itrunsinmyfamily Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 We have been beta testing our new website called w ww.itrunsin myfamily.co m. The website is essentially the packaging around our proprietary family health history tool. This tool is designed to help people build their family pedigree then enter in diseases that run in their family. We want to help people become more aware of diseases that run in their family so they can treat and prevent these health issues before they occur. Our main goal is to get people to the tool [ht tp://se cure. itruns inmy family.c om]. We created the homepage [w ww.itrunsin myfamily.co m.] for SEO purposes and to be a welcome screen. However, during our beta testing we observe that only a minority percentage actually make it to the tool page. This is concerning for us because it is the tool that is the key feature of the site. We have tried different ways to help more people find the tool. These include: -making the button green, glossy, 3-d -increase the number of links to the tool on the homepage(now there are 5 links to the tool on the homepage) -increase the number of links to the tool on the other pages, nearly every page now has a link to the tool page -at the conclusion of the video it mentions to 'click the link below' This has improved the traffic to the tool page but still hasn't been as effective as we wished. We still get the comment "what do we click now?" We have come up with several ideas to address this: -changing the button to orange -removing the video and placing a HUGE button front and center -auto-redirect to the tool page (my SEO specialist frowns on this idea) -just quit and go home kidding We are limited by time and money to make too many major changes at this point. We are interested to hear what suggestions or recommendations you have for improvement. We know if we have enough expert eyes looking at the problem that the solution will present itself. So my question to the world is: What can we do to the home page to get more people to click through to the tool page? Thanks for your comments and suggestions! (if we use your idea we will add you to our list of consultants on our credits page when it is finished) bmw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newseed Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 I don't see any good summary of explaining what the tool does before you click to use the tool and of course what the benefits are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBall Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Why not skip the middleman and make the tool the homepage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhaslip Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 (edited) Well, first of all, as a Linux User, please change the Mac instructions on the software page to indicate that Linux Users need to also perform the same cntl-click that mac Users do in order to use the package. I had trouble figuring it out. secondly, try placing the Link (nice 3d image) up in the header, (maybe above the Search Box), so that the software is consistently available on each and every page. thirdly, reduce the height of the header so that the prime information is moved "above the fold" on the Index page. Gives the viewer some information really quickly and as nice as the site is, It takes too long to figure out where all the good stuff is. Example, the left hand sidebar takes too much attention away from the purpose for the site. maybe reduce its width and let the centre content stand out more or use a horizontal nav bar layout. See also the below suggestion to create more value on the first page impression. next, drop the flash down below the "blurb" or into the right sidebar. (Might want to look at using a thickbox for the video presentation.) And lastly, lose the Google ads. They are distracting from the page's purpose. Show them on subsequent pages, but not the main page. Hope that helps and good luck with the site. Edited January 16, 2009 by jlhaslip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itrunsinmyfamily Posted January 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Why not skip the middleman and make the tool the homepage? Yeah that is an option. In fact the original plan for the site was to go directly to the tool page but my SEO team advised against it because apparently it wouldn't have been good for SEO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itrunsinmyfamily Posted January 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 I don't see any good summary of explaining what the tool does before you click to use the tool and of course what the benefits are. The summary is in the video, but not as many people are watching as we anticipated. We calculate that only about 15-25% of users actually watch the video. So we are reassessing having the video there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virtual Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 (edited) Put the tool in the header with a blurb underneath explaining briefly what it does, then put the video underneath that if they need more info before they try it out. Your header is beautiful but it uses up a lot of space. My screen is 1280 x 768. With all the toolbars I have in my browser I can only see about 3/4 of that and consequently your button doesn't even show up on my screen unless I scroll. Edited January 16, 2009 by virtual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSW Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 This may be of use to you: Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click? by Susan M. Weinschenk Ph.D. Why does someone decide to buy a product online or register at a website? Psychologists have known for years about the nonconscious forces that persuade people to take action. Neuro WebDesign applies the research on persuasion and decision making to the design of websites. Neuro WebDesign explains psychological research on social validation, reciprocity, fear of loss, contrast and other principles in an easy to understand way, and then goes on to show how to implement these powerful ideas. For example, why are customer ratings so important at a website, and what are the critical elements to include to make them even more effective? Does the order in which you provide choices have an unconscious effect on which one is chosen? Some books describe research; some books give advice on web design, but Neuro WebDesign combines the research on non-conscious decision-making and persuasion with web design advice. Publisher: New Riders Pub Date: December 23, 2008 Print ISBN-10: 0-321-60360-5 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-321-60360-9 Web ISBN-10: 0-321-60364-8 Web ISBN-13: 978-0-321-60364-7 Pages: 168 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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