Brand new enterprises looking for new audiences and long-standing companies with a huge supporter base are alike in one key way: both require potential customers to spend longer than a few seconds on their website. With that in mind, how can a few simple tips help you keep customers’ attention and encourage them to make an enquiry or purchase? Read on to find out.
• Engaging content
First and foremost, nothing captures the attention like engaging content. The most addictive websites are almost always some form of social media or video platform, with most Americans checking their phone up to 63 times a day for notifications from this type of site. To stand any chance of competing with that level of attention-grabbing, your business’ website needs to be packed with engaging content like blog posts, How To guides, creative product descriptions and eye-catching images.
• Videos
While your company website is unlikely to be filled with videos, having a few is certainly a useful way to maintain traffic on your website. Despite common opinion that human attention spans are waning because of an instant, quick-fire society, data shows people are willing to stay on websites if they find them interesting. Time spent online doubled between 2005-2015, with tablets and smartphones largely to thank. Using videos optimized for these devices will go a long way to capturing attention.
• Interactive elements
Polls, quizzes and minigames are all examples of interactive elements that your company website could use to engage visitors and keep them at your address for longer. This kind of fun play element will help combat the inevitable draw of users back to their social media apps and could also be used to teach them about your company’s products or services.
• Call to action buttons
It is all very well simply keeping customers on your website but, unless you earn money from selling advertising space, it is essential that you get them interested in your company. Signing up to a newsletter, making a purchase, submitting an enquiry or booking a meeting with one of your employees are all ways in which you can succeed boosting your ‘conversion rate’ of traffic into business. It could be useful to contact a conversion rate optimisation company who can advise you on how best to secure and then follow up on these leads.
• Simple designs
The final simple tip for encouraging web users to stay on your company’s website is to have sleek, simple designs that are easy to navigate and effortless to understand. As previously mentioned, the instant-access society that consumers live in today mean they want to know what your company does and how they can access it within a few seconds of landing on your website. Having concise text with clear subheadings and obvious, intuitive links and buttons will increase the chances of the user receiving the experience they are looking for and will ultimately prevent them from becoming frustrated or confused, leaving your website without making contact.
