In a previous post, we highlighted 8 apps that will increase visitors to your Weebly site. Boosting traffic is one thing, but once visitors land on your site you need to engage them. And you need to do so quickly. According to data by Tony Haile of Charbeat, 55% of visitors spend 15s or less on your website. Yes, you heard right, 15s!
Our attention spans have dropped over the past 16 years due to technology. One study revealed that our concentration has plummeted from an average of 12s to 8s. That’s lower than the attention span of a Goldfish (9s)! But it’s not all doom and gloom, you can still engage your visitors. Here are 4 ways to increase engagement.
1. Create a Quality Site Design
First impressions count. Your site needs to look professional and be visually appealing. With the low attention span of visitors, this is even more important. “But how do I create a high-quality site design?”, you may be asking.
Here are a few pointers:
- Use of color: use two or three primary colors and stick to it. Keep things simple.
- Create Readable Text: use black or dark gray text on a white background. Make sure the text is large enough to read.
- Use high-quality images: Not only is this visually appealing but a sign of professionalism.
- Use free images if you can’t afford a photographer. This post by Buffer provides 53 free image sources. Make sure you provide the necessary credit where it’s due.
- Strive for Simplicity: white space is your best friend.
- Remove clutter so your visitors can engage with your content.
- Don’t dilute your website with ads. This makes you look like a profit monger; you’re here to solve your client’s problems. Do this and the money will follow.
2. Create High-Value Content
Consider starting a blog. Make sure the content is informative, relevant and actionable. For example, after reading this post you need to know how to improve the engagement on your website.
A few pointers to consider:
- Show Them How: Avoid fluff e.g. Show someone how they can create an engaging website, don’t tell them why they need to.
- Understand Your Target Market problems in great detail and find unique solutions to their problems.
- A unique solution may take the form of an actionable blog post. Read this as an example: “How To Embed Livestream Video On Your Site.”
- Blog Regularly: maintain a consistent blogging schedule, but not to the detriment of quality.
3. Include Video and Animations
According to a study, 44.1% of web video viewers tune out after 1 minute. The implications of this are clear: your message needs to be short and enticing.
A few pointers:
- Write a detailed copy of your message before shooting a video.
- Consider your goals e.g. Is this an instructional video? Are you communicating your business vision?
- You need adequate lighting. For example, use halogen lamps for indoor shooting. This is a cost-effective alternative to professional lighting.
- Use the right hardware. You can find affordable high-tech gear if you shop around. Search for high definition camera like these.
- Through planning correctly and investing some money you’ll ensure you craft a video of high quality.
- For those of you on a tight budget, give this article a read: “How to Produce High-Quality Videos for Under $1000.”
If you feel video animations are a fit with your brand, consider using PowToon.
PowToon has ready made drag and drop templates. They allow you to create professional animated videos and engaging presentations, quickly and easily.
You can sign-up for free. PowToon provides three instructional videos. They detail the importance of writing your copy and planning your story beforehand. Be sure to watch those videos.
4. Make your website multilingual
How often do you think someone has stumbled upon your site only to leave because they don’t understand the language? I’d say pretty often. Consider the below statistics which are rather telling:
- 73% of internet users aren’t browsing in English.
- 72.1% of users spend the majority of their time on sites in their own language.
- 56.2% value browsing in their own language over price.
- 46% say they won’t buy products if they’re not in their local.
These statistics highlight the importance of having a multilingual website for reduced bounce rates and better engagement. In the past translating your website was a large and costly undertaking. With advancements in technology, this is no longer the case. Bablic, for example, is a cost-effective professional human translation tool.
Here’s how it works:
- Translate your content: you choose from machine, professional or manual translation.
- You’re able to translate the content yourself using Bablic’s manual content editor).
- Paste the unique Bablic code into your website’s header.
- You don’t require any coding knowledge.
- Publish or unpublish the languages of your choice with a simple click of a button. It’s as simple as that!
You can also just use our Weebly app, get it right here.
There’s no doubt we live in an era where our attention spans are a fraction of what they used to be. Technology and the proliferation of online content have contributed immensely to this.
As a small business owner to break through the clutter you need to maintain a high level of quality. This means a professional website design that focuses on high-value content, both written and visual. It means tailoring your site according to the preferences of a global village.