“My Second Grade Teacher Tried to Kill Me.”

What does the above statement do for you? Does it make you laugh? Does it compel you to want to hear the rest of the story? Does it elicit skepticism, and have you labeling me a liar? In any case, the statement does one thing. It grabs your attention.

That was the opening sentence I used for a short personal essay in college. The essay went on to describe my struggle as a young student learning to write in cursive. Printing was no problem for me, but learning to write script, or cursive, presented quite a dilemma. The focus here though is not on my grade school shortcomings, but rather on how to deliver effective web content.

A recent article in PC Magazine cited a study which indicated that we only have 4 seconds to capture a web visitors interest before they leave the site. Although the article focused on website loading times, the argument holds true across the board as bounce rates continue to rise. So, hmmm, 4 seconds. 4 seconds is not very long to grab their attention before they hit that back button. And you know, that’s why they call it “surfing” the web. If a particular wave doesn’t prove exciting, you’re only one click away from a new one! Here are a few pointers to ensure that you grab your web visitor’s attention, and hold onto it long enough for them to buy your widget, post to your blog, or sign up for your newsletter:

• Make sure your site loads quickly. Don’t bog it down with flash intros or other heavy code.
• Make it relevant. If your site is about growing roses, make that fact evident. Let people know what your site is about right away. We should know that the site is about roses as the first image loads and the first text appears in the page.
• Design your site effectively. Make it pleasing to the eye and easy to navigate.
• Shock us, challenge our intellect, or excite our imagination. You don’t need to slap us in the face, or make assertions that your grade school teacher tried to murder you, but catch our interest in some way.

Once your visitor has passed those first few seconds, realistically stretching into several minutes, you have a pretty good chance of keeping them. If, that is, you offer them a reason to stay. What’s the best reason for them to stick around? Give them something!

Post some legitimate content on your site. I say “legitimate” because there is a difference between content and “fluff!” Research your industry and post the latest news or information. Write related articles yourself. Let your web visitor download a free e-book. Give them a subscription to your newsletter at no charge. Offer an RSS feed, or a forum for discussion on your industry. Taking a few of these steps will go a long way towards ensuring that you hold on to your visitors all-too-short attention span. And if you’re lucky, when it’s all said and done, it will allow you to convert the casual web visitor into a life long customer.