Designing
for your visitors
We've discussed
designing for search engines at some length in previous issues,
but we haven't really addressed designing for your site visitors.
It's often difficult for a company to put themselves in the site
visitor's shoes. The company knows what their market is and what
they want to promote, but they can't be sure that their site visitor
fits their customer profile or even imagine why the visitor came
to their site to begin with.
For example,
lets say you manufacture industrial wheels for heavy duty equipment.
If your site is not designed properly it may attract tons of visitors
looking for bicycle wheels, casters for the home or office, etc.
This traffic offers you nothing in terms of increased sales, so
what do you do?
Step 1
Check your description meta tag. The description meta tag shows
under your title tag at most search engines when your site is
viewed as a search result. A well written description will discourage
those looking for the wrong products from selecting your site.
In the example above the meta tag might read, "Manufacturer
of heavy duty wheels for industrial equipment." If I were
looking for bicycle wheels, I certainly would not choose this
site. (Meta tags can be viewed by looking at the source code of
your page. In the <head> section you should find a tag that
reads <meta name="description" .)
Step 2
Brainstorm with other employees about why someone might be looking
for your site. What would they expect to find when they get there,
etc? Often asking existing customers how you could make your site
more useful for them will give you insight into making your site
more useful for anyone looking for your product. Once you've decided
what it is the prospect wants, be sure to advertise it in your
description meta tag. In the above example, you might change the
tag to read, "Manufacturer of heavy duty wheels for industrial
equipment. Instant online quotes available." (Or online specifications
available, equipment manuals available, etc.)
Step 3
Trim the fat. How much of what is at your site is just blowing
your own horn and how much is really useful for the site visitor?
Flash items are only worthwhile if they serve a specific purpose
- demonstrating how something works, for example. Introductions
that are Flash presentations, animated GIFs and other "flash"
but useless items are not likely to be welcomed by your site visitor
unless your market is children, youth, young adults, or it's an
entertainment site. If you're a business trying to sell a product
or service, the visitor wants to locate what they need quickly
and move on to other work they have to do. They can't spend hours
at your site ooooing at pretty animations. Does this mean that
you can't have navigation buttons that "light up" or
a drop-down menu? Certainly not, but you should take everything
at your site into careful consideration before insisting on some
of these features.
Step 4
Read your copy! Copy writing is an art and copy writing for the
Internet is an even more specific art. Keep it short and break
it up with subheadings. Again and again studies have proven that
people don't "read" on the Internet - they skim. Skim
your page - do the items you consider most important stand out?
And, remember the old advertising adage which still holds true
today, "If you emphasize everything, you emphasize nothing."
Pick and choose wisely.
Step 5
Check your navigation. Is it easy to understand? Can a visitor
get from the page they're on to any other page without having
to hit the "back" button or go "home" again?
If it's a large site, you may need a search box for visitors to
quickly locate what they're looking for. The search box should
be easily accessible from the home page and, even better, have
it available on every page. You never know when the visitor might
get frustrated and decide they would rather do a "search."
Step 6
Tell the visitor what you want them to do. Just as in print advertising,
you need to prompt the visitor into action. Don't be afraid to
put "call us" or "email us" all over the site.
If your "call to action" is just to have the visitor
contact you, give them a good reason to. A no obligation quote,
evaluation or other reassurance that the visitor does not have
to make a commitment just to get in touch with you, will spur
more prospects to action.
And, Finally!
Is your site worth bookmarking? I mean is there something valuable
enough at your site that the visitor will want to bookmark it
for future reference? Interactive forms for calculations, online
demos, etc. not only bring visitors back to your site, but may
prompt them to send other visitors to your site because of the
perceived value. These are not the frivolous bells and whistles
we referred to in Step 3, but valuable interactive tools or information
worth keeping only a click away.
Taking a step
back from your site and pretending to be a visitor that knows
nothing about your company is the best way you can evaluate your
site. Asking existing customers to evaluate your site will also
provide valuable input.
Your
Internet Marketing Organization 
Issue
5 Volume 2~Feb., 2003