You’ve got your brand’s business site up and running. You’ve populated it with content, optimized this content for SEO and did a lot of what is required to drive traffic to your site.
However, people aren’t staying on the site. If the average time to read an article on it is 3 minutes, people are abandoning it after reading just a minute. You’ve reviewed all content and found nothing (apparently) wrong. So why aren’t people staying on your site?
The answer could be one of many reasons, but some of the reasons that could prevent people from spending more time on your site are listed below.
It isn’t reader friendly.
It is possible that the font type or size you are using is not reader friendly. Remember, your content is being viewed by people of varying ages and abilities on different types of devices.
If your website isn’t responsive to the device, or has a layout that prevents easy reading, then people are not going to stay on it.
Publish thought provoking content
Publish content that makes a reader think. The content should not only provide the reader with knowledge, it should also have something that makes them think about what they are reading.
Though provoking content is known to keep readers engaged and on-site for a longer time.
Promise of something better coming next
The content you publish should be a hook for the reader. They reader should keep reading because they know what is coming next is going to be better than what they are reading now.
Updated content
Maintain your website regularly, and check that the content published is updated regularly. Refresh content that has become dated and mention that the page was updated so reader know.
Visual content
Humans react well to visual content, which is why most digital marketing is focusing on images. The content you are publishing should be a mix of text, infographics and embedded videos.
A 3000-word article can be shortened with the help of a chart that uses icons and other imagery with brief text to explain.
A descriptive how-to article can be better put across to the audience with a micro-video, or one that is a couple of minutes long.
Subheadings
Make your point briefly. Use many sub-headings instead of one heading.
People will be more interested in reading bite-sized content than in many paragraphs that seem too much to go through.
Ensure all features load quickly
Site speed is a key feature in Google SERPs. Whether you are using images or videos, make sure they load quickly so a reader does not lose interest.
Studies have shown that interest drops 10% when readers are faced with a one second delay, and drops to 40% when the loading time for a site takes more than 3 seconds.
Declutter site
Does your site have too many categories, too much content on the home page, too many ads and too many items in the side bar?
If yes, take the time audit your site. See which pages are low-performing and either club them with another category or eliminate them altogether.
Too many pop-ups that readers have to cross out and ads that block text are sure-fire ways to get a reader to leave your site.
Lay out your website in a way that these things do not affect a visitor’s experience on your site.
If you’re experience difficulty getting readers to stay on your site, try out these tips and see if the on-site time increases.