 As you may remember, last time we started the conversation about the things that savvy marketers can do to improve the user experience in terms of improving your Web site's usability --
-- in this post, we'll conclude the discussion with five additional tips to follow when implementing your user experience initiatives. Let's get straight to it:
6. Recognize the Scent
No, we're not insinuating that your Web visitors have a literal aroma! When we say 'recognize the scent' what we mean is you need to measure and optimize the scent trails people project and follow, both on your site and via marketing campaigns.
Think about this: the search terms a user types in and then follows reveals a lot about their intent - the more specific the search term, the more transparent the visitor's intent. If you want your site to convert the browsing visitor into a buyer, it must provide content, Web pages and a path that "match" the scent or the intent that the visitor has put forth.
How do you match this scent? In a few ways:
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Create highly specific landing pages: A small investment in customized landing pages gets a big return in conversions.
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Create unique, individual landing pages: You may be tempted to use the same page for every campaign, but don't. Visitors can sniff out the difference between an offer that was 'kind of' crafted for them and one that's been specifically created for them.
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Direct people to specific landing pages: Dumping people into your home page is one of the best ways to help them lose interest in your site.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention at this point that Lyris HQ makes it easy to create unique landing pages for every email campaign or PPC ad created in BidHero, with focused content to help keep visitors on the right path. And now that you've pardoned that little self-plug, let's take a look at a couple of examples of good and bad landing pages:
Needs Improvement: The screenshot below shows a cluttered landing page that features too many calls-to-action and not enough keyword reinforcement. A visitor arriving on this page has to figure out if the content is relevant to their search and then has to figure out what to do next, as the site's message and path are unclear. (click on image below for larger view)
Good: This screenshot shows an excellent example of a landing page that gets it right. The search keywords stand out, and the page is simple with a targeted call-to-action. Additionally, the landing page content reiterates the information shared in the ad, building a sense of trust between the visitor and the brand. (click on image below for larger view)
7. Create Printer-Friendly Web Pages
Giving users the ability to easily print Web page content in the standard 8.5” x 11” format is a sign of good manners. Users will appreciate being able to print your Web pages in a clean black and white format, as they don’t want to waste color ink and additional paper printing unnecessary graphics. A good Web content management system (Web CMS) should provide this capability automatically so you don’t have to worry about doing any coding yourself. (click on image below for larger view)
8. Optimize Your Web Forms
Your Web forms can make or break your site. Ask for too much info and you'll scare a visitor off - ask for too little and your sales team will be fretting over the quality of your Web-generated leads. The secret to creating optimized Web forms is to keep them simple, balancing your need for information with the visitor's desire to protect their personal details - in other words, ask yourself if you really need a phone number for a visitor who's just signing up for a newsletter . Probably not.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you should keep visitors informed. Set an expectation for how their personal information will be used, and if you're using a multi-step form, tell users upfront how many steps are involved and how long will it take. Following these few pieces of advice can have a positive impact on reducing shopping cart or form abandonment rates.
Finally, make sure that your error handling messages are in plain English. If users missed a mandatory field or entered information incorrectly, use friendly error messages to direct them to complete the form correctly – i.e. 'Please enter a valid email address.' You'd be surprised how many companies expect a visitor to figure out what to do when they see 'Please correct the error in Line 29: INVALID SYNTAX' – one is definitely a bit more user friendly than the other!
Here's an example of a Web form that's doing a good job:
When you're crafting the content for your Web site, always keep your audience in mind and provide them what they’re looking for. Keeping the information relevant and useful, giving people what they want, when they want it. How can you ensure that you're keeping your customer first? By asking yourself 'How does this serve my customers' needs?' rather than 'How is this good for my business?' - after all, serving your customers' needs is the best thing you can do for your business.
Good content is the result of keeping several elements in mind: your Web site's information architecture, your visitors' scent, the balance of information with user experience and whether the visitor is there for the first time, or a return visitor.
10. Use Flash for Visual Enhancement, not Complete Content Delivery
Macromedia Flash elements should only be used to enhance your content, not to serve all of your content. Why? Because it's NOT accessible NOR search engine friendly. That's why you must make sure that there is enough relevant content on your pages to allow spiders/robots to find you and rank your Web site - because none of the content in your Flash elements will 'count.'
Again, it comes down to finding the right balance that works best for your site. If your audience will appreciate and be impressed by a slick Flash element, add it in. Just remember to make certain that your content is strong enough without the Flash so that it can easily be found in a Web search.
Gibson Guitars does an excellent job of balancing Flash elements with meaningful content, as seen in the screenshot below:
11. Bonus! Why You Must Have Site Search
I know I said we'd give five more usability tips, but this last one was one I just couldn't pass up! I was talking with a colleague at work recently who recommended that I mention “site search” as a top usability best practice. I looked at him and said, “Really?” “Yes," he replied, "You should mention it. Believe it or not, not everyone knows it already.”
So here we go. Giving users the ability to search your site is extremely important, and yet is lacking on many Web sites. In fact, most Web CMS systems have the feature built-in so you don’t even have to worry about it. Not only does a site search help users find what they’re looking for - it also helps you by showing you: what your visitors are most interested in; what they’re having a difficult time finding on your site (so you can make it easier for them); and, what they're looking for that isn’t available on your site - indicating products or other information that you might consider adding.
Are there more ways to improve your bottom line by improving your users' experience? Certainly. The 11 we've mentioned in this series are intended to give you a solid starting point for implementing an optimized user interface initiative. If you've got other user experience ideas that have worked for your business, by all means, let us know in the comments area below!
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