Kieffer Design Group out of Idaho is a small interior design firm with a core group of three employees. They rank well in Google, and use some interesting SEO tactics, so I thought I’d check out their copy from the perspective of a prospect in need of office design.
HOME PAGE – Look, this page introduces your services. You only have words and pictures at this point, and a very impatient visitor. If you currently have Analytics installed, you know that many people come to the home page, spend a few SECONDS, then go somewhere else. Maybe away from your site. So grab your visitor from this page. This is your shot. You don’t have salespeople running over to capture prospects. Use this space wisely.
Kieffer uses this space poorly. A picture of the top facade (I suppose a creative decision) and a motivational quote on the side. And it takes me a moment to figure out where the menu is. Assuming I want design services for my business, I go to…
DESIGN SERVICES – which I can barely read because the font is so small. And where they offer a laundry list of services that every ID offers. Consulting, planning, selection, drawings…really? Now what do I do? I want to find out what makes them different, and if they can help me, so after I figure out that weird Menu button I’ll go to…
PORTFOLIO – Now I’m mad because the pictures are small! But they’re really cool. Once place has a tree growing in the middle of the living room. Although not my first choice, I’m impressed. Hmm…can these people help me? They seem to know what they’re doing. So maybe I should contact them directly.
CONTACT – There’s a e-newsletter, which is a little tricky to find and I’m not sure if it would be helpful. I’d like to just call, but frankly they don’t strike me as that friendly. The phone number is tiny, white text on dark which I hate. And there’s no invitation to chat. I’ll call, because I’m persistent, and hope they’ll spend a few minutes with me.
SUMMARY – This is a pretty typical process path for a viewer, that’s clear about what they want and doesn’t have a lot of time to peruse. Visitors just don’t spend the time looking at every page, and you can tell from your analytics what pages visitors find most compelling. This site is neither user-friendly nor friendly, but I don’t think that’s intentional. If I had the patience and the time, I would glance at the Team page to see who I was talking to.
LESSONS – 1) Know what pages your visitors are going to. Look at your analytics and spend more time on creating great content on the popular pages. 2) Have a clear path for visitors to follow. A confused mind usually just says “NO” and walks away. So lead your visitor by the hand. 3) Be crystal-clear about the action you want the visitor to take. If you want them to call you, invite them to do so on every page. If you want them to sign up for something, have an opt-in box on every page. I didn’t really know the next step to take with Kieffer, because they didn’t invite me or encourage me to do anything. Subtlety is a little passe on the internet, where sites are screaming for attention. Don’t be afraid to be heard!
7 Deadly Mistakes of Website Content
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