The success or failure of a website relies greatly on one important factor -visitor behavior. Having a website that generates a huge amount of traffic will mean nothing if the visitors cannot stay on that website for long.
When the users of a website are attracted to the website and they have a reason to stay for up to five minutes on that website, website owners stand a very high chance of converting them into leads. And the longer they stay on the website, the more familiar they'll become with your services, brand, or products.
The act of a visitor leaving a website instead of diving deeper, otherwise known as "Bounce rate" is one that can break or make a business. The good thing is there are ways in which website owners can significantly minimize their bounce rate. These strategies, if followed well, will ensure that your visitors remain on your website for a longer period of time. Let's take a look at what these strategies are, shall we?
EXCESSIVE ADVERTISING IS A NO-NO
Advertising on a website is not a bad thing, especially if the website owners are trying to use the advert as a way to push out their services or brand. Even if they are using it as banner ads for affiliates or a branded callout, it still isn't a problem. The point where advertising becomes a problem is when website owners stuff the website with way too much ads. People don't like things like that especially if they are visitors that come to your site often.
Aggressive or flashing ads, obnoxious, and repetitive pop-up ads can be irritating to visitors, which will in turn make your brand suffer. Your visitors are bound to love your website if your ads are well placed and are included in such a way that it doesn't hinder them from getting the information they want. This way, they are bound to stay longer on your website.
UTILIZE YOUR NAVIGATION WELL
Making your website easy for your visitors is quite important. This is why the website owners need to fix their navigation. The navigation of a website serves as a roadmap that pinpoints where users should go and the things that will be found there. Users love it when they visit a website and the navigation is intuitive and accurate. If they cannot find what they are looking for in a specific amount of clicks, they are bound to leave your website before you know it.
Website owners should endeavor to ensure that their navigation remains clean. As a website owner, your navigation should have your initial heading, which will contain the major categories; and the major categories should have the sub-categories, which will in turn lead to other pages on the website. Pages should be kept concise and distinct so as to make it easier for visitors to know where to go to. Being able to make good use of your navigation provides you with a lot of advantage.
ENHANCE YOUR DESIGN
This is one obvious part a website owner is supposed to take serious, but the thing is, a lot of website owners do not. The design and layout of your website is definitely the first thing a visitor will notice. It is what appeals to, and attracts them. Whether subconsciously or consciously, a visitor will immediately form an impression of a website based on the design and layout, then later decide if they should move on or not. While a website's design should be very beautiful and strong, website owners should also ensure that their white spaces are minimalistic so as to allow visitors to get a feel of the brand or services, and to make them feel welcomed to the website.
WRITE FOR A SPECIFIC AUDIENCE
Writing for a specific target audience is another strategy that can help you gain the attention of your visitors for a longer period of time. People use the internet to find information on different things. If a website is related to an information a visitor is looking for, there's usually a high chance of the visitor sticking around to learn more things even after they have found what they are looking for. So, instead of making use of the general "everyone" demographic, website owners should write for a specific demographic so as to ensure that their visitors remain interested in their content while staying online on their website for long.
CONCISE BLOG POSTS
Content with too much fluff drive visitors away. While it's good to keep users informed, website owners should ensure that their blog posts remain concise as much as possible. Blog posts can be long, funny, and intuitive, but if users are not gaining any value from what they are reading, they are bound to leave in the twinkle of an eye -without coming back. But clear and concise articles or blog posts tend to keep visitor engaged, which will in turn make them stay longer on your website.
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