By: Zoran Makrevski
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 least, 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.
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Zoran Makrevski
is the president of SEO.Goto.gr. He offer customized and affordable SEO
Services. |
