Whether you’ve written an amazing article or are building a shopping website, there are many reasons why you want people to spend as long as possible on your website. The longer someone spends on your site, the more ads they see and the more likely they are to buy something, which increases your revenue. Here are some tips to see how long people are currently spending on your site, and how to make them stay for longer.
1. Work out your bounce rate
Your website’s bounce rate is basically how many people come to your page, have a quick look, then either click back or close the window. It’s easy to find out your bounce rate via Google Analytics, and the average is around 45%, although it can vary wildly depending on the type of website you own. A low percentage would indicate that your website is doing well, while a high bounce rate could mean that something is putting people off and making them quickly click away.
2. Check everything is working
You could write the best content in the world and have amazing promotions on your site, but if it’s slow to load, full of annoying adverts that cover the content, or just plain broken, then your bounce rate will go through the roof. Regularly check your site and review your user’s journey, this will allow you to fix anything that’s annoying. Cut down on things like trackers and auto-playing video adverts, as these often slow down browsers.
3. Deliver what you promise
If you’re getting traffic from people clicking on links, then they want relevant content at the other end. There’s no point coming up with clickbait-y titles, then creating content that’s nothing to do with the headline. People will click off in seconds.
Similarly, when you’re using web development techniques such as SEO to drive traffic, make sure you’re optimized for the right terms. You want people to come to your site for the right reasons, not because they’ve been misled, so make sure you carry out keyword research and target the right demographics.
4. Link internally
There are many pages on your website that will be difficult to find without linking. When you create content, link to internal pages. This can also be good for your SEO ranking.
5. Draw people in as they’re leaving your site
An exit intent pop-up can be added to your page to target people as they switch tabs or perform another action that indicates they might be leaving. If you’ve ever shopped online or read articles on certain sites, as you’ve clicked away you may have seen one of these pop-ups. They often offer you a discount or give you some incentive to sign up for e-mails, for example, by providing a free e-book.
Most websites want users to stay on their page as long as possible, as they’re more likely to perform an action from signing up to a newsletter to buying a product. Follow the above tips and you may find that your user stats show people stop by for longer.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
