3 Easy Ways to Keep Visitors on Your Site Longer

3 Easy Ways to Keep Visitors on Your Site Longer

What is your bounce rate and why does it matter? Your bounce rate is the rate at which visitors depart from your web pages. A quick look at your Google Analytics may reveal some rather sobering information for you. If you are suffering a bounce rate around 50 percent, then it’ obvious you need to take some action!

So why is your bounce rate even important?

First of all, Google made the bounce rate a part of its search engine ranking algorithm, and a site that features a high bounce rate may have its pages driven into oblivion. What’s even worse, since everyone is departing right after they arrive, chances are your site isn’t accomplishing what you’d like it to. There are certainly cases when a high bounce rate can be a result of your site’s pages loading slowly, but assuming that’s not the case, we’re offering three ideas to help you keep people from leaving your pages quickly.

• Employ videos - Video is proven to be a beneficial factor in keeping people on your pages longer. Videos and other multimedia content can keep users engaged, increase traffic and possibly increase sales and other desirable actions. YouTube embeds may also help your search rankings both in YouTube and Google. It’s funny how the very same content of 1500 to 2000 words watched in a video, audio or other multimedia fashion results in a far different result.
• Make your content more readable - Resist the temptation to plop large chunks of content on a web page. Break it down into shorter, more consumable paragraphs, and make sure to use subheads, bullet points and lists to break up the visual look of it. The prudent use of images can help you get your points across as well, and are nice to see.
• Highlight related content within your site - Often you will have content on your site that is related to the piece at hand. Don't forget to link to other content on your site that people may be interested in, and offer them a reason to stick around! This could be as easy a fix as using a Related Post plugin for those who have a WordPress blog.