Left to my own devices, I'll click around aimlessly. Maybe I'll read your articles and tips. Maybe I'll take a look at your About page to find out who you are. Then, in about three minutes when I become bored, I'll hit Search button on my browser and off I'll go.

Is that what you wanted me to do?

If you're in business, you were probably hoping that I would do something that fosters your business interests. If you are selling low-cost items that people purchase on impulse, perhaps you wanted me to buy something. If you are selling higher priced items or services that people usually research before buying, perhaps you wanted me to email you for more information. Perhaps you were hoping that I would sign up for your newsletter or fill out a form. If you are selling memberships in a club or service, maybe you wanted me to join your club and become a member.

It's not likely I'll do any of those things unless you guide me along.

Your first step is to decide for yourself what it is that you most want me to do. Dr. Ken Evoy, of Make Your Site Sell fame, calls this your Most Wanted Response (MWR).

So you decide. Let's say that you want me to apply for membership in your club or service. You are also selling products on your web site, and you are encouraging people to sign up to your email newsletter. But above all else, you want me to sign up for membership.

Now if I came to your site for express purpose of taking out a membership, I will probably do just that. You will have to do something awful to make me change my mind at that point.

On a group to which I subscribe, someone posted an invitation to check out a free story. He even included some glowing reviews to whet our appetites. And story sounded really interesting. But when I went to URL given by author, page wasn't story I expected. Apart from a load of Tripod pop-up ads that I thought would never stop coming, a Java splash page loaded in. That was followed by a most unexpected page--bright green print on a black background. I think author must have been pining for days before Windows made DOS computers so much easier to use as well as easier on eyes! To add insult to injury, writer included a sound file with absolutely no way of turning sound off. Fortunately file (mostly bird song) wasn't objectionable. I didn't read page of course--after all, it wasn't promised story. Since I couldn't even find a link that looked remotely as though it might lead to story, I went somewhere else.