Web pages: It’s the booths visual appeal to start

In my last posting I discussed how the crowd at a trade show was similar to the traffic one might expect to see on the internet. While some are there with a specific intention to buy, many are there for any number of other reasons. What I may not have stressed well enough, was that as a business, you want your web page to appeal to as broad a section of that crowd as possible.

Too many web sites are either just informational or just oriented to the active buyer. We will discuss other options as we go, but first we will discuss the trade show exhibitor’s booth.

In a past career, I was VP of a small consulting firm. We did a couple trade shows for our niche and were blown away at the high cost of convention booth set ups, not to mention the price of floor space. We quickly learned that the booth setup and appearance were a big deal, and critical to being effective in the trade show arena. In our case we borrowed a set up from a firm we did business with rather than invest in our own gear, but we did learn a lot from that experience.

The booth at a trade show is similar to the first page of your web page. It is what the passerby sees first. The appearance and configuration of a trade show booth makes a difference. The passing traffic will either be attracted to, or repelled by first impressions.

For some purposes, the front of a booth may be a table that prevents people from entering the booth area. Others may have an open front to invite people in. Those doing direct sales from the booth may use the closed both format to conduct sales and provide inventory control.

In our case we wanted to entice people into our booth so we could engage them in conversation, learn about their circumstances and determine if we might be of service to them.

We had a video we had produced streaming a commentary on a monitor up front on a table to catch people’s attention.

We also had a nice brochure we passed out to anyone who would take it.

Part of our plan was to “show the flag.” To be visible, to start the process of creating brand awareness among those who walked by. Our second objective was to identify possible prospects for our services. While we were prepared to talk turkey with anyone who was truly excited about our services, we were not anticipating making and actual sales at the event.

A side objective of ours was to greet and meet personnel from our existing customers. Our booth exhibited sense of professionalism and reinforced with them the validity of their decision to use our services.

These are similar objectives you may wish to accomplish with your web site.

The first point I wish to make today is the initial appearance. The look of our booth was professional. That didn’t win us any brownie points, it merely meant we didn’t lose out in people estimations by having a junky booth. We didn’t need to have the flashiest booth, only a professional looking booth.

There are some circumstances when a artistic flair may set a tone for businesses with a creative component. For most businesses the need isn’t as much to be flashy as to be professional. So too with web sites. Too much flash and “noise” may actually hurt some businesses initial web site appeal. If you are in a creative niche, you may want to step the page up a little, but don’t lose site of your purpose in the process.

When we set up our booth we used signage in the back of the booth above head level. That way it could be seen from the aisles and over the heads of the people in or at the booth.

On a web page, the key comparison is what is called “above the fold.” The term above the fold is taken from newspaper speak, and refers to the front page of a newspaper, above the fold. The part people see first. There may be much more to the newspaper, and to your business, and web site. But what matters most about your web site is everything that the viewer sees when they first come to your site without having to scroll down or go to another page.

The first impression must get them to want to stay and see or do more.

This concept of above the fold is a critical one. And it’s where many web pages I’ve seen blow it. It’s where many will get artsy, and think they have a great site. Instead they loose out as the viewer who instead of being at a trade show, acts as if they are at a museum. They may pause, admire and move on, without looking at the little tag with the artists name on it.

In business we need more than passing admiration, we need leads and customers. The booth, or image presented must include a way for the passerby to see how they may benefit from looking further.

The purpose of the front above the fold web page is to convince the passerby that they need to stop and look further.

In my next posting on this topic I will discuss some ideas to do that. But I am going to shift gears a little and take you to a Stamp Show for a moment. To talk about where in the room you want you booth located. But to give you a hint, I am reminded of the couple that sets up at local stamp shows in my area, who always puts out a small dish of candy for passerbys. I always stop and chat with them, and I tend to usually grab not one but two pieces of candy.

While the same factors apply to trade shows, I know more about the issues of room placement
relating to stamp shows. I’ve done many of these over the years as a part time hobby dealer. There is a distinct advantage to being near the entry way at a stamp show, because not only will more people pass by you with full wallets, you also get first crack at those who are bringing items to sell. Some shows charge extra for various preferred locations.

While these factors are not as important to your web site, where you show up on the internet is.

The corresponding consideration for web sites is which key words your web site shows up on. You may have a great web site and an even better product, but your business will fail if no one can find you. Your key words are thus roughly equivalent to your placement on a convention floor. Are you in a highly trafficked area near the concession stand or main entrance or in the back corner of a cavernous hall?

There is a lot to what’s called Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but for many businesses it’s not that difficult at all. If you are a bakery in South Minneapolis, you want to make sure you have Bakery and South Minneapolis and South Minneapolis Bakery listed as keywords in the code for your web site. You may also want to include other key words as well. Perhaps donuts, or wedding cakes, etc.

That’s one of the areas where my friends at David Goes Online are particularly skillful. They can pretty much get any local mom and pop business to the top of Google by paying attention to the appropriate keywords for the business and tie it to their specific geography. In these days where people use Google more than the Yellow pages, that’s a critical advantage for any business.

If your business isn’t as geographically oriented, you need to do some solid keyword research. There are a lot of free tools for keyword research, among the best is Google’s free tool. I use it a lot. However, when your business is on the line, you really need to go the extra mile and use a professional paid service like Wordtracker.

Wordtracker is widely recognized within the internet marketing community as one of the premier keyword research tools. The downside is it’s relatively expensive. An annual subscription runs over $300 and a monthly one goes for about $60.

I cheat.

I use a service called Keywordtopia, that in turn uses Wordtraker as one of its resources. This allows me to use the power of Wordtraker and some of its own specialized tools for under $20 a month. It also offers a free 30 day trial, although you may need to add a few bucks to cover access to the Wordtracker component.

What ever you use, the message I wish to convey is that you need to put your web site’s Booth on the right place on the convention floor. Where the people looking for your service are going to walk by.

In my next post, as I mentioned earlier, we will discuss the things you might do to catch the passerby’s attention.

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