The "Aye's" have it!

Time for me to wear a hairy shirt. The issue of images versus the text on web pages.

Many like me take note of statistical information available to maximise web page effectiveness. It is for this reason that the “home” page has to be the attention grabber, the traffic stopper. Great graphics helps as long as download times stay under 10 seconds.

Having stopped traffic in its’ tracks the surfer really wants decision making information presented very quickly. What decisions? The decision to buy from you! Not only that but he wants to complete the buying process in under 58 statistical seconds. So how should that information be presented. Pictorially or textually?

Many web designers come from a print industry background and regretably attempt to carry over what worked so well for them there. One of my compatriots who fits this bill and does great graphical designs for web sites categorically stated that pictures were paramount and that words were very much secondary on any web site.

I disagree, so who is right and why so if indeed there is a discernable difference?

In 1861 P. Broca identified the section of the brain involved in speech production and established the very early rules of what and how a brain does things with words. If you want a technical dissertation then the library is that-a-way. I will try to keep it simple and deal with this so we can all understand.

So how do we determine the merits of visual versus auditory, pictures versus sound? Here's something you can try at home: First watch your TV with the sound off, then listen to your TV with the picture off.

You can prove to yourself in just seconds, for free, with out fancy research (although there's plenty readily available), that when it comes to conveying information, affecting emotions, and causing action, sound beats pictures hands down. And as we recall, emotions are what coerce us to buy.

You want more proof? Why do movies have all that spooky background music to set the “scene” despite the fact that we can clearly see the badie? The sound track stirs up our emotions.

But where is the sound in any advertising and particularly on your web page?

It's in the words, which we understand by "hearing" them in our minds as we read - just as you are doing now. We could discuss the neurological reasons for this but we’ll leave that to others. It is sufficient to remind you of the buyers response patterns spoken about in an other issue wher some people respond to “visualising” as in “....can’t you just see them saying....” and others respond to “hearing”,as in “...can’t you just hear them saying....” yet in both cases it is words, spoken or in print ( “heard” in the mind ), which triggere this sales response.

The reason sound is far more effective than pictures in causing people to take action lies in the physiology of the brain. Again I’ll skip the technical stuff but provide proof through a simple advertising technique we are all familiar with. The advertising jingle. If it did not rely on being “heard” why would it be on radio?

What really drives this point home is that we have all learnt many of these jingles without really wanting to or else having an interest in a particular product. But the significance of this strikes deeper still. I’m sure we all remember jingles about products which are now defunct yet the words have stayed with us for decades. We don’t only hum that little tune, we sing the words. How effective, penetrating and forcefull can you get?
We all call these jingles “catchy”, but who caught who? I think the advert caught us and has kept us for all this time - and if that is not effective advertising - I don’t know what is.

Many leading marketing authors believe that the secret of persuasion lies in the skillful use of action words. R.H. Williams, a leading advertising guru and author said: "The magic of advertising is in the verbs... Describe what you want the listener to see, and she will see it. Cause her to imagine taking the action you'd like her to take, and you've brought her much closer to taking the action."

I think we all accept that sound may have many guises and can be and is invasive,intrusive, and irresistible.

Should we therefore all use streaming audio from our web site? I do not think so for several reasons of which the “hearing” of words as we read is uppermost. .Again I’ll skip ahead and avoid the technical stuff.

Also, as for actual sound via the Web as opposed to sound created in the mind by great text, some people seem to ignore the fact that 93 percent of the market does not havebroadband, and that despite the hype, broadband penetration is already leveling off in the USA.

The number one web mantra is “ ( word) Content is King”. The same Roy H. Williams once wrote that "most advertising is flaccid." Think about the choice of words. How does he say ads are impotent? He creates a mental image that will stay with the reader. And it does.

So what can we do to generate these magical words and structure that memorable content?

Write down every possible reason you can find why someone should want to do business with you. If you don't find at least a few dozen reasons, either you aren't trying very hard or you have a very boring business. Don't be afraid to get professional help if this seems to be too hard for you. After all, those professionals only exist because you and I do have difficulties with some of these issues. They would not be there if we all were advertising geniuses.

Afterward, review the list and eliminate everything that is also true of your competitors. Nothing should be allowed to remain on the list that can also be claimed by a competitor.

Some quick suggestions:
What is unique about your business versus your direct competitors?
Which of these factors are most important to your propective clients?
Which of these factors are most difficult for your competitors to imitate?
Which of these factors can be most easily understood by your prospective clients?

Finally review it for the key words you want people to use for search engines to find you.

Now create a memorable message out of these unique, meaningful qualities about your business . And make sure it's a message that speaks to the need your prospective customerfeels, not some self-centered stuff about you. Just remeber “ what’s in it for me?” once again and above all use the “benefits vs features” trail.

Put it all together and the winner is.......you!

I currently act as a search engine editor and review sites submitted for listing and ranking. One of the major restrictions placed on us is not to rate any content which, simply put, is “trumpet blowing”, but only to consider that which has substance and value for the web site visitor. In a word, quality. And the generation of that quality content is indeed what my last three articles have been all about. So if we get all this right we are even pleasing the search engines. I do love “win-wins”.

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