How to Make Your Website Visitors Stick

keyboard-coffee-writing

You get a very large volume of traffic to your business’s website. Your website is exciting and interesting. People are compelled to visit. However, how do you get them to stick and to keep returning over and over?

There are many different ways to go about enticing your website visitors to stick on your website for a prolonged time period as well as to consistently return to your website over and over again.

  • Every page is a landing page: Any one of your website pages can be a landing page. Not everyone who visits your “About” page arrived there from inside of your website. You should build each page with the idea that it is the first one that your website visitors will see.
     
  • Content that really pops: Having dynamic content on your website that entices and excites your readers is the reason that they will keep returning over and over again. The more strongly your content touches your visitors, the more inclined they will be to continue to visit your website. 
     
  • Use the truth more than link bait: There are numerous people who use link bait (information to entice people into visiting their website) to draw people. However, if your content doesn’t match the link bait, your website visitors won’t be happy. There are some websites that have lost visitors because there were too many articles that contain link bait. If you are going to use it, be careful and very discriminating. Make a point of being as sincere as possible with your visitors.
     
  • Never tease your visitors: You must always take the relationships that you have with your online connections seriously. It is acceptable to pique their interest early on, however, you must deliver the real thing as quickly as possible after that. Social media is made for human interactions. Always make your visitors understand that you have the ability to solve their problems.
     
  • Keep your promises: If you promised your online connections something, such as a “how to” article on a topic of their interest, any sort of publication or any other piece of useful information, you have a responsibility to give it to them. That means give and not sell. If you don’t do what you have promised you will do, people will never trust you again. Remember, your social media and website interactions are all about relationships and trust.
     
  • Emphasize the WIIFM statement: An extremely important part of the content on your website is theWIIFM (What's In It For Me?) statement. This focuses on the customer and you are communicating how you are going to help them to solve their problems. It is never about you as a business owner. It is about satisfying their needs and wants.
     
  • Leverage your family and friends: Before you reach out to any of your website visitors, test your online communications on your family and friends. You need to use language that is not overly sophisticated and that is sincere. Your family and friends will give you an honest evaluation of your communications. If they don’t understand something that you have written, you should consider simplifying the language and making sure that your meaning is clear.
     
  • Treat your visitors as people: There is nothing more disheartening on the receiving end than excitedly visiting a website only to be treated like a number. As the business owner, you need to regard each of your website visitors as individual people with hearts and minds of their own. Returning to the basic principle of building meaningful and trusting relationships, if you treat your website visitors as a collective lump, you will never be able to build relationships with anyone.

Conclusion

The advice and tips that have been discussed here are all important and they are all simple. You need to use them on a consistent basis. One of your top priorities should be to continue to build relationships with your visitors and to get them to return to your website over and over again. The more they get to know you and what you can do for them, the greater your chance of eventually converting them from friends to clients.

We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. Please contact us at CompuKol Communications for further discussion on how we might be able to assist you and your team and don’t forget to “like” our Facebook page.

Author

  • Michael Cohn

    Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has decades of experience in IT and web technologies. Michael founded CompuKol Communications to help small businesses and entrepreneurs increase their visibility and reputation. CompuKol consults, creates, and implements communication strategies for small businesses to monopolize their markets with a unique business voice, vision, and visibility. Mr. Cohn earned a Master’s degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master’s degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

    View all posts

10 Responses

  1. Efy Leonardi says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Medical Education Communications and Pharmaceutical Marketing
    Discussion: How to Make Your Website Visitors Stick

    I would consider adding discussions or a blog site where all can participate. You can learn a lot that way, as well!
    Posted by Efy Leonardi

  2. Michelle Furyaka says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: NY Entrepreneurs Business Network (NYEBN)
    Discussion: How to Make Your Website Visitors Stick

    HAve interesting content for them and BLOGS BLOGS BLOGS
    Posted by Michelle Furyaka

  3. Jacquelyn Lynn says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Authors, Writers, Publishers, Editors, & Writing Professionals (no religious/ political discussion)
    Discussion: How to Make Your Website Visitors Stick

    Geez, I shouldn't read these things this early before I've had more than two sips of coffee … I could have sworn your headline asked "How to make your website visitors sick."

    Excellent points — especially make every page a landing page. Thanks for posting.
    Posted by Jacquelyn Lynn

  4. Ann Giblin says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Business Writers of America
    Discussion: How to Make Your Website Visitors Stick

    I think all good points for treating people off my website, too! I'm not 100% clear on whether I have achieved the last point, however. Would you expand a bit more on it, perhaps with an illustrive example? Thanks again.
    Posted by Ann Giblin

  5. Darryl Warren says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Writers World
    Discussion: How to Make Your Website Visitors Stick

    Here's another one: regular content updates. It sends a signal there is continuity of fresh content to keep people coming back for more. If the site is not updated often, or irregularly, people lose interest and stop coming by as frequently, or at all if the gaps are too lengthy.

    Posted by Darryl Warren

  6. Bobbi Hennessey says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: The Content Wrangler Community
    Discussion: How to Make Your Website Visitors Stick

    Thanks for sharing your insight.
    Posted by Bobbi Hennessey

  7. Beth Schecher says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Social Media For The Clueless
    Discussion: How to Make Your Website Visitors Stick

    Great article. Thanks for posting. It is amazing how many people have overlooked many of your points. Everyone is so concerned with using the fancy new tools that they seem to be forgetting about basic human nature.
    Beth
    Posted by Beth Schecher

  8. Rita Rocker says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Authors, Writers, Publishers, Editors, & Writing Professionals (no religious/ political discussion)
    Discussion: How to Make Your Website Visitors Stick

    Excellent, meaty information. Thank you for sharing!
    Posted by Rita Rocker

  9. Diana Barkley says:

     
    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: The Content Wrangler Community
    Discussion: How to Make Your Website Visitors Stick

    Good tips for any site such as nonprofits, government, etc.
    Posted by Diana Barkley

  10. Walter Daniels says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Guerrilla Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
    Discussion: How to Make Your Website Visitors Stick

    Great suggestions. I wish that more sites would use them. I agree that every page should be treated as if it's the only one the visitor ever sees. Tie them together, of course, but do not assume that they will see any other. Google/Bing/etc. do not look for just landing pages to show people.
    Posted by Walter Daniels