Back in 1993, when I began designing websites for clients, I knew nothing about marketing. I was a webmaster. I was not a master marketer. The websites I designed used the typical header across the top with links down the left sidebar. In some cases I would use two side bars with links, one of the left side and one on the right side with content in the middle.
In the early 90's, back when I operated a website design business, I remember a client of mine who had a direct sales website. He wanted a more professional looking website so I created a standard header across the top with links down the sides. He was really happy with it. But two months later he called me and said his sales had fallen by 13% after we put up the new website. This was crazy we thought. His website looked so much better, why did his sales drop 13%!
I felt bad. The guy had come to me thinking that a prettier, more professional website would result in more sales when in reality, it resulted in fewer sales. We had made the website much more complex. Where dead space was on the web-page, we stuffed it full of links like: Awards, Screen Shots, Press Releases, About Us, Privacy Statement, and more.
We put the old website back up, the less professional looking website. Sales immediately went back up to their former levels.
The painful lesson I learned was that a direct sales website needs to be kept super simple: KISS (Keep It Super Simple). The bottom line was that we added too many links to the website and it confused people. People did not know what they were suppose to do. The website had no laser like focus. When we looked at the web logs we found a horrible truth, not only had sales declined but very few people were even taking the time to click on the new links we added: a double failure!
Internet marketing is a lot simpler than most business owners think. Look, let us be brutally honest here. My research has shown me that people do not care about your business. They do not care about your awards. They certainly do not care about your press releases or your privacy policy. All that people care about is if you have an answer, if you have a product or service, that will solve their problem and, how much will it cost.
All business owners who are new to the Internet make the critical mistake of hiring a web designer to create their website. They end up with a piece of artwork that does not sell.
You have 10 seconds to grab your prospects attention. If she feels overwhelmed by 5, 10, or 20 different hyperlinks, she will simply click the back button on her browser and pick the next site listed in Google. If she has so many options presented to her that she can not find what she wants, she will click the back button on her browser and pick the next site listed in Google. By the way, never install a script that prevents someone from using the back button in their browser. It only gets your prospect angry and assures that they will never come back to your website again. It might also lead to complaints to Google against your website which could result in a de-listing from their search engine. I do not know of many direct sale website owners that could stay in business without being in Google.
What do I mean by keeping your website design simple? An attention getting headline with excellent sales copy, and the one action you want your visitor to take will always beat fancy website design when it comes to closing the sale.
Your website design must focus, like a laser, on the most wanted response. Do not add complicated navigation menus. Have only the one option you want people to take on any given webpage. Focus all your sales copy on that page to get people to take the one option you want them to. By focusing your sales copy in this way, it focuses the attention of your prospect on exactly what you want them to focus on. Complexity is the enemy of sales. Keep your website design super simple. - 22871
In the early 90's, back when I operated a website design business, I remember a client of mine who had a direct sales website. He wanted a more professional looking website so I created a standard header across the top with links down the sides. He was really happy with it. But two months later he called me and said his sales had fallen by 13% after we put up the new website. This was crazy we thought. His website looked so much better, why did his sales drop 13%!
I felt bad. The guy had come to me thinking that a prettier, more professional website would result in more sales when in reality, it resulted in fewer sales. We had made the website much more complex. Where dead space was on the web-page, we stuffed it full of links like: Awards, Screen Shots, Press Releases, About Us, Privacy Statement, and more.
We put the old website back up, the less professional looking website. Sales immediately went back up to their former levels.
The painful lesson I learned was that a direct sales website needs to be kept super simple: KISS (Keep It Super Simple). The bottom line was that we added too many links to the website and it confused people. People did not know what they were suppose to do. The website had no laser like focus. When we looked at the web logs we found a horrible truth, not only had sales declined but very few people were even taking the time to click on the new links we added: a double failure!
Internet marketing is a lot simpler than most business owners think. Look, let us be brutally honest here. My research has shown me that people do not care about your business. They do not care about your awards. They certainly do not care about your press releases or your privacy policy. All that people care about is if you have an answer, if you have a product or service, that will solve their problem and, how much will it cost.
All business owners who are new to the Internet make the critical mistake of hiring a web designer to create their website. They end up with a piece of artwork that does not sell.
You have 10 seconds to grab your prospects attention. If she feels overwhelmed by 5, 10, or 20 different hyperlinks, she will simply click the back button on her browser and pick the next site listed in Google. If she has so many options presented to her that she can not find what she wants, she will click the back button on her browser and pick the next site listed in Google. By the way, never install a script that prevents someone from using the back button in their browser. It only gets your prospect angry and assures that they will never come back to your website again. It might also lead to complaints to Google against your website which could result in a de-listing from their search engine. I do not know of many direct sale website owners that could stay in business without being in Google.
What do I mean by keeping your website design simple? An attention getting headline with excellent sales copy, and the one action you want your visitor to take will always beat fancy website design when it comes to closing the sale.
Your website design must focus, like a laser, on the most wanted response. Do not add complicated navigation menus. Have only the one option you want people to take on any given webpage. Focus all your sales copy on that page to get people to take the one option you want them to. By focusing your sales copy in this way, it focuses the attention of your prospect on exactly what you want them to focus on. Complexity is the enemy of sales. Keep your website design super simple. - 22871
About the Author:
Written by Lance Jepsen. To learn more about exploding the profits of your website including an easy to follow 30 day program to make your website spit out money like a broken ATM, visit internet marketing
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