Mark Hinkle, writing in SocializedSoftware.com, said
When I go to a page that is Flash, I often find myself reaching for the back button…
Amen and amen. Are you listening, web developers???
Mark also gives a nice excerpt from the Zoho.com blog about the Ajax vs. Flash question.
Here’s a lesson in what not to do from clickz.com:
When looking for shoes to buy her daughter, [she] measured the toddler’s foot and then looked for the site’s size chart. None existed. She wrote to the retailer asking them for a size chart, but was directed to go to a nearby store. “Not only did they not address my question, they directed me to the channel I tried to avoid shopping in the first place,” she said.
Simply amazing. “Just go to one of our competitors – they’ll be happy to help you!”
GetElastic did an interesting post showing over 100 add to cart buttons and commenting on their design and use of verbiage. I’m not a big “Buy Now” fan – sounds too much like Amazon’s “one click” purchasing model; I prefer “Add to Cart” even at the risk of seeming downmarket.
SEOmoz gets in on the fun with an interesting list of layout and functionality “must-haves.” The article was good, and some of the comments had even more useful ideas. Funny how some SEOers are so focused on search that they forget about conversions – not these folks.
Amy from VirtualHosting.com sent me their site’s latest post, called Holiday Cash: 50+ Ways to Optimize Your Website for Christmas Conversions. I really enjoyed it – there are a few very innovative ideas for your business in this post. My favorites were:
Thank you, Amy and VirtualHosting.com!
e-Consultancy.com gives us their take on what online merchants are doing wrong. Amen and amen to number 9 (“easy on the Flash, guys”), which I haven’t seen before, and I also liked new entrant number 3 (“don’t be nosy!”).
This article had a few interesting suggestions – I liked the idea of reminding customers – in a subtle way – of earlier searches they made. They also flipped it around and gave tips to consumers – including “double check shipping and return policies.” As a vendor, this should be a trigger to you to double check your site to ensure your policies are clearly and accurately documented.
Tracey E. Schelmetic from Customer Interaction Solutions magazine talks about the importance of content on the product information pages. I never see this bullet in “top then things to do to improve sales” lists, but it’s right up there. InternetRetailer is talking about a similar finding from a recent E-Tailing Group survey, which found that 77% of buyers were influenced by website content quality when making a purchase decision.
Aaron Wall over at SEOBook.com has some interesting thoughts about what he calls “trust eaters.” Now some of these things you can’t help (if you’ve only been in business a month, you’ve only been in business a month) but AdSense on your home page? For a store?? Be sure you’re not doing any of these things.
New work from our friends over at Tealeaf on the UK online experience:
A couple of interesting take-aways:
… 40% of those who experience problems when conducting an online transaction reported that, when they have transaction issues, they are likely or very likely to question a company’s ability to keep their private information secure.
92% of British consumers who have booked travel online reported that the ability to complete a transaction without encountering a problem was important or very important to them, whereas only 24% reported that the travel provider’s loyalty or rewards program was important or very important.
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