself wondering, "How did we get here?"
Maybe the project is over budget.
Maybe it's behind schedule.
Maybe you're frustrated, they're frustrated, or you've ended up paying twice because someone else now...
Have you ever chosen a piece of software because it was cheaper, someone recommended it, your coach used it, or it simply looked easier to use? Most of us have, and sometimes those decisions work out just fine.
But other times, the most expensive software decision isn't the software itself. It's everything you have to fix later. Choosing the wrong tech stack can quietly drain your business through lo...
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