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What Are You Looking At?

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Ever wish you could ask visitors to your website that question? Now you don’t have to. Through the miracle of science, you can predict where on your website their eyeballs naturally go and put your most important message there.

People read websites differently than they do other media. No one settles down in front of the fireplace with a hot toddy and their favorite website. The goal is to get in, get the information you need and get out.

As such, people scan for information rather than read, as shown in this heat map created from eye tracking studies conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group:

f_reading_pattern_eyetracking nn group

The bulk of viewer attention is concentrated near the top of the page (one more reason why compelling headlines are so crucial).

First, viewers scan the first line or two to see where they are:

• What is this page about?
• Does it offer what I need?
• What is my next step?

Then they skim down the page, bouncing to graphics, photos, bullets, lists, bolded items or headings.

What they are unlikely to read is a large block of text.

It’s natural to want to provide a lot of detail about your business, services and offerings, but keep that home page tight and concise.

What is the purpose of your website?

What would you like visitors to do? For staffing agencies, you want employers to contact you, either by phone or email. And you’d like job seekers to apply for a job on your site or send you a resume.

Make it easy for them.

Start at the top of the page:

Compelling headline.
Quick intro – This is who we are. This is what we do.

Then bullet points:

• Kinds of candidates/employers we work with.
• How we are different/better in our specialty
• Why you should work with us.

Your Call to Action should be easy to find.

Not to say that your website should be a single page with a headlines, list, call-to-action and nothing more. But keep your homepage simple, straightforward and uncluttered to get people engaged.

Once you’ve gotten their attention, make it easy for them to get to your subpages. Add a drop-down menu at the top of the homepage with links to your job board, a list of services or locations, your blog.

Get their attention first, then figure out how to keep them coming back.

Getting all the details right to make your website effective can be tricky. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it on your own. Contact the web design experts at Haley Marketing. We can build you a website with compelling copy and great, modern design. Value sites. Starter sites. Custom sites. There’s one to fit your business goals and your budget.

Smarter Sites

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