As mentioned in the introduction, analyses was performed by NextStage's TargetTrack tool and research staff. The power and accuracy of NextStage's TargetTrack tool is a matter of record; it has predicted top business performers and election outcomes with equal ease.

There are many things that go into a First Impression Analysis. We consider what's above the fold. We also consider how much is below the fold and whether or not what's above the fold is a driver to make the visitor scroll. The fact that some pages only behave well in specific browsers is considered because this creates an impression that people using other browsers aren't in the company's market, and that flash or "oomph" are more important than conversions in those demographics.

The take-away from this exercise is that websites, like people, can make a good or not so good first impression, and that first impressions affect everything else that happens on a site. The bad news is that most site owners are unaware of First Impressionitis and how simply it can be solved. NextStage has dealt with colleges, management groups and even marketing firms with websites that drove people away without anyone knowing why, the only evidence being dwindling numbers in their analytics.

What needs to be remembered is that first impressions are made when visitors open websites just as surely as they are when meeting someone for the first time. The analysis itself is based research and concepts discussed in my iMedia columns, in NextStage's whitepapers, in presentations and lectures and in "Reading Virtual Minds".