What makes commercial Web pages popular?

TLDR

The paper aims to (1) systematically document the marketing content of commercial home pages to identify their primary objectives, and (2) empirically investigate factors that increase hit‑rates. The authors employ Resnik and Stern’s information‑content framework to assess the informativeness of commercial home pages and analyze factors influencing hit‑rates. The study identifies key determinants of hit‑rates, offering valuable insights for web designers and businesses seeking a stronger online presence.

Abstract

There are two main objectives of the paper. First, in a systematic and statistically rigorous manner, we attempt to descriptively document the types and nature of marketing information on commercial home‐pages, with a view to identifying the major objectives of contemporary commercial Web sites that pre‐dominate the Web. Using Resnik and Stern’s “information content” paradigm, we evaluate the informativeness of commercial home pages. Second, we attempt to empirically examine various important factors of commercial home‐pages that lead to increased visits, or hit‐rates. The identification of hit‐rate determinants is likely to be of great value, both to Web page designers and to the many small and large firms seeking to establish their presence on the Web.