How to Increase User Engagement on Your Website

Let’s see–your website is already running in the top search results. Your site’s visitors increase monthly, but user engagement is surprisingly low.

Many websites, web apps, and online shop owners face the same problem–insufficient user engagement. The growing number of potential customers browsing your website does not translate into the desired activities, such as leaving a comment, rating a product, sending an inquiry, or purchasing.

If you want to increase user engagement on your website–we will tell you how.

Why Is User Engagement so Meaningful?

The answer is simple: every interaction users have with your website builds your relationship. The better your users feel about your website, the better their experience of that interaction, translating into favorable opinions about your company, product, or service.

You can benefit from such positive feedback from your website users and soon-to-be customers. They wish to communicate with your brand and are looking for various ways to interact with it. As they visit your site more often, you can find ways to dialogue with your company, express an opinion, and feel an important part of the community created around it.

If you enable them to engage, users will likely be eager to spread good word of mouth about your brand. It usually results in a growing number of visitors to your website, as well as committed users and spokesmen of your brand.

This ideal scenario–getting visitors who actively spend time on your site and recommend it to others–is achievable in any industry and for any website, app, or online shop. How do you make it happen? Continue reading.

Make It About Your Users

When users have problems, they look for a quick fix online. If you know how to solve them, share this on your website.

Be user-centric. Be helpful and share your knowledge. Provide your users with solution-oriented content to address doubts regarding your brand. If the users find your content useful and valuable, they will share it.

Regularly publishing valuable content is the fastest way to elevate user engagement on your website. After all, you decide what is worth posting on your page or through your web app. However, well-tailored content is sometimes enough to keep your website visitors involved.

Keep Your Website Easy To Use

A well-designed website is easy to navigate, well-designed, and allows reactions and interactions intuitively. To make the experience of users gushing through your site the best it can be and translate into higher engagement, mind these factors:

Easy Navigation

Easy access to information is the key to attracting and increasing user engagement. Your website’s proper arrangement allows the user to reach the desired content quickly. If you design the information architecture correctly, users will move through web pages smoothly. They will keep track and save time.

Furthermore, when you plan the user flow poorly, visitors will leave immediately. Good content is crucial, as it can convert first-time visitors into loyal customers. Ensure that the most relevant content is close to the users. If access to the information the user seeks is challenging, they will return to the search engine and probably your competitors’ websites. Accessibility of data is the key to attracting and increasing user engagement on your site.

Good Looks

We all know how important the first impression is. The better your site looks, the more reliable and trustworthy it will appear to the users.

The visual aspect of your website should be consistent with your brand. Ensure your content and graphics are readable and clear so the visitors feel safe. Large blocks of text, low-quality photos, and unclear navigation can discourage users from interacting with the website.

High-quality Content

Thoughtfully planned website content is a must. If you present it properly, it will be effective and increase user engagement. Therefore, add hints and tips on your topic to make it work. That will help the users learn about your brand.

Provide blog articles with a table of content for easy reading, link articles on similar or trending topics, and create a know-how page or a FAQ section. Make each ‘call to action’ visible (e.g., newsletter subscriptions, ebook, or report download), and add ‘click-to-call’ buttons. Verify if the content is displayed correctly on every laptop, tablet, and mobile device.

Let the Users Interact with Your Brand

Website users love expressing their opinions–prepare places where they can comment or react to your content. It would be wise to find some room for them to do so on your websites. You can quickly propel their engagement by adding a comment section and a share button at the end of each blog article.

If you manage an online shop, allow users to review and rate the products. It may also be a good idea to create a separate platform for the users if it fits your brand’s character. A forum or a fan page could be a perfect place for users to share their emotions and interests. Built-in live chat will also increase user engagement on the website.

Once you have addressed the ‘front-end’ issues, let’s look at the website backstage and see how you can increase user engagement and make it user-friendly overall.

Does Page Loading Speed Affect User Engagement?

Statistics show that 90% of the users will leave your website if it loads for 5 seconds. If it takes even more time for your page to appear on the screen, the users will simply give up browsing it.

In May 2021, Google updated its algorithm for Core Web Vitals. The improved algorithm is expected to assess better the quality of the user experience of any website and rank higher sites that:

Quickly display elements such as text, images, or videos
Allow users to navigate the site efficiently
Avoid sudden shifts of content on the screen

Again, page speed influences the website’s usability. It is significant in the same way as the page navigation pattern. A well-designed website will address the mentioned metrics and focus on improving the user experience by shortening the page loading time. Quick access to information is crucial for users and can significantly influence their commitment to the brand. If you care to increase user engagement on the website do not make them wait!

Check If Your Activities on Increasing User Engagement on the Website Are Effective

To audit the effectiveness and usability of content implemented on your website, you can track simple metrics with free website statistics analysis tools. When you want to measure the increasing engagement of the users on your website, it would be helpful to define events or activities that are strategic for your business and the type of website.

Suppose you are a pro in your industry, developing a corporate blog. In that case, you should regularly check the following:

The bounce rate
The average time spent by a user on a given page
Traffic source
The number of comments
Shares for your articles

For large e-commerce websites, you will recognize user involvement by tracking the shopping carts, interactions with product pages, and the growing number of ratings and reviews.

The array of handy metrics to assess your on-site actions is much more significant. If you plan to engage the users even more, also check the following indicators:

Number of visits
Number of page views
Number of unique users
Number of active / returning / registered users
Conversion rate

An adequately connected analytic tool can provide valuable insights into your online activities. You can quickly assess what content your users like and what is not interesting for them. You can identify sub-pages that engage users poorly or cause them to abandon further action on the site.

Well-designed Website Increases Satisfaction and User Commitment

Creating a user-friendly, intuitive, and visually appealing website can improve your online presence, reach more customers and ultimately grow your business. It takes expertise and time to design such a website, app, or online shop that is effective for business.

Outsourcing this part of the job may be a good idea. It helps business owners and retailers who, knowing their industries, are aware of the benefits an online presence will bring. A well-designed website will reduce frustration and improve user experience, increasing user satisfaction. Furthermore, it will translate into more satisfied users who will spend more time on the site, return to it and recommend it to others.

If your company does not have a trusted web development partner, when choosing one, pay attention to their:

Range of the services provided
Understanding of the business side of the project
High communication skills
Portfolio of completed projects

If you like what you see, they may be an excellent technological partner to develop your website.

You may already have a website or online shop operating for a while now, and neither needs any significant amendments. In this case, look for a development team that provides consulting services like website audits. After carefully examining your page, they will suggest necessary modifications, e.g., increasing the efficiency and security of the website or improving its visual side.

As you can see, increasing user engagement on your website is a process. Constant testing and monitoring of implemented changes and user reactions allow you to find and fix the weak points of your website. Expert data analysis makes finding promising or innovative ways to activate website users easy. Tasks related to increasing user engagement also involve teamwork. You provide business insight. We at Sidnet provide skills and knowledge on how to build engaging websites.

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