Text vs. Pictures: Shedding Light on the Debate

Written by June Campbell


What's more important to your web site: pictures or text?

If you have an ecommerce web site, you needrepparttar answer to that question. Your profits depend on it.

Overrepparttar 106411 years, we've heard a lot of opinions on this topic. Some webmasters formed opinions through studying log files and conducting online surveys. Others relied on personal preference.

However, thanks to Stanford University andrepparttar 106412 Poynter Institute, we now have some concrete research to use in our quest to designrepparttar 106413 most effective sites. The Stanford Poynter Project sheds light on how site visitors spend their time.

Some will findrepparttar 106414 results surprizing. Others will have their opinions confirmed. The four-year study demonstrated that our online reading patterns arerepparttar 106415 precise opposite of our reading patterns when we read newspapers or magazines.

When we read print newspapers, we read atrepparttar 106416 breakfast table, inrepparttar 106417 coffee shop or onrepparttar 106418 subway. We browse -- a headline here, a picture there. We look atrepparttar 106419 pictures first, then readrepparttar 106420 text if it interests us. People who layout print publications know this, and they design accordingly.

Many concluded thatrepparttar 106421 same patterns would apply onrepparttar 106422 web. But it's not so. We dorepparttar 106423 exact opposite.

Surfing isn't a casual activity that we do comfortably while waiting forrepparttar 106424 bus. It's something we do sitting in a chair staring at a monitor that isn't friendly torepparttar 106425 eyes. Moreover, we're likely to be distracted by telephone calls, incoming email and co-workers inrepparttar 106426 next cubicle.

Online, we need to getrepparttar 106427 information as quickly as possible. We head straight forrepparttar 106428 text. The study found that surfers look first at article text (92% ofrepparttar 106429 time) and briefs (82% ofrepparttar 106430 time), and thirdly at photos. We read 70% ofrepparttar 106431 article, as compared torepparttar 106432 30% we're likely to read from a magazine or newspaper. Then, when we're finished withrepparttar 106433 text, about 22% of us glance atrepparttar 106434 web site's pictures.

Banner ads and photographs attract more attention than artwork.

Oddly,repparttar 106435 study also showed that although only 22% of site visitors glance at pictures, 45% check out banner ads for approximately one and one quarter second.

Other miscellaneous findings fromrepparttar 106436 study:

1. Sports readers read more content than any other type of reader. Males and females read sports in equal numbers, but 11% of males read heavily compared to 0% ofrepparttar 106437 females. 2. Thirty-year olds read more local content than twenty year olds or sixty year olds. 3. Females read more local content than males. 4. Twenty-year olds read more science and sports than other age groups. 5. When reading online, we read serially. That is, we jump back and forth among sites, returning torepparttar 106438 ones that interest us.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS' SECRETS REVEALED

Written by Ziv Dascalu


You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long asrepparttar bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS' SECRETS REVEALED

The biggest obstacle in trying to obtain a new client or business partner is reachingrepparttar 106410 right person inrepparttar 106411 appropriate organization who will closerepparttar 106412 desirable deal. The Internet offers some innovative ways to overcome this obstacle quickly and efficiently.

Most consistent performers are able to meet their business objectives viarepparttar 106413 people they know and introductions they get. In other words, they have established relationships and social capital that they nurture and leverage. Typically it takes years to build a Rolodex of qualified business contacts and a significant investment in time to keeprepparttar 106414 relationship current and to nurturerepparttar 106415 relationship.

Since this is not an option for many of us especially as we start inrepparttar 106416 business or a new line of business we must resort to “Cold Calling” or “Blind Dates” set up by well meaning friends. The success ratio is hit and miss. A more reliable approach leverages Connection Makers. A Connection Maker is a professional that not only puts in contact with your prospect but also provides a personal introduction and provides you withrepparttar 106417 appropriate preparatory background and identifies what you need to be prepared to do.

Finding Connection Makers

Findingrepparttar 106418 Connection Maker who hasrepparttar 106419 business skills and relationships that you are looking for in a prospect and can provide yourepparttar 106420 personal introduction to that tough to reach prospect is usually an exhausting and very often fruitless process. In other words findingrepparttar 106421 right Connection Maker, however, is often as difficult as finding repparttar 106422 prospect.

There are few reliable sources that can help you findrepparttar 106423 right Connection Maker. Even those you can find it is often very difficult to verify that they are qualified in terms of information and accessibility. Internet business networking sites solves this problem and facilitatesrepparttar 106424 introduction to numerous qualified Connection Makers and perhaps more importantly you can qualify them yourself rapidly, confidentially and discretely.

Online Platforms for Business Networking Solutions

Online platforms for business networking are providing solutions to help acceleraterepparttar 106425 first and most critical phase ofrepparttar 106426 sales and partnering process – makingrepparttar 106427 business connection.

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