11 Ways to Get More Time Spent on Your Website by Visitors

The amount of time users spend surfing your website can indicate whether or not they are enjoying their visit. A shorter session is frequently indicative of anything compelling people to leave: slow site speed, low-quality content, unappealing design, technical issues, a mismatch in expectations, or a combination of these reasons. On the other hand, a longer stay suggests that users find a site valuable and are enjoying their experience. So, of course, marketers are always looking for ways to keep people on their site longer. The more time people spend on a site, the more likely they are to get information, have faith in a brand, and then become high-quality leads.

Consider the following 11 techniques for encouraging visitors to do so:

1. Arrange the design.

The average user spends between ten and twenty seconds on a website before deciding whether to go or stay, and keeping your design basic and appealing will help significantly. A successful design accomplishes two goals: it looks attractive, which encourages viewers to spend more time appreciating it; and it also makes it easier for users to access information, as it is free of superfluous features and images. And after they discover it, they'll spend additional time consuming it.

2. Make navigation easier

If your site is difficult or complex to navigate, people will leave before figuring out how to get around. They will quickly depart, never to return. Fortunately, you can avoid this by limiting the main navigation menu to the most critical pages you want users to see. In addition, make sure that the search box is visible and easy to use, so users who know what they want can find it quickly and without wasting time.

3. Maintain your headline's consistency.

Certain website owners have a habit of generating attractive headlines to lure readers, but once they reach the content, they discover that it is about something completely different or that there is far too much fluff before the primary issue is addressed. This is a surefire way to permanently alienate an audience, so avoid it.

"Remaining true" implies that you address what you promised in the body content's headline. Always begin with a brief introduction and then move directly to the things you wish to convey, beginning with the most critical.

4. On the homepage, include a clear value proposition.

Visitors have the ability and will quit promptly if they believe a website is not providing them with sufficient value. To avoid this, your homepage should provide a concise, clear, and unique value proposition outlining what you do and why visitors should do business with you. Visitors will be able to see the value of your product, stay longer, and (hopefully) buy from you instead of your competitors if you have this kind of offer.

5. Publish new content on a consistent basis.

Nobody wants to spend time on a site with out-of-date content, so make it a practice to constantly update it with new and relevant copy or other material. Additionally, it's a good idea to generate a variety of various types of material to appeal to a variety of tastes. Consider blog posts, articles, eBooks, audio, video, social media postings, webinars, and infographics, as well as other formats, because people have different preferences.

Another strategy for generating new and valuable content is to repurpose already published material. If you have some older blog posts that have been forgotten in the archives, consider updating them with new material and incorporating them into an ebook. This helps you spend less time making, reaches more people, and gets more traffic.

6. Improve the content's scan ability.

Users of the Internet rarely read the copy word for word. Rather than that, people prefer to skim pages for the information they seek. What this indicates is straightforward: if your material is comprised of enormous sections of text that are difficult to scan, few visitors will stay to read it. However, by making pages scannable, you can assist users in finding information more quickly, which will encourage them to spend more time on your site.

A few pointers on how to accomplish this:

• Keep sentences and paragraphs short to avoid the appearance of frightening information.

• Use sufficient line spacing and font sizes to allow visitors to read comfortably.

• Use headers, subheadings, lists, and bullets to segment lengthy passages.

• Highlight important words, phrases, and sentences.

• Enhance your content with photographs, videos, infographics, and other visual elements.

• Each paragraph should focus on a single essential theme.

7. Increase the page's speed

The majority of users will leave a website to seek information elsewhere if pages take longer than two to three seconds to load. Therefore, page performance optimization is critical. 

You can accomplish this by:

• Scaling down large photographs.

• Investing in a content delivery network to improve server response and load times.

• Removing or changing plugins that are slowing down the site.

• Getting rid of out-of-date codes

• Reduce the frequency with which users are redirected to other pages.

• Making use of the browser's caching capabilities

8. Integrate internal links throughout the content. 

Internal links are beneficial when you want to provide further information to the reader about a particular subject. For example, if you write an article called "Effective Marketing Ideas for All Businesses" and one of its subheadings is "Publishing Great Content," you can link the phrase "great content" to a page on your site that explains the term in more detail, like this one: "What is great content?"

Internal linking is critical not just for directing users deeper into a site, but also for increasing page views and optimizing SEO. Simply be cautious not to overload a page with links (two to three are usually enough).

9. Include eye-catching elements

On appropriate pages, high-quality and relevant photographs, videos, and graphics aid readers in comprehending the text. The greatest of these are not only visually appealing, but also engaging and participatory, which is why people are increasingly preferring them over written material. They significantly increase user engagement and the length of time visitors spend.

10. Make smart use of pop-ups.

Pop-ups called "exit-intent" detect when users are about to leave a website and present them with a compelling reason not to. When used correctly, they can be quite successful at lowering bounce rates and increasing overall conversion rates.

They can be used in the following ways:

• Make suggestions for future posts that your audience might be interested in.

• In exchange for an irresistible offer, invite them to join your email list (perhaps with a free audio or video version of your blog).

• Inviting them to contact customer service if they have any questions or concerns.

• Request feedback from them on your products or services.

• Invite them to share your content or follow you on social media.

• Inform them of the launch of a new product or service.

11. Include call-to-action buttons in your content.

The majority of online consumers will exit a site quickly after locating the information they seek. When they do, your bounce rate increases, which has an effect on both conversions and earnings. This is why it's critical to include a call to action (CTA) at the conclusion of each piece to entice readers to stay. Clear, relevant, and compelling examples can keep visitors' attention and make them want to buy. Make sure each CTA is consistent with the theme of the page on which it is placed so it doesn't look forced.