Uptime Status - Why Show It Off?

3 seconds. That's it.

Multiple surveys have found that three seconds is the amount of time you have to make an impression on a new visitor to your website. Some indicators show this time is getting even smaller each year as users become more adept at - and more discerning of - the Internet.

How can you capture their attention quickly and be sure they'll stick around long enough to see what your website is really about? I have a simple formula I like to call the 3-C's: Credibility, Confidence, Customers.

A credible looking website creates confidence in the visitor who can then become a customer.

Of course there are innumerable ways make this impression but I want to point out one of the simpler, and often overlooked, choices.

If you use a remote website monitoring service (you do don't you?) then displaying your uptime status prominently on the front page adds instant credibility. Lets take a look at why that is.

Regardless of what your business is, showing off the results from your up-time monitor gives visitors and instant "feel good" response. It shows you care enough to be monitoring your performance. That may sound a bit touchy feely but I guarantee all your potential customers are human and operate primarily on an emotional level (three seconds isn't long enough to make a logical decision - some neuroscientists even argue every decision is an emotional decision).

Understand Uptime Monitor

If your potential customer is technical and understands what the uptime monitor actually means they will be impressed by the numbers (since you're actively monitoring and responding to alerts your numbers are good right?). If your prospect isn't technically inclined they will still be impressed by the large percentage and assume that "uptime" is a good thing. Maybe even translate uptime to mean "availability" which is pretty darn close for a non-technical understanding.

In both cases you've boosted your website's credibility in their eyes and that brings you closer to capturing them as a customer. You've inspired confidence in your business.

Technical prospects will understand they will be able to either use your services you provide with that stated uptime, or that they'll have a trouble free experience on your site. Non-technical prospects will assume they can safely search your site, find what they want and complete a sale, order, or inquiry without encountering problems.

Displaying the uptime status of your website doesn't guarantee you more customers but it can be one tool in your marketing arsenal your competitors may not be using. Remember three seconds is all you have. Make them count.

Click here to learn how to use Alertra to display your uptime status.