The Scan - How Users Evaluate your Website in 15 Seconds

I was recently on a call with one of our clients, reviewing a new Web interface, and our client asked us to describe how we thought a user would interact with the site we were showing. It’s a topic we talk about quite a bit here, and I began by explaining the concept of “The Scan…”

“The Scan” is an unconcious process every Web user goes through each time they pull up an unfamiliar Web site. It doesn’t take very long, and if you don’t pass the test within 15 seconds, you’ve lost that user for good. Our goal is to optimize sites for the Scan, and specifically, how to drive users to take a specific action.

Take the example of a registration form. The lifeblood of many marketing campaigns and Web sites, the goal is to get a user to give you their personal information. A tall order. We routinely achieve registration rates of 85% — that’s the percentage of visitors that register — by considering the 4 steps of the Scan.

Step 1: First Contact
Hmmm… this looks interesting.
The first time users hear about your site, it will be some other Web site or marketing communication. When they see the link, banner ad or URL in context, they’ll be evaluating: “Is this Web site something I’m interested in?”

The key consideration is to truly accept that not all traffic is good traffic. “Win $1 billion dollars” will get more hits than “Learn more about supply chain management;” but which link do you think will be more successful getting supply chain traffic? Make sure you are specific and relevant in your first contact with potential users.

Step 2: Look for Recognition
Do I care about this?
So now you have a new visitor to your site, and they’ve typed in your URL or clicked on a link. This is a critical period for your site design and messaging. In the next few seconds, you’ve got to display something that your visitor can latch on to as relevant to them.

Everyone does this when visiting a new site. Think back to the last time you clicked through to a site that you DIDN’T find interesting. You probably can’t remember exactly, although you know you’ve abandoned some sites. Your brain, almost on automatic, scans the page, looking for something you find interesting. If nothing turns up, you type in another URL, close your browser, move on — and forget about it.

Immediately, using graphics and text, your visitors should be able to identify what the site is for and whether it could possibly apply to what they are interested in.

Step 3: Find Some Details
Ok, so what’s this all about?
Once a user has decided that your site is something they might be interested in, they’ll spend a moment to figure out exactly what your message is. Once your visitor has identified by your headline or key message that they’re interested, they’re going to validate that interest before they spend more of their valuable time.

Make sure your site is set up for easy, scannable validation of what you’re all about. Content sites do this with short story excerpts at the top of the page. The headline catches your interest, and the excerpt allows you to decide whether you want to read the article or not (kind of like the dialogue bubble on this post). Your pages should do the same. When you have a complex message, use 2 or 3 LARGE TYPE bullet points to convey the essence.

It’s important to include a strong “Call to Action” in your excerpt or summary if you want users to do anything. If you want someone to register, sign up or buy now, say so right up front.

Step 4: Decides to Take Action
I guess I’ll check this out…
Finally, if you’ve gotten a user past these hurdles, they’ve decided that they’re going to read your article, or register, or sign up, buy now, etc. Don’t get in their way! The process should be as easy as possible. Yes, you’d like them to answer a 10-question survey before registering, but you’ll lose far more registrations than the survey is worth.

If you don’t understand yourself you don’t understand anybody else.
- Nikki Giovanni, poet
The best way to be a better Web marketer is to… surf the Web! The more insight you have into why you decide what to view, when to register, what to click, etc., the better you’ll understand what works.