As marketers we are always working to tell our story, and to start a dialogue with our audience. We fight to grab someone’s attention, and to have the opportunity to hold on to it for a bit.

It’s why we work tirelessly to understand our audience and their needs, build a product or service that solves problems, and build a narrative around our company that attracts the attention of our market.

So then once you gain someone’s attention it’s important to keep it.

In the web world we’re constantly fighting the Back Button.

  • The most perfectly crafted marketing message really doesn’t mean anything if you can’t get someone to feel a connection to it before they hit the Back Button.
  • The offer that you put together just for the launch of your new landing page is useless if no one sees it and hits the Back Button.
  • Your killer new homepage design with the awesome parallax features and video just beneath the fold? Doesn’t matter if your value statement isn’t compelling and your visitor goes for the Back Button.

So marketers must always stay focused on fighting the Back Button in everything that we do.

When you’re going through the process of creating a new website or launching a new page, think from the perspective of your audience –

  • Will this message resonate with them and urge them to stay on the site?
  • Am I throwing too much information at them that will confuse them and drive them to the Back Button?
  • Do I have a clear Call To Action for my visitor to engage with?
    • And is it clear what they will receive after completing that CTA?

Fight against the Back Button by creating stand out design, compelling messaging, and not trying to do or say too much on your site – once you’ve won someone over to stay on your site, you can then focus on providing them value and converting them to contact you or complete that CTA.