|
Take your visitors by the hand
"What am I supposed to do?"
That's a question your visitors may be asking, and one you need to avoid
at all costs. It's like a disease that will do nothing more than cost
you sales and traffic. The solution is to "take them by the hand."
Tell or show them, literally, what you want them to do -- even if it's
simple or obvious.
Adding "hand-holding" components to your website is not just
about Web usability, it's about directional marketing. In order to encourage
longer stays, repeat visits and, of course, online sales, you need to
direct your audience to take action. And you need to make it easy for
them to do so, whether you're directing them to click, join, enter, type,
download or buy.
If you don't, with today's leery and click-happy audience your site will
be no more than a passive, electronic billboard -- a mere blur. Your website
may be a beautiful work of art, and it may also drive traffic because
of its educational or entertainment value. But if they ask, "what
am I supposed to do," you may in turn be left asking, "why is
my site not making any sales?"
Rick Olson (see http://www.ibizcenter.com/),
in his Internet Business Informer ezine, said it best: "While there
is debate on whether the Web is all about direct marketing or branding,
the fact remains that you probably want to elicit some kind of response
from your visitor." I concur. In fact, even big-brand sites like
Coke.com and Nike.com, whose purpose is to increase brand awareness and
build brand equity, use direct marketing.
On the other hand, while the Internet offers us the ability to gain the
attention, consent and response of such a discerning audience, I also
admit that succeeding in doing so is a whole different issue. I'm far
from being a Web usability guru, like Dr. Jakob Neilsen (see http://www.useit.com/jakob/).
But what I do know, from experience and research, is that much of the
Web still lacks a certain friendliness. It lacks *direction*.
Specifically, when I conduct critique consultations I notice that about
85% of the sites I analyze fail to adequately lead visitors to take some
kind of action, be it through the copy, design or navigation. When I visit
some of these sites for the first time, I ask: "What am I supposed
to do?" Obviously, if I feel that way, most visitors probably feel
the same way, too.
Studies show that a large majority of sites are confusing to, or misunderstood
by, their target audiences. According to Joe Gregory (see http://www.webaim.co.uk/),
97.7% of the sites that his company evaluated failed or are poorly marketed,
and 82.2% of them lacked a clear objective. For example, he found that
it was difficult to find the phone number on sites that encouraged people
to call, and that it was a challenge, if not impossible, to order online
on sites that sell products.
(Joe Gregory found that some sites even omitted prices. In my experience,
websites also frequently "hide" their order forms, making them
inconspicuous at best.)
During the early days of the Web, when it was mostly populated by programmers,
the Internet was filled with technical jargon. The need to design websites
and have them communicate in a way that most people can understand was
nonexistent. The pioneers and the first "colonizers" of the
Web understood the dynamics of the Internet. They easily recognized links,
markup, files, tags, network protocols, and so on. This is no longer the
case.
Few people will buy from a website that confuses them in the slightest.
In fact, according to Gregory's research mentioned earlier, 46.6% of the
sites his company evaluated targeted a general audience or used a language
that only experts would understand.
As more people enter the Web for the first time, the online population
of "newbies" continues to grow. Of course, people don't remain
newbies forever. But even users who are a little more technologically
savvy can get easily confused by a poorly thought-out website. When visiting
a site for the first time, they become newbies all over again as every
site has its own style, focus, copy and message.
Therefore, it's extremely important to use words, layouts and navigational
structures that help the visitor to navigate your site and find what they
want while strategically directing their actions. By doing so, you will
immunize your website against this lack of direction. Now, there are many
ways to accomplish it. And to list the steps within the confines of this
article is impossible -- our resident site reviewer, Ralph Hilliard at
http://WordNetUniversity.com/,
has a site completely dedicated to the subject. But here are some of the
most obvious ones:
- Above all, start a heading with a verb, which tells people exactly
what to do or what they will be doing. For example, if a link leads
to your guest book, use the words "sign (or view) our guest book,"
rather than just "guest book." If the link leads to a product
description page, include the words (benefits, too), "Discover
how life-altering widgets will give you up to 179.3% more of [whatever
the benefit is]."
- Without overdoing it, include the words "click here" (or
something to that effect) within text links. If your site offers thumb
nailed images for example, include "click to enlarge" somewhere
near the image. In short, show visitors not only what they must do,
but also what they *can* do. You would be amazed to know how many of
your visitors fail to do something just because they don't know it is
possible.
- More importantly, keep your links underlined. Web designers often
opt to remove them for esthetic reasons, such as with the use of style
sheets or javascript. But underlined links are important visual guides;
without them, the majority of people will not know the link exists and
will inadvertently ignore it. Take a look at http://www.engage.com/.
The links contain either underlines (even within graphical texts) or
the words "click here."
- Include navigation bars with links on the top, side(s) and bottom.
In other words, make it easy for your visitors to know exactly where
they are at any time, as they read or scroll down your webpage, and
where they can go next. Of course, if your page is small and fits within
a window at the smallest resolution, offer only one -- and use common
sense. But if a visitor needs to scroll, in any way, make it easy for
them to know at the very least how to return (such as with "back
to top" links, evenly distributed throughout).
- The reverse is also true. If you want your visitors to do one thing
and one thing only, then don't distract them with too many links, particularly
external ones that can easily take them away from your site. (This is
particularly true with long copy or direct response websites.) For example,
if you offer too many choices, users will find it hard to make a decision.
Instead, offer more choices further in the site based on the specific
path(s) a user follows.
Essentially, realize that directional marketing is important and will
be more important as time goes on. If your site does not direct its visitors
to take some kind of action, or fails to lead them to some sort of outcome,
then you will need to seriously rethink your site's purpose and strategy.
The more qualified your visitors are and the more compelling your message
is, the higher will be the percentage of visitors that will buy. Or that
will refer others. Or that will return to the site. Or that will join
your mailing list. Or ...
About the author
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter and consultant dedicated
to turning sales messages into powerful magnets. Get a free copy of
his book, "The 10 Commandments of Power Positioning," when
you subscribe to his free monthly ezine, "The Profit Pill."
See http://SuccessDoctor.com/
now! |
» Change
your mind about an eBay bid?
We have all made choices in life that two seconds later
we know we should take back. Especially when there is money involved
this can become a problem.
» A
simple way to create 7 effective autoresponder messages
Email is the Net's most powerful marketing tool. And autoresponders
are the best idea yet for marketing with email.
» 7
ways to drive laser-targeted traffic to your website
Getting people who matter to see one’s website
is a difficult undertaking if he tries to consider the fact that
there are rivals everywhere waiting to pin him down.
» Website
valuation: Why standard website pricing methods will emerge
The market of buying and selling developed websites is
becoming more and more liquid each day.
» One
way links are better than reciprocal links
You probably know by now that where your website ranks in
the search engine rankings dramatically affects how many visitors you
have to your site. Did you also know that you can change where your
site is ranked by being proactive and getting as many one way links
to your site as possible?
» How
to make visitors stay at your website
The very first thing which you should provide the visitors
with is some free interesting reading material.
» How
to make your visitors click your ads
Here is a simple solution; Convert your banner advertisement
to look like a text advertisement!
» Offline
advertising should be a part of your online strategy
Day by day, online business has become more & more
complicated and competitive.
» How
to sell traffic
Selling the traffic arriving at your site is a good method
to increase profits from your portal.
» Make
money from online auctions
Online auctions have the best benefit of a vast platform.
Your product is viewed by loads of people & hence there is
more possibility of finding a suitable bidder.
» Groupware
explained in easy terms
Groupware is a term used frequently to describe collaborative
software. Groupware is application software that integrates work
on a single project by several concurrent users at separated random
workstations.
» Timely
back up can save you from disasters
Few things which people often back up are e-mail addresses,
bank records, photographs, personal records, software’s,
music etc.
» Why
should one go for autoresponders
Autoresponders are programs which get automatically
executed in particular situations.
» Become
your own boss - Start your own online business today
A survey conducted by SBA states that two third of new
business survives at least two year and about forty four percent
survives at least four year.
» Express
your thoughts - Creating your own blog!
What exactly is a blog? Technically speaking it is a
journal or a newsletter which is regularly updated and can be used
by any one.
» Pop-up
ads - To be or not to be?
According to a study conducted by the Bunnyfoot University, “The
Efficacy of Pop-ups and the Resulting Effect on Brands” Internet
users feel harangues and harassed by pop-up ads.
» Why
content is king on the Internet
The advantages that Internet holds over the rest of
the other communication mediums should not wasted because of
the inability to find a comprehensive plan that will bind all
these faculties together.
» 10
niche marketing tips
In our increasingly driven consumer economies, the average
customer is bombarded by choices. With increased saturation of the
market, companies look towards niche marketing to search new, ever-evolving
and sophisticated consumers.
» Using
free traffic exchange
These days internet has emerged as both, a market and
hub for marketing. Unlike the ‘brick and mortar’ world
where large manufacturers manage to squeeze out the market bases
of smaller companies, the internet provides haven like the free
traffic exchange.
» Ten
ways to drive traffic to your website
Developing a web site and then letting it grow is
like planting a tree and then nurturing it.
» Marketing
through keyword articles
One of the most effective tools of Internet marketing
is the use of keyword articles.
» Want
to make money online? Market a service to businesses
Don walked across the street from his house to mine to
announce he had finally retired. "But I'm not ready for the
golf course," he said. "I want to make a living on the
Internet. What can I sell?"
» Web
site design mistakes - Database parameters in URLs
Creating a web site takes thought, planning and execution.
Unfortunately, many designs are dead in the water before they are
even published as far as search engine optimization is concerned.
Whatever you do, avoid these critical mistakes.
» Alexa
Toolbar - The ultimate internet tool
There are numerous tools available on the Internet to
assist online businesses. A valuable tool that you should use is
the Alexa Toolbar. Even better, this tool is free.
» Web
site design mistakes
Some wise human once said "Learn from the mistakes
of others. There isn't nearly enough time to make them all yourself."
Hence this article. Here are five of the most annoying and common
web design mistakes.
» Abandonment
- Why visitors don't turn into customers
Every good Internet business understands the value of
conversions versus hits received. Far too often, businesses become
fixated on the hits they are receiving instead of monitoring their
hit to sale conversion rate.
» Creative
search engine optimization - A case study
Search engine optimization this and search engine optimization
that. You read and hear about it all day, but what about your site?
|
|
Tools & services to enhance your online
business |
|
» Site
Build It!
Over 100,000 small businesses of all kinds outperform
larger, well-financed competitors. Read about this all-in-one site-building-hosting-marketing
system of tools that delivers results.
» Secrets
To Their Success
Take a private tour of two "Mom & Pop"
web sites every month that earn $100,000+ a year... and discover
the exact step-by-step strategies they have personally used to generate
these massive profits. |
|
|
|