Websites Under Your Control Blog

You know the expression? It usually refers to a big talker who can't deliver on his claims.

We sometimes think of that phrase when asked to help someone get their amateurish website pushed to a more prominent position in Google.

For both the braggart and the website, once people get disappointed, they are likely turned off forever.

So even if you can get prime Google placement, if your website isn't up to snuff, well, nice hat!

We strongly advise: first and foremost, make your website appealing to your visitors. Only then give thought to your Google placement.

Why? Do the arithmetic.

Say your website brings in 500 visitors a month, and 5 of them, or 1%, become customers. Say each will spend enough to make you $100. That's $500 profit from your website.

Think about those 495 people who did not buy from you. Just like the 5 who bought from you, these 495  took the time to come to your website because they assumed you offered something they wanted.

What website improvements might convert just 5 out of those 495 interested people into buyers?

Get those 5 more, and the monthly net from your website just jumped from $500 to $1000.

Bonus:

Improve the content, and not only will your conversion rate improve -- the search engines will rate you higher as well!  If you missed it, last week we talked about how search engines are almost immune from "tricks" these days, and increasingly look for the quality of your website - so focus on compelling content.

(Need help with your content? We offer a ghostwriting service for our clients. If you're not our client, see if your webmaster or marketing advisor can help.)

Their website is obviously one of those "quickies" -- using a free or cheap template, and built and on the web in a matter of hours. The business owner grabbed some free clip art, and slapped on a scan of his logo, and his website was ready to go.

And yes, they have a blog, as many businesses do these days. But it is one of those freebies that sits on a different domain than their website, and it doesn't even match their own site. They even use one of those free email accounts, instead of having email via their own business domain!

If their website and blog looks like they slapped it together, what does that say about their business?

Maybe that they don't pay attention to details? Or don't even care?

If their website looks like they put it together as cheaply as possible, what might that say about the work they do?

That they might take any chance possible to cut corners?

Would you trust them?

As the old saying goes: You only get one chance to make a first impression.

Having a professional-looking website can be the first, best way to impress potential customers - or even returning clients - of your professionalism and the quality of your company.

However, most of us don't have experience designing websites to create the best first impression. That means that you may have to turn to a website design expert.

Of course, this doesn't mean that you need to take out a business loan in order to have a professional looking website. You can get a great looking and fully functional website without breaking the bank.

Think you need all the latest Internet bells and whistles on your website? We suggest they are mostly a waste of your money.

But you do need a website that has the following characteristics:

• Your website needs to be visually appealing. If your website is hard to read - or is just plain ugly - your visitors will leave quickly. A well-ordered, professional look speaks volumes about your company.
• Your website needs well-written, compelling content. You need to give your potential customers a clear and well-defined call to action.
• Your website needs to be easy to navigate. If your visitors can't find the information that they want or need quickly and easily, they will leave.
• Your website needs to be easily editable.  Your site needs to evolve with your business, and if it seems out of date, your visitors will assume you are too.

A poorly designed website will make your potential customers doubt your abilities. On the other hand, a professional-looking, well-designed website will enhance your business's reputation and help to show the value of the goods or services that you are offering.

In today's tough economic climate, everyone is looking for ways to cut their business costs. While there are a lot of areas where you can cut back without causing too much negative impact on your reputation, your online image isn't one of them.

30 Seconds -- that's all you have!

Scientific studies and our own server statistics on hundreds of thousands of web page visits agree -- visitors who don't leave the page immediately will spend roughly 30 seconds on a web page, and it doesn't matter all that much if you double or triple the amount of text.

Adult reading speed is about 250 - 300 words a minute, so there is only time for the interested visitor to read about 125 - 150 words on your web page (which, if about average, has around 600 words).

How do readers learn anything when they read only 20% of the words?

By being very selective. They scan down the left side of a page very quickly for topics that catch their attention and spend most of their time in those topics. 

The eye tracking chart here, from web usability guru Jakob Nielsen, shows results that have been repeated in numerous studies.

7 Tips for getting your message across in 30 seconds...

1. Keep it short. If people will only read around 100-150 words, don't write 1500 words.
2. Stay above the fold.  80% of reader attention is in what they can see without scrolling, on pages too long to fit.
3. Skip the blah blah. Don't waste valuable space with meaningless filler text.
4. Use lists and bullet points to focus attention on key points.
5. Put key words at the beginning since readers scan down the left side to decide where to focus attention.
6. Use interesting, descriptive headlines, followed by short paragraphs.
7. Link to other pages with meaningful "anchor text" to both grab the readers' attention with the link itself, and to move longer narratives off the page.

What is "anchor text"? It's the text the reader sees in a link. Your reader (and Google) will pay more attention to a link that is descriptive such as "headlines are crucial for search engines" rather than "click here for more" or http://txzz.com/06. 

If you are using our Online Business Partner, just highlight the text you want to use as your anchor text while in the editor, click the link manager, and select the page you want to link.

Make a great first impression, and you'll get the benefit of the doubt next time. Make a poor first impression, and it takes an awful lot of positive experiences to turn it around. (Now there's a blinding flash of the obvious!) Not surprisingly, this works with websites as well. What is quite surprising is just how quickly people get these first impressions when it's a website. Psychology researchers at Carleton University (Ottawa) followed the standard approach in researching such things.

1. Show a large number of people a handful of websites, and ask the people to rate the websites;
2. Show a separate large group of people the same websites for a shorter period, and get ratings on each;
3. Repeat #2 with an ever-shorter viewing period, as long as the ratings don't change.

Through this process, the researchers can determine the minimum duration of a viewing that will create such a lasting impression that the ratings don't vary significantly with much longer exposure.

1/20th of a second. To the astonishment of almost everyone, the impression gained in a mere 50 milliseconds, 1/20th of a second, was sufficient to remain "in control" of the viewers' overall evaluation of each of the websites for an extended period. Our websites need to create a favorable impression in the first blink of an eye. Otherwise, even if our visitors hang around long enough to look further, they will be doing so with a predetermined impression of what we have to offer. (Read the BBC account.)