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Turn Browsers Into Buyers

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Dear Friend,

This month my husband and I went to Prescott, AZ and rented a small RV for the weekend. We drove to Arizona in our Mini Cooper and then picked up the RV in Prescott. The weather was quite cold and when we got to the campsite it started to snow. I thought we were the only crazy people camping there until we drove the loop of the campground and saw other people camping in tents, no less! Fortunately, the snow did not stick around and the next day we had beautiful weather in the high 60's.

We had such a good time camping that my husband got a bad case of "RV fever." So this weekend he bought a Chevy Silverado diesel truck in anticipation of his next purchase, a "fifth wheel" RV. Stay tuned for more adventures as we begin to explore the open road.

Improving Website Navigation

The inspiration for this month's article is related to my camping trip. When I was researching information about the city of Prescott, I went to the Prescott Chamber of Commerce's website and couldn't find any useful information. The website is laid out very strangely, and it is all graphic driven with very little wording.  I kept clicking on buttons and was either taken to a dead end or to useless information.  So I decided navigation would be a good topic for this month's article.

To your continued success,

Michelle

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Tips for Improving Website Navigation
By Michelle Howe
(745 words)

A business often has more than one target audience it wants to reach with its website. Different customers mean different sales appeals and a homepage needs to be able to direct visitor traffic to go to the right places to get information or make a sale.

In order for visitors to find the right information, a website's navigation path needs to be clear. Without a clear navigation path, visitors will become confused and leave before they can make a purchase.

Here are some ideas to consider when designing the navigation on a homepage:

Make the Navigation Familiar

Most people expect the navigation buttons to be on the left side of the website or at the top of the website. If the buttons are on the right, it makes the visitors hesitate and think. You don't want them to have to think about the navigation; you want it to be instinctive and easy.

The more familiar the navigation, the less likely they will get lost or confused. They will know how to find the correct path to where they want to go.

Use Text Links to Reinforce the Path

People rely on navigation buttons to find the main paths of the website, but it is also important to reinforce the main paths with text links within the content. Again, this makes it easier for visitors to immediately go to where they can get further information without having to think.

Decide on a Path for Each Buyer

As you put the content together on a homepage, or any other page of a website, you need to think about the complete path that you want to create to take the customer from information to purchase.  The path will differ according to the audience appeal, and your purpose.

Sometimes your audience needs to be educated before they can make a purchase.  In that case, you need to make sure that visitors receive enough information that they will feel confident in making the decision to buy.  This type of audience will need to know the features of your product or service as well as the benefits before they can make a decision.  It would also be helpful to have testimonials and examples to reassure them that they are making the right decision.

When you have to take the time to educate your audience, you would probably take them from the homepage to another area of the website where they can get further information about your product or service.  However, if they didn't need to be educated, they could simply go from the homepage to the buy page and make their purchase.

So, on the homepage, you need to make sure that you have both types of paths available: one for the buyer who needs to be educated, and one for the buyer wants to immediately make a purchase.

Decide on a Path for Each Audience

When you are trying to appeal to multiple audiences, it is important that your homepage has information to appeal to each audience.  When visitors come to your website they are looking for information to solve their specific problem.  You need to have information that they can quickly and easily identify as the solution to their problem.

For instance, maybe your company offers a product or service that is useful to Human Resource Directors, managers, and individuals. Each one of these three audiences would have a different benefit appeal that could be used in gaining their attention on the website. An easy way to do this is to set up three bullets that are questions with text links to take each audience to a separate page where you can exclusively cater to this audience:

*Are you a Human Resource Director looking for XYZ?

*Are you a manager looking for XYZ?

*Are you an employee looking for XYZ?

You want each one of these three audience members to land on your site and immediately find the path that will take them to the solution they seek.

Conclusion

Good navigation on a website is one of the secrets to having a successful website.  The information or content of the website needs to be laid out in such a way that it is easy to follow and logical.  The easier it is for people to find information on a website, the more likely it is they will buy. And, the more difficult it is for them to find information, the more likely they will never visit your website again.

© 2007 Michelle Howe

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Michelle Howe, MBA, president of Internet Word Magic™, is an expert in online copywriting for websites. She translates your marketing materials into the language of the Internet for increased revenue and business success. Michelle consults with companies to assist them in effectively positioning their online marketing message to match their offline branding.

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You can personalize your greeting cards with your own photos, as well as customize your message and postage stamp. You can even order a gift card from popular retailers such as Barnes & Noble, which is included in your card. No minimum order is required; send one card or several.

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© 2007 Michelle Howe
All rights reserved.

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