How a Six-Second Site Scan Will Boost Your Online Sales

If your car runs sluggishly, what do you do? You take it to a mechanic to pinpoint the problem. For most people, a car is too complicated to diagnose by themselves.

For most people, a sluggish website comes across in the same way – too complicated to fix the problem yourself. If your web business gets visitors, though, only to misfire on converting them to sales, there’s a six-second test you can do on your site that will help you diagnose a number of potential problems.

Open your page and glance at it. Let your eyes scan across the very top of your screen. Then scan down the center to the bottom of the screen. Don't scroll down. You want to see only what your visitor sees the instant your site appears. Then ask yourself the following three questions, based solely on that six-second scan.

• Does your title grab them emotionally?
• Do they quickly grasp what you can do for them?
• Do they clearly understand what to do next?

Does your title grab them emotionally?
Does it clearly identify the problem that brought them to you? Or is it a generic label that vaguely describes your business?

You want your title to show them that you know exactly who they are and exactly what they need. Ask yourself what they’re looking for. Really put yourself in their mindset.

Think of it from their perspective (as a problem that they’re trying to solve) instead of from yours (as a product or service that you’re trying to sell). What words or phrases would they use to describe their problem? Use those words to introduce them to your solution.

For example, this article is titled “How a Six-Second Scan Can Boost Your Sales.” Would it have caught your attention as much if it had read, “Improving Your Website?”

The phrase “Boost Your Sales” caught your attention because it addressed a key problem for you. Combining that phrase with an unfamiliar concept like a “Six-Second Scan” piqued your curiosity. And the phrase “Six Second Scan” suggests a solution that is fast and easy.

Forget any misplaced ideas of what is "supposed" to be professional looking. You get no points for cool, detached formality. The only way you get people's attention by connecting with them.

Do they quickly grasp what you can do for them?
The second thing to check is whether your page is easily to skim. Does your eye jump naturally to key points on the page? Do headings, bolded text, and graphics give you an instant "feel" for what you'll find on that page even before you read it?

People don't want to "work" at reading online. Big blocks of text lead them to hit their Back button and find something more friendly to their eyes. Give them an instant overview of the content and they'll pick out and read the details they need.

Do they quickly understand what to do next?
The third thing you want to check is whether they'll grasp THE key point of the page: the action they need to take next.

Many sites waste prime space, front and center, on a rambling introduction. Meanwhile, all the visitor wants to know is, "Can I find what I'm looking for here?"

Make sure your visitors can see, quickly and clearly, what they need to do next to solve the problem that brought them to you. Don’t count on them scrolling down to find this vital information. Put it right in front of them the instant they see your page.

Final thoughts
Granted, it takes longer than six seconds to read these guidelines. The scan itself, though, should be nearly instantaneous. If these elements are not instantly evident on your page, you need to fix them so that they are.

Your visitors will unconsciously make this exact same scan the instant they arrive. Make sure they see clearly and easily how you solve the problem that brought them there.