The interaction potential in the fusion reactions of 12C, 16O, 28Si and 35Cl on 92Zr have been calculated using a nucleon–nucleon force of the type M3Y and an additional repulsive interaction which simulates the effects of the incompressibility of the nuclear matter. The free parameters of this repulsive force have been chosen in such a way that fully explains the properties of the nuclear matter in the region where the nuclear densities of the interacting nuclei completely overlap. The effect of this repulsive force on the diffuseness parameter of the Woods–Saxon potential has also been discussed. The results of our studies reveal that accounting for these corrections in the calculation of the total potential leads to an increased value of the diffuseness parameter of about 0.73 fm. Furthermore, accounting for the effects of the intrinsic properties of the interacting nuclei on the calculation of the fusion cross section, the values of the cross section have been calculated using the CCFULL code.