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As the Internet gets increasingly
sophisticated, so do its users.
Internet users today are much
more savvy and demanding than
they were just a few short years
ago. Your website must be created with this
new Internet user in mind, otherwise they
will simply surf right on past you and on to
your competitors.
Most companies in the building industry
still design their websites as they would any
brochure or other conventional marketing
collateral piece. This would have been
adequate a couple of years ago, but the rules
have changed. The key
to creating an effective
website today is having a
thorough understanding
of the individuals who
will be reading your site
and what they expect to
get from it.
The Internet is
maturing and improving
daily. As a result, your visitor's sophistication
and expectations are also rising. A recent study
found that the average time spent viewing a
typical web page has fallen dramatically to
just 53 seconds. This tells us that Internet users
are busy, they look to the web more for facts
than advertising hype and they don't have time
to read long, copy-heavy websites. They want
straightforward information fast.
Today's Internet surfer doesn't always
enter your website from your home page.
You need to look at your website and
be sure that each page can stand on
its own. This may mean reiterating key
selling benefits in a variety of ways while
maintaining clarity and avoiding ambiguity
throughout each page of your site.
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What does this all mean for your web
strategy? First of all, don't design and write
your website as you would your other
marketing collateral pieces. An effective
website must focus on how quickly you can
communicate what you need to say in a way
that is relevant to the targeted reader. You
must understand their time restraints and
level of sophistication.
Ideally, your website should be an easy-touse
reference. It needs to establish credibility
and ultimately lead to acquiring a new
customer or retaining an existing one. It
should invite your customers to revisit your site
every time they have
questions, thus saving
them time and money.
Make sure your site
is easy to understand
and to navigate. If you
force your visitors to
search your whole site
for basic information,
chances are they will
leave before finding what they need. Keep the
fancy graphics and effects to a minimum.
Nothing confuses a reader more than
inconsistency. Your entire website should
tie together as a well-told story and not be
a hodge-podge of different page layouts
and inconsistent statements. Achieving
consistency should expand beyond your
website and into your entire communications
strategy to be consistent across all of your
marketing vehicles.
Most importantly, is all this information
relevant to your reader? Web copy must be
written from the reader's point of view, not
yours. You need to get inside the reader's
head and find the main hook that will get
them to connect to your products and
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services. Do some research to find out what
they want. If your content is not relevant to
your reader, it simply doesn't matter how
consistent your statements are or how pretty
your website looks; your reader will just leave
and more on to your competitor.
Ask several people outside of your
company to visit your site. Give them six
seconds to review your home page. If, after
six seconds, they can provide you with a
description of what your company/project
can do for them to your satisfaction, then
chances are you have an effective site. If not,
then you have some work to do!
John Gumas is the
president of Gumas,
an advertising and
interactive marketing
agency in San Francisco.
He may be contacted at
jgumas@gumas.com.
FAST FACTS
- The average time spent viewing a typical web page has fallen dramatically to just 53 seconds.
- An effective website must focus on how quickly you can communicate what you need to say in a way that is relevant to the targeted reader.
- Keep it simple. Make sure your site is easy to understand and to navigate.
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