No, I'm not talking about someone who doesn't
speak English. I'm talking about the actual communication that
goes on between your Web site visitor and your Web site content.
Sometimes the communication breaks down and your message is not
understood. I'd call that an Internet language barrier.
Take a look at your Web site; are you
unwittingly putting up a language barrier? Here are some "red
flags" that you might be creating a communication breakdown:
1) Your Web site uses "jargon" or
technical terms that your audience doesn’t understand.
Who is your target audience? Are they
familiar with the terms in your industry? If the answer is
no, then you need to make sure you eliminate all jargon or
technical terms from your Web site.
Effective communication occurs when the
reader can easily understand the words of the message.
Engineers can talk to engineers, but when engineers try to
talk to consumers there is often a problem. The message
becomes unclear.
Right now I'm working on a Web site for a
medical device company and most of the content was written
by engineers. However, it's not just engineers who visit the
Web site. The company realized they needed to rewrite the
content so that it can speak in a non-technical way that is
less dry and more conversational.
By doing this, the company is tearing down
the language barrier and creating a site that is friendly
and welcoming to all prospective customers.
2) Your Web site doesn't provide enough
information for the reader to make an informed decision.
Before you put your message together, take
the time to analyze your audience and think about what they
know and don't know. How educated is your audience? Do they
need more explanation or do they already have the
information they need to make a decision? What information
would make it easier for them to make a decision?
Quite often people are ready to buy when
they come to a Web site, but they want all the information
they can get to make sure they are not making a mistake.
Internet shoppers are informed shoppers. They tend to do
research before they make a purchase. If you provide them
with the information they need, they will be more likely to
buy from you. After all, if they don’t have to go to another
site to find more information, it’s easier to make the
purchase on the site they are on: your site.
3) Your Web site's navigation makes it
difficult for visitors to get to your product.
You need to use a combination of good
writing and graphic layout that gently moves the reader
through your content and to the eventual sales page. Don't
make the reader search page after page for the product or
piece of information they need to close the sale. Remember
the 3-click rule; don’t make them click more than 3 times to
make the sale.
Make sure it is easy to find your product by
using text links and graphic highlighting. Don’' bury your
product in a long paragraph or hide it in a list. Let your
product stand out and make it easy for the visitor to make a
purchase.
I like to include multiple ways to click to
my sales page. For instance, I put a text link in the
content description and I make the graphic of my product a
text link.
Your goal should be to make it easy for your
visitor to understand your message and easy for them to make a
purchase. Take away the language barrier on your Web site and
you are on your way to huge Internet success!
