How to make your customers pay attention

We seem to be squeezing more into our days than ever before. Time is one of our most precious resources – and users are quick to dismiss any website that doesn't understand this.  In a web world full of clutter, how do you get your website visitors to pay attention on your website?

1. Place important information at the top: Studies found that the dominant reading pattern of a website is an “F” shape. This means readers quickly skim from left to right across the top, down the left side and left to right again at the mid section of the page. Place important information where readers can easily find it and remember that if they can’t find it quickly they will probably click away.
2. Remember a call to action at the end: While attention decreases below the fold, viewing time increases significantly at the bottom of the page. Place an additional call to action at the end to create a natural click through flow.
3. Make your website easily searchable:You can’t put everything on the homepage, but you can ensure your website is easily searchable to increase the likelihood of sales and conversions. Customers in a rush tend to make decisions based on convenience over preference.
4. Keep it authentic: Heatmap studies have shown that readers tend to glaze over anything that looks like an ad. Keep your calls to action on brand and authentic to prevent users missing the point. 
5. Make it highly visual: People love pictures! Images of products and real people perform best, while generic stock photography tends to get ignored, according to a Nielsen Norman Group study.
6. Keep it clean: Try to avoid going overboard with your calls to action as it overwhelms people. Think about the most important action your potential customers could take. Prioritise that and remove distracting clutter.
7. Test and test again: It’s helpful to utilise research and results from other companies, but the reality is that there’s no cookie-cutter approach. Your website and product are unique, and the way users use your website will be unique. Closely monitor how your website performs, change things that aren’t doing well and test options against each other. It’s an iterative process. 

Remember the simple things – clean, clear and easy to use. Beautiful design is important, but most important is helping people find what they want on your website. Do this and you’ll be rewarded for your effort.

?To learn more on this important topic - watch one of our recent webinars on How to develop your USP and make your website stand out