5 Ways to Keep Visitors on Your Website

So someone lands on your website. What’s next?

When we review websites or as we design new websites, one thing we always keep in mind is what’s next? When someone lands on a page or post, what’s the next action we want them to take.

Providing great content on your website but it’s generally not enough. People are exposed to an incredible amount of content throughout the course of the day. When someone lands on your website because you’ve peaked their curiosity or suggested you have an answer to a question, what’s to keep them there after the curiosity has been satiated or the question answered?

5 Ways to Keep Visitors on Your Website

1. Optimize 404/410 Pages

You probably weren’t expecting to see this. But occasionally someone is going to land on content that doesn’t exist anymore. Optimizing your 404/410 page is an easy way to keep someone around who is likely to click the Back button.

Try linking to cornerstone content, providing access to a site search, or linking to your About page. And try to include something humorous or unexpected so visitors stick around long enough to check it out.

2. Start a Fire with related posts

Providing access to related posts is a great way to keep visitors browsing your website. Consider linking to other posts while writing new blog posts that might keep the ‘conversation’ going.

Related posts plugins exist for WordPress, but we no longer recommend them to our clients. We found they can slow down sites and become buggy. They also lack intentionality. The content you provide to visitors should lead somewhere (what’s the next action you want visitors to take after reading a post?). Related posts plugins may work against you if you’re not intentionally setting what articles/content should appear.

One of our new favorite tools is Start a Fire.

3. Collect Emails

When someone visits your website, it’s generally an anonymous visit. Sure you can collect all sorts of information about that person using analytics tools, but you still don’t know who they are.

By collecting email addresses, you’re getting contact information from your most engaged visitors. These are people who have essentially raised their hands and to say, “Yes, please send me more of your content.”

Being able to email these folks allows you to remind them about the great content on their site, and keeps them coming back.

4. No Dead Ends… especially after great content.

Something we frequently notice on websites we review are ‘dead ends.’ The content was great, but it just ended. Sure we might think if someone likes what they read, they’ll go back to the blog to read more. But that’s not exactly true.

When someone lands on a blog post, it’s most likely because she’s interested in that blog post. Once her curiosity is satisfied or she’s found the answer to her question, there’s not a reason to stick around. Even if the content was great.

Ask yourself: What’s the next action I want the visitor to take? And then create an avenue for that to happen.

5. Content Upgrades

Content upgrades give visitors an opportunity to access even more detailed content around the subject they’re reading about. For instance, if visitors are reading one of our posts on search engine optimization (SEO), we have a free 5 Day SEO Challenge we might mention (or serve in a pop-up on that page). Or if you wrote an article about a trend in the wedding industry, you could then offer access to a full, detailed report on other trends in the wedding industry.

Content upgrades are often hidden behind email opt-ins. Since the content is more valuable, people are often willing to give you their email address in return for whatever it is you’re offering. Protecting the information behind an email opt-in also creates higher perceived value.

Getting visitors to visit multiple pages and bounce around your website helps build brand trust (and helps with SEO). Implement a plan on your website to get visitors to where you want them to go.