Contact details

Image by BR0WSER via FlickrIs this an issue for SEO, or web design?

Recent surveys of online buyers indicate they will spend less than 3 minutes searching for a way to communicate with the company.

Even business owners new to the Net know. I don't know how many times I've heard an SEO client tell me to make the logo bigger (because it has the contact phone number) or to put the phone and email both at the top and bottom of the page. The look is intrusive, yes. It is also good business.

MaCorr Research, working with web hosting firms offering web design, reports that "77% of respondents will switch to a competitor if the business does not provide a phone number, e-mail address or live chat."
Consumer expectations drive the need for businesses to provide a means of communication.

• 85% of the 1,025 respondents cite the ability to contact a business as the most important aspect of using a company’s web site.
  
• 78% are irritated when unable to find a way to communicate on a business’s web site;
  
• 48% have felt angry to the degree they tell someone about the failure. 91% are most irritated when unable to find a contact phone number,
  
• and 82% when unable to find a contact e-mail address.

After successfully contacting a business:

• 97% of survey respondents say they would visit the web site again and use the business in the future;
  
• 93% say they would use the business more frequently,
  
• 92% would recommend the business to others
  
• and 85% would bookmark the site, the survey finds.

I have to say that I distrust those numbers, frankly. They're just too high. Or there is no commitment indicated. I'd have to question the participants of the survey, and how it was worded.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey. Sphere: Related Content