How To Get Visitors To Take Action On Your Website: The 3 Second Rule For Websites

November 9, 2018 by Andrew Riedel

When it comes to the digital laws of attraction, the first impression is key. You see while in the real world, businesses might get a chance at a second impression, but in the digital world, that rarely happens. This is why it is vital for businesses to make a strong first impression and make sure they pass the 3 second rule for websites.

What’s the point of hiring a Brisbane SEO Agency, getting to the top of Google, but having a dog of a website that won’t convert visitors into sales?

You have just 3 seconds to grab the viewer’s attention. In our fast-paced world, users looking for a particular service have numerous tabs open with providers. If your website doesn’t catch them in 3 seconds, then the chances are they will never come back.

So, you need to make sure you have your site in top shape or business will be slow.

What Are The Most Important Elements Needed “above the fold”?

Before getting into the essential elements, it is important you understand what “above the fold” means. In simple terms, “above the fold” refers to the part of the website that loads up first for the user, the top half that they view first. It’s important because it allows them to get an impression of your business and determine whether they want to proceed further or not.

The elements you need “above the fold” that make good impressions on visitors are:

A unique selling point (USP): Grab their attention by telling them how your service is better than your competition. You need to tell them what makes your business unique be it lower prices or better services. You can even mention how your business can help them grow. Think of this as your newspaper headline to grab attention and leave them wanting to learn more.

Explainer copy: While the USP is there to grab their attention, you need a one or two-line explainer along with it. If you tell a business that they can grow with your service, then in a line or two under it tell them how your service will do that over the competition. The explainer elaborates a bit more on your offering, so more interest is built and your USP seems more legit.

Logo: The logo is an essential aspect of your branding; you want one that is professional. By the logo being the first thing users see, it enforces your brand to visitors.

Simple navigation: Keep it simple, no need for flash or anything. The navigation should enable the user to get to where they want without any hassle. If you have many pages, categorise them and have a drop-down menu. Don’t have too many links showing up in the navigation bar that will only confuse the visitor. A drop-down menu helps you simplify the layout of your site.

A clear call to action: If you’ve nailed the above elements properly, then you’ve likely grabbed the visitor’s attention, and they are probably interested in finding out what is next. A call to action tells them exactly where to go next to either learn more or sign up.

Make sure to keep the design elements of the website simple and don’t overcomplicate it. Incorporating these elements “above the fold” will help visitors on the website stay more engaged and increase their chances of going deeper into your website.

What is Bounce Rate and Why is it so Important?

While bounce rate may sound like a “fun” term when used in reference to a website, the truth is that it isn’t all that good. The bounce rate refers to how visitors bounce back from your website be it back to the search engine or other websites.

Google’s job is to provide users with search results that will prove to be valuable for them. In general, it expects visitors to go deeper into websites that pop up at the top of search results. These websites would have a lower bounce rate as compared to those that are ranked lower.

The bounce rate is reflective of how your website is constructed. If you have a poor or confusing design, content that is irrelevant or uninteresting, confusing navigation, and so on, then this generally leads to a high bounce rate.

Bounce rate is important because it tells you exactly where users leave the website. If your homepage has a high bounce rate, then it means you need to work on it.

However, there is a bit of ambiguity with the bounce rate. Visitors are on your website for information, so they once they find the information needed, they will leave. So, if your homepage doesn’t have a high bounce rate but other pages do, then that can mean that the visitor got the information they wanted. Just make sure your home page bounce rate is low.

How To Find Out What Your Bounce Rate Is?

Finding out what your website bounce rate is rather simple with the help of Google Analytics.

Step 1.

Step 2.

In the dashboard, on the left hand side, you need to click on the link for “Audience Overview.” This will show you all the data from users on the website, including the bounce rate. This is an overview of the overall website bounce rate, which is great but not as important as the individual page data, which Google Analytics shares.

Step 3.

To access the data, you need to click the “Behaviors” link in the dashboard. This will give you the insights into the bounce rate of each page and help you figure out which pages need may need to be worked on and improved.

A Final Word On The 3 Second Rule For Websites

The 3 seconds rule for a website may seem like limited time, but in the fast-paced world today, that is all your website has. You need to make sure to interest visitors within that span. This won’t be hard if you keep your website user-friendly with high speed and incorporate all the “above the fold” elements. Your task is to ensure that the bounce rate from your homepage stays as low as possible.

Only then will your online business achieve succeed and continue to grow.

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