Is Your Site Attracting the Most Visitors or the Right Ones?
Darren Rowse over a ProBlogger has some good thoughts about website and blog content for click-happy browsers. It’s a short and funny read.
Darren experimented with a video chat site called ChatRoulette. The site randomly paired him with another person, and either person can click away to a new partner whenever they want. Darren couldn’t even get others to acknowledge him before donning a clown wig.
Applying his experience to the people browsing his blog (and your website), he offers this summary of visitor behavior:
- They don’t stay till long - they’re always clicking
- They are always looking for the next best thing
- They only pause if they see something that is interesting, intriguing or completely relevant to them
- They are ruthless
- They are impulsive
- They will judge what they see within a split second of arriving on a site
- They rely upon instinct and first impressions
He has some take home lessons for interacting with this type of person on a blog or site, but it’s important to note that not every site or blog (especially business ones) should plan their web strategy around this type of visitor.
Darren makes his living from advertisements on his sites, so his goal is attracting the most number of eyeballs. For most businesses, the goal is attracting the right eyeballs.
So while Darren’s advice is good to a point, remember that good content allows your visitors to self-select. If the people who buy your product or service are methodical, you might want to be reserved and offer a lot of information on page. If your buyers are looking for something novel or interesting, you might consider breaking out the clown wig.
But beware: if you host a circus, you might attract the wrong crowd.
