The Click and Learn series reviews websites from the perspective of key Internet Marketing strategies. The “visual” components are examined versus the “under the cover” or more technical aspects. Topics for review include site purpose, content strategy, calls to action and use of Web 2.0 technology and tools.
We previously reviewed Oprah.com and today, we’re going to take a “click” to endfatigue.com. This site is the web presence of the Annapolis Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalga Research Center. It primarily features the work of Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum (Dr. T), a leading authority on these diseases and Director of the research center.
According to Alexa.com, a website traffic ranking company, endfatigue.com ranked number 440,285 on the date of this posting, placing it in the top 1.5% of all websites visited.
Both the age of the domain name (11+years) and the shear number of Google indexed pages (apx. 739), are a power source in driving traffic. But let’s look at what other factors contribute to the success of this site.
1. Purpose
The site’s stated mission is to make the effective treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FM) available to as many people as possible.
This site has a combined purpose of branding and lead generation. The site extends the brand of Dr. T and the research center by providing site visitors with a wealth of educational information on CFS and FM. Visitors can also enroll in an online treatment program that uses the same assessment criteria that Dr. T uses with each of his patients. After visiting this site, you would definitely associate the name of Dr. T with Chronic Fatigue or Fribromyalgia.
From a lead generation perspective, this site’s primary goal is to connect with people who suffer from CFS and FM and health care professionals who treat or want to learn to treat CFS and FM. The site also sells supplements recommended as part of the treatment strategy. But an important distinction, is that lead generation is not geared to sell product.
2. Content Strategy
The home page is a simple, yet well-organized design that is a good example of the what’s in it for me (WIIFM) content strategy. The main headlines were “Learn About CFS and FM”, “Diagnosis & Treatment”, “Health Topics A-Z”, “Dr. T’s YouTube Videos” and “New This Week”. With a single glance, it is obvious to the visitor that this site is filled with high value and helpful information.
Both the layout and tone of the content are in alignment with what you would expect to see on a serious topic. The site design is low-key with the primary focus on the visitor and how endfatigue.com, can help them solve this challenging health problem.
You’re not greeted with flash, garish colors, or a squeeze page that requires you to give your e-mail address prior to getting access to the site. Nor are you greeted with information about Dr. T’s medical credentials, books, accolades for helping people recover etc.
If the tone or content is incongruent with the expectation…ie perhaps helpful but overly academic versus helpful and understandable, the subconscious nature of our brain…says…hmmm…do I trust this person, is this believable”
This instantaneous thought, can cause your visitor to wield their mighty power and hit “click”…next!
3. Calls to Action
Calls to action are any request that you make of a visitor that requires a “physical” action on their part. They typically are in the form of a click or keying information.
“Click” calls to action increase your sites stickiness factor and I counted 10. The clicks lead site visitors to more informative articles, one leads to a YouTube series by Dr. T., and another takes visitors to an interview of Dr. T on NBC. All of these clicks add credibility to the site and invite the visitor to stay longer.
There is also an opt-in box to receive a newsletter.
All though the site sells supplements that support the treatment plan, there are no direct calls to action to buy products on the home or any page. Products are referenced in the context of treatment articles. This approach further reinforces the credibility of both Dr. T and the mission of the site.
As a note, Dr. T also states in the website, that he takes no money from companies whose products he recommends. He asks them to donate his share of profits back to charity.
4. Live Web Tools and Technologies
Although this site is very effective at providing high quality information on CFS and FM, it makes minimal use of web 2.0 technologies to further it’s reach. Dr. T has created an informative and educational series on YouTube. A visitor can also complete an online survey to help with diagnosis and the site uses an integrated shopping cart system.
But, there is not an easy way to share the articles and other high value information thru social book marking tools or an rss feed. And the site is primarily static meaning that it is one-way communication. There are no blogs, forums or online communities, to name a few.
Final Thought
endfatigue.com is in the top 1.5% of website traffic, and for good reason. The site effectively uses a content strategy built around education that creates both credibility and a feeling of authenticity for site visitors. The site design is straight forward, easy to navigate and draws visitors in to learn more. These are important techniques to use when your subject matter is a serious one.
The site however makes minimal use of web 2.0 technologies. Blogs, forums or online communities may not be appropriate due to the sensitive nature of the topic. But, other techniques could work well to further it’s reach.
For example, adding social book marking tools makes it easy for visitors to share information. Creating a page in del.ic.io.us, is another way to increase reach by sharing key articles and research. How about a page on Facebook, where patients could rave about their success with the treatment plan?
