Extended URLS
Our friend Sarah recently inquired:
I’m wondering if you’ve ever done a study on behavior from users who see URLs in print ads. For example, if a print or TV ad uses an extended (but still short) URL, such as www.companyname.com/special/ do users remember it or do they just remember www.companyname.com? Does it matter if the companyname is a well know brand?
I’m not sure you have done any research like this, but perhaps you know who has?
This is an excellent question for which we have absolutely no data (but would like to get some).
If I were to guess at what our research might find, I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet that some people would remember a memorable phrase. For example, Apple has probably been very successful with http://www.apple.com/ipod.
But even Apple has hedged their bets in two ways:
- They’ve also secured http://www.ipod.com, which, last time I checked, brought you to http://www.apple.com/ipod and
- They’ve made sure that their iPods are prominently featured at the Apple home page (http://www.apple.com).
In other words, I’m betting our research would discover what Apple has probably already learned. You can only count on some folks remembering the extended URL, so you need to provide other paths to the same content.
Taking the three-prong approach that Apple has, you increase the chances you will win, no matter what a user remembers. At least, that’s my guess.