Thinking of creating your own blog? You don't need to be an expert to build an effective blog, but you DO need to understand some of the most important elements of a successful site. In this post, you will find the important elements of your blog you will need to pay good attention to.
The first fold (the part that's visible without scrolling) is literally the most valuable real estate on your website. This is the screen that your visitors absorb during the first few seconds of their visit and use to make their "should I stay or should I go" decision.
The very first thing that should draw the eyes of your visitors when they arrive at your website is a headline that clearly states the biggest benefit your site has to offer. Graphics, logos, illustrations, menus, links, and other elements should never overpower or distract from this critical element.
Plus, it should be visually appealing. For your headline to be most effective, your visitors must be able to absorb the benefits it shares in a glance. So you not only need to write a great headline, you need to strategically format it!
Use bolding, italics, and highlighting to tastefully emphasize key points. And watch where your lines break.
Given that so many of your first-time visitors will leave your site without buying anything, it is crucial that you ask for their names and email addresses as soon as possible. If you bury your opt-in offer on a second page, you'll lose potential subscribers who don't make it that far into your site.
Visitors should be able to see your main navigation as soon as the page loads. If they have to scroll or search for it, you'll lose the majority of your visitors.
Don't leave it to your navigation to direct the visitor; after all, they'll only click on a link if it is what they're looking for. You must give your visitors a strong call to action and tell them what you want them to do.
For a service business, a link that says "About Us" is informative, but doesn't give the reader a good reason why they should care. A call to action like "Click here now to discover why over 20,000 business owners trust us" will be much more effective!
Focus on these four critical elements while building your website, and you'll have a site that will turn the highest percentage of your visitors into buyers.