Lay Out the Red Carpet for Easier Sales, Part II
In the last post we talked about how important it is to not only attract visitors to your web site through appropriate marketing and search engine optimization, but to give them what they want right away once they get there. Owning and running a web site is a competitive business; you never want your potential customers to get frustrated because they can’t find what it is they came there for in the first place, log off your site, and head to a competitor’s web site.
In order to make sure your visitors (and potential customers and clients) are properly welcomed, treat your web site like the destination that it is, and roll out the red carpet for those who make the effort to log on, including:
* Forget the bells and whistles and give them what they want. It’s great to have animation on your site but keep it as simple as possible. The more “stuff” you have, the slower the site takes to load, and the more time you are asking of someone who may be in need of something quickly.
* Follow the two click theory. A general rule of thumb is that visitors to a web site should be able to find what they need in two clicks. This means keeping the navigation plan on your site simple and user friendly. Don’t bury your products and services; these are what they came for in the first place.
* Add value with content. Including updated information on your site that is relevant to your industry is another way to increase web site traffic; there is value that is over and above your core products and services. Additionally, if you include well chosen keywords in your content you are simultaneously increasing your search engine optimization efforts and bolstering your web traffic.