Image (CC0 License) Modern companies have websites that serve as online portals for customers to use. It is the digital version of a shop or a
Modern companies have websites that serve as online portals for customers to use. It is the digital version of a shop or an office, giving consumers a chance to come in, have a look around, and do some shopping. A successful business website is one that converts, but what constitutes a conversion?
It varies from company to company, depending on the purpose of your site and the goals you set. If you sell products from your website, a conversion can be seen as someone buying something. If you sell services, a conversion can be someone inquiring about your services via your site. Different possibilities present themselves, but a successful website will have an impressive conversion rate.
Experts have spent a lot of time studying websites and trying to learn what makes one convert better than others. While various factors can come into play, user engagement is ultimately seen as the key to a successful business website. Why is this the case, and what can you do to improve it on your site?
What is user engagement?
User engagement refers to the way in which users interact with your website. When a user is engaged, it means they are doing something. High levels of user engagement will mean that someone spends a lot of time occupied by things on your site.
Why user engagement matters
What happens when a user is fully engaged? They stay on your website for much longer than normal. They spend time looking around, browsing through the different pages, taking in as much information as possible. In short, they are actively interested in what you have to offer. The longer someone spends on your site, the greater the chances of them converting.
The best way to understand the importance of user engagement is to look at things from the opposite end of the spectrum. Imagine a website that offers no way for users to engage or interact with anything. What do you think will happen? The user will quickly get bored or think the site is not for them. As such, they leave, meaning you miss out on a lead.
Moreover, a lack of user engagement leads to a high bounce rate – which is when people leave without doing anything. This is bad as it impacts your SEO because search engines think there is something wrong with your site as everyone lands and leaves. They want to provide users with the best online experiences, so a site that everyone leaves will be way down the pecking order. In essence, improving user engagement will also improve your SEO, meaning your site is more visible and can generate more traffic. This creates a lovely loop as more traffic means more users to engage, possibly creating more conversions.
How do you engage users?
You can improve user engagement in lots of ways. An underlying benefit of this is that all of the ways you improve user engagement will also improve other aspects of your website, ultimately improving your SEO at the same time!
Firstly, you should begin with your website design. It needs to be innovative enough to spark someone’s attention. Agencies like Spark Logix Studios have started developing interactive websites that encourage users to be more active. This is done by them needing to scroll down to see animations unfold or unlock more information, it’s a very smart and subtle way of keeping someone engaged.
Additionally, your website’s content will hold the key to engagement. You need to have content on there that interests the user and makes them want to stay for longer. Not only that, but it needs to be relevant! You need to provide them with content that will be related to what they’re after. If they have clicked on your site after looking to purchase a particular product, make sure the page they land on shows them the products!
Page loading speeds also help – the longer someone has to wait to view content, the more chance there is that they leave. General website usability is also a massive thing; it’s hard to remain engaged when you can’t click on menu buttons or search for what you’re after.
Fundamentally, user engagement will be the key to owning a successful business website. However you define your success – be in online sales or inquiries – you will convert more leads if you learn how to engage users. The advice above will help you do just that, and you shall also see the secondary benefits of user engagement, such as improved SEO, leading to more web traffic!
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