Influencing sales and overall user behavior online boils down to two factors – the content of a site and its design. Both influencers need to be in place in order to achieve marketing goals, and businesses have to consider the impact they'll have on how a potential client perceives them as a brand, and as an innovator. The content of a website can be great, but if the design doesn't meet the same standard it won't matter.
According to Business 2 Community, there are five key site design elements that influence user behavior – size, color, layout, spacing and flow. For purposes of online marketing solutions, layout has the most impact on buying patterns.
For most businesses, how a site's content is arranged influences what content the user actually views. With banner advertising services, where the ad appears on the page, layout is critical for click-throughs. If the banner is at the bottom of the site, or too far down on a sidebar, the user is less likely to even see it, let alone click on it.
One key term to keep in mind is "above the fold." In the newsprint industry, this means the section of the paper that is the first thing the buyer sees. For a website it means the area that is visible without scrolling down. The optimal place for banner ads is "above the fold," either at the very top of the page or on the sidebar. This gets the ad the most exposure and ensures optimal click-through.
Optimizing page layout also means considering all of the other factors that influence user behavior – size color, spacing and flow – as listed by Business 2 Community. Getting all of these factors to align, especially with the targeted online advertising being used, will be key for improving marketing results.