Please can you anser some questions on web promotion

I am currently working on a project for my degree and I need to find out what people think of different website promotion techniques so I would be vary grateful if you could spare some time to answer some of the following questions.

(You may choose more then one option)

1. Do you use directories regularly to search for web pages is so which ones (not search engines)
A. Yahoo B. Looksmart
C. Dmoz D. Other (please specify)

2. Do you use search engines regularly to search for web pages if so which ones
A. Google B. Altavista
C. AllTheWeb D. HotBot
E. Excite F. Infoseek
G. Lycos H. Aol
I. MSN J. Other (please specify)


3. How many directories or search engine pages are you likely to go through before you stop looking to find something you are interested in?

4. Do you regularly click on banners? What will make you more likely to click on a banner because its has a fancy design or because it says something that interests you, or something else

5. What makes you want to return to a site?
A. Regular up-dates to the site B. Discussion Forums
C. Newsletter or news E. Other reason (please specify)

8. What other forms of web site promotions make you visit a site
A. Topsite lists B. Links posted on Usenet or forums
C. Link from a different site D. FFA pages (free for all pages)
E. Sites that have won awards

9. Are there any other techniques that will make you look at a site?

Thank you for you time
Michael Eglington
Mre2mpo@bolton.ac.uk

1.A
2.A,B
3.about
4.never
5.A,B
(8)??? none
9.advanced techniques "the hard stuff"

1 - no
2 - Google and occassionally AltaVista
3 - I keep going until I find what I'm looking for - I never really surf "just for anything interesting I find" - I'm almost always looking for something specific.
4 - Never. Nothing.
5 - Potentially any or all. I revisit sites which are interesting or informative in one way or another. I tend to think I don't fall for marketing or loyalty tricks, but I probably do, eg I always shop at Amazon for music, and have never looked elsewhere, because I trust the brand.
8 - See 5
9 - I'll look at the source code if I don't know how they did something interesting. Otherwise the bottom line is relevance - I look at any site that contains something I'm interested in at a given moment.



It might help you if you phrased some of your questions in the negative as well - what puts you off sites, what makes you leave never to return? I have lots to say on that .... :rolleyes:

Also - i'm sure you know this - developers are not the best people for usability testing!

I entirely agree with what Brothercake has said.

To me the most important features are a sense of honesty, reliability, truthfulness and integrity about the product/service offered which the site exudes. Gimmicks such as intrusive banner ads, pop-up windows, pop-under windows, attempts to set it to the visitor's home page, tricks to prevent the user leaving the page, cookies from marketing agencies etc. all have a negative effect, and are likely to mean that I keep clear of the site in future.

I also dislike sites that try to "frighten" me into buying something ... "Your computer is under attack! Buy our anti-hacking gadget today!".

Another strong turn off for me is poor spelling or grammar.