One of the main goals of many websites is to attract visitors who convert into loyal customers.  Web usability plays a crucial role in ensuring that website visitors find what they are looking for.   If they do not find what they want, there will be no sales and worse still, they are unlikely to return. No matter how enticing the website’s design, it is usability that determines the ease with which information can be retrieved.

It is a fact that a strategically designed web site is among the most effective tools to connect with and make an impression on your target market. Since it is likely to be the first point of contact your website visitors will have with you, it is important to make sure that this marketing tool is utilized correctly. Besides business, your website can also build great customer relationships.

What website visitors expect from a website

Here is a quick look at what your website visitors expect, when they arrive on your website. They want:

• A site that is easy to navigate
• A site that loads quickly – if the visitor has a slow connection, she is not going to be happy about your site hogging all her bandwidth
• To find what they want quickly with the minimum browsing
• Your advice or answers to their questions
• Valuable content they can use or share
• To interact with you and your site
• Privacy

What can you do to ensure that your website usability satisfies the expectations of your visitors?

• Test the usability of your site with your users. This is the most important thing. Make sure all the links work and lead where they are supposed to. Test your site on the most prominent browsers to make sure it renders properly.
• Ensure that you post quality content so that people want to come back and better yet, content they would want to share with their network.
• Add the appropriate number of links within the website’s copy to help visitors navigate easily and find what they want in the shortest possible time. The navigation must be obvious, consistent and intuitive and lead to relevant pages.
• Add the search feature to each page on your site along with navigation so that your visitors can see the context while doing away with guesswork.
• Let your visitors see where they are on your site by using descriptive URLs. For example, http://www.formfunction.co.za/services/ show that they are on the services page of the FormFunction website.
• The home page link must be prominently visible on every page in the same location.
• Include a site map which users can click to see all the pages on the site.
• If visitors have landed on a page other than the home page, let them know which page they are on and its location in relation to the structure of the site.
• Preferably every page on the site should be no more than three clicks from the home page.
• If a page on your website shows up as a 404 error, create a custom page that can bring your visitors back to the site.
• Keep your website elements looking consistent across the entire website.
• One direction, preferably vertical scrolling is best.
• Last but not least, your contact page must offer clear details about your business.

Make it easy for website visitors to find their way around and they will come back often. These days, it is also important to ensure that your website is compatible with mobile screens.  Keep testing and monitoring to check what works for your site in particular.  What specific steps are you taking to ensure website usability? We would love to hear from you.

Across the world, more and more people are opting to use their mobile phone rather than power up their PC to browse and shop online. This has opened up a much larger audience of mobile users that companies can market to as mobile provides a new platform to reach them through. Mobile marketing is a force to be reckoned with and every business that focuses on online marketing should be including it in their overall marketing plan.

Online retailer Kalahari.net, which launched its exclusive mobile shopping site www.kalahari.mobi, reports that over 51% of South Africans with mobile phones use the mobile Internet on a daily basis and are ready to use it to make payments.  According to the survey, 26% of the mobile users already transact online and the remaining users are likely to pay online.

Tracing the mobile-only new generation

Statistics show that the ratio of mobile phone users to PC Internet users is 5 : 2 with a majority of people have access only to a mobile phone screen.  With the introduction of smart phones to the market, there is a whole new generation of mobile Internet users.  This young market is labeled the “mobile only” Internet generation as they barely, if ever, use a personal computer, laptop or notebook to browse the Internet.  In fact, a local research house found that 57% of South Africans Internet users are mobile only users.

From these figures, it is clear that mobile phones have a tremendous impact on our communication. It also affects the way users transact online. As a result many companies are finding it worthwhile to create a standalone version of their website rather than just make it compatible for the mobile screen. What used to be an alternative method of shopping is now rapidly becoming more common. Interestingly, mobile Internet users who transact online consider it as safe as transacting via their computers. This confidence enhances their trust in the businesses they feel happy to deal with, increasing the conversion rate for those businesses.

Service providers and mobile phone brands

Most South African mobile Internet users use MTN, Vodacom, Cell C, Virgin Mobile and the recently launched 8-Ta. Mobile phone brands range from Nokia to BlackBerry, Samsung, iPhone and Sony Ericson. Android may be all set to capture a larger market share this year, while Symbian continues to be the preferred operating system with BlackBerry.

Kalahari.net’s survey also discovered that mobile shopping are mostly centered around apps, flight tickets, books, CDs and DVDs, music downloads, games, electronic devices and groceries. Marketers should aim to give their mobile user content that is just one click away from a purchase.

One of the most important things about mobile websites is the local context, since it is Internet on-the-go. Mobile users want easy to view relevant information that they can take action on. While mobile marketing is still in its growth phase on a global basis, research shows that developing nations will see the maximum growth as the mobile phone will be the only access to the Internet for most people. This situation is enhanced by the fact that over 700 million people will use mobile money by year 2015. Mobile transactions will experience massive growth, particularly in countries where the mobile phone will be users’ only access to the Internet.  Financial companies are also gearing up to reach out to their customers via their mobile phones. Live money services are showing explosive growth, making it more and more obvious that we are heading towards a cashless society.

Mobile marketing is revolutionising the way brands are reaching out to customers. Marketers are using coupons, location-based marketing, mobile ads, QR codes and more to connect with a broader market. Studies conducted on Internet usage patterns are showing an increasing number of mobile users preferring to use their mobile phone or downloaded apps to access the Internet.  Consequently, an increasing number of marketers are choosing to optimise their mobile websites to enable mobile users to get quick access. As an alternative, a company’s existing website can be optimised to recognise mobile users and display accordingly.

Mobiles: A relationship building tool

The biggest benefit of mobile marketing is its potential to build customer relationships.  As far as mobile apps go, the iPhone dominates as a platform with most developers focusing on developing new iPhone apps. However, Android and iPad apps are poised to experience strong growth during the next year.

In the meantime, while many mobile users are opting to access the mobile web directly, smart phone apps are popular. Apps have the advantage of encouraging mobile users to use it frequently if the app adds value.  Mobile marketing ROI (return on investment) takes time to show results – provided the marketer has a tracking system in place.

Augmented Reality – a powerful mobile marketing tool

With innovations such as augmented reality, businesses can engage their users visually, getting them to respond online or offline for a mutually rewarding experience. Augmented reality is successful because brands can provide consumers with a marketing message in a fun way.

An example is the above is the campaign Airwalk ran for their limited edition shoes in November 2010 where people could shop in a virtual pop up store with the shoes. With AR, people could see a floating show on their mobile screens that they could buy online. The shoes were sold out within 24 hours. Another example is of H&M, which required users to take pictures of virtual items they could identify in front of specific H&M stores, enabling them to unlock an in-store discount. Obviously, AR can be used as a powerful tool by marketers to entice more customers.  AR can give users real time offers in-store, breaking the habit of using phones to shop for the lowest prices. Users can also quickly find what they want yet keep them longer inside the store.  The greatest thing about AR is its ability to provide visual information about a product.

Many marketers acknowledge that mobile marketing must be a part of their overall marketing campaigns and they may use it for select promotions or integrate it across channels. The important thing to understand is that mobile phones and devices play a critical role in connecting a brand with customers wherever, whenever and however they choose.