ConvertDesigning Web Sites to Increase Traffic and

Conversion

Provide Details

If you have statistics that support your proposition, use them.!

If your widget improves performance by 51.9%, saying “51.9%” is far more believable than “over 50%”

Provide Details

Show evidence

If you make the best pizza in town, don’t just tell me you make the best pizza in town.!

I won’t believe you.!

Anyone can say “Best pizza in town.”

Show evidenceI’ll believe you …!

delivered 26309 pizzas last year!

received “Best Take-Out” Award from the local newspaper every year for the last 4 years!

I may have to wait up to 40 minutes for my order, because you can’t rush a good pizza!

A story about Donny, who has been making pizzas for a decade, and the time and care he takes to get the tomato sauce just right

Promises

A lot of sites now show more personal messages, like “We hate spam too. We will never give your details out to anyone.”!

Showing a phone number can really boost confidence.

Testimonials

Testimonials do not need to be polished or elegant. The more they sound like a real person talking, the easier real people will connect.

Testimonials

On your shipping page, include a testimonial about how quick the thing arrived.!

If you are describing benefits or features of your offering, use customer quotes and stories.

Testimonials

Build Trust

Don’t think of people in the mass. That gives you blurred view. Think of a typical individual, man or woman, who is likely want what you sell.!

You-oriented language!

Consider using “I” rather than the royal “we”, so people can connect emotionally with you.

Keep delivering values

Try finishing sentences or paragraphs with a question, which creates uncertainty and makes me want to read on to get the answer.!

The easiest sentence to take in is only 8 words long. A sensible average is 16 words.

Use simple language

Use active voice (A does B) rather than passive (B is done by A).!

Sentences that are shorter are more likely to be understood by readers.!

Readers understand shorter sentences more easily.

Dead Ends

Avoid leading your visitors to any point from which they cannot easily move forward.!

A “super footer nav” gives a mechanism to serve visitors who have particular needs that have not been fulfilled elsewhere on the page, and provide rich links for SEO purposes.

Dead Ends

1 9 8   C H A P T E R 8 : K E E P T H E M E N G AG E D

There are different types of navigation links. Your site-wide navigation at the top of the page serves as signage to tell visitors what is available on the site. Inline links give them opportunities to jump to what they want, to choose a different thread of conver-sation, or to break out to get additional information.One common safety net is the now commonplace “super footer nav.” You have seen these, often half a page deep and containing lists of rich links to articles in addition to the standard copyright and privacy links, as illustrated in Figure 8-19.Here is another kind of navigation. Because real estate at the bottom of the page is cheap, designers have realized they can show more, longer links. Not only do these links create more chances to hook a visitor’s interest, they can also create site-wide links that contain more keywords than the shorter navigation at the top of the page, where space is at a premium.

FIGURE 8-19  A “super footer nav” gives a mechanism to serve visitors who have particular needs that have not been fulfilled elsewhere on the page, and provide rich links for SEO purposes.

You may also try providing a search function at the bottom of the page as well as at the top.

“Did we answer your question?”A great tip is to put a simple Q&A section at the bottom of your content pages.Include a form that asks “Did we answer your question? If not, please let us know.” The form includes space to enter the unanswered question and (optionally) name