Have you ever gone to a website, looked around at it and thought you were a kid in a candy store? This is all too often the case when you visit a website. You are not really sure whether you should sign up for their membership, visit other linked pages on the site that are beckoning, or take the opportunity to look around more. You may even be tempted to visit another site that catches your eye, off in the corner in the form of a Google AdSense ad.



Whatever the case, it is as simple as this, from a visitor's point of view, they don't like too many options. If you provide your visitors with too many choices and too much to consider, they will become confused and are likely not to make any decision at all. Even worse still, they will most probably leave your site, leaving you without taking any action such as a sale, subscriber or a request for further information.

Webmasters take heed...

From the perspective of a Webmaster, consider for a moment that each page on your website needs a purpose, unless of course, you want your website looking like a dogs breakfast. Each page should be dedicated to one particular thing. For instance, if you have a landing page for potential customers or subscribers, the trick is just to have that. A clean-cut page that the visitor can see is only meant for one thing that may be a newsletter sign up, to enter you email address or buy a product or service.

The same thing is needed for a sales page. Keep in mind that you have drawn a potential customer to your sales page with only one thing in mind, to make a purchase. If you offer the potential customer a myriad of options along the way, they will soon become disorientated and wonder if they really do need what you are offering them. Maybe they will wonder to themselves whether some other link you have added to your sales page may be what they are searching for.

It is very clear that, by adding a host of other links and options to your web pages, it is likely that you will lose the visitor to something else that catches their eye. Once a visitor has left your landing page or sales page, chances are, if you haven't already got their details, you won't ever see them again.

The mistake of many webmasters is that they make their websites like a leaky bucket. They have holes all over the place where precious, targeted traffic can seep out without leaving them with anything for their troubles - no sale, no email contact - nothing. This is a serious problem, considering that it is no easy task to get targeted traffic to your site.

The use of clever tricks and tools may get the visitor to your page, but if you give them too many options and confuse them, you might as well be throwing away your time and money. It is not likely that a visitor will give you their details when they feel that there is still more to explore and search for.

Worse still, if you have lost a visitor to something like a Google AdSense ad, you will have made a whole one hundredth of a cent for all of your troubles and the link that your targeted visitor goes to visit could potentially generate a sale - your sale. What did you get for all of your troubles?

People aren't doing what you want them to?

If Webmasters are struggling to get their visitors to do exactly as they want them to, attention to what is on each web page is vital. Never add more links just to make the page more attractive or seem less empty. If a visitor is in the ‘interested' mode and visits a page that is set up for only one outcome, they have two options - sign up to find out more or leave.

If you are still losing subscribers or customers because they are simply leaving, you may want to put some thought into what you are selling or marketing and how you are presenting it. By using your web pages correctly, and giving your visitor only one option, rather than a multitude of links and eye-catching options, you will know that you are definitely not losing valuable targeted traffic from having a website that resembles a leaky bucket.

Don't jeopardize your livelihood by allowing the vital lifeblood of your business, which is your traffic, to seep out of the leaky holes of your web page and into the vastness of cyber space.