The F Factor
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey guys! Welcome to this week’s podcast! Now before you think the F Factor has to do with the F word, let me assure you it does NOT! The F Factor is how people read websites, so you want to make sure that your website is designed within the F Factor (see pic below).
As you can see the eye pattern is in an F shape. The top left corner has the most concentrated viewing and then about three lines down, you see that the concentration diminishes. This is excellent information for your blog, especially, which we’ll get into. But it also shows you why Amazon has it’s menu along the top and its sidebar on the left side.
even more data
The logo gets 6.48 seconds of focus.
The main menu gets 6.44 seconds.
The search box gets 6 seconds (discuss how couldn’t find a search box other day on a blog and how annoying it was).
Social networking links get 5.95 seconds of focus.
The sites main image gets 5.94 seconds of attention.
The site’s written content gets 5.59 seconds.
The bottom of site gets 5.25 seconds.
On top of that, visitors make an impression about your site AND your business in less than two seconds! It is crucial that your website is not only well-designed to make a great first impression, but you can also take advantage of this science to get your visitors to stay longer.
Strategies
Your logo needs to be on the top left corner because it gets the most attention, which is funny to me since it’s just a logo, but it does. You need to then position your main menu right under that or directly to the right. And I usually put my search button on the left side before the main menu (if my logo isn’t there) or right side at the end of the main menu. Same with my social networking links.
Next is your website’s main image. If you noticed, my main image is me, which is a great strategy because the more people see your face, the more they like you. Having a professional, nice branded photo of yourself is a great idea. People will study it. I do. Seeing the business owner’s face is my favorite part of her site! Content is next. You just feel a connection with a smiling face. :)
Another tip is to put your most important content above-the-fold, which is an old newspaper trick of putting the most important headlines above the fold of the newspaper. You’ll notice that on my home page, I have a free training to launch your brand. I want my face and that offer to be the first thing my visitors see.
We’ll get into the written content in a second. But the final area is the bottom of your site. This is where many of us put our privacy policies, disclaimers, etc., which is a great idea. It’s also a great place to put your Instagram feed, freebies, and other things that you really want your visitor to see.
your written content
Some websites are blog focused and others are action focused. If your site is action focused, you need to use pithy, tight written content. Do not be wordy. Your action buttons need to pop and use high energy colors. For some of you, you want people to stay on your site for a while reading your blog, your freebie descriptions, your about, and more. If that’s the case, you want colors that are calmer like blues, greens, and grays. Your written content still needs to be tight, but you will probably have longer sections of texts. To keep your visitors reading, follow these tips.
Make your introductory paragraphs boldface or visibly bigger than the rest to improve attention. Studies reveal that 95% of viewers read all or part of it.
Keep your paragraphs short and in a single column.
Narrow your text (a trick Apple uses all of the time).
Make dominant headlines bold and large to draw the eyes and keep your visitors reading.
Use headlines to spell out the next section or use them to create curiosity.
in summary
It goes without saying (but I’m gonna say it anyway) that you need top-notch, helpful content. But even with good content, you might not get the engagement you want without using some of these tips. It’s also important to use high-quality images. Fuzzy and small images communicate a lack of excellence and care. If you need to use images with cell phones, tablets, and computers, use Apple products because those get more views than non-Apple products.