Websites have just seconds to impress

We have all heard the old saying” You can’t make a first impression twice”.

This has never been more relevant for websites. The most beautiful looking website means absolutely nothing if it can’t convince site visitors within a few seconds that they have come to the right place. If the website does not give users exactly what they want they will leave within seconds. Ultimately the money you paid for your website goes down the drain little by little every time someone leaves your site without even having as much as a look through your products or services.

It is all very well and good if your site can be found on page 1 of Google or on other major Search Engines. Although being on page 1 is not enough, not unless your visitors like what they see once they clicked on your site.
What makes a successful site? It is a combination of high Search Engine Rankings, and getting site visitors to stay on the site; Sounds simple enough, but not that easy to achieve.
You really can’t blame people who are looking to find information on the web for being so impatient. We are all overwhelmed by a huge amount of information every day; Internet users today don’t have the time or the will to give every site they encounter a thorough check over.

No matter how much money you have spent on getting your site to the first pages of Search Engines, a web site needs to keep the visitor. If it fails to do so the site has a problem which needs fixing fast.
You may not believe this, but site visitors do not pay attention to the fine details of your site (at first). Research has shown that most people looking at a site for the first time do so for no more than 4 seconds. Users scan the site diagonally, whilst moving up or down the page looking for anything connected to the search Phrase they just used on Google, Yahoo or Bing (or anywhere else).

The fact is that most websites do not display the crucial content or Tagline in the right places. The fact is, that a great number of sites do not make it easy for site visitors to judge in an instant if or not this is the right site for them. All the money your web designer has persuaded you to spend on great design features (hopefully not Flash) does not influence one single visitor to stay on your site. The truth is they don’t even notice. This is the sad fact of digital life.

How do you now make changes? What do you need to do to reverse the trend?
How can you ensure, that your prospective customers see right from the start what your site is all about? It is easy and simple.  Place the most important information on at the top. Tell your site visitors about your services or products right at the beginning of the page.

We have added a few simple and easy to follow rules :

KISS - Keep it simple stupid: Put yourself into the shoes of your visitor. What is it he or she wants most? They want to know what you do and who you are, and what happens next if they like what they see? Do not use graphics excessively. Do not overload your home page. There are a few exceptions to this rule, depending on the type of business. What we say is true for 95% of all sites.

We can measure if your home page has a bounce rate and what your % bounce rate is. If you like to know feel free to contact us.

Every page on your site must have a reason for being there: This is very much connected to the first point we just discussed. Whatever you add to your home page, you need to ask yourself this question:  Does what I am about to add really make it clearer to my audience what I do or what my services are? If in doubt leave it out. Do not add things to your home page because you think by adding things it will make it prettier. You are in the information business and not an artist.

Create a desire for more information:  If you want people to get a little bit animated when they visit your site, than you must give them the feeling that your site is important, or could be important to them. If site visitors feel that there is more for them to gain, learn and explore on the site and it is well displayed with quality information they will stay around a little longer.
You cannot prevent anybody leaving your site, but you can encourage them to come back when they have more time for example over the weekend or on another day. If you achieve this you are winning.

Every market audience is different: The tricky part is to determine what it is you want to highlight at the top of your site. You need to understand the desire for information your site visitors have and what kind of information it is they are looking for. Once you know that, you need to deliver that info fast and furious and in an easy to understand manner. In essence you have between 5 and 10 seconds to glue your site visitor to his screen showing your website and to convince them that they should stay and browse through your site. This is at the end of the day what matters; the sting in the tail is that the answer to the question of what to show and where, is different for each website. Global Web Com Ltd can help you to reduce bounce % and increase conversion rates.