The bounce-around effect measures how much bounce-around is happening on a given
navigational path on your site. It measures how many of your visitors seem disoriented
and unable to locate the page they are looking for.
A typical linear navigational path may be home page→category page→product
page→checkout (see Figure 6-4). Of course, people do not
navigate around your website in a linear fashion (see Figure 6-5). You can, however, expect the majority of
visitors to follow general paths if they find the information they are looking for.
Users who are impacted by the bounce-around effect find themselves going back and forth
between different pages on a site for a better sense of “what to do next” and “where to
go from here.”
Call-to-action buttons must be clearly visible as well as easy to use. Requiring
users to complete too many steps and to make too many movements throughout a site will
result in lower conversions. The inability to locate calls to action is a problem that
manifests itself in many different forms. Some sites are so unorganized that you cannot
find the company contact information. A friend recently signed up for the Geico.com
emergency car service. Unfortunately, within a week of starting the service,
her car broke down and she needed to be towed. Luckily, she was close to home and was
able to access her computer. She searched for 20 minutes on the Geico website for the
emergency roadside number and could not find it.
On ecommerce sites, this problem takes a different shape. Some sites use
“Add to Cart” buttons that are too small to notice. Sometimes other buttons are competing
with the main call-to-action button. On NewEgg.com (see Figure 6-6), the product page offers a
variety of call-to-action buttons. These include “Add to Cart,” “Add to Wish List,”
“Email This Page,” “Print This Page,” and “Price Alert,” which are all valid options.
However, in cases such as this, the “Add to Cart” button must stand out.
Figure 6-7 shows another example of
a call-to-action button that is difficult to find and use. The “Add Selected Products to
Cart” button is at the top of the page, and users must enter the quantity of the product
they desire and then scroll up to add the product to their cart.
Figure 6-8 shows an example of a site that has
a hidden call to action. The call to action is far below the fold and is the same size
as other elements. Because of these issues, visitors can miss the call to action
completely (it’s at the bottom right and is labeled “Add to Basket”). Remember, the call
to action is the most important element of the page, so it must be visible enough to
draw users’ attention.
