How effective is your site?

Here are some Stats we thought you might find interesting and useful.
Let's just look at a internet survey. Of 10,000 people surveyed we can find some very useful information.

Users surfing to gather information for personal needs is the most common activity (72%)

Most users find new web pages through search engines (82%).

32% use it for 10-20 hours per week

85% using it daily

Average user spends 5 to 15 minutes looking for information and gives up after 15 to 30 minutes

Reasons for shopping on the web (personal)
The most cited reason is convenience (65%) followed by availability of vendor information (60%), no pressure from sales people (55%) and saving time (53%). Personalized services was not cited much (14%).
It remains to be seen whether attitudes will change on this point as more personalized services become available.

Reasons for shopping on the web: (professional)
The most cited reason by professionals was availability of vendor information (35%) followed by convenience (32%) and saving time (30%).

Type of Information (Personal):
Most sought information is details on products or services (85%) followed by price information (75%). Closely following is availability information (71%). Males are more likely to use the web for professional reasons than women, but they are equally likely to use it for personal shopping reasons.

Type of Information (Professional):
Professional shoppers also are most interested in finding detailed information on the web.
Availability (38%) and price information (37%) are almost equally sought after. Males are more likely to use the web for professional reasons than women, but they are equally likely to use it for personal shopping reasons.

Experienced users seem more likely to use the web to search for product information, but they look for the same kinds of information as novices.

The most common reasons for leaving a site was that it was too slow, which was cited by half of the respondents (50%).
Other common reasons for leaving were that the site was confusing, (46%) or that they couldn't find what they were looking for (46%). This is one of the few questions that shows some differences between personal and professional shopping behaviors.

While speed alone was the main reason for leaving sites during personal searches, speed, having a confusing site, and not being able to find the information tie for the top reason at 28% for professional searches.

So we have 5 - 15 minutes to grab the user and bring him to your site using links, banners and search engines and if we miss him in the 1st hour we still have another 10 to 20 minutes left. And once he gets to the site he needs to be able to find the information he needs as quickly as possible or he will leave.

If your web statistics are up but your sales are down you need to review your site.  Is the site easy to navigate, do you have your prices listed on your site, and is the information on your web site easy to read (not to wordy, short paragraphs, quick to the point)?
  "As a professional buyer I want the bottom line instantly".

Most importantly,  Is your "selling pitch" on the site?
Most people forget that the web site is the thing that is going to get the user to buy your  service or product and or contact you. Remember that no pressure from sales people (55%) was the third reason people utilize the web for personal use.

This is a soft sell, not a hard sell. The user knows that there is no high pressure salesperson that is going to sit them in a room and sell them on the product, the user knows he has more control in the sale. It's either a yes or a no and if you don't have information they need, that they can easily obtain, then they will say:

No.

So
Is your site effective?