In the struggle for visitor numbers it’s easy to overlook one important question — “what happens next?”. It’s a fact that in the overwhelming number of cases the answer is “click” and that’s the dreaded sound of the back button. Of course we talk about ‘bounce rates’ to make ourselves feel better.

What went wrong? Was my website not beautiful enough? Is my business model fundamentally flawed? Well perhaps, but the simple truth is:

The visitor didn’t feel you were what they were looking for.

“You mean thought?”

No, I’ll stick with felt. Think about when you’re searching the net… do you really make a full evaluation based on logic? Or do you get a ‘gut feeling’ that this isn’t what you’re looking for?

If you’re using Google Analytics (and you should be!) have a look at your ‘Bounce Rate’, ‘Avg. Time on Site’ and ‘Page/Visits’. Chances are too many of your visitors leave and they leave quickly without looking at many pages — not enough time for a purely rational evaluation.

Beating the back button

Given the gravitational attraction of the back button it makes sense to grab attention quickly. I’d agree but add a note of caution. The back button doesn’t magically disappear after a few seconds. It’s no good just grabbing attention — holding onto and then making use of that attention are what count.

Going beyond headlines and eye-catching graphics

A great headline and beautiful website are certainly instrumental in making the right first impression. Usability and intuitive navigation combine for a great second impression. Then what? Now we get to the crunch… why the visitor arrived in the first place. This is the most critical time for any website — the moment a visitor decides this is the right website or it’s time to head back. How long does this moment last? Every second spent on your site.

Filling the void

All too often, between attention grabbing headlines and pushy calls to action, there’s a black hole that sucks visitors away from your website. Words are critical in guiding visitors from a landing page toward the right response. Effective web copy is what makes a visitor feel that they’ve come to the right place and that takes more than just listing the facts of what you do.