Masterlink Interactive Blog

Last week, we talked a bit about why your site visitors might not stick around long enough for you to make a sale and how to improve  high “bounce rates”. Cluttered design and navigation issues, poor website performance, and boring, muddled content can each send a site visitor packing.

But let’s say you’re consistently getting them to hang out a bit and listen to what you have to say—what’s next in making your web design affect your bottom line?

Here are three keys:

1. Content. Content. Content.
Yep, content is still king. SEO can grab a web visitor. Snazzy web designs can get them to click around a bit. But it’s content that sells, just like a salesperson greeting a customer in an actual store. In fact, this might be the only time a visitor takes the time to dive into the nitty gritty details of what’s written on your site, rather than just scanning and clicking around.

Beyond hooks and slogans, the key is to anticipate the visitor’s needs and desires in the content before they get there. Think about all the doubts and skepticism that a visitor brings with them to your site. Make them feel understood and reassured in a way that builds real trust. Back this up with accurate and expertise-driven detailed content about your products and services that builds a sense of respect and faith in what you’re selling, and you’ll be in good position to develop a deeper relationship.

2. Lights. Camera. Call to Action.
Some customers need a slight nudge. Others might just not know what to do next. Regardless, concise, clear call to action is critical element of your web design.

Many business owners seem to think that if a visitor likes their product or service, they’ll just sort of figure out what to do next. Don’t assume this. Give them a compelling, clear-cut offer, and then make it as easy as possible for them to take the plunge, in a step-by-step way. This includes:

• An attractive “Contact” page, featuring more than just a form. Give them email addresses. Give them phone numbers. Give them a Google map with all of your locations listed. Give them a name and a face for who they’d be talking to if they make the all.
• “Add to Cart” functions if you’re selling a product.
• Forms for quote requests.
• Clear information about pricing, packages, and product specs.
• Online chat with salespeople.
• Access to newsletters, blogs, and white papers.

3. Be Memorable

In the end, the time just won’t be right for many otherwise interested site visitors. But if you connect with visitors in a real way, make them feel understood and cared about, and make yourself stand out from the competition, you’ll be there in their memory when they’re ready to pull the trigger.

This is where a comprehensive web design matters most, with all the different elements working together. A visitor should leave your site impressed by your professionalism, expertise, personality, and the way you anticipated their needs and desires. Sacrifice any of these, and the experience won’t be so memorable.

Contact one of our Dallas web design experts to learn more about our approach to web design and creating compelling web content. We’re here for you if it’s time to rethink your web design.

Ok, so my SEO gurus are not going to like my title, but it’s true! Now don’t get me wrong, my SEO Specialists are the BEST and they do an excellent job of getting that wonderfully sought after target audience to your website. However, what happens when the user gets to your site? Is it easy to use? Is it compelling for the visitor? Does the web design look professional? Does it look trustworthy? Is it outdated?

A billboard or newspaper advertisement can be used to drive foot traffic to your brick and mortar store, but if the store is dirty, the merchandise is not properly organized and the service is poor, you will not make the sale. The same is true for your website – probably even more so! Whether you are selling a product or a service, your prospective online customer is going to make a judgment about your company before ever talking to a real live person or stepping into that million dollar office you occupy.

That old saying, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression” was never more relevant than today. If that visitor to your site hits the dreaded “back” button before visiting anything more than your homepage (referred to as the bounce rate), you are dead in the water. They will not be coming back.

Now is a great time to take a retrospective look at your current site and see what can be done to catch those visitors that are coming to the site. Some great ideas for drawing those visitors in might be:

• Incorporate some interesting Flash animation to your site that also provides a valuable message to the user that will entice them to want to learn more. Don’t use movement just to see something move – your visitors do not want to be entertained.
• Prominently place a call to action on your homepage.
• Offer some type of online-only value to the visitor, a special coupon, discount, free evaluation, etc. Make sure this information is front and center when they come to your site.
• This may sound simple, but put your phone number and a contact us button on your homepage – users do not want to hunt for that information.
• The homepage should be clean and clutter-free – don’t have too many messages fighting for attention.
• Make sure the content is fresh and new – add a press release, new blog posting.
• Remove any annoying music, sound or auto-launching video.
• Employ a tagline that tells the user exactly what you do – no “cutesy” or “creative” taglines.
• If your site looks like it was designed more than 2 years ago – START OVER.

We have seen conversion rates as high as 30% on sites that are well designed with great SEO that really targets the correct visitor. Even if you are getting conversions with your current site, study your online statistics – you could be missing out on a lot of potential new business.