When was the last time you were shopping on Amazon, the top e-commerce site in the world, and were annoyed by a pop-up or chatbot?
The answer to this simple question is probably “never” if you are familiar with the site and really think about the user experience it offers. This site is the best in the world for one simple reason: Amazon knows these seemingly harmless widgets can significantly hinder a website’s speed and conversion rate. The annoying ads and interruptions turn away customers, sour them on the site’s user experience, and are entirely counterproductive to a website’s goal. They are actually hurting your company image rather than bolstering it. To boost the success of your site and eliminate a significant bounce rate, it could be worth following in Amazon’s footsteps.
How Humans Determine Friend or Foe
To operate a successful website to sell products, explain your business’s benefits, or even generate fans or followers, you need to know what “turns off” that person driving the mouse. A recent survey posed that question and found that:
- 10% hate poor page and site layout and structure
- 20% are uncomfortable on an unsecured website
- 27% lose interest if the page is too slow to load
- 44% left because they were chased away by annoying pop-ups
You might see pop-ups as a great way to reroute a guest’s attention. However, almost half of the survey respondents saw pop-ups much like a vicious barking dog that annoyed them enough to leave a website altogether. And when you consider that pop-ups slow page loading in many cases, that offends another 27%, so you have found a single way to alienate almost three-quarters of the people who were potentially going to conduct business with your website.
Do You Really Want to Chat Up Your Potential Customers?
Adding live chat to your site sounds like a great way to offer a custom experience and ensure your guest finds the information they want. However, the software needed for this one-on-one connection degrades every user experience by slowing the site’s function. And as everyone in the industry knows, the needs of the many will always be the priority. So, you might want to rethink the concept of chatbots and how helpful they will be in growing your website’s ranking and success.
Are Chatbots Google-Friendly?
Chatbots are known to slow page load times and insert interstitial pop-ups. And you need to know that Google is not a fan of slow-loading sites or pop-ups, much like the average human visiting a site. So, when you include chatbots, you can be relatively sure that you are also dropping your ranking with Google. But as with any general rule, understand that there are always exceptions.
So, You Really Want a Chat Option
If you are confident that a chat feature is necessary and will benefit your site’s users, having the right chat provider is vital. The team at Digital 1 is here to evaluate your site and need for a chat feature and provide the best solution to meet your needs and, most importantly, the needs and desires of your website users. We offer solutions that will provide a chat tool without degrading your site ranking and SEO efforts.