Blah...Blah...Blah...THE END

I remember being a teenager and watching TV with my grandmother one day when we got to the tail end of the Hitchcock move The Birds.  My grandmother then launched into a short, mild rant in which she complained about how she hated Hitchcock movies because in her opinion they just seemed to end for no apparent reason, without a tidy resolution or conclusion that ended the story.

My grandmother, may she rest in peace, would probably hate most of the business websites I see today.  Much more often than not, I see websites with decent content on the page that extols the virtues of the company or product and then...it just stops.  No link to relevant content on a following page.  No call to action.  No offer.  Nothing.  Just blank space at the bottom of the page.

Don't leave your website visitors hanging.  Direct them where you want them to go or to do what it is you want them to do.  If you want them to a read the next page in your story, put a link to that page.  If you want people to pick up the phone and call you, put your phone number and the name of the person they should ask for at the bottom of the page. 

Take a look at your site and see if it resembles a Hitchcock movie. If it does, add appropriate links and calls to action to every page on the site so people will be more likely to take that next step.

If your website isn't producing the results you're looking for, call me, Rob Bunting at 937-312-1400 so we can talk about how to change that. 

THE END

Comments

[Nick Wright]

Rob,
Many of the sites that don't tell you what to do next remind me of those "choose your own adventure" books we'd read as kids.

And far too often I choose the wrong link and come to a dead end.

On a website, "your adventure's over" translates to "we didn't put enough thought into what we wanted you to do on this site... thanks for browsing it, hope we see you again."

I click the close button and never return to the site.

[Rob Bunting]

Nick,

Thanks for your comment! I like your analogy to the "choose your adventure books". Without directing people where to go or what to do, folks will wander around aimlessly for a click or two and then lose patience and/or interest and exit the site. It amazes me how often people don't "ask for the sale" on their website.

[Jim Savage]

Rob,
First off, that was a very good meeting last night. I always learn something from you. Thanks.
In terms of web sites that work, I would appreciate a discussion at one of your meetings on that topic. My clients in the BtoB world, are a few years behind the technology, so with your help maybe we can get them some ROI.
Jim