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Ecommerce Information |
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Tell Site Visitors What To Do
Your site visitors make all the choices when it comes to browsing the Web. No other medium gives users, readers or customers such control over their own experience. TV, radio and print present information in a very linear, controlled way. But on the Web, there is no telling how your next visitor will experience your site. Where will they click? Which pages will they visit? It's hard to tell. Being sensitive to the fact that the user is in control, many sites simply present as many options as possible on their home pages. The thinking apparently being that the more choices you show on page one, the more likely you are to present something that connects with as many visitors as possible. Perhaps this was the strategy behind Ford.com. While a considerable improvement on how it looked a little while ago, the Ford homepage still offers almost forty links to other pages on the site. In addition, no particular priority is given to any one individual or group of links. The choice is left to the user. No emphasis or priority is offered. Ford is sitting back and saying, "You decide." The trouble is, when they take that position, they are asking the visitor to do all the work. The visitor is now required to scan those forty links and try to figure out what to do next. Does anyone smell conversion drop-off? Now look at a site that takes a very different approach. Take a peek at GetSmart.com. They offer a variety of different ways into the site. But they also present some clear preferences. Dead center on the page they say... * Refinance, Home Equity, and more... Four simple choices, three of which open with an active verb. In short, they tell you what to do. Click on that first link. You're taken to another page, with a variety of options. However, once again, they show a preference and tell you what to do. * Refinance your existing mortgage For another example, visit TravelNow.com. Again, you'll see clear directions on what to do. * Search for Hotels These sites support their users by offering clear instructions on what to do. Does this preclude someone from taking his or her own path through the site? Not at all. But for many users, particularly those who are there for the first time, finding these simple instructions comes as a huge relief. Here is the heart of it. Just because your visitors enjoy an unprecedented level of control over their experience at your site, doesn't mean that they don't want some help. Don't simply give them numerous, passive options. Don't leave them to do all the work. Help them out. Express a preference. Tell them what to do. You're not being pushy when you do that. You're being helpful. 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.
MORE RESOURCES: Apple Valley Approves 2.6 Million Sq. Ft. eCommerce Project Along 15 Freeway, Council Vote Ahead Victor Valley News Shopify Among Fastest Growing E-Commerce Leaders: Check Out Names Just Added To IBD 50, Stock Spotlight List, More Investor's Business Daily Is WordPress The Right Choice For eCommerce Websites? Search Engine Journal Interview: Ecommerce lessons from growing Norsland Lefse Digital Commerce 360 Tariffs tilt the scales: US e-commerce sellers poised for margin gains amid trade tensions FreightWaves K-ecommerce: Interview With Partner Channel Manager Rich Fowler About The Web Store Platform Pulse 2.0 Latest B2B Ecommerce news, research and case studies Digital Commerce 360 New Ecommerce Tools: April 24, 2025 Practical Ecommerce US presses India for full e-commerce access to Amazon, Walmart amid trade deal talks: Report Times of India How will you buy your Heineken in 2030? BeverageDaily.com Best ecommerce hosting of 2025 TechRadar BigCommerce's New Enterprise Partnership Promises Seamless Site Performance for Major Retailers Stock Titan Ecommerce earnings recap: What you missed from Movado Digital Commerce 360 From Model to Menswear Founder Practical Ecommerce Ecommerce Trends: 5 shifts happening because of new tariffs and trade rules Digital Commerce 360 New ecommerce rules spur cost-benefit debate in Turkey Arabian Gulf Business Insight | AGBI Amazon signals major shifts for B2B ecommerce Digital Commerce 360 H-E-B opens eCommerce fulfillment center in Houston H-E-B Newsroom U.S. pushes India for full ecommerce market access for trade deal - report (AMZN:NASDAQ) Seeking Alpha Albertsons integrates shoppable video ads into e-commerce site Chain Store Age EU warns shoppers to avoid cheap cosmetics from ecommerce sites Cosmetics Design Europe Tariffs, Temu, and Shein: What Supply Chain Leaders Can Learn from the U.S. / China ECommerce Shakeup Logistics Viewpoints - North America, Western Europe Spell Opportunity For E-Commerce Brands Looking to Expand in 2025 Sourcing Journal Section 230: Implications for Digital Platforms, Online Businesses and E-Commerce Crowell & Moring LLP US Ecommerce Market Shares 2025 eMarketer US ecommerce sales in 2024 more than double those of 2019 Digital Commerce 360 Bringg’s Dynamic Delivery Slots to Offer Precise E-Commerce Delivery Windows Supply & Demand Chain Executive Distribution of the e-commerce market in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2025, by country Statista India under tariff pressure to give Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart full market access Financial Times US ecommerce penetration nearly a quarter of all Q4 retail sales Digital Commerce 360 US to push India for greater ecommerce market access Libyan Express CAIT Calls For Levying Luxury Tax On Ecommerce Purchases StartupNews.fyi LOT Cargo successfully automates US ACAS pre-load filing with CHAMP’s Traxon global eCommerce caasint.com 79+ Brand New E-Commerce Statistics for 2025 Exploding Topics China’s top ecommerce firms retreat from refund-only policy StartupNews.fyi Ecommerce Stocks To Follow Now - April 22nd MarketBeat Kroger goes all in on ecommerce Supermarket News As US slams door, can the rest of the world offer Chinese ecommerce a lifeline? | Opinions Campaign Asia Top 13 Ecommerce Trends (2024 & 2025) Exploding Topics Lighting-centric e-commerce brand debuts Home Accents Today US Pressures India To Open Its $125 Billion E-commerce Market To Amazon, Walmart: Report Yahoo Finance 5 Trends Influencing the Future of Ecommerce Entrepreneur New Metapack® Survey: How Consumer Expectations are Reshaping Ecommerce After a Quarter Century of Retail Transformation Business Wire How Pattern PXM’s Content Brief is driving conversion on ecommerce marketplaces using AI Amazon Web Services (AWS) US Presses India to Open $125 Bn Ecommerce Market to Amazon, Walmart outlookbusiness.com Insights into the Mexican E-Commerce Competition Landscape CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies Cloud Retail raises £2.4m following pivot from Jiffy businesscloud.co.uk Alltricks Signs As Official E-Commerce Partner Of French Riviera T100 Triathlon Endurance Sportswire Bottom-funnel, top priority: Why are brands carving out dedicated e-commerce mandates? Exchange4media |
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