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Understanding Why People Don't Read On-Line
Don't know anything about
HTML?
That's OK because you don't
really need that to create
your very own stunning web-
site with search engine
friendly pages.
See how right here.
Learn to create the website
that will attract the traffic
you need to make money.
************************************************************
A friend stopped by the other
day and we got to talking
about websites and how
to attract traffic to them.
See, my friend has his own
site and he wanted to know
how he could attract people
let alone have them buy
something from his site.
I replied by saying that he
should have good content
on his site.
It should be one that not
only attracts people's
attention but also gives
them something for their
time, be it information
or some emotional
gratification.
"You have to give them
something," is basically
what I said to him.
Even when I said that
I knew that it was
incomplete.
Giving them information
and content is all well
and good but it's also
how you present it to
them that determines
whether they come to
you or not - the traffic
I mean.
"Build it and they will
come" doesn't exactly
work.
"Build it and make sure
they like what they see,
then they will come," is
more appropriate.
Why is that you ask?
Which incidentally also
the same question my
friend asked me.
The answer is simple
enough.
It's the way we read on-
line. You can also say it's
the way we don't read on-
line.
Ok you're getting that look.
The look of deer getting
caught in the headlights.
You're probably thinking
what about the way we read
right?
After all, reading is reading
so how can that make a
difference?
That's what I thought so to
but I realize after delving into
the subject that how people
read online greatly impacts
the outcome we want to
achieve - that is to have
more traffic.
To make it easier to
understand I think it
best for me to
enumerate how
people read on-line.
************************************************************
The most important thing
you should probably get
out of this is:
People Don't Read
On-Line.
If you can remember that
then you're halfway there.
It's true, people rarely read
web pages word for word.
Why?
************************************************************
Because reading on-line is
too much work.
You have to admit, reading
from a computer screen is
too tiring to the eyes.
In fact, it has been
suggested that people
tend to read on-line
material 25% slower
as compared to
printed material.
That's why it has been
recommended that you
write your content half
as long as you normally
would.
But it's not just that you
read slower, you also tend
to scan web sites for
information rather than
look them over slowly.
************************************************************
Readers scan web sites.
"Information foraging" is
what usability expert Jakob
Nielsen calls it.
Compared to before when
we tend to sit on one site
and look it over with a fine
toothed comb, nowadays,
we simply scan a site
looking for what Nielsen
calls the "information
scent."
If it's not there, people
move on.
In fact, a study that he made
shows that 79% of us tend to
scan the text, with only 16%
actually reading it word for
word.
A way to counter that is to
make you text scannable.
There are a couple ways you can do that.
Use of highlighted
keywords.
Use of bullet lists.
Keep it to one idea per
paragraph.
And as suggested earlier,
cut down on the word count.
Remember, scanners want
to see the information at
once. If they don't see it
in your site, they will move
on to another.
************************************************************
This is because:
On-line readers are always
in a hurry.
Time is money they say,
and for most on-line readers
that seems to be true.
When they want the
information, they want
it NOW.
In the few seconds that
they are scanning you
site you have to not only
attract their attention but
give them the information
that they are seeking.
You do that and perhaps,
they will stay.
************************************************************
If you think about it
you'll find that you are
probably that way your-
self when you go on-line.
I will admit, I'm an
information forager type.
I do scan for the so
called information scent
and if I don't find it I do
move on.
Only when I find what I'm
looking for do I stay.
And that's usually
because I find the site
pleasing and worth
staying at.
Isn't this merely a reflection
of how we live our lives now -
always on the move, always
impatient, wanting everything
now.
So why should our on-line
experiences be any different
right?
Doing business on-line
requires you to be always
at the top of your game.
This is especially true if
you are just starting out.
You need the right
resources at the tip
of your finger tips.
Check out my step-by-step
guide on how to be your own
website programmer without
having to know HTML.
Get your copy here.
Here's to your own website,
Menno Spijkstra
P.S. Check out my blog here: http://www.affiliatedistrict.com
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