As content creators, our ultimate goal is to keep readers on our website for as long as possible. Our content doesn’t do us any good if no one is consuming it or interacting with it. Today I’m talking all about how to keep readers on your site for longer.
How to Keep Readers on Your Site for Longer
Write long-form content
If you’re writing 300 words or less in each blog post, people aren’t going to stick around for long because they’ll quickly skim through your content and then click away before going to any other pages on your site. Of course, 300 words isn’t bad all the time but if you’re not providing your audience with valuable content on each post, they won’t have much of a reason to stick around.
Make sure your headlines aren’t just click-bait
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve clicked over to a post for it to not live up to the hype of its title. There’s nothing more disappointing than going to a post like that so I’ll usually click off the website super quick because nobody likes click-bait.
Reduce your page’s loading time
We’re all impatient so if someone’s page load speed isn’t up to par, people are likely to click off rather quickly. Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights can help you detect where you can improve your website to increase the page speed.
Make sure your website is easy to navigate
I’ve been to quite a few websites that were just downright confusing to navigate so I quickly exited them and never looked back. Having a clean theme with easy to use navigation will assist you in keeping people on your website.
Utilize your analytics to write content that your readers actually want
Every so often I’ll dig into my analytics to see what is trending on my website and try to create content based upon what’s been popular over the past 6 months or so. If you’re writing content that your readers want to see then they’re more likely to stick around on your website longer.
Use headers to make your content easier to read
Separating your content with headers helps break things up a little bit and make it easier to read. When your content is easier to digest, readers will stay on your website longer to continue reading instead of getting frustrated trying to read your content.
Utilize Internal Linking
Internal linking allows for you to link similar posts within your content. If a reader sees a topic that interests them, then they will click through to read the next post thus keeping them on your site for longer.
Related: How to Drastically Reduce Your Bounce Rate
Use a Related Post Plugin
A related post plugin gives the readers other options to check out when they are done consuming the specific post that they had landed on.
Try using video content
Video content can help keep people on your website for longer. Video marketing is becoming more popular each year and adding it to your blog posts can certainly help you keep readers on your website for longer.
Add a call to action
At the end of each blog post, I like to add a specific call to action asking a question to my audience to envoke a response from my readers. Asking a question allows for a discussion between me and the reader and thus helps me keep them on my site for longer.
Your Turn:
I hope y’all enjoyed this post on how to keep your readers on your site for longer.
What steps do you take to keep readers on your site for longer? Please feel free to let me know down in the comments.
