I often get hired to critique websites after they are up. Oft my clients want to find out why their sites aren't hitting the sales numbers that they initially projected. Most of the time my client's have hired a web design person to build this award winning sales idea that they have for a product or service.
Web designers are great, but just because they can design doesn't mean that they understand online sales and marketing design. Just because they can create a website doesn't mean that they know how to maximize layouts for the sales of your products. Most of the time, to get paid, they want to make you happy by providing what You say you want. Here lies part of the problem. So what you get is a great graphical site that makes no sales. Looks great though!
Having ample traffic to your site also helps, because you can have the greatest website in the world, but if no one knows you are there, it is just a great website. For this blog post, I am going to concentrate on design mistakes which if corrected will help increase your sales. We will delve into building traffic another time.
Instead of placing all of my suggestions in just one posting, I am going to spread them out over a few postings over the next few days. Here goes:
Mistake # 1 - Opening your website with a Flash page
Opening a website with Flash (a mini-movie) can be very cool looking. Website designers and graphic artists love them because they are so pretty and it showcases their technical skills. But Internet surfers can’t stand them because they are usually searching for information.
A Flash page (which often takes a LONG time to load) stands between your visitor and the key information they are looking for -- also between your reader and your sales pitch.
When people type keywords into a search engine, they are looking for information. No one types “show me sites with Flash page introductions.” In fact, if a searcher gets to your site and is greeted with an elaborate Flash presentation, half will leave your site before they ever get to your sales presentation. Search engines also hate Flash pages. Search engines are interested in content and in delivering information to searchers.
Mistake #2 - Requiring readers to click a link rather than scroll to finish reading the information or sales presentation.
Award-winning websites want all information on a page to fit on your screen because it looks neater and tighter -- more award winning. It’s easier for readers to scroll than to click a link.
Scrolling allows readers to hold their finger on a button and scan your headlines and subheads. If something grabs their interest, they can read (without clicking). Clicking and waiting for another page to load takes time. It’s annoying to a reader. It’s a stopper -- kind of like intermission at a long movie or play. If the movie isn’t much good, the Intermission is often when they leave, for good.
The average time a surfer spends on a Website is about six seconds. Don’t waste time by making your reader click and wait to read. Put the entire article, your entire sales presentation on one page, even if your reader must scroll and scroll and scroll to read everything on the sales page. Now that's not saying that you shouldn't have sections to your website. But if you are selling a widget, have all the information about that widget on the same page.
Mistake #3 - Too many graphics, not enough attention to your sales copy
Copy sells. Pictures and graphics are supporting exhibits for the copy. The award-winning websites are mixed with copy and graphics -- and beautiful to look.
Copy sells because copy is needed to provide your readers reasons and compelling arguments for why they should buy and buy now. And copy allows you to start building a relationship with your reader, essential for having any chance of closing a sale. The Bible has no pictures, no photos -- just lots of text. And it’s the bestselling book of all time.
People search the internet for information (text), not graphics or pretty layouts. No one types “beautiful site with pictures” as a modifier to keywords describing their topic of interest. Plus, search engines can’t read graphics and so they can’t index graphics. And graphics take time to load.
What you want for your site is a nice, clean professional layout that’s almost all text. Pay attention to correct spelling!
Mistake #4 - Lack of focus
So often I get to a website and or Myspace page and can’t quite figure out what the website is selling or what I’m being asked to do. What is the message? Websites should be dedicated to selling one thing or one service, or asking your reader to take one and only one action (even if the only action is to read the article).
If you sell many different products and services, you should have many different Websites dedicated to each product and service you sell. The reason is, when people search the internet with their keywords, they are looking for one and only one thing. They will buy from the website that is selling that one and only one thing --because it appears to visitors that this is your area of specialty.
If you have a car problem, you want a mechanic to fix it -- not a jack of all trades handyman. If you have foot problem, you want to see a foot specialist, not a general practitioner. So if you make hats and pressure wash houses, have two websites, one dedicated to your hat designs, the other pressure washing houses. Narrow has always been the gate to paradise in direct marketing. This is even more true in the age of the Internet, where people are looking for your service or product with highly focused keyword searches.
Mistake #5 - No attention-getting headlines or subheads.
Web surfers are scanners. A headline is like a hand that taps your scanner on the shoulder and says “look right here.” Headlines and subheads tell your scanners what all this text is about. And it’s good for your headlines to say something unusual --if possible to peak “human interest.” Here’s a pretty good one: “How My 9-Year-Old Son Earned $750 Last Week With His New Online Business.” Free offers make good headlines, i.e.: “Here’s Your Free . . .”
Headlines are what literally suck your readers into your copy. If your headlines are fascinating, your readers won’t mind reading a lot of small print to get the details.
Ok, these are a few of the mistakes that I see on most websites. There are many more and over the next few days, I am going to post several more. As always I welcome your comments and emails.
Happy Viral Business Marketing,
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Chuck Woo
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Sunday, April 13, 2008
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