1. Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines
It’s how you get your foot in the door. When you write the perfect headline, visitors can’t bounce from your site – instead, they’ll want to learn more about what you have to offer. Remember if you’re promising something in your headlines, you should deliver on that promise.
2. Tidy Up the Design
Make your website nice to look at. Whether it’s simplifying your design or removing unnecessary elements from your site, your goal is to reduce friction for your visitors.
Other key things you should consider during this step:
- Optimize for mobile
- Check for 404 error messages
- Fix any pages that are under construction
3. Improve Readability
From font sizes, to breaking up your content into snackable bite-size pieces, make sure your content is scannable and easy to read on all devices. Here’s a tip from a copywriting pro: break up the content with subheadings to keep your readers engaged.
Also, don’t make it hard to find things on your site. Add a ‘Start Here’ page to simplify navigation. Create blog categories and a search bar for easier browsing.
4. Add High-Quality Images
Make sure when you’re adding images to your website that they’re the highest quality you can find. Also, don’t forget to optimize your images and don’t be afraid to mix it up with different types of mediums – gifs, infographics, videos, and more!
5. Add Videos for a More Interactive Experience
Facebook users alone watch 100 million hours of video every single day. People love videos. Adding videos to your site can boost engagement and will increase the amount of time people spend on your website.
6. Make Internal Linking a Habit
Internal linking – if done correctly – is super helpful for your visitors and your website alike. Not only does it provide more valuable information to readers, but also helps with your search rankings. (Don’t forget to have the link open in a new tab so you don’t have visitors leaving your website.)
7. Create Content Your Users Want to See
The first step in developing valuable content will be to understand why your visitors are coming to your website (this is why analytics is important!). Once you figure that out, you can create content that answers their questions. Create the option to allow comments so you can develop conversations to engage your audience.
Another method is to add success stories. People love reading stories about how others have succeeded in reaching their goals. Reading about another person’s success brought on by your product or service can help you increase conversions.
8. Offer Content Upgrades
Content upgrades are when you offer visitors the opportunity to get bonus content by performing an action. The action could be signing up for your mailing list, or registering for a free account – it can be anything. Content upgrades are a great way of boosting engagement and increasing the number of leads and conversions at the same time.
9. Show Credibility
People want to know that they can trust your website. There are a few ways you can do this:
- Add photos of real people from your team
- Add testimonials on your pages
- Link your social profiles
- Add trust marks such as the secure site sign, BBB ratings, awards, or certifications
By doing this, your visitor can have the confidence to do business with you.
10. Add Calls to Action (CTA) to Guide the User
Don’t expect visitors to know what to do when they visit your website. Set up CTAs so you can make them see everything you want them to see. Not only will it help navigate your visitors through your website, but a great CTA gives users a reason to stay on your site, or at least stay in touch via email newsletters.
11. Add Related Posts to Your Content
Make your ‘Thank You’ pages more than a confirmation page. Add in links to relevant content, or if you run an e-commerce site, add in upsell related products. You can make your users more engaged, and also increase revenue per customer.
12. Improve Customer Service
Don’t make it difficult for your customers to reach out for help. Poor customer service can lead your customers into the arms of your competitors, even if you have the best product or service on the market. Check out a live chat feature on your site – it provides instant help through artificial intelligence technology.
13. Reduce Page Load Times
One thing that most people hate is long load times. 53% of consumers expect a page to load in two seconds or less, and 40% will leave a website if it takes more than three seconds to load. A one-second delay can decrease customer satisfaction by 16%. So, you must monitor and improve your page load times. Page load times can be impacted by image sizes, code, video, etc.
14. Use Exit Intent Popups
You no doubt have pop-up opt-ins throughout your website asking visitors to sign up for an email list, but have you thought of exit intent pop-ups? Considering most people who abandon a website will never return, an exit intent pop-up can make sure your marketing doesn’t go to waste. It will detect when your visitor intends to leave your site and will prompt them with a targeted campaign to keep them engaged. Some exit intent pop-ups include recommending blogs to read, an irresistible lead magnet in exchange for joining your mailing list, or an option to chat with a support agent.
Keep tracking and measuring how long visitors stay on your website. Improve your websites regularly and soon you’ll be seeing your traffic rise along with the time they spend on your site.