What’s that? You want people who visit your website to buy your products? Use your services? Sign up for your mailing list? Sorry, I missed that, I’ve got another website to visit.
The internet is a big place with lots of things to do and see. But is it possible that there’s one tiny tip that can mitigate the distraction-factor and get people to do more of what you want and less jumping off to another site? Well, there are no magic bullets but there are plenty of small (common sense) things you can do to make it more likely that your site will get the attention it deserves.
This one is so simple you’ll wonder if it works. Until it does. Read this tip now!
Tip #5: A Good Website Contains A Call To Action
Whether you run an informational, service oriented or ecommerce website, you’re doing it for a reason. Define that reason and then prompt your visitors to take action.
A good website needs a purpose to drive visitors to some intended action, whether it’s to sign up for a newsletter, buy a product, request more information or refer a friend. Make it clear what you want your visitors to do, then prompt them to do it.
A good website instructs visitors to “sign up here” or “buy now”. Even if it’s something as simple as “contact us”, make it an obvious directive, so visitors know why they’re using your site.
Never assume that visitors know what you want – or even what they want. Sometimes you have to hit people over the head with a direction before they’ll take it.
If you’re a financial planner you may think it’s pretty obvious that someone visiting your site should start by contacting you about financial services, but a visitor might stop at information surfing and never take action. Even if you have an ecommerce site where the objective is about as clear as you’re going to get (buy now!), a prompt from you to do so could make the difference between gaining or losing that customer.
Lots of us run on autopilot – we read, we click, we move on. If you take the time to shout out to your visitors to “Do this now!” you can tap into that autopilot and nudge the process along.
What’s your call to action and where is it located on your website?
Read More In The “Building A Good Website” Series
- Tip #1: A Website Should Be Informative
- Tip #2: Information Should Be Well Organized And Properly Distributed
- Tip #3: Information Should Be Relevant
- Tip #4: A Website Should Be Easy To Use And Navigate
- Tip #5: A Good Website Contains A Call To Action
- Tip #6: Forms Should Be Easy To Use And Understand
- Tip #7: News, Blogs And Social Media Should Be Updated Regularly
- Tip #8: A Website Should Be Search Engine Friendly
- Tip #9: Your Website Should Be At Least As Good As Your Competitor’s
- Tip #10: A Website Should Be Part Of The Big Picture
