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Home Page
Regardless of our connection speed, Internet users expect information to be
readily obtainable, pages to download quickly and solutions at the click of
the mouse. As such, you should look at your home page as your Sale point. Have
you explained succinctly what you are selling and included links to more detailed
information? Note that on the first page, you should try to pre-sell your potential
customers on the benefits of your product or service.
If you are offering many products or services, place only the most attractive
on the first page. Do not overload your first page. People might get confused
if you provide too much information on one page.
That is one of the reasons why I always advise my customers not to use flash
intros on their first page or at the very lease, allow them to skip through
it. Today, internet users have less patience to wait and will move on quickly
if pages take too long too load or if they have to “wait through”
fancy openers that are all flash and no substance.
Site structure
Structure of your site should be dedicated to one goal only. Leading the visitor
from your home page (pre-sale point) to different pages (sale points) on your
site.
Structure of your site should be as simple as 1 – 2 – 3.
The 1 should be your home page, where you provide the basic information (read
benefits) about your product or service.
The 2 should be a “more details” page where you will list and elaborate
on benefits and prices of your product
And 3 should be your “add to cart” or “contact us” page.
Navigation structure
If you are serious about having your business on the Internet, do not experiment
with the navigation of the site. Keep it simple and easy to use. If your pages
are long, place a menu on the bottom of the page to save your users from scrolling
to the top of the page to reach the menu.
Text
Do you believe that people read everything written on your page? They don’t.
What they do is SCAN. They are scanning your page, looking for specific information
regarding your company, what you have to offer, pricing and how to contact you.
What you say and how you say it can mean the difference between a visitor and
a sale.
For first timers, the look and content of our pages may evolve based on customer
needs and comments. So… always, be sure to include search options in case
visitors don’t find what they are looking for as well as readily obtainable
contact information. Most importantly, make sure someone is available to answer
questions. Never keep a potential first-time customer waiting for information.
In many cases, search option will keep the visitor on your site, giving you
one more chance to convert the visitor into a customer.
Creating emphasis
Having in mind that users scan the pages, determining what to emphasize and
creating emphasis on your pages is very important.
Eye catching details will help you to lead the visitor to the pages on your
site that you want to be exposed, and it will increase your chances to convert
the visitor into a customer.
Graphics
Graphics should emphasize the benefits of your products or service. Don’t
use graphics unrelated to your product or service. Placing the graphic on the
site just because you like the graphic, and you think that your site looks better
with it is simply wrong. Use that space to explain to your visitors why they
should buy from you and not from someone else.
Graphics should emphasize quality of your product or service. If you can’t
find or create such a graphic, use text. It’s that simple.
Speed
Faster is better. There are still millions of people still using dial up for
their connection. So try to make the download time for your site as short as
possible. Remember, time is money and the longer it takes to download your website,
the faster potential customers will go elsewhere for their business.
About the Author:
Zoran Makrevski is the president of SEO.Goto.gr. We offer customized
and affordable SEO Services. |
