Jupiter Research determined long ago that a simple and easy-to-use navigational scheme is key to online shoppers’ satisfaction.

Online shoppers indicated they are likely to return to a retailer’s site if it is easy to navigate, particularly during the registration, log-in, and checkout processes.

Assurances regarding the security of personal financial information are also important for the majority of online shoppers.

Online shopper loyalty is also contingent upon several issues related to site features and overall site performance. Specifically, online shoppers insist on a rapid checkout process, while most stated that quick page loading is critical to their loyalty.

Quick page loading is particularly important to shoppers who have actually made purchases online in the last 12 months. Buyers stated that quick page loading made them loyal to a given online retailer compared with only 34 percent of shoppers who had not recently purchased products, but only researched their options online.

To see who’s really doing it right, check out these great web sites ranked by Internet Retailer as the top 10 online retailers. 

Amazon.com Inc. *  Staples Inc.   *  Office Depot Inc.  *  Dell Inc.   *  HP Home & Home Office Store

OfficeMax Inc.  * Apple Inc. *  Sears Holding Corp.  *  CDW Corp. *  Newegg.com

Denice's Choice . . .  TARGET!

One of the most important sections of a web site is the web form page. Whether the goal of your site is to get visitors to sign up for your e-mail newsletter, fill out a form for more information, get a quote or purchase a product online, every aspect of your form can potentially impact conversions, and therefore should be carefully examined.

When first thinking about creating web forms, you must think beyond the input fields. When your visitors look at a web form, it’s not just a one-time decision that is being made, but more likely a series of mini-decisions. Does this graphic grab my interest? Does this headline make me want to learn more? Do I want to provide my e-mail address? Do I want to give out my phone number? Should I hit the Submit button? Do I want to refer to a friend?

Anything that is created on the form page, from top to bottom, creates or motivates a decision to act.

Here are some aspects of a web form page you should consider:

Headline - create a sense of urgency in an impact statement that appeals to YOUR customer - cliche one-liners won't work here.

Form layout - less is more here, keep it simple and easy to understand.

Pricing - make it clear what the price is AND include value (free shipping, discounts etc.).

Fields - include only fields that are necessary - too many fields will cause a visitor to opt-out.

Opt-in copy - should be enticing and include privacy/spam language.

Links - ahhh....links will not only entice but also steer customers to learn more about you or your affiliates.

Submit buttons - believe it or not, the size, shape and placement of your submit button can make or break the final step (conversion) of your web form.

How do you know if the web form is meeting a visitors criteria.  Similar to a web content page, layout the form in a wireframe - outlining exactly where fields, graphics and other interactive features will reside.  Compare against customer expectations, demographics and psychographic needs.  In some instances, the web form is the first impression of your organization if it is used in conjunction with trade show lead generation, custom landing page supporting an adword campaign or simply a direct custom URL to a product.  Remember, your goal is to get the customer to act.

Check Out These Great Resources:

Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks by Luke Wroblewski, May, 2008

Creating Wireframes

Optimizing Web Forms

Bob Pearson, of Dell, recently presented insight into Dell's learning relative to the web - and in my opinion, they are spot-on with their findings. I've taken the liberty of condensing the learning below.

What Dell's Learned so far?

1. The online world is undergoing the most significant transformation so far. 
2. The # of conversations is exploding. 
3. Customers want to speak with us in their first language. 
4. New countries are formed every day that are not being treated with the full respect that their nation's population deserves. 
5. Watch out for content pushers. 
6. You new home page is really cool .... but do you know where it is? Today's home page is a Google search Results page.  The Traffic that matters is not about you!
7. If you build it they will not necessarily come!
8. Less than 1% of a personal time online will be spent online purchasing.

What has Dell's Key Learnings & Action been with all of this?

1. The most important thing you can do is help customers w/ their technology problems.
2. Blogging is global ... blogging is multi-lingual ... blogging is by community of passion ... blogging is not "one blog". 
3. Would you rather do a focuses group with 10 people or listen to 100,00 people debate ideas for a few months and ask them questions throughout the process? 
4. Customers are partners and partners join together to make a difference. 
5. Communities are more powerful than individuals, Communities want to help each other improve.
6. The online experience at work should be similar to the online experience at home. 
7. Join your customer's communities and become part of the solution.
8. You can be easy to see, and should be easy to converse to.
9. If you are dealing with an issue be truthful, transparent and diligent in updating your customers.
10. Your customers are people not lines of business.  One customer or Employee --> Many communities.
11. Measurement requires thinking outside the box.  Don't try to fit old thinking to the new environment.

 Citation Link: Search Marketing Gurus

Ten Key Online Predictions for 2008

eMarketer has issued predictions for 2008 in key online areas, including those related advertising, videos, social networks, e-commerce and entertainment, saying online advertising will ride out potential economic storms in the US - and YouTube will decide political elections.

The 10 predictions for 2008 according to eMarketer:

1. Online ads remain resilient.
2. Video surge slows.
3. Social-network advertising hits $1.6 billion.
4. Networking goes beyond MySpace and Facebook.
5. YouTube decides the election.
6. Beijing Olympics pumps up ad spending.
7. Buy online, pick up in-store becomes expected feature.
8. Movie downloading hits the mainstream.
9. Music marketers roll out new business models.
10. Dynamic ads heighten gaming revenue potential.

Social Network Usage

Social networking will remain a key online activity, with 44% of US consumers using social networking at least once a month in 2008. While MySpace and Facebook will continue to dominate the market, changes are taking place that will extend social networking activities beyond a single destination site.

Profiles will eventually become portable, meaning consumers need only create one and be able to use it in many places on the web. Widgets that today work with only one social-network site will be designed on an open platform, extending their reach.

Activities such as online shopping, searching and even sending email will be enhanced with social-networking features.  Moreover, much of the social networking strategy can also be applied to B2B applications with intranet scenarios.

For the top social networking sites thru November, click here.