You’ve invested in successful marketing campaigns and SEO to get web users to your site-gaining traffic is great, but that’s only half the battle.
So, how do you keep them there? In this post, we’ll cover several features you can incorporate into your business’s website to help keep new users on your site for longer.
But why is it so important? The more time users spend on your site, the more likely they are to purchase something, reach out for a quote, or engage with your business in a meaningful way.
And not to mention, it’s good for your SERP ranking because it shows that your site is useful and is meeting the user’s needs.
However, you only have about 50 milliseconds to capture their attention, and keeping users engaged is often easier said than done. There are a number of reasons that users may abandon a site and go back to the search engine—from a loading time that’s just a few seconds too long to poor site quality that looks questionable.
To help you overcome this common challenge, try incorporating these 6 features on your site:
Intuitive Navigation
One of the biggest turn offs for website users is confusing or difficult-to-use navigation. Your site’s navigation should be a tool that guides users to exactly what they’re looking for, as quickly as possible. It can also help you lead users where you want—like your best sellers page.
However, too many sites bury important pages deep in their navigation bar’s drop down list or create massive lists that can make the user feel overwhelmed. This obstacle is enough to make users jump ship and visit your competitor’s website instead.
To make your website welcoming to new users, you should focus on establishing intuitive navigation. For starters, you want the main navigation bar to feature the most important pages of your website that are going to provide the most direct route for customers to find what they need.
If a drop-down list is required for sub-categories-which can be very helpful for certain eCommerce sites-keep it as minimal and well-organized as possible. See the example below for how a sleek and user-friendly navigation bar should look:
Another crucial component of optimal site navigation is having a search bar, so if all else fails they can just search what they’re looking for.
Recommended for You
While this feature is typically directed toward returning visitors, it can also be a useful tool for keeping new visitors on your site. As they click through the site, viewing different product labels and services, this data should be collected and curated to make other recommendations for them as they shop.
This can direct new users to products that are similar to what they’ve viewed, which can help them find exactly what they’re looking for. As they look through their options, they’ll inevitably spend more time on the site. Additionally, it’s a chance to upsell them and build up a bigger cart-both of which can be helpful in meeting your sales goals.
Some of the most important things to keep in mind when adding a recommendations or similar products feature to your site is to make it:
- Noticeable
- Aesthetically pleasing (yes this is important according to HubSpot, 38% of users will stop engaging with a website if it’s unattractive)
- Easy-to-use
- Accurate
Quality Videos
Another aspect of keeping new users on your site is getting them to engage. One of the best interactive features you can have on your site is a quality video.
This could be one or more videos that highlight the benefits of the product or services, give an overview of how it works, or even a customer testimonial (this is especially useful for high-cost items). To make the most impact with your video, it should be placed in a high-visibility area of the web page, like right after the header on your homepage.
If you are going to add videos to your site, make sure they are value-adding, short, and high-quality. Low-quality videos probably won’t keep users attention and could even damage their perspective of your brand.
Straightforward Pricing Information
A lot of the time when visitors come to your website, they’re looking to gather as much information about what they’re looking for as quickly as possible. This includes what products and services you offer, why they should choose your business over competitors, and how much it’s going to cost them.
A lot of businesses are misguided in their efforts to conceal pricing as to not scare off first-time website visitors. However, if they can’t figure out how much something costs quickly—a major factor in their purchase decision—they’re more likely to leave your site and look elsewhere.
That’s why it’s advisable to clearly label pricing on items, include price comparison charts of your services, or advertise potential for savings, in a highly visible area of the site. The site above, Undergrads Moving, simplifies the customer hunt for pricing by displaying it right on the homepage. This transparency and user-first feature is a good way to build trust with potential customers.
CTAs & Internal Links
Give your users a reason to stay on your website by implementing cleverly used internal linking and CTAs. Strategically placing these links throughout each page of your site can help you encourage users to continue exploring your site. Linking related pages or products provides real value to users, while also introducing them to more content, products, or information that’s key for conversion.
In addition to a good internal linking strategy, using CTAs-on the homepage, at the end of blog posts, or as buttons that allow users to favorite, add to basket, or buy now-is an excellent opportunity to make the most of their time on your site. Plus, it helps you collect data that you can later use to bring them back.
Forms
Just because a user explores your site thoroughly, doesn’t mean they’re going to be ready to make a purchase—they might still be in the information-gathering stage. However, there is a website feature that presents an important opportunity to gain something from their website visit, fillable forms.
Forms are useful tools for collecting visitor information, which gives you opportunities to retarget them in the future. Once they’ve completed the form they may even be inclined to spend more time on your website to further inform their product or service comparison, now that they’ve already given you their information.
It’s Time to Upgrade Your Website
With these features, you can make a great first impression on prospective customers, reduce your bounce rate, and hopefully increase conversions. Taking the website to not only ensure your website is functional and looks nice, but is helping you increase conversions should be a priority for your business, whatever your budget.
If you don’t have the skillset to make these changes to your website on your own, it’s become increasingly affordable to hire an experienced website developer who can help you. The investment will be well worth it when you see your website and sales performance improvement.
