Writing Right at University of Arizona Online MBA Website’s Opening Page
When a website page opens you have 5 seconds or less to connect with a person visiting the site. The best way to do that is with words that make an immediate connection with the interests of the visitor. University of Arizona does just that.
We checked the opening language at 22 online MBA websites listed by US News at the top programs in the country. We can say with confidence that “About the program” opening headlines are not nearly as engaging as the University of Arizona approach.
A mobile marketing error…
Alas, at the Arizona site this works best for people visiting on a large screen computer who can actually see the opening words. On mobile the first words are blocked by poor design.
On desktop or laptop computers…
The immediate message for large screen visitors:
- “A top-ranked MBA degree, delivered online, on your schedule.” The “you” word is always strong and “on your schedule” gets right to the point for why many (most?) people search for an online program.
It gets better as the page unfolds:
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“Ready for a career transformation but have a schedule that makes an on-campus program tough to pull off?” How many academic websites would dare to use the words “tough to pull off?” But that’s exactly where many online MBA students find themselves.
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“Getting your MBA online has never been easier with six start dates per year and for a limited time, the application fee is waived! The Online MBA makes it possible for you to get an in-demand degree with the flexibility you need.”
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Multiple start dates are important to online students… that’s an immediate confirmation that the program indeed has flexible scheduling. None of the other programs visited made this so immediately obvious.
Language differentiates this program…
Mobile design aside, kudos to the folks responsible for Arizona’s online MBA site. The language used immediately differentiates this program from a host of others that possible alternatives.
Speed on mobile… 2.9 seconds to first view, slow 23.5 seconds to full interactivity
Google PageSpeed Insights measures the time to first view on a mobile phone at 2.9 seconds… OK if not great. Time to full interactivity is among the slowest yet tested at 23.5 seconds.
Yet again, the major cause of the unusually slow mobile speed: “Reduce unused javascript.”
Website Carbon Calculator… Dirtier than most
Thanks to Gerry McGovern and his efforts to reduce “world wide waste” for the referral.
“Uh oh! This web page is dirtier than 69% of web pages tested”
See how your website helps or hurts the climate. Test your website pages at “Website Carbon Calculator.”
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Always eager to get recommendations of websites that dare to be different… or just do something ordinary in a special way. Write a comment with link here or send me the link at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com.
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