Welcome back! This is the final installment in our four-part series. This last post will cover what everyone always wants to know: Where should I start optimizing on the actual page? Which brings us to our fourth strategy:
Strategy #4: Focus on the most important parts of the page
First you must understand that not all pages are used the same way by your visitors. User studies have revealed that the eye scans differently depending on the type of page they are looking at. In other words, not every page is created equally.
Page Types
- Ecommerce Category Page – When a user lands on a category page (like: all woman’s t-shirts) of an e-commerce site, visitors tend to look at every item with about the same amount of attention, until they find the one they are looking for.
- Informational page, article or search results – When reading information, articles or results lists, users will scan the page starting with the upper-left corner and decrease their attention with each new heading. This is why adding subheads that recapture the users attention is so vital.
Sweet Spots
The upper left gets a lot of attention from users when they initially land on a page to orient themselves. And, as you may have guessed, the central portion of the page gets attention too. With both types of pages, the upper right and the lower-left of the page are largely ignored.
You might have heard the term “above the fold” which refers to the actual visible portions of a page that a user can see without scrolling. Placing important links above this “fold” is critical when the buyer is in the awareness stage of the buying process.
What’s so great about this strategy?
Now that you understand how each page of your website is potentially viewed, it helps to narrow down the possible options of where to begin improving your pages. Without understanding the important parts of your page, you are left with an overwhelming array of possible areas that you could tweak. When you focus on the parts of the page that really count, your conversion efforts will make the most impact.
Read the whole series:
Strategy #1: Focus on your biggest financial reward
Strategy #2: Focus on Pages With the Most Traffic
Strategy #3: Focus on your clickpaths and make the most of your paid (Pay Per Click) campaigns
Strategy #4: Focus on the most important parts of the page
Improving your website conversions is a skill that you can hone with a little patience and understanding. However, if want to start improving your website’s conversion rate now, and skip the learning curve, give us a call.
About the author: Jeune Ortiz is VP of Marketing and Creative Director at future-ink. With more than 20 years of experience in graphic design and marketing, Jeune brings extensive knowledge and creativity to each website and internet marketing solution to grow your business.
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1 Comment
article marketing secrets | May 20, 2010
I like what you write about testing. Get feedback from actual consumers and clients- that is the most valuable feedback you can get…