Quick! hink about your website. If I were to pop out of your screen in next few seconds and ask you why you've got one, and what its purpose is, would you be able to tell me on spot?Every site has a purpose, and every site owner has a goal. Regardless of whether you're selling products, information, or nothing at all, you want your visitor to reap benefits of visiting your site. In an ideal situation, you'd be right beside your site visitor showing them where to click and what to do. This isn't always possible, so read on and let me show you:
How To Make Your Visitors Do What You Want Them To Do!
Let's say you're in a mall with $50 in your hand and want to buy some T-shirts. You come across a store that has a huge sign blocking doorway, upon which company's logo is prominently and proudly displayed. Looking around at other stores, you think, "This is ridiculous! I'm here to buy t-shirts, not look at a fancy logo." Still a little curious, you move sign aside and have a peek inside. On one rack, you see that women's pants are on same rack as men's overcoats. The mannequins are all wearing strange assortments of clothes that clearly do not match, while everywhere there are banner ads for completely unrelated products hanging from ceiling. At this point, you promptly step back from doorway and walk to another store which has been laid out better.
Sadly enough, this is exact same way 90% of world's business-oriented websites work. If you want your viewers to buy from you, to contact you, or to simply sit and enjoy your site, you've got to plan it properly!
1) It's The Headline They Should See First.
If you get newspaper delivered to your door every day, you'll notice there are three things you'll look at first: The headline, photo on front page, and area above paper's logo which shows featured articles of day. In your case, publisher has already made sale and wants you to continue buying their papers because you enjoy reading them, so headlines are there to get you to dig in. In case of people walking by a newsstand, paper is designed in such a way so that headlines or photos will grab their attention.
Your site should be laid out same way. Are you selling products? Make sure you've got a headline or banner saying any one of following: "Sale! Click Here to Save!" or "Buy one, get one free! Click for Details!" or "50% off! Click Here!"
Are you selling information? Try these headlines on for size: "Get 10 FREE reports when you sign up for our newsletter!" "Click here for details on 3 FREE courses that will help you build your online business!"
Or are you selling dreams? It's all same: your headline MUST be speaking to your viewer directly and it MUST imply immediate action. "Are you broke? Don't wait another minute! Click here to find out how you can make money from home!"
2) Use Graphics To Your Advantage.
Many sites have graphics on them just for sake of having graphics, be it a fancy logo, buttons that change color when you move your mouse over them, sometimes even animated images that have nothing to do with site itself.