Event Marketing Articles and Event Promotion

Web Usability: How Many Users Do I Need to Test?

When discussing usability testing with business owners one of the first questioned to be asked is “How many people are we going to need to test properly?” Most people assume the more users you have the better your usability testing results. Ironically most usability problems can be identified with a fairly small group of users.  According to web usability guru Jakob Nielsen, you can conduct very effective usability testing on your web site with just five users.

Testing Once versus Repetitive Testing
In Nielsen's article “Why You Only Need to Test With 5 Users,” he points out that you can identify more usability issues testing 3 different times with 5 test users as opposed to testing once with 15 different users. If you only test once, you won’t be able to test any changes or improvements to identified usability issues. By spreading out the testing over a series of sessions you can apply changes and test your new solutions.  From personal experience, it has taken at least 2 different testing sessions with individual users to correct usability problems.  Testing multiple times is also crucial from a marketing perspective. Ask someone with a successful Adwords campaign how many times they test just a single highly effective Adword ad. From an improvement standpoint you’ll get the most return by repeating the simple testing formula of: test, modify, and retest. Consider how well the previous formula worked for Thomas Edison.

More Than Five People . . .
Can you test with more than 5 people? Absolutely!  If you test with more people you’ll get more data, but it is also going to cost you additional money and take up more of your time. If you look at it from a return on investment perspective, is it worth it?  One place where you might need more users as test subjects is if you have multiple niches inside your user demographic.  In those cases you’re probably have to use more than 5 users to cover the various niches.

The bottom line is if you’re considering testing your web site, you can do so effectively with just five users from your demographic.

Learn From the Past Before Spending On the Future

When it comes to web usability testing you can never start testing too early. Starting early helps you identify positive and negative aspects of your web site before spending the time and money on redesigning or creating a new web site. I recently ran across a case study of a company that decided to forgo any early testing of their current web site and only test the newly programmed web site. The caution flag was immediately raised because they decided to spend months of time redesigning their site without considering if there were issues on their current site. Did they miss something vitally important that now might be carried over from their existing web site?

Always Test Your Previous Site
Some of the most valuable information you can collect during a web site redesign can be derived form your current web site. Every company should seriously consider what can be learned from their current web site before even considering a new web site. A redesign might be a waste of time and money if you just carry over unresolved user issues.

The Numbers Don’t Lie
One place to start is by carefully considering your web statistics.  Web statistics give you a good picture of what parts of your web site attract the most and least user attention.  Such information can prove tremendously helpful for streamlining your web site. On one particular project a careful analysis of the web stats allowed the client to reduce a 150 page web site to a 15-20 page web site.  The statistical data indicated that users spent a majority of their time on just 10 of the 150 pages. A 15-20 page site is far easier for a company to manage and for users to get around.  Their decision was ultimately justified by a significant increase in user traffic.  Analyzing stats will also allow you to gather great information for search engine optimization purposes. Perhaps you’re not considering valuable keywords that drive traffic to your web site?

Likes and Dislikes
In regards to the actual use of your web site, how the user interacts, it is important to also identify your target user’s likes and dislikes.  By taking stock of user likes and dislikes you will ensure the next version of your site operates more efficiently. Let the users decide what works best for them. Don't be lured by the mindset of "We Know What's Best for the User." Ego is the quickest was to kill any business web site.

When it comes to determining a time frame for testing make sure you test early and often. It is very easy to reach a point when redesigning a web site that you can’t do anything about the problem. If the web site is already redesigned and programmed who wants to go back and correct problems?  Make sure you start testing early to avoid such a costly scenario.

A Quick Way to Find the Dominant Page Element

In web design and web usability it is often important to know what elements on your web page attract the most attention. The dominant page element attracts the most visual attention on any given web page. Attracting attention can either be a virtue or a vice.  A vice would be when an element is distracting from a compelling headline. A dominant element might distract the user from accomplishing their goals on your web site. The first place to start is identifying the dominant element on your web site.

Blur Your Vision
The easiest way to find the dominate element on any web page is buy de-focusing or blurbing your eyes when you are looking at a web page. Blur your eyes just enough to make the text difficult to read. You don't want to blurb your vision so much that you start to cross fields of view.  While your vision is blurred, pay attention to what element or elements stand out the most on your web page. The part that stands out is your dominant element.

Where is the Emphasis?
Does the dominant element on the your web page that stands out too much or unbalance your design? Overly dominant page elements can distract from your messaging and dilute the effectiveness of your design. Traditionally the most dominate web site elements should be found on top of the browser window or adjacent to your most important messaging. Make sure that your advertising doesn't get in the way of your messaging.

De-Emphasizing
You can bring less emphasis to elements in several different ways. If it's a matter of large imagery, reduce the physical size of the image on your web page. Bold, dark, and vibrant colors can also attract too much attention.  Consider using colors that strike an even balance to your overall design. 

Do you know someone who is a graphic designer or artist? Leverage a graphic designer's critical eye to identify dominant page elements. A graphic designer or artist should be able to give you very straightforward advice on how to bring more or less emphasis to your design.

Make sure you are bringing emphasis to the right areas of your web page.

Additional Resources:

Squeeze Pages versus Splash Pages

Usability is an important aspect for any web site. Over the years I've changed my perspective on being a purist when it comes to usability. There are times when you have to ask yourself what's best for your bottom line. Is it more important to make money with your web site or try to make your web site as usable as possible? There are times when usability comes in conflict with effective marketing techniques.  One area of debate is in regards to splash pages and squeeze pages. Both Splash and Squeeze pages present challenges to making a web site truly usable.  Yet, one is definitely more valuable from a marketing perspective. Let's take a moment to consider both.

Splashing Them with Art
Splash pages are usually very graphical in nature and sometimes contain flash animation.  Splash pages are typically an opportunity for graphic designers to show off their artistic talents. A few years ago splash pages were all the rage for web development firms, yet times have changed. Developers started to clue in that users were bouncing from web sites that started with a splash page.  Users come to almost every web site for information not an art show. Compare a splash page with a Squeeze page.

Squeezing Information Out of Them
A squeeze page is a web page that forces people to give up at least their email and first name before they can proceed any further. A great example of a squeeze page can be found at PileCabinet.com. Many usability people would argue that a squeeze page is also barrier to entry. But over the years I've seen the tremendous amount of lead generation and revenue companies have produced by incorporating squeeze pages. One of my friends has collected over 40,000+ email addresses in the last four years with a squeeze page. Squeeze pages are also analogous with landing pages.

One aspect that makes a squeeze page different than a splash page is the promise of good information to follow. It's like the start of a relationship. The process usually starts with first name and email. After entering their information the user is expecting some pretty good information and follow up. If a company can deliver the information, they raise their level of trust and credibility with their users. Information needs to be put in front of sales pitch. Multi-million dollar businesses online are build upon this concept.

Squeeze Page Tip
If you are going to use a squeeze page make users bookmark the post-squeeze page. This way they can go direct to the information.

Anyone online should consider the advantages of using a squeeze or landing page somewhere on their web site. If you are going to use a barrier to entry on your web site, use a squeeze page!

High Speed Internet and the Wane of Dial Up

It was only a few years ago when more than half of the Internet users were getting online via dial up connections.  The problem was that many companies started to abandon the notion of keeping web pages small and load times quick as broadband connections became more mainstream.  As of 2007, about 20% of Internet users are still utilizing dial up access to get on the Internet. A full report detailing additional recent Internet usage statistics is available on the Ipsos North America web site.

Back in the day eight seconds was the typical attention span of a web user.  Ironically, I believe user attention spans have become even shorter than eight seconds. Broadband connections have reduced the patience of many Internet users.  If a web site doesn't start to load in a few seconds even I start to get frustrated. One of the fallouts from more high speed users has become bloated web sites with lots of video, graphics, plus unnecessary bells and whistles. In a time of high speed Internet it becomes beneficial not to think like everyone else. Instead of thinking about how much information you can stuff onto a single web page, think about providing just the right amount of information.

Thinking Backwards
There are times when a 'contrarian' mindset can serve almost any web site. A friend of mine runs a series of college humor web sites.  His video driven web site costs him thousands of dollars a month in hosting fees because of the ridiculous amount of bandwidth it requires. He told me he was measuring bandwidth for one of his college humor video web sites in terabytes. One day he came up with the idea of focusing on a picture driven web site. His desire to focus on picture web sites versus video web sites might shock some people. Someone I mentioned the idea to responded with, "everyone is interested in video web sites." Most people think that video is the way to go online. Interestingly, he has far more page views per user than his video web sites and pays far less in web site hosting each month. If I'm not mistaken his profit margin is much higher on his picture web sites than on his video web site.

Use it - Don't Abuse It
Because you have the bandwidth doesn't mean you need to use the bandwidth. Some of the most financially successful web pages I know of weight in under 100K.  That's smaller than most individual photographs contained on newspaper homepages. These light weight web sites are the epitome of simplicity.  Yet for most companies they're too simple to emulate. The best part is that they are driving millions of dollars of revenue for the companies running them.

Even though high speed connections are hear to stay, it's still tremendously beneficial to create web sites that load quickly. I have yet to receive a complaint about a web site that loaded too quickly.  In the predominately high speed Internet one of the best things any company can do is keep its' site "lean and mean."

Additional Resources:

• Looks Lousy, But Performs Like a Champ
• The User Attention Span

 

What Web Developers Can Learn From Facebook

A few months ago, some friends convinced me to join Facebook. It is in some ways similar to other social networking web sites such as MySpace and Multiply. For those that don't know, Facebook is a social networking web site that allows you and your friends to share stories, pictures, and other forms of user generated content. Facebook marks a return to the simpler side of the Internet. Like other social networking web sites, Facebook emphasizes user driven content. From a web design aspect, Facebook is an ode to the simple roots of the early Internet, plenty of text and picture content. There are a few lessons on content that any web developer can learn from Facebook and integrate into their own web projects. The biggest lesson to be learned comes in the form of relevant content.

High Quality Content Versus Relevant Content
From a content perspective Facebook becomes an interesting contrast of high quality content versus extremely relevant content. For years I've always been a big proponent of high quality content. But with social networking web sites the emphasis focuses on very relevant content. Consider the following choices, which would you choose to view first?

1. A potentially great story or amazing photograph by someone you don't know.
2. A story posted by a friend with decent pictures.

Most people I know would choose number 2. Too many web developers and web site owners have content on their web sites that doesn't interest their visitors. You see it all the time with companies that provide great offline services. They aren't able to effectively connect with their target market because of a lack of relevant content.

There are also other strengths that web developers can integrate into their own projects.

Facebook's Strengths:

• Hyper Relevant User Content
• Very Simple Content: Predominately Pictures and Text
• Near Instantaneous Updates
• Quick Load Time
• Integration of the Traditional Web with the Mobile Web
• Advertising that doesn't overshadow content

Facebook does an excellent job of bridging traditional PC based web browsing with a quick loading and compact mobile phone applications.  Their mobile application is almost entirely text based. If you use the mobile phone interface, you can select the type of content and information alerts you receive.

For all its' strengths one of the biggest challenges I faced was learning to use the interface.  I wouldn't classify Facebook's user interface as being highly intuitive or extremely simple to use.  Since the service is so heavily driven by content it forces me to ask the question, "Is the user interface THAT important?"

The tremendous growth of Facebook's membership speaks for itself. The network and its' growth is built upon the premise of interacting and sharing information with your friends.  Facebook does a great job of reminding us to focus content supported by decent design. It drives home the point that content is still King on the Internet and graphic design is Queen. If you have a few minutes it's worth signing up for an account and networking with friends.

Additional Resources:

• Text - The Content King
• HTML Text and Web Site Content
• Does Your Web Site Stick?
• Don’t Pollute Your Web Site

Questions You Need To Ask Regarding Your Web Site

Last week, during a local marketing meeting, a thought occurred to me.  I was in a room full of 25 savvy marketers/business people. I thought to myself "why not ask the meeting attendees some simple yet important questions regarding their company web sites."  It was an informal survey and the results ended up resonating an important point.   My first question was, "Do you have a company web site?"  Almost everyone in the room raised their hand. Two questions later only three people had their hand still raised. Out of a group of 25 people only 3 (12%) had a web site that supported their business.  I believe there are three simple yet important questions any business owner could ask themselves to identify if their web site is supporting their business. The questions that follow are the same questions I asked the meeting participants.

The Important Questions To Consider

• Is my web site helping to generate revenue for my company?
• Does my web site generate quantifiable sale leads for my company?
• Does my web site save my company money on a regular basis?

Ideally, "Yes" should be the answer to all the questions above. A truly effective web site, at a minimum, should answer "Yes" to at least two of the questions.  Many people will answer yes to the questions, but give very nebulous information to support their answer. A "Yes" response should be followed by supporting data, "Yes, we generated sales leads with out web site, and here is how we accomplished that . . ."

A Difficult Path to Travel
It isn't easy to create a web site that you can answer yes to the three questions above. It took me years to figure out how to create a web site that generated leads, creates consistent revenue, and saves money on a regular basis. I'm still in the process of creating a web site that does all three things. Every company with a web site should strive to create a site that measurably saves money, generates leads, and increases revenue. "Because everyone else has one" isn't a good reason to have a web site.

Additional Resources:

• Looks Lousy, But Performs Like a Champ

Leveraging Technology Versus Using "Bells and Whistles"

Are you leveraging technology or making use of "bells and whistles?" 
There are plenty of companies who are quick to integrate various forms of technology online or into their web site. Examples are numerous from online audio and video to flash and interactive polling. There are some great technologies out there that can automate a process into a few minutes compared to hours or days for traditional implementation. The leveraging of technology provides companies with a proven return on investment. "Bells and whistles" are nice to have, but never deliver a measurable or advantageous return on investment. It is important to know the difference between leveraging technology and making use of "bells and whistles."

It starts with companies being objective about their use of online technology. A large differentiator between those individuals and companies who are successful online and everyone else comes down to who consistently leverages technology. Consider the example of email marketing with programs like, AWeber, Constant Contact, or 1ShoppingCart.  How many people do you know make use of email marketing services? I personally know a number of companies and individuals who make use of email marketing technology.  For all the companies using email marketing programs,very few use the technology properly and on a regular basis.  For those that fail in their endeavors, you hear reasons like "we couldn't figure out how to make it work" or "it didn't work for us." Frustration replaces objectivity.

Tenacity and Determination
Those who are very successful online leverage technology to it's maximum potential.  They test and track their results on a regular basis. They don't quit because something doesn't go accordingly the first, second, or third time.  The online superstars realize the difference between being perfect and "good is good enough." For those that fail with their online efforts it is usually from a lack of tenacity and determination.

Be Introspective
One way to differentiate between "bells and whistles" and good technology is by asking yourself, "what's cool to have and what is truly useful?" Also ask yourself,"I am maximizing the usefulness of a given technology?" If not, it might be time to move on to something else. The hard part is knowing when to stay with a process and when to get out. In the past it was said "One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure." It isn't much different when it comes to technology. Those that take the time to figure it out the right nuances usually end up with most of the treasure.

Delivering High Quality Service Via Valuable Information

On Wednesday, I had a meeting with to a client to discuss the possibilities of their participation in an event marketing coaching program.  The emphasis of the coaching program teaches companies how to inform their clients, members, or patrons about their various events in a timely and effective manner using proven Internet marketing techniques.  During the meeting the client raised a number of valid points questioning the value of coaching program to their organization and specifically to their patrons.  Their primary goal is to provide their clients the highest possible quality of service. While being asked all the questions by the client regarding the service an interesting (yet completely unoriginal) thought came to my mind, can you deliver high quality service through relevant and timely information? I believe the answer is absolutely!

The Value of Information
All information has value.  Depending on the type of information, its' presentation, and ultimately how it is used, the value of that information could be insignificant or massive.  It's intriguing to see how people and organizations value and act upon various forms of information.  If you're a consultant or web developer, how many times have you given away free professional advice only to have it fall on the client's deaf ears?  As soon as you take the same exact information you gave away for free and charge for it, the perceived value of the information changes dramatically.

Someone Has Figured It Out
Information marketers are a neoclassical example of selling information which possess a high perceived value.  Over the years I've purchased a number of expensive information marketing programs that were crammed with great information.  The irony is that you can find most of the information contained in the programs I purchased for free on the Internet or local library.  At the same time, it would have taken hundreds of hours of my own time collect all the information. What's worth more to you, hundreds of hours of your personal time or hundreds of dollars from your wallet?

What's Important to Them
One of the key factors to valuing information is asking the question, "What is the value of the information that I'm providing my clients, members, or patrons?" What information do they think is of higher value and what is of insignificance to them?  A lack of know the answers to the previous questions is one of the largest disconnects when it comes to companies and their customers.  Numerous companies believe that they know what's best for their customers.  Trouble arises when companies "think" they know what their customers want and the customers know what they want. That disconnect forms the basis for testing a product or web site repeatedly.

I believe that any organization or consultant that can provide clients, members or patrons, information of that relevant to them and time delivers a tremendous amount of customer service.  How can anybody not be satisfied with a company that meets all their wants and needs when it comes to customer service? The challenge is providing the right information to the right people at the right time.

Reading the User's Mind and Then Doing Nothing About It

Want to find out what users of your web site are thinking?
The simplest place to start is by looking at your web site log files with an analytics program. Right now, I know that a number of people reading this are saying to themselves "Thank You, Dr. Obvious!" Of course if you look at your web stats you'll get better information on what the users are thinking.  Each user movement through your web site tallies up in various trends for interpretation on web reports.  The process takes a good portion of the guess work out of the equation as it pertains to "what are the users thinking?

Doing Nothing With Good Information
I've seen more web reports than I care to recall.  These reports include everything from a short synopsis of user activity to 75 pages of data that a statistician would drool over.  For all the great analytics packages on the market, some solutions being absolutely free, most companies don't take the time to implement web strategy changes in accordance with their web stats.  At web stat review meetings  everyone is "amazed and really interested in all the findings." After a review meeting most findings fall to the way side or nothing gets changed.

Linking Your Statistics with Goals
I discussed the challenge of web stats falling to the wayside with my friend Matt from ITMonkey.  He shared some of the same concerns and suggested some very practical advice. Matt said it starts with "creating realistic and measurable goals that you can reference against your web stats." You need to go beyond the standard metrics such as visitors, page views, average time on site, etc. Some simple goal oriented suggestions include the following:

• If your goal is to increase the usability of your web site, your web statistics are a great starting point for any usability testing.  The history of your site gives a historical retrospective on who, what, when, where, as it pertains to users. You can also test new strategies against old trends.

• Web statistics are a great bridge into establishing or refining a Search Engine Optimization campaign.  Again use collected keyword data as a starting point.  Are your new keywords as effective as generating traffic?

• Are links you've recently traded or purchased to your web site providing you with an appreciable return on investment?

• If you have an advertising campaign you are running in the traditional media use your analytics software to track the effectiveness of your marketing.  There was one campaign that was run earlier this year that actually showed a better return on investment from Pay Per Click Advertising versus radio advertising.

Companies need to go beyond just reading web statistics for all the obvious reasons.  Look deeper and tie the statistical data to measurable goals over time. Companies are getting a pretty precise map of what their web users are thinking and doing, but what's the use of a map that you never reference?

Additional Resources:

• Web Page Statistics - "Hits" versus Visitors
• Are you Analyzing Web Statistics on Your Web Site?
• Radio Advertising Versus Pay Per Click

What You See ISN'T Always What You Get . . .

When it comes to web usability there are number of methods and techniques used to ensure that a web site is easy to use and understand.  One particular area of usability is ensuring web site compatibility with the greatest number of computers possible. Software developers have created features for web development applications to aid developers in creating compatible web sites.  Two of the most popular web design applications, Dreamweaver and Frontpage, are considered WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get).  What you see while programming the page is suppose to be close to what you should get after the web site is posted on a server.  In additional to the WYSIWYG environment most web development software has a preview function.  The preview function allows web site creators to view a page on their local machine in the web browser of their choice. For all the technology in place to assist web designers in creating compatible web sites something always goes awry. 

It Looks Different on This Computer
One of the biggest “Doh!” moments is when you check your web site online and see something completely different than what was tested on your local machine.  This happens regularly to the best developers on Earth.  Most web developers could write books on the horror stories associated with “I previewed the page before I posted it to the server.”

The Ultimate Test
Regardless of how sure you are that a web page is programmed correctly, you always need to test and test relentlessly.  The ultimate test of a web site’s compatibility should be when a web site is uploaded to a server.  You should never consider what you see on your own computer an accurate representation of a given web.  Always test from the server that is going to be hosting your web page.  Below you’ll find a brief list of checks you can perform to ensure compatibility.

Simple Web Site Compatibility Checks:

• Check your web site in multiple browsers.
• Check your web site in browsers a few releases behind.
• Check your web site on multiple platforms (Mac, PC, Unix).
• Clear your browser cache before checking an updated web site.
• Is the design broken or inconsistent?
• Does all the critical functionality work (Forms, E-comm, Interactive Elements)?

Always double check your web site, as often as possible, but at least once every few days.  The most important time to check is immediately after a page has been updated.

A Dose of Usable Reality
One common piece of usability advice is testing a few browser versions behind the current release.  The reality of the situation is that you can be vigilant in checking your web site in previous browser versions but that isn’t enough. Users bare a certain level of responsibility in ensuring their browsers are up to date. 

The mobile revolution is also making things increasingly difficult from a compatibility and accessibility aspect.  Developing a web site for a typical user versus a mobile user is a distinct discipline.  Each version of the web site is different for individual platforms.

Web site compatibility is important to strive for, but often difficult to achieve. You can reasonably ensure web site compatibility by testing for proper functionality and testing often!

Type, Audio, and Video

In “The Most Powerful Form of Advertising” the argument is made that copywriting is the most powerful form of online advertising. Depending on the type of web site and the information being presented, the written word might be the most effective way of presenting information.  Words are clean, simple, and to the point.  “What about multimedia?” Multimedia is wonderful and has its place on the Internet. Yet multimedia can also complicate things and add a tremendous amount of cost to any web project.   

Content Driven
Visit some of your favorite web sites. What is the balance of words to multimedia? One of my favorite web sites “Abandon & Little Known Airfields” is composed entirely of text, html links, and pictures.  The web site contains a tremendous amount of historical information on abandon airports across the United State. There aren’t any flashy graphics, audio, or video, just really interesting information.

Books versus Movies
There is something about the written word that cannot be replaced with audio, video, or other forms of multimedia.  Consider some of your favorite books.  Many books become motion pictures. How many times have you walked out of the theater and said to yourself, “I enjoyed the book more than the movie.” Words have an interesting way of setting off our imagination.  Regardless of how good the cinematography or specials many movies can’t match the impact of ink and paper.

On the Internet the user is always looking at the quickest and easiest way to access good information. One of the easiest ways to get information to the user is by using nothing more than words.

Online Objectivity Paves a Path to Success

Someone asked me the other day “why do so few companies find success online?” There are so many different answers I didn’t know where to start.  On a whim, I came up with an answer that has crept up in almost every single web project I can recall.  My answer to “why do so few companies find success online?” is “companies lack online objectivity.”  Companies cannot take their own vested interests out of their web site.  They focus more on their own needs as oppose to their user’s needs. This isn't to suggest that a company shouldn't strive to meet its online goals.  Companies get tripped up in the process.  They try to serve themselves first before serving their market. How many web sites have you visited a web site with each sentence starting with “Our … My … We?” Successful companies maintain a high degree of online objectivity.

Online Objectivity
Here is a simple usability fact: Users aren’t interest in a company that tells them about the greatness of their product or service. Users want to know what a company is going to do for them.  The focus should be on meeting the user’s needs.  This can be accomplished by listening or interacting with them. Those companies that practice a high level on online objectivity are more likely to succeed online. If you want to ensure success online make sure you’re meeting your user’s needs before your own. The great thing about the Internet is that you can collect feedback quickly and inexpensively.  Below are a few suggestions of ways to meet user needs.

Ways to Meet User Needs:

• Post Transaction Follow up
• Feedback Forums
• Email Survey
• Online Survey
• Usability Testing

Those companies who keep the focus on the user at all times are far more likely to be successful online.  The most difficult thing to overcome online is a company’s own ego.  Putting the customer’s ego in front of your ego is a big step with big payoffs.

Additional Resource:

• Ego: How to Destroy Your Web Site

Web Usability Versus Internet Marketing

More Than Usability
The importance of web usability cannot be underestimated.  Yet it is important to recognize it takes a lot more than just having a usable web site to be successful online.  Usability primarily focuses on making things easy to use and understand.  Regardless of how easy a web site is to use it also needs to have consistent and increasing visitor traffic. Traffic generation falls under the category of internet marketing. Marketing concentrates on product or service awareness and as part of the sales process.  It is important for any web site owner to make use of both usability and marketing.

Marketing isn't always Usable
There are some techniques direct marketing techniques that directly contradict sound usability principles.  One such technique is the use of pop ups.  For years pop up windows created usability issues.  Yet from a marketing perspective pop ups are great way to collect email addresses. Email addresses can be used to drive a marketing campaign for a product or service.

Bridging Usability and Marketing
One distinct area where web usability and internet marketing are complementary is when it comes to user testing.  User testing is crucial for both disciplines.  In web usability testing you collect data to identify positive or negative trends.  Those trends are used to enhance an improve a web site or online process.  Testing is also used in the area of marketing to improve advertising performance. Internet marketers frequently use Split testing to improve the performance of various marketing pieces: PPC ads, sales letter, or headlines to name a few.  The importance of testing needs to be placed on objectivity.  It is very easy to throw overshadow "what the boss wants" as opposed to what people are saying.

There are a number of marketing techniques that don't conform with good usability standards. The most profitable web sites find the right balance between web usability and marketing.  From experience I’ve seen web sites that give deference to marketing, sacrificing usability, and doing tremendously well on the financial front.

Others Do the Work, You Save Money

In the Think Big, Start Small post I suggested the idea of an online field trip to find web site concepts that might be applicable to your own web site. Some of the most successful web sites borrowed their ideas from some other site. For whatever reason, people have a pressing need to reinvent the wheel on the Internet.  It costs money to reinvent the wheel.  In many cases you can find a web site that is doing reasonably well, borrow some of their ideas and do even better.  The process allows almost anyone to save time and money on their web project. 

Looking At The Competition
A few years ago I headed up a usability study for a local private school that services the deaf and hard of hearing.  Part of the usability study focused on looking at the client’s competition and similar topical web sites.  The information derived from analyzing other web sites was tremendously helpful.  It allowed the client and the developer to integrate user approved concepts thereby reducing project time and cost.

Direct Marketing Methodology
The same methodology is used in the direct marketing field on a regular basis.  Most of the great copywriters encourage their students to collect junk mail.  Companies pay top dollar to create advertising campaigns that most people classify as junk mail.  If you can clue into the successful campaigns (those that run often) you might be able to integrate some of the ideas.  It takes time but is well worth the effort.   

Where to Start
The process is very straightforward. Find web sites that offer a similar product or service to your own.  Those will be the sites that you’ll look to gather information from. Take into consideration the factors such as user demographics and the size of a site as it relates to your site. 

You can conduct the testing on your own or make use of family or friends.  Consider looking to users outside your organization to conduct testing. People outside the organization traditionally have less bias as it related to your company or product.

Likes and Dislikes
Ask people to identify their likes and dislikes on the competing or similar web sites.  Make a list of your findings. Are there any ideas or concepts that you might be able to improve upon?

It is important to emulate as opposed to creating an exact copy. There are still copyright laws that need to be observed.

You can save a significant amount of money and time on development costs by emulating others.  There is nothing wrong with taking someone's idea and expanding it or modifying it.  It is the essence of the Internet.  Almost everyone is a copy cat.

Two Click Usability and SEO

A number of web sites unintentionally bury their best content.  In some cases users might completely miss the most important content a web site has to offer. This usability challenge can also have a significant impact on e-commerce web sites. Companies and web site owners need to ask themselves: “Is the content on my web site easy for users to access?” Less clicks can also help you with your search engine optimization efforts.

Below are some simple suggestions for making sure you best content is getting to the user:

The Two Click Suggestion
One usability suggestion is making sure important content is no more than two clicks away.  Users should be able to access most of your pages without having to click more than two times.  The ‘two click’ suggestion is also applicable for search engine optimization purposes.  Most spiders will only crawl web sites so deep before they stop.

Let the User Decide
Another helpful way to determine what content is most important to the user is by looking at your log files. Think of your log files as an informal voting system.  In many cases the users choose pages or article that a web site owner wouldn’t have considered important. Use the log files to your advantage.

Questions to Ask:

• Are there individual pages or article that get a comparatively large proportion of requests?
  
  
• Are there pages or article you believe to be important that are being missed by users? 

Using Anchor Links in Each Page
You can use HTML anchor links within each page to point related pages on your web site.  If a user is interested in the related information they might be apt to click on the link.  Keyword targeted HTML anchor links also help search engines to better index your web site.  If you can't integrate HTML anchor links into your body content, consider placing them at the bottom of each page.

Getting Big With Blogs
One web site format that offers a surprising amount of versatility and usability is a Blog.  A Blog's hierarchy is a great way of organizing web sites that have a large number of individual pages. Blogs are usually categorize by topic area and in most cases archived by date.  A Blog format isn’t for every web site, but that doesn’t mean you can adopt some of the information architecture related to categorizing content.

Blogs also have Search Engine spiders have a much easier time crawling Blogs because HTML links.  If you choose the right keywords and topic areas, you stand to get better indexing in the search engines.

It is in the best interest of almost every web site to keep content as easy to access as possible.  When good content becomes difficult to reach it makes it tremendously difficult to create a sticky web site. It is not only good for the usability of your web site, but it is also good for your bottom line.

Always Under Construction

How can a web site annoy a user in 5 seconds or less?  By presenting the user with a page that contains the words “under construction.” During the pioneering days of the Internet it was almost impossible to run across a page on a daily basis that didn’t say “under construction.  Thankfully most companies have abandoned the practice of tagging their incomplete pages with the “under construction.” Yet there are enough sites that contain those infamous words to dedicate a post to the issue. 

One area where the under construction plague runs rampant is on personal web sites. If you do a search for “under construction” in Google and you get 52 million results.  There are a few steps any web site can take to overcome the usability issues created by always being under construction.

Users Seek Immediate Content
The problem with most under construction pages is they don’t present the user with any compelling content.  There might be the occasional “stop back soon for updates,” but users rarely go back to the site.  Remember the user’s mindset when they surf the Internet.  If you can’t provide users with information they’ll find it elsewhere.  User attention span is measured in seconds.

What Can Be Done
In many cases you don't need to use an under construction page. Any changes on a web site should be done near instantaneously or in the background. Depending on the versatility of your navigation consider disabling individual web pages or sections that don’t contain any content.  Consider posting a temporary page with some content.

Try not to leave pages blank. From an SEO standpoint pages with little or no content have almost no search value.    As opposed to presenting the user with an “under construction” page, present a temporary page with some relevant content.  Some content is far better than no content. Give the user a sneak peak of what is coming or use the page to build some anticipation.  Just make sure the anticipation isn’t carried out for too long.

Be sure to include good contact information if you’re using temporary home page. What a page lacks in content can be made up with an offer to communicate. Encourage users to contact you if they have any questions.  Keep the emphasis on customer service.

The Internet is always under construction.  Posting a sign to point out the obvious doesn’t help users. Keep the emphasis on presenting the user with some content or the ability to assist them in some fashion.

Additional Resource:

• Starting on the Internet, Slowly

When They Have To Hit Submit

Today I’m going to briefly approach the submit button from a trust and credibility standpoint with some added usability added to the mix.  It is possible for one simple thing like the submit button to have a noticeable impact on a web site.  There are many times when a developer will take for granted the placement and implementation of a submit button.  This article stemmed from a client expressing their opinion on the poor implementation of an online form during a recent review meeting.  There are certain factors that can be addressed to make it easier for a user to submit.

Placement
The placement of a search or submit button can impact click through rates for form submission.  Regardless of the logic of placing a submit button at the end of a form, the bottom might not always be a logical place.  In some instances it might be beneficial to think logically before thinking visually in regards to submission button placement.

Where does the information go?
One question that comes up during usability studies that involve submission forms is “where does the information go after I hit submit?”  Users are particularly sensitive when they are filling out personal information.  Let the user know exactly where their information is being sent. 

Privacy Policy
Another piece of information you should nest near the submit button is a privacy or SPAM policy.  Make users feel more comfortable by ensuring the user that their privacy and data will be safely protected. Also letting them know they won't be inundated with email might give them more incentive to submit their information.

Give Feedback
After the user hits the submit button let them know that the information has been successfully sent.  This can be as simple as a thank you or acknowledgment page. If you have an autoresponder setup let the user know to check their email.  There have been a few instances when a client inadvertently broke an online form.  The issue wasn’t detected until a few weeks later.  Users are usually the last to know if a form is properly submitting information.   

Is there an alternative option?
There are instances where an online form might stop working.  In some cases the web site owner isn’t aware of the problem.  Always provide the user with an alternative method of submitting information like email or via telephone.   Keep that information near the submit button.  Let the users know there is an alternative.

Always be away of the small things you can do that have a larger impact on the user.  The ability to submit information is an important interactive element to many web sites.  Keep the process simple and provide the user with feedback.

News and a Greater Attention Span

There was an interesting article I found the other day regarding the reading habits of users.  The study compared the reading habits of how people read online versus reading information from traditional media like newspapers.  When users found something of interest to them they tend to read word for word.  This contradicts with the popular web usability notion that users are more apt to skim.  “The EyeTrack07 survey by the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based journalism school, found online readers read 77 percent of what they chose to read while broadsheet newspaper readers read an average of 62 percent, and tabloid readers about 57 percent.” (Goldsmith)

Questions and Bullets
The article supports the traditional usability recommendation to break information into easier to digest chunks and make the information interesting. “People paid more attention to items written in a question and answer format or as lists, and preferred documentary news photographs to staged or studio pictures.” (Goldsmith) Thought provoking questions are a great way to hook the users into your content.

Online Versus Offline
The study also points out some key points of focus being different for online versus offline readers.  In newspapers the readers focused on large headlines and photos. When a reader was on a web site their initial focus was on navigation and story teasers.

What's the Impact?
It will be interested to see how some of the gurus in the usability industry react to the findings. A number of findings reemphasize what current web usability already supports, but there are some counterpoints.  You still need to give the user a good reason to click on an article.  Users aren’t apt to read anything that doesn’t hold their interest or is poorly written either online or offline.

*Source: Web news readers have greater attention span: study

Do You Make These Usability Mistakes?

On occasion we can do things that make our web site harder to use.  In Mark Pearrow’s The Usability Handbook, he outlines some commons causes that adversely impact web site usability. What starts as a small usability issue can grow into a larger problem. Most web sites can be successful without being completely usable.  Yet, the piling up of small usability problems can have a negative impact a web site’s performance and bottom line.  Are you making any of the following common mistakes?

Getting too Technical
When you’re in the technology industry it is very easy to get caught up in technology. Web developers can focus too much on a web site’s features or delivering the next cool technology.  This happens all the time.  It might be an interactive calendar that is packed with features that nobody understands how to use. Technology tends to get complex. It is imperative to know the user and design for them.  Keep things as simple as possible.

• Keeping It Simple

“Someone” Centric Web Design
Geeks speak techno terms and humans speak human.  Graphic designs are highly creative, yet their design might be above the user’s understanding.  If Geeks and Graphic Designers don’t design for the user a web site can quickly leave the user dazed and confused.  Users aren’t going to embrace confusing or difficult to use web sites. This happens when a company tries to present information in corporate terms.  Bring it to the user’s level. Create a web site that focuses on the user’s ego in both verbiage and design.

• Using 40 Million Dollar Words

Not By Chance
Usable web sites don’t happen by chance.  They are usually a result of a well thought design combined with a smart web strategy.  Too many companies approach their web site with the “if you build it, they will come” attitude.  The most successful web sites embrace an Edisonian approach.  Successful web sites are always testing and evaluating their progress.  The web is not a fire and forget environment.

• Thomas Edison and the Internet
• Remember and Use Your Ideas

Decision Makers
There are too many times when the wrong people within a company are making crucial decisions about a web site.  Ego can destroy a web site.  Successful sites design for the user’s ego. I cannot think of one web site owner I know who isn’t successful by catering specifically to the user.

• How to Destroy Your Web Site

Poor web usability doesn’t happen because of just one thing.  It is the combination of small things that add up.  Keep the issues in check to ensure your site is usable.

Source: Pearrow, Mark. The Web Site Usability Handbook.

Keeping it Simple . . .

Technology tends to complicate things.  This is especially true online.  With all the technology available it is difficult to know where to start.  Anyone with a web site should strive to keep things as simple as possible for the user.

Web Navigation
Consider how web navigation has evolved. Originally it was just a simple HTML link.  Developers then transitioned from HTML to Javascript image rollovers.  Javascript wasn’t about to be outdone by Flash navigation and all the bells and whistles that followed.  Thankfully the web is coming back around to being simple.  Developers are realizing that users seek out simple over being cool.  Many web sites are reverting back to simple CSS navigation.  Simple navigation is easy for users to understand and also helps with search optimization efforts.

A KISS Mentality
The old adage “Keep It Simple Stupid” is great advice when it comes to all aspects of creating web pages.  Users will always choose the simplest route.  Provided a web site could be trusted and provides you what you were looking for, where would you spent your money?

1. A web site that is complex and difficult to use.
2. A web site that is simple and to the point.

Always put yourself in the user’s frame of mind.  Is there something that you can do on your web site to make it easier to use or understand?

Simple usability questions to ask:

• Can the users easily understand the web site in under 15 seconds?
• Is the navigation easy to use and intuitive?
• Do the pictures and photographs match the context of the web site?
• Does the navigation placement and function stay constant throughout the site?
• If you have an online store, is the checkout process short and streamlined?
• Can users easily determine what’s clickable on each page?
• Is the user provided easy to find and reliable contact information?

Web Usability ISN'T . . .

If you ask ten different people the same question, you’re most likely going to get ten distinct answers.  Even among the experts it is difficult to get a straightforward definition or explanation of web site usability. Instead of concentrating on defining what web usability “is,” we’ll look at what web usability “is not.”  Two critical components for any web site are accessibility and marketing.  Each is unique and distinctly different than usability.  It is important to know the differences and how each aspect is ultimately important to any web site.

Accessibility
In Mark Pearrow’s Web Site Usability Handbook, he makes several distinctions about what isn’t web usability.  One of the most common misconceptions is viewing usability and accessibility as the same thing.  Accessibility specifically concentrates on making a web site available to as many people as possible.  People with disabilities are an important focus of web accessibility.  Web accessibility allows people with disabilities such as hearing or visual impairment to access a web sites.  Web standards and technology are used to compensate for people's disabilities. Accessibility also delves into the challenges of delivering a web site over a variety of devices.  You can access web sites from PDA's, Smart phones, Laptops, etc. Accessibility ensures that users can get to a web site regardless of the type of device they're using.

Marketability
Pearrow also points out that “usability is not marketing research.” Online Marketing focuses creating awareness and interest for a product, service, or web site. Usability focuses on making sure that the product, service, or web site is easy to use.  A marketing centric approach might try to guide users along a predefined online path or compel them to purchase something.  Usability ensures that regardless of whatever path a user takes, they’ll find the information easily. 

Accessibility and Marketing are both important to online success.  Yet they shouldn’t be confused with usability, which focuses on making something easy to use and understand.

Focus Groups versus Usability Testing

This post is for my friend Peter who feels so passionate about focus groups.  Steve Krug makes some excellent points in Don’t Make Me Think regarding the differences between focus groups and a usability test. There are a number of people in the business world that confuse focus groups and usability testing.  Each discipline has its own unique approach, but the type of information collected and methodology are different. 

Focus Groups
Mr. Krug points out that focus groups are “a group process, and much of its value comes from participants reacting to each other’s opinions.” In a previous post, Beware! Dominant Users and Focus Groups, the dangers of a dominate user are briefly explored. This is in contrast to a usability test in which testing is usually conducted one on one. Krug believes focus groups are beneficial in obtaining quick feedback. This involves a better understanding of user needs, wants, likes and dislikes. I believe that focus groups are also great for brainstorming ideas.  An argument is made against focus groups in regards to determining if a web site is easy to use and what requires improvements. This is where usability testing comes into play.

Usability Testing
Usability testing concentrates on making sure a web site is functions properly and where to make improvements.  Krug argues focus groups “won’t tell you whether people can actually use your site.” This is best accomplished with usability testing. The one on one usability testing can help you refine how individual people interact with a web site.  Individual people won’t have their opinions modified by what someone else might think.  That’s the beauty of one on one test.  Users usually don’t surf the Internet in groups.  Individual usability tests also all you to concentrate on finite tasks and details.

Both focus groups and usability testing provide you with valuable information.  Use each accordingly and wisely.

Where's the Link?

How many times have you clicked on something thinking it was a link?

I ran across the article pictured to the right today.  The article about falling ice from the CN Tower in Toronto easily prompts one to watch the related video.  At the end of the short article the reader is prompted to “Click on the video icon to see the ice falling.”  My first natural inclination is to click on the picture to the right of the article.  I quickly found out that this isn’t the link for the video.      

One challenge is that I’ve trained myself to ignore advertising on the screen.  Many users have learned to tune out anything that looks like advertising, including things that aren't advertising. In this case the video icon is directed above the advertising block on the right.  Did I completely miss the link because it was right above advertising?  Two things made finding the video link difficult: informational relationships and linking to the most logical piece of information.

Informational Relationships
If you’re presenting information on a page to the user keep related items grouped together.  It seems logical enough, yet web developers break from this simple standard all the time.  Think in terms of informational relationships. In the case of the CN Tower article having the video link immediately after would have made the most sense.

Making It Linkable
If it looks like a link and it should be a link, make it linkable.  When designing web sites it is very easy to detach form a typical user’s behaviors.  Sometimes a link is put into a page without giving much thought to how a user might interpret the link.  Always look at links from the user’s perspective.   

Don’t Pollute Your Web Site

Advertising is an important aspect for most web sites.  If a web site has decent traffic it can drive additional revenue from advertising.  Some web sites base a significant part of their online business model around online advertising.  If there wasn’t online advertising revenue some web sites wouldn’t exist.  The challenge becomes delivering advertising without interfering with content delivery. Remember that the primary reason users are coming to your web site is for content.  Users are not visiting your web site for advertising.  Are you polluting your web site with excessive advertising?

Sticking it to Ads
There was an article published years ago citing user reactions to excessive advertising.  Some users became so annoyed with advertising that they put stick it notes on their monitor to cover up annoying ads.  An important advertising fundamental from a usability stand point is balancing content and advertising.  Make sure that online advertising doesn’t diminish the content you're trying to present.  It is less of a matter of "how much is too much?" versus "Is the advertising getting in the way of delivering quality content?"

High Quality Content
Focus on keeping the dominate page element the content.  Advertising shouldn’t get in the user’s way when it comes to getting through web site. Web sites that keep the advertising layout consistent site wide are good examples to follow.  Many of the larger new organizations follow this model. There are predefined areas that are reserved as advertising space. Many of the larger portals have gone so far as to label the areas as advertising.

Matching Ads with Site Content
Be vigilant about the advertising you have on your web site.   Does the advertising match the context and theme of a site web?  Users are less apt to get annoyed with advertising if it’s at least related to the subject matter found on a web site or article.  Also be careful to ensure that site content isn't confused with advertising.  Users have modified their surfing habits to ignore anything that looks like advertising. Is there something on your web site that a user might confuse with advertising?

When it comes to advertising and usability, make sure the advertising isn't clouding the message.  Keep the focus on content.

Web Usability ISN’T Buzzworthy

Usability is a concept that every web user embraces. Who doesn't like an easy to use web site?  Combine an easy to use web site with some smart Internet marketing fundamentals and most companies have a decent chance of being successful online.  The problem is that the term usability confuses many people. 

Why Isn't Web Usability Buzzworthy? 
Unless you’re in the technology or web industry it is doubtful that many people can comprehend “web usability.”  When someone asks me “what do you do?” I reply with “web usability consultant.”  Their response is either “what?!?” or “I’ve never heard of that before.” Those words are almost instantaneously followed by a look of confusion.  After a brief explanation, some people might understand the basic premise of usability consulting.  Ask ten different people inside the web industry to define web usability and you'll get ten different explanations. I’d argue that in order to be buzzworthy people need to at least understand the basic term.

Then There Is Being Blunt
Here is the ironic part. If the description is diluted down to “I help companies make sure their web site doesn’t suck,” (an ode to Vincent Flanders) people know exactly what you’re talking about.  Is it professional? Absolutely not!  Do people instantaneously understand what you are talking about? Yes.  There are other words and explanation that someone could use to describe web usability, but it seems like the blunt approach is the most effective.  The blunt description is easily understood by upper level management to the casual web user.    

The problem of a good buzzword is problematic in other Internet segments. “Linkbait” is a term that many people in the SEO industry are trying to change.  Linkbaiting involves compelling people to provide a backlink to a web site or certain web page.  Unfortunately the term sounds like something bad or nefarious.   

The term concept of usability is great, but the term is far from sleek or catchy.  If people don’t easily understand the term “usability” how is anyone suppose to buy into the benefits of usability?

Are You Opting-In Above the Fold?

Tamar Weinberg over at Techipedia posted an interesting question, “Should the Subscribe Button be Above the Fold?”  In her post she asks two important questions:

“I am curious to know whether the placement of the “subscribe” button on the top of the page has actually yielded more conversions than if it was in the middle of the page. I’d also be curious to know whether people fall victim to searching in the wrong textbox or if I am the only zombie to do such a silly thing.”

Email Subscription (Opt-In) Above the Fold
I would argue that there is enough room above the fold to give proper attention to both a search box and an email subscription opt-in.  Screen resolutions are going up and users are getting bigger monitors.  Web designers are getting more work space.  At the same time, just because there is more room doesn’t mean you need to abuse it.  Don’t forget about the importance of white space.

Subscription Placement
In terms of placement of a subscription box, I’ve read several recommendations on placing the subscription box into the upper right corner above the fold.  Offer the user good information and try to tempt them with great information.  From a usability standpoint one could argue that an opt-in box isn’t supporting good usability.  The Internet Marketer would probably take the stand that people who aren’t interested in additional information won’t enter an email address.  I’m torn between usability and marketing in this case.

There are a number of web sit