Does Your Site Have Stopping Power?

By Jim Daniels
Posted Friday, December 3, 2004

About one in every ten sites I visit succeeds at keeping me around longer than a minute. I'm usually in a hurry when I surf the web, and I'm not alone.

Actually, the term "Web surfer" is a misleading one. Not too many people I know actually "surf" the web at a leisurely pace. Instead, most times they are on the web they click and click in a frenzied search for something in particular. Perhaps a better term than web surfer would be "Speed Clicker."

Once you come to accept that fact you'll see why it is crucial to give your visitors a reason to slow down as soon as they arrive at your site. Too many webmasters don't do this right away and risk losing another web surfer and potential customer.

Slowing your visitors down a little is the first step in getting them to actually stop and stay a while. If you can accomplish that you'll be on your way to generating a new subscriber or customer. And ain't that what it's all about?

OK, so now that you know that your number one task is to slow down these speed clickers, I'd like to share with you exactly how to do it...

Once you're sure your website loads quickly and looks professional, it's time to post your "slow down" sign right at your main page. No, I'm not talking about one of those tired old "under construction" signs. Instead, I'm talking about smacking your visitors right square in the eye, with a compelling reason to calm their pace a bit and investigate your site further.

No, it is not done with fancy graphics or technology like audio or video. It is best done with the number one tool at your disposal -- words.

But before you start thinking up some catchy headlines or attention grabbers, I'd like you to throw those tired old axioms away. Instead, take a moment today and consider why these "Speed Clickers" have happened upon your site in the first place.

What are they looking for? As a webmaster it is your responsibility to know what your best prospect is thinking and searching for. If you plan to have a successful web business, most of these speed clickers should be hoping to find the very things you've built your business on. Do you know what they are? Here's a little help. Ask yourself these questions...

What is the main benefit(s) your prospects and customers get from doing business with you rather than the competition?

Are your prices the cheapest? Is your selection the largest? Do you offer a unique technology? Do you cater to a special niche market? Do you offer free assistance others can't?

If you can't think of at least one main benefit you'd better work on building one into your business. Not only is it crucial to your success, it's the only way to slow down those speed surfers -- by simply telling them THEIR benefit as soon as they arrive.

So were you able to come up with at least one solid benefit? Good for you. Now put it into action. First put the main benefit or benefits of doing business with you into a sentence.

Need an example? Here's my sentence...

Visitors to bizweb2000 receive high quality online marketing assistance (with no fluff!) from a guy who has been making his living from the Internet since 1996.

As you can see from that sentence, the best benefits I can offer to my website visitors are:

- quality, no-nonsense help - my experience as a full-time web marketer

You'll see this message prominently displayed at my home page. No, not in those exact words, but through a more powerful method of delivery -- from the mouths of my customers. This is my slow down sign -- and it works.

I invite you, scratch that, I CHALLENGE you to come up with your own "slow down sign" at your website. Spend a day if necessary. If you have trouble coming up with anything, contact some of your best customers and ask them why they do business with you. You may find that their feedback provides all the stopping power your home page needs!

About the Author
Tip by Jim Daniels of JDD Publishing. Did you find this tip helpful? There's plenty more like this at Jim's site: (www.bizweb2000.com) For Free Weekly Online Marketing Help, get Jim's BizWeb E-Gazette... Mailto:freegazette@bizweb2000.com or visit (http://www.bizweb2000.com)