|
|
| Information |
|
|
Web Users Crave Familiarity
The sad truth is, general Web users would love it if all our sites looked like Amazon.com. They'd immediately be familiar with the interface, they would know how to find what they wanted, and they'd find it a breeze to check out and complete the purchase. Or, if your site is crammed full of thousands of pages of content, make it look like Yahoo!. That's what FindLaw.com has done. The trouble is, the creative spirit hates to copy the work of others. We want to make out own mark, do something different, be original. And the more creative we are as individuals, the greater that compulsion becomes. As a result, we build flash homepages, with unfamiliar scroll bars and use strange icons in place of familiar words like 'Home' and 'About'. Or designers make a compromise and build a traditional homepage, but with a different look. They'll move the navigation links from the left side to the right side - anything to look different! And writers are no better. We'll look for other ways to say familiar things in a different way. Some writers say 'Entry Page' instead of 'Home', or 'Go to Checkout' instead of 'Buy Now'. Is this a problem? I don't have figures to prove my point, but my guess is that conversion rates drop off whenever you give a reader reason to pause. And when you say "Entry Page' you are giving your readers pause for at least as long as it takes for them to wonder to themselves, "I wonder if that means the homepage?" But the issue of familiarity goes beyond the words we have come to expect on the Web. We should also keep in mind the many words and phrases that our prospects have grown to recognize from the offline world. If you sell directly from your site - and that includes selling newsletter sign-ups and registrations - spend some time looking at the junk mail you receive each day. Also, take a look at those small cards that drop out of the magazines you receive. Check out the language. Limited Time Offer. Save. FREE. Reply now. Special Offer. Call 1-800-000-0000. Offer expires May 22. Free Gift. Trial Offer. Guaranteed. 30-Day money back guarantee. Subscribe. And so on. While you may not see all of these words and phrases in abundance online right now, you might want to try a few. A sense of familiarity can cross boundaries between media. All of the terms above are also use successfully on TV and radio. So why not on the Web? Learn from the hard-won experience of others and use terms and words that your consumers are familiar with, whatever the source. When you do that, you speed up the decision-making process, you remove all those pauses when your prospects are figuring out what exactly it is that you really mean. This is true for the look of your site, the navigation of your site and the copy you use to try and engage attention and close sales. As much as we may hate to accept it, originality is usually the enemy of a smooth customer experience. Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author, speaker and advocat of good writing. You can access all his archived newsletter articles on copywriting and writing for the web at his Excess Voice site. You'll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his Freelance Writing Success site.
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news News Corp exec becomes chief of Germany's Premiere (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp's chief financial officer for Europe and Asia has been named chief executive of German pay television group Premiere, following the resignation of Michael Boernicke, Premiere said on Wednesday. News Corporation to redevelop London Wapping site (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is to redevelop its Wapping site in London, moving all its UK businesses, including News International, Harper Collins, MySpace and Dow Jones, under one roof. UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News (UPI) Chesney nominated for 7 CMAs ... Hoffman: I'm not playing Penguin ... 'RocknRolla' No. 1 at U.K. box office ... Jessica Simpson stops song on 'GMA' ... News from United Press International. Get the latest news in racing (Daily Racing Form) In order to read Daily Racing Form's free daily news stories it is required that you have a DRF.com free membership. If you do not have a DRF.com free membership, please register here . You will NOT need to be logged in to read each day's free news stories. DailyMe: News tailored to your individual tastes (The Christian Science Monitor) Column: Custom news websites come and go, but this one gets it right. Sarah Palin docu wins record ratings for Fox News (Reuters via Yahoo! News) In a week of records surrounding the Republican National Convention, Fox News Channel earned another one with its weekend documentary on vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. MySpace ad business ahead of target: News Corp (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp's (NWSa.N) MySpace advertising business is operating ahead of expectations and its digital ad business is performing better than the marketplace, the company's chief operating officer said on Tuesday. UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News (UPI) Mars Lander set to run last of experiments ? Protein found to suppress skin cancer ? NASA: Gamma-ray burst was aimed at Earth ? Study: Continuous blood sugar monitor best ... Health/Science news from UPI. News 25's Gina Morss Speaks with Senator Dick Durbin (WEEK-TV Peoria) You probably noticed the price of gas jumped up about a quarter a gallon in the past 24 hours. That's apparently a reaction to Hurricane Ike. Senator Dick Durbin tells News 25 he believes oil companies and the president could do more to keep prices at the pump lower. UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News (UPI) Peabody Hotel in Memphis declares amnesty ? Night at Hearst Castle up for grabs ? Mother: 6-year-old got stuck in washer ? Couple may keep home thanks to rare coin ? UPI Quirks in the News. Site: news - Google News Gas Supplies To Poland Stable, No New Caps Planned - Operator - CNNMoney.com
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for ecommerce Chain Reaction Ecommerce gets $5 million boost (BizJournals) Atlanta-based Chain Reaction Ecommerce Inc.(CRE) has raised $5 million from a local venture capital firm. MyECheck Launched on 25 eCommerce Sites With Online Commerce Group (Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance) MyECheck Inc., an electronic transaction processor and provider of alternative payment solutions, is pleased to announce that is has deployed its service on 25 eCommerce websites owned and operated by Online Commerce Group, LLC. Ecommerce Provider UniteU Achieves PCI Compliance (PRWeb via Yahoo! News) On-demand Ecommerce Platform Protects Consumers and Merchants Demandware Powers Stylish New eCommerce Site for Barneys New York (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) WOBURN, Mass.----Demandware, developer of the only enterprise-class, on-demand ecommerce platform, today announced that luxury retailer Barneys New York is now live on the Demandware eCommerce Platform. USA Technologies Launches an eCommerce Site to Sell Their EnergyMiser(TM) Product Line (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) MALVERN, Pa.----USA Technologies Inc. , a leading provider of energy management technology designed to reduce the cost and environmental consequence of running everyday devices such as vending machines and coolers, announced today the launch of its eCommerce system for purchasing its EnergyMiser line of products. Corel Streamlines Global Operations to Improve Operational Efficiency and Focus Investment on Growth Opportunities (Centre Daily Times) Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL) (TSX:CRE) today announced it is streamlining its global operations in order to become more operationally efficient and to increase its investment in key growth opportunities, including emerging markets and eCommerce. As part of this effort, the Company will reduce its global workforce by approximately 8% or 90 employees worldwide. Corel Streamlines Global Operations to Improve Operational Efficiency and Focus Investment on Growth Opportunities (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) OTTAWA----Corel Corporation today announced it is streamlining its global operations in order to become more operationally efficient and to increase its investment in key growth opportunities, including emerging markets and eCommerce. Putting Your Product Pages to Work (SEO Chat) Visitors to your site s product pages want to achieve certain goals. Make it easy for them and you can increase your sales. Many of the tweaks and changes mentioned in this article owe as much to good web site design as they do to SEO. We ll look at how successful ecommerce companies such as Amazon and Dell pull it off.... Automate Software Builds with Visual Build Pro Easily create an ... UpSellit's Virtual Chat Agent Creates New Sales Opportunities This Holiday Season for Online Retailers (Centre Daily Times) In time for holiday sales, citing a predicted 14.3 percent growth in eCommerce from 2007-2008 (eMarketer, 2008), etailers are turning to UpSellit to prepare for this seasons' spike in opportunity. UpSellit, a virtual chat technology company that provides online solutions for enhanced, intelligent communications, announced today a 15 percent increase in eCommerce clients during the past six ... Kensington Global Private Equity Fund invests in Walden Venture Capital VII, L.P. (CNW Group via Yahoo! Finance) Kensington Capital Partners Limited, Canada's leading independent private equity fund investor, is pleased to announce a commitment of US$2,500,000 by the Kensington Global Private Equity Fund to Walden Venture Capital VII, L.P., a venture capital fund managed by Walden Venture Capital, based in San Francisco, specializing in the digital media, consumer and enterprise services, and eCommerce ... Site: ecommerce - Google News Coremetrics Reports Mixed eCommerce Signals in December - MSNBC
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Effective Management Of Your Customer Services With a third party merchant account you will have a dedicated 24/7 support team to handle your credit card payment on your behalf as part of your package. You will also need to provide your own support for issues relating directly to your product. Keep Your Customers Happy by Organizing Your Payment Options Anyone using a slow, or an awkward payment processor had better wake up!There are some very slick ways to transfer money around the globe, in todays, lightning fast world, both your customers and your suppliers demand payment in the click of a mouse.The processing companies have been fiercely competing with each other for years now, every so often, they revamp and recalibrate. The Plain Man's Guide to Making Money Online I'm a plain man who uses plain thinking in devising strategies for making money online.I do not spend obscene mounts of money attending high ticket web conferences nor do I rush to purchase the latest collection of web casts at outrageous prices. How To Accept Credit Cards Without a Merchant Account To increase sales on your website, you must accept credit cards. To process credit cards, you could apply for a merchant account through your bank or other financialinstitution. The Art of Being Human This isn't the first time I have written about the benefits of inserting a human voice or presence into your online communications. And I make no excuse for writing about this again. Why Ecommerce is Not Ready for My Daughter or Me As the mother of a teenage clothing fanatic I'm often at my local mall. It occurred to me that the shopping experience for my daughter is attractive to her not because she wants to spend my money, but because the experience of buying itself is so rich to the senses. Dont give up on your business! Summer must be when many work at home Mom start to think that their business is a flop and begin to look for a new opportunity. This is fine if your business is truly a flop - but chances are, you just need to take a look at it from a fresh perspective. How To Prevent Your 3rd Party Merchant Account From Suspension What would you do if you were sent an email from your online credit card processor telling you that your account has been suspended or frozen?How are you going to pay the bills in the meantime?It is extremely important for you to familiarize yourself with the terms of your contract with your credit card processor.As long as you comply with their set regulation and guidelines to maintain your account in good standing you should have no problems. Leveraging Open Source Technology Open Source applications can bring unique value to business owners. Since the base application development costs of open source applications is free, small and medium business owners are able to leverage previously unobtainable technolgies against their sales objectives, operational costs and customer satisfaction levels. Shopping Cart Abandonment - Discover 5 Things you can do to Lower Cart Abandonment A common frustration among merchants who sell online via a shopping cart is the percentage of people who abandon their cart and leave the site never to return. This is known as the shopping cart abandonment rate. Eleven Things You Must Know About A Drop Shipping Directory And Its Company 1. Balance - You want to find a directory rich in many different categories of products rather than the quantity of products available. Saving Money On Your E-commerce Site After building and transferring many e-commerce sites it still amazes me that owners of e-commerce businesses are still wasting money in three basic ways. For fear of stating the obvious, saving money is the same as making money $100 saved is $100 added to your profit margin. Online Merchant Account - Costs and Alternatives Merchant Account BasicsA Merchant Account is a commercial bank account established by a merchant to receive payment via credit cards. Three parts are required to accept credit cards. Does Your Shopping Cart Have a Squeaky Wheel? Have you ever gone grocery shopping just before a holiday? The aisles are packed with people pushing carts, shelves need restocked, all the checkout lanes have long lines.. Old Habits Die Hard in the Third Age Years I spent a lifetime in retailing and I'm still at it in retirement; albeit virtually.You know how it goes. How To Find the Best Merchant Account For Your Business What a great idea! Start accepting credit cards and watch your profits soar. Nothing could be simpler. Doing Business Online - Private B2B Exchanges Business processes are the building blocks of an enterprise. If one of these processes fails to live up to its expectation, business starts to flounder. Delivering Information Products Through Paypal Automatically Paypal is one of the wonders of the web. Never has it been easier for individuals or small business to receive payments though the web & to be able to accept payment though debit or credit cards without having to own a merchant account. Google Catalogs - Old Gashioned Mail Order Meets High Tech Search In addition to Google's Froogle shopping service (still in beta), which features a searchable database of online merchants, Google is also beta-testing their Google Catalog service. Google Catalogs provides a searchable central repository of hundreds of mail-order catalogs. Creating The Perfect Ecommerce Website If you're thinking of jumping on the bandwagon and going into business with your own ecommerce website, you'd do well to look at a few examples before you start. Finding out what a good ecommerce website looks like will help you know what to include - and what to avoid - when you start to set up one of your own.
|
| Home | Site Map | Resource Links |
