Surveys and tracking software have shown that, on average, you have about eight seconds to make an impression on a first-time visitor to your website. After that, they’ll stay engaged on your pages (and possibly become a customer) or take their attention elsewhere (most likely to your one of your competitors).
Here are a handful of ways you can make the most of that limited time…
Aim for Clarity in Your Website Design – anyone who visits your website should be able to tell, immediately, what you do and who you do it for. If there’s any confusion about that, you’re going to lose visitors who won’t hang around long enough to figure it out.
Make Your Visuals and Messaging Count – most people are going to scan your webpages before they spend more time to read them. Your headlines and website photography need to give them reasons to stay and learn more about your company, rather than scanning elsewhere for the solutions they need.
Use a Simple and Compelling “Call to Action” – on each page of your website should be a simple and clear “call to action” that gives a visitor the next step to take. Let customers know exactly what you want them to do when they visit your pages and they just might do it. “Get a Quote”, “Read More”, “Contact Us”, “Sign Up”. These buttons are what can bring your potential clients a step closet to becoming a long-term client, and it all starts with a click.
You can look at these eight seconds the same way that you would as an “Elevator Pitch”. It is a very small amount of time to make a good impression. But, if you get things right in your website design, it could be just long enough to win a customer for life.