Make It Easy for Your Visitors to Complete Your Website Goals
What are your website goals? Do you have any? Presumably you want to make money, but how? Does each page on your site have a goal? If so, does the goal of the page also support your ultimate website goal?
Your website goals might include:
* To sell a product
* To sell a service
* To motivate an opt-in
* To inspire a visitor to click on an affiliate advertisement
* To provide information and receive ad exposure and PPC income
Any single website page may also have these same goals. They may also be designed to help you achieve other independent goals. For example, one web page may be designed to promote your opt-in offer. In addition to your call to action, there are other things you can do.
Taking a look at your website goals and independent page goals, consider these three points.
#1 Who are your visitors? What content and tools will you need to help or convince them to accomplish your goals? For example, you want them to sign up for your opt-in form. What content and tools are you using to motivate that action? Are you providing them with a sample of the offer? Do you make it easy to opt-in or do they have to jump through hoops?
#2 How does your visitor travel on your site? When someone visits your landing page, where do they go next? Is it where you want them to go? Does it support your goal? Use your website goals to help you create content and determine the path your visitor takes. Each piece of content on your site should influence an action that ultimately leads to your goal. Again, imagine you want to motivate an opt-in.
Each piece of content, form and promotion on your site should lead to that goal. Take a look at your flow of information and the path your visitors take when they’re at your site. Does their path support your goal? When adding or removing something on your site conflicts with your goals, don’t do it.
#3 Include a call to action with each website page. Articles, videos, forms – everything needs to have a goal that supports your end goal. They need to have a call to action that supports your goal and purpose. Don’t expect your users to know what they’re supposed to do next. Tell them.
Finally, make sure to respect your user’s time. Dragging them through an endless process to achieve your goal isn’t going to win you any friends. If you want them to sign up for your opt-in list, make it as easy as possible. If you want them to buy a product, make it as easy.
Analyze each web page, new and old, and determine if it supports your goals or detracts from them. Help your visitors. Make it easy for them to achieve your website goals.