In an ideal world, there is probably one action that you really, really wish qualified visitors to your site would take every time they pay you a visit. Depending upon your line of business, this most desirable user action could be:

• Buy your most lucrative product or service
• Download a white paper
• Watch a product video
• Contact you via your Web form or toll-free phone number
• Subscribe to your monthly newsletter

(You get the picture).

Once you have determined what this most desirable user action is, it is important to come to terms with what would be your ideal user path. But, first, what is a user path? A user path is merely the set of steps or actions - taken in a particular order - that any given user actually takes as they scroll and click their merry way through your site.

The ideal user path, then, is merely the path that they should ideally take if they are to have the highest probability of actually taking the most desirable user action you have determined. As not only an interactive marketing specialist but also as a branding consultant, my personal definition of user path is a bit wider than the traditional one. My definition of user path includes not only the physical actions that the user takes (most or all of which are trackable using your server log statistics or analytics application), but also the places on your page(s) that your users are likely looking as their eyes dart around on the page. In this sense, the ideal user path would include all of the actions (both trackable and not-trackable) that a user should take if they are to have the best chances of getting from Point A (initially landing on your site) to Point B (your most desirable action).

Upon reading this, initially the most ideal user path for your site probably looks something like this:

Step 1: User lands on my site

Step 2: Clicks “Order Now”

Step 3: Buys everything on my site and sends me lots of money

Unfortunately, things are not that simple in the case of 99.9% of the sites out there. Rather, you need to gently but firmly lead the your site visitors through a series of logical, clear steps that tell a story about your products and services - and about the value you offer. Specifically, the story should: highlight whom your site is targeting, point out a problem they have that you can solve, build trust & credibility, give them just enough product or service information to keep their attention, present to them your compelling value proposition, and present a clear call to action to get them to take your most desirable user action. Once you have outlined these items and made them a reality on your site, mapping your ideal user path should be pretty straightforward.

To recap, then, to determine your ideal user path:

1. First, determine the most desirable user action in the case of your site

2. Make sure your site tells the right story

3. Map out which specific steps or actions, in order, that you want the user to take in order to come to a place where they answer your call to action (i.e., taking your most desirable user action)

Once you know the ideal user path for your site, you will be informed enough to continue to fine-tune your site to make that path as clear, compelling, and friction-free as possible. All of your hard work will pay off in better conversion rates and more satisfied users.