In the conversion optimization industry, there’s a rule of thumb that says website visitors will spend a mere 5 seconds evaluating a web page before they decide if they will engage further with the site or if they will choose to bounce.
If you take a look at your analytics tool, you might see that the majority of website abandonment occurs within the first few seconds.
Because it’s within those first few seconds that visitors are deciding whether or not they want to spend their valuable time on your website.
Don’t Waste Your Visitor’s Valuable Time
Visitors do not want to spend their time only to find out in the end that, no, you do not have what they need and you are not able to help them.
So don’t leave them guessing if you have what they need or are able to help. They probably won’t want to spend the time digging through your site to find the answer. They may ditch it to look for a site that clearly conveys upfront if they have what they need.
Now, If your competitors are failing to clearly define the product or service offering – here is where you can gain the upper hand by boldly defining it for visitors upfront – within 5 seconds.
So why is it so vital that you pass the 5-second test? Think of it this way… You’ve invested your time and money on copywriting, design, persona development, PPC strategies…the list goes on and on.
But if your visitors abandon within the first 5 seconds – none of that matters. Because they will never see it or experience anything further on your website.
The success of the whole CRO Strategy hinges on passing the 5-second test.
It’s that important.
See It How Your Visitors See It
Five seconds is all it takes. Many web marketers know their business inside and out. They are proud of their website and confident in their services and products. But here is something that they fail to see.
It’s not about them.
They fail to realize that their visitors are very busy people who don’t have time to guess if you have what they need. They have choices. A lot of choices – other websites are just a click away.
To put it in the perspective of a brick and mortar store… If you just came off a busy day at work, dinner needs to be cooked and the kids need to be picked up from soccer, piano lessons or whatever… and you had to pick up a particular ingredient for an ethnic dish that you need for dinner…
Would you waste your time going from store to store, or even calling a store to store looking for it?….or would you go straight to the ethnic store at the end of town because you know they carry it?
That’s because you know exactly what their product offering is. And a lot of times, that trumps cost or even convenience.
So, how do you pass the 5-second test? Pay attention to the following guidelines and you should have no problem passing.
Offering
First, make sure that you very clearly tell them what your offering is. They have a limited amount of time. Don’t try to be mysterious and create curiosity.
Your visitors are on a mission to find what THEY need. If you clearly convey what you offer upfront, they will be able to quickly ascertain if you have what they need. Nobody’s time is wasted.
If you haven’t made it clear what you offer, don’t assume that visitors will play around on your site to find out if you have what they need. They will look for the website that clearly tells them immediately that they have what they are looking for.
After doing a Google search for “computer repair”, these are a few of the landing pages I came across. Some convey their offering well upfront, which is a good strategy..some do not.
Nate’s website below seems to be a computer repair service. However, so much attention is given to signing up for classes on the Home page above-the-fold that it leaves one unsure of the actual offering.
The Bask website also doesn’t clearly define the offering either – hardly any chances of passing the 5-second test. Help me with my computer? As in help me learn some programs? How to operate it? Or help me repair it?
It’s also a little strange that they are asking me to submit information to get help. How long will I wait for a response? Do I want to gamble with my time here? Nope.
Nerds On Call precisely convey their offering on the landing page – a perfect first-step to a successful CRO strategy. They also add extra value in that they also offer same day appointments.
If I had to choose any of the 3 above – I’d choose Nerds On Call. My computer is broke. I need it fixed fast. And I don’t care about classes. I also don’t want to submit information and wonder if or when you’ll respond.
Value Proposition
Ideally, you want to find a way to convey your value proposition with your offering in a way that it could be understood within 5 seconds. And you want to place it prominently so that it’s immediately noticed.
Placement
In order to get your offering and value proposition across, it’s important that they are placed in ways that they will be noticed and gain attention.
Tagline
Eye tracking studies show that a visitor’s eyes typically land in the upper left-hand corner when they first view a webpage. They are trying to orient themselves and figure out where they are and if you have what they need.
A logo, business name, and tagline help them identify who you are and hopefully what you have to offer.
Since their eyes typically land in the upper lefthand corner, a tagline is an effective way to immediately convey to visitors what you are offering as they land on your page.
Because of its consistent placement, it can also serve as a re-enforcer on all of your pages as visitors browse through your site.
Your tagline is one of the most important marketing pieces that you’ll ever create, especially from a conversion standpoint. Make sure that it says as much as possible in as few words as possible. To make the most of your 1 line sales pitch, try to implement the following:
- Define your product offering
- Include a vital benefit – ideally, this should be your unique value proposition
- Address a problem or a goal
- Be highly memorable so it will stick in your visitor’s minds
- Make it difficult to for visitors to replicate
Headline
Since a tagline is going to be just a few words, the headline can be a little bit longer and elaborate further on the tagline.
It can also add more punch and grab attention in order to compel visitors to further read the copy. It is here where you can then really convey your offering and how it is unique.
Bring On an Extra Pair Of Eyes
When you’ve looked at your website a thousand times and you know so much about your business, it can be difficult to really know if you are passing the 5-second test.
Get an extra pair of eyes on your site – ask a few people to take a look for only 5 seconds and ask them if they can tell you what the site is about and what it offers.
To get completely objective and unbiased feedback, ask people who know nothing about your business or purchase a few user tests on a platform such as usertesting.com.
One of the initial questions for users involves showing the site for 5 seconds and then asking if they know what the site is about.
Other Elements That Can Make You Fail the 5 Second Test
Aside from your marketing message, there are a few other things that can increase your bounce rate.
Page Load Speed
The slower your page load speed the higher your bounce rate is likely to climb, and result in low conversion rates.
The data below from a study conducted by Gomez.com revealed how page load speed correlated with abandonment rates.
Relevant PPC and SEO Paths
And what brought visitors to your site in the first place? Was the PPC path accurate or misleading? Do your meta tags and descriptions clearly reflect the page for SEO purposes?
If keyword paths are off, and your visitors arrive to see something other than what they expected – they are much more likely to bounce and completely ruin the chances of any conversions.
Your PPC ads and description tags serve not only as a way to clearly spell out the objectives of the page but also as a primer. So if the page doesn’t fit with the keyword, you have lost your opportunity to prime and have only caused confusion.
And probably abandonment.
Intrusive offers
Offers and pop-ups can be effective but initiate them at the right time. If a visitor arrives on a site and an offer for a free download or a 10% discount appears within 5 seconds do you think it will help or hurt your sales process?
First, your visitor needs to ascertain if you have what they need – no 10% discount or free download will matter if your product or service doesn’t suit them. So don’t distract them from first finding that out. They might get agitated by the intrusions and bounce first.
Conclusion
So there you have it – a perfect recipe for a successful CRO strategy. Don’t assume that your visitors know about your business in the way that you know your business.
Tell them exactly what you offer and what you can do for them upfront so they will know whether or not they should engage further with your site.
If they are unsure, there is a high probability that they will bounce within the first 5 seconds.
It’s within this critical 5 seconds where it will be determined if visitors will advance further with the marketing message, design, and usability that you have spent so much time, money and effort on.
And as mentioned, page load speed, keyword paths, and intrusive offers can also play a role in increasing immediate page abandonment.
Make sure that your website visitors actually make it to the marketing message that you’ve spent so much time honing.