Remember that old saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover!” Well you can forget about it! I regret to inform the world that when it comes to business, first impressions are everything.

First Impression: In the Blink Of An Eye!

First time visitors to your website have very little time to spare. The initial impression will be formed in the span of 2-5 seconds. According to Canadian Researchers, “Web users form first impressions of web pages in as little as 50 milliseconds (1/20th of a second).” (1) Don’t believe me? This theory was tested by Dr. Gitte Lindgaard at Carleton University in Ontario. Their conclusion supported the following:

“Even though your site may have superior products, services, or usability, an initial negative impression from a poor or slow design can steer customers towards your competition. You only get one chance to create a good first impression, make it count. A clean, professional, and fast-loading site can ensure that your first impression will be a good one.” (2)

If you’ve managed to make it past the 1 second mark, congratulations! You have now entered the “pitch” zone. Comparable to a sales call, you have about 5-10 seconds to make your initial impression to gain their interest.

Make Their First Time Online A Memorable One

Assume, for a minute, that your website visitors have never used the internet before. They come to your website and immediately, they are presented with flashing images, endless menu’s, buttons, content and more. It’s like driving cross country without a map – you’ll get lost and even worse, won’t ever bother making the trip.

Many web development companies pride themselves on flashy, colorful websites…but remember, your visitor came to the site for a reason and it’s your job to make it as easy as possible for them. Web presence doesn’t have to be expensive in order to be effective. Millions of small businesses are getting ripped off by expensive agencies that don’t even deliver effective results.

The best way to get results is to simply ask friends and family for their opinion. Want a specific demographic to test it out? Put up an ad in Craig’s List and if need be, offer an incentive. 2009-2010 is all about gaining the user’s opinion and putting it in to play. Once you get enough feedback, use that information to implement the necessary changes. Now it’s time to sit back and wait. Your visitor will either stick around or bounce…

The “EVIL” Bounce Rate

Bounce rate simply represents the average percentage of initial visitors to a site who “bounce” away to a different site, rather than continue on to other pages within the same site. “Use this metric to measure visit quality – a high bounce rate generally indicates that site entrance pages aren’t relevant to your visitors.” (3) Relevant…or attractive! If you operate a site where users can find what they want immediately on the entry page, then this doesn’t apply. To find you’re bounce-rate, contact your web-master or consider using free analytics software, Google Analytics.

Google.com analytics specialist Avinash Kaushik has stated: “It is really hard to get a bounce rate under 20%, anything over 35% is cause for concern, 50% (above) is worrying.” If you’re above 50%, then chances are, your first impression could use a make-over.

80% of Your Sales Come From 20% of Your Clients

YES, first impressions are everything, BUT…how you follow up with your first impression is just as, (if not more) important….and To best illustrate what I mean, let me refer you over to Timothy Ferriss’s “The 4- Hour Workweek“. In this book, he refers to the Pareto Principle, aka: The 80/20 rule.  This rule states that “for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes”. Among the many ways Tim applies this rule, he refers to a common rule of thumb in business: “80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients.” In most cases, this is due to either big sales or residual/repeat customers. See what I’m getting at?

Customer Service is key. The businesses that spend millions on marketing, but lack customer service are comparable to Bug Zapper. They draw in their customers and immediately burn them. (It may be a weak comparison…but I like how it sounds!) The best way for you to figure out what your customers want is…yep, you guessed it…ASK THEM! Surveys, questionnaire’s, poll’s, website comments, etc. Give them what they want and they’ll keep coming back for more.

This article continues here: Problem Areas: Room For Improvement…

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Article By: Joshua Russak | FirstTimeOnline, LLC.

With over 2 years of Web Development and Online Marketing experince, Joshua finds himself very passionate about the interactive space. Due to high levels of demand, he founded First Time Online LLC, a Web Design/Marketing agency helping Small Business break into the online space. Joshua is also a passionate blogger, writing for MarketingBlog.NET, providing Tips, News & Entertainment covering the Online Space.

Posted under Online Marketing, web design