Keeping people on your blog longer can translate into higher engagement, conversions, and profits. Having strategies in place will reduce your bounce rate enormously as it forces people to navigate to different pages on your blog. People are often under the impression that keeping people on your blog longer has to do with layout, colors, and navigation, which is correct 60% of the time. However, you can tweak your content strategy to engage with your readers longer, providing them with a funnel of resources once they land on your page. Over time, I’ve worked with developers and bloggers and noticed a trend developing, which outlined a few steps you can implement on your content pages to keep them on your website longer. These are some real cool tips that will get more of your content read, reduce bounce rate, and even help it go viral.
Let’s jump right into it…
Answer Questions & Comments
The great thing about blogging is you’ll always have another point of view on a topic and asking visitors for their opinion is a great way to encourage engagement. The next time you write content, simply ask people for their feedback and those who have a strong opinion will leave a comment. This also opens up a portal for a discussion and you can jump in, answering questions about your content or provide further opinions. What does this do in the long run?
The next time someone reads your content, they’ll scroll to the bottom and start reading additional feedback on the content. These are additional resources for your content and when you reply to them, you can leave a link to other internal content on your blog. If you browse over almost every blog in your niche, you’ll notice a comment box below the content. Bloggers understand the power of feedback and have made good use of it over the years to keep the readers engaged.
If you’re using a blogging platform like WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla, they should already be set up when you publish content. However, you have comment box plug-ins that are highly customizable and can be tweaked to fit your theme.
Using Your Own Voice
You’ve probably heard this several times from other people and it’s very true! When you write in your own voice, it creates a conversation that people can resonate with, making them feel comfortable. When you create such a setting, your content reads like a one-on-one conversation and people are more open to leave comments and continue reading. The last thing people want to do is read an essay because they are hard to understand and can be boring. Make your visitor feel comfortable and create a conversation so they feel as though it’s only you and them talking to each other. Think about it this way…
When you feel comfortable, you stay in a setting much longer and even communicate with someone longer…right? Use the same approach with your content. Here are a few strategies to use when creating content next time…
- Use “you†and “I†in your content
- Keep paragraphs short and to the point
- Ask questions to create engagement
- Add a few jokes within your content, if possible
Collect Email Subscribers
The power of subscribers cannot be argued and I regret not collecting emails from day one of starting my blog. Here’s something Neil Patel from Quicksprout.com said about his subscribers…
“In the last 30 days, emails have accounted for 103,482 visitors.â€
It’s safe to say those who opted into your newsletter trust your content and the value it provides, so they will click-through when you shoot a follow-up. The important thing to understand is that there is so much information available online and you’re not the only newsletter these people are subscribed to. Make sure you post content regularly and send them a follow-up so they can come back and read your update. Because of the previous credibility you’ve built with them, they are more likely to stay on your page longer and contribute by posting a comment or providing feedback. These same people will even share your content, building your brand awareness.
Make Content a Series
If you have an idea to create a tutorial on a common problem, then why not make it a series? If you know the tutorial will be long and will require several thousand words, then you can split up your content into several parts. This strategy works well when running out of ideas, however, it can keep users engaged on your site longer. For example, imagine writing a blog post on link building, where you’ll be outlining several different strategies. You can split each strategy into its own post following this sequence: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, etc. Why is this so effective? Simple…
It forces people to click through to other parts of your blog, looking for the additional content. If someone reads part one of a series, then they are going to click-through to part 2. It’s important to link all the content together so it’s a smooth transition. However, it accomplishes your objective of keeping these readers on your blog longer, which translates into comments, shares, and reduced bounce rate.
Show Your Top Posts
Blogging platforms are awesome because they streamline the process of displaying your “Top Posts†to your readers. For example, with WordPress, it’s as simple as adding a widget to your sidebar. This strategy is very effective in increasing engagement on your blog and keeping visitors on your blog longer. Top posts are calculated by how many visited the page, etc., and this is valuable for new readers arriving on your blog. Sidebar widgets appear on every page so as people scroll through other content, it increases the chance of them clicking through to your top posts. Here’s something else…
Top posts usually have a higher share rate than others and people leave more comments on them. This is perfect because it creates a discussion that ultimately leads to visitors staying on your blog longer.
