11 Ways to Keep Visitors on Your Website

If you want to understand whether people like your website or not, look at how much time they spend there. Short sessions are often caused by low-quality content, slow site speed, unattractive design, a mismatch in expectations, technical errors, etc. Longer sessions, on the other hand, make it clear that your website is useful.

Marketers are constantly looking for ways to increase the length of time users stay on a website. The more time they spend there, the higher the chances that they will consume content, develop trust in a brand and eventually convert into quality leads.

Let's take a look at 11 ways of retaining visitors on the website:

1. Tidy up the design

On average, a person spends between 10 and 20 seconds on a site before deciding whether to leave or stay. A simple yet attractive design will keep the visitor's attention. The winning design both attracts with its appearance and makes it easier to find the right information. After all, it is not cluttered with unnecessary elements and graphics, which means that the visitor will spend more time consuming the information.

2. Make navigation easy

If a user does not understand how to use your site, he will not try to figure it out. He will just close the tab. To avoid this, add only the most important pages to the main navigation menu. Make sure the search bar is clearly visible so that the site user won't waste time looking for it.

3. Stick to the headline

Some website owners prefer compelling headlines that have little to do with the main content. This way, you will never gain the attention and trust of the audience. The headlines should reflect the essence of your content. Always start with a brief introduction and then move on to the topics you want to discuss, starting with the most important ones.

4. Place your value proposition on the homepage

As soon as a visitor feels that a site isn't providing him with enough value, he will immediately leave. Place a concise, clear and unique value proposition on the homepage in order to avoid this. In the proposition, tell visitors what you do and why it is worth doing business with you. This way, they will learn more about your product and spend more time on your site. In addition, such a proposition will probably convince people to buy from you, and not from competitors.

5. Make content scannable

Online users rarely read every word on a site. Most often, they scan through pages to pick out the information they need. If your content consists of large chunks of text that cannot be read quickly, most users will leave the site.

What makes the text more readable:

• Images, videos, infographics and other visual features
• One main idea in each paragraph
• Short sentences and paragraphs that will not scare off visitors with the amount of text
• Line spacing and font size that are pleasing to the visitor's eyes.
• Headings, subheadings, lists, and bullets to break long passages into smaller sections.
• Highlight important words, phrases and sentences in bold.

6. Post relevant content regularly

Visitors will not waste time on old, outdated content. Get in the habit of posting fresh original content regularly. Consider using different types of content: blog posts, articles, e-books, audios, videos, social media posts, webinars, infographics, etc. This way, you will satisfy the tastes of a wider audience.

Use already published materials to keep the content up-to-date. Add new information to old blog posts and use them to create an e-book. This approach saves time on content creation and attracts more visitors.

7. Add visual elements

High-quality and relevant photos, videos and graphics help readers better understand the content. Visual content is not only pleasing to the eye, but also interactive. Visitors love this more than just text. A quality visual element boost user engagement and increases the amount of time visitors spend on your site.

8. Include CTA buttons in content

Most people exit a website as soon as they find the information they were looking for. This behavior increases the bounce rate, which in turn affects both conversions and profits. That is why you should not forget about the CTA buttons at the end of each post. Clear, relevant and attractive CTAs hold the attention of visitors and lead to conversions. However, make sure that each CTA must be relevant to the theme of the page on which you place them.

Homecourt CTA

9. Use pop-ups

Exit-intent pop-ups appear on a page when a visitor wants to exit the site. They provide him with a compelling reason not to. Used correctly, pop-ups can reduce bounce rates and increase conversion rate.

A few ways to use pop-up:

• Suggest other blog posts.
• Invite visitors to subscribe to your newsletter in exchange for a free audio or video version of your blog.
• Invite to chat with your support team to resolve any questions or concerns.
• Ask for feedback on your product or service.
• Ask to share your content or follow you on social media.
• Tell visitors about new products and services.

An example of a creative pop-up on the MAVFARM website

10. Increase your page speed

Most people close a tab if pages take more than two or three seconds to load. That is why it is important to increase the speed. How to do it:

• Compress large images.
• Invest in a CDN to reduce server response time and load times.
• Remove or replace plugins that slow down the site.
• Remove unused codes.
• Reduce the number of times you redirect visitors to other pages.
• Use browser caching capabilities.

11. Embed internal links in your content

Internal links help you provide the reader with more information on a certain topic. For example, you wrote a post entitled "10 Myths About Marketing Automation". One of its subheadings is "What is Marketing Automation". Link the phrase "marketing automation" to another post on your site that covers this topic in detail.

Providing readers with more detailed information is not the only reason why internal links are so important. They also increase page views and improve SEO. However, do not add too many links on one page. Two to three links are usually enough.