5 Ways to Keep People on Your Website

So we’ve talked about how to create an engaging website that converts visitors a few times before (check out these other blog posts – Why you need a website, How to get high quality clients, and How to generate website leads)So now here are 5 ways you can keep people on your website!

But!! Now we’re going to go into detail about how exactly you can get people to stay on your website longer – leading to a lower bounce rate and higher conversion rate! Amazing right?? Lets get started…

1. Scannable Content

People are lazy. This is a fact. No one is going to sit and read a long paragraph if they can’t immediately see what its about and if its relevant to them!

People need easy to read, scannable content with subheadings, bullet points, images, and bold/itallics. 

Along with this, any relevant images, diagrams, and video content is key! Videos are a great way to keep visitors on your site as they can still listen to your content whilst doing other things! Make it as easy as possible for people to be involved – not everyone loves reading…

However, if you do add videos make sure these are on a lazy load mode – otherwise your site will be a slow loading hot mess and no one wants to stick around for that!

2. Ctas and lead-on content

We get told all the time to use CTAs but do you even know which ones to use?? A simple ‘contact now’ in the top corner of your site simply doesn’t cut it anymore!

You need to use specific CTAs like: 
  • “See the 3 types of classes you can attend according to your needs”
  • “Read this story of one of my students about how she became X by attending my weekly class”
  • “See how my classes will get you X results”

 

Or, add a contact form that forces the user to engage by directly contacting you!
  • “Get in touch”
  • “What class are you interested in?”
  • “Book your class”

 

Another great way to stay connected is a targeted subscription form!
  • “Let me tell you more about my class”
  • “Download the 5 tips to get you started on Yoga”
  • “See what Yoga will do for you in 3 weeks”

 

Another great way is to have ‘lead on’ content…

 

This could be anything from linking similar products on an e-commerce site – “shop the look” etc. 

 

To having relevant blog posts linked at the end of your page or an exit-intent pop-up targeted to a visitors behaviour!

 

These are engaging 9and relevant!) ways to entice visitors to stay longer

3. Page Loading time

Page Loading time is something easily overlooked. But this is actually one of the main reasons for high bounce rates so you need to take notice!!

  • One of the most effective ways to reduce page loading time is to compress image and video files on your site. You can do this automatically with a WP plugin called Smush!

 

Smush optimises and compresses images with 0 (yes ZERO) reduction in quality, uses lazy load for loading video content, and resizes content directly on your page! No messing about with file sizes anymore!

 

  • Another way to speed up loading times is to review your site plugins. Now I know… I just told you to download the Smush plugin, but hear me out! Obviously keep the super useful ones, but make sure you regularly evaluate and delete (not just deactivate) plugins you no longer use or need. 

 

We’ve all been guilty of downloading a plugin and never actually using it! Clear them out.

Any that are outdated, inefficient, or incorrectly configured can have a negative impact on your site speed!

If you do have tonnes and tonnes of plugins, there is an easier way to go through and check them! Download the Plugin Performance Profiler plugin – Ironic I know…

This plugin creates a profile of your WordPress site’s plugins’ performance by measuring their impact on your site’s load time. Often times, WordPress sites load slowly because of poorly configured plugins or because there are so many of them.

Even a 1-second delay in page response can result in a 7 percent reduction in conversions.

4. Be controversial

Controversial I know… But think about it this way. Have you ever been mid conversation with someone, talking about a mundane topic and felt your mind drifting into a daydream? All the time right! Well how about if they were telling you something downright shocking? Your ears would prick up right? Its the same way with websites. 

We, as consumers, are so accustomed to hearing the same information and seeing the same content over and over that most of the time, we’re not taking notice. But whenever we see something unexpected or controversial we are engaged and invested! 

To make sure your visitors stay engaged you need to remove disconnect triggers! This could be overly academic language, inappropriate jargon, or a passive voice! 

Like a conversation you need to draw the reader in:

  • Keep your content original and fresh – what would you want to read about??
  • Make sure your website structure reflects this! 
  • No big bulks of text – use images, diagrams, anything attention grabbing!

5. clickbait

Now I’m not talking about misleading your visitors with a spammy headline. I’m talking about making clickable, irresistible content targeted to your audience!! 

Make sure your headlines are bold, relevant, and scream click me! 

Some great examples are:

  •  Asking your visitor a question – ‘Do you know your earning potential?’ ‘Do you know these 5 ways to …?’
  • Another is to use a CTA style comment as the headline – ‘See what’s next…’ or ‘Find out how too…’ 

These user centred headlines draw in the reader.

“When salesmen used to go door to door, and I guess still do, that’s what the expression foot in the door comes from because someone would open the door. The lady of the house would open the door and they would stick their foot in the door so she couldn’t quite close it. That’s the foot in the door. So these headlines are now your foot in the door. It means people can’t close their browser, they can’t close you out, click away from when you get their attention with a headline. They want to know more.”

– Laura Belgray, on writing headlines

let me know what you thought of these hacks by leaving a comment below

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