Internet is all about speed. The online users are always in haste. Usually, the visitors want to spend 1sec and then hop to another site. The only way they will spend extra seconds is if something grab their attention and keep them hooked (unconsciously). Leading them from one interesting bait to another until they have finished consuming all that is available. So you as a webmaster or blogger are immediately saddled with a new task after accomplishing the difficult task of bring the visitor down to your site (no room for relaxation). You have a new goal to accomplish. Simply put it looks like this:
Duration – You want the visitors to spend more time before hopping off to another site (enough time to make some money from the visit, if not immediately at least subsequently). You want to reduce the bounce rate being shown in your site statistics. That is what give value to your site and money to your purse . It is impossible to drop a comment within one second, but you want him to drop a comment (you did not labor on those posts so that they will be read by just family members, they deserve as much attention as the latest news on CNN!) You also want the visitors to subscribe to your RSS feed, Digg, Stumble, and if possible hop to your squeeze page before going to another site. If permitted, you will love to recommend the next site they should hop to(via your affiliate link) 😉
Depth – You already have over 365 articles in the archives and you want them to read as many as possible. Some of your best are buried deep in the archives while the newest may just be a random thought written while half-awake on the sofa, just to ease the conscience. How do you get them to go from that new post to the most popular ones that have enjoyed wide readership? You sure want him to read that special post that is linked to your opt-in page so that you can grow your list (remember, the money is in the list!).
Frequency – Well, it cannot all be done in one day, so you want them to return again and again (Alexa Ranking of 3 or 2 digit will make a great impression on advertisers). You want them to graduate from being visitors to friends of the site. Friends that constantly patronize and also recommend the site! A workforce with zero overhead cost!
Some bloggers are good at accomplishing these tasks. For example, I visit Entrepreneurs-Journey quite often. Most times that I visit, I read more than two articles before leaving the site. It may interest you to know that some of the articles that grabs my attention are quite old in age (but the ideas they contain are fresh and usable) and buried deep in the archives. How did I get to those articles?
Well, Yaro Starak is good at stringing his articles together (that is a trick). Often, his new articles get linked to older ones that elaborate on ideas mentioned in passing in the new article. So after reading the new article, I just feel like reading those other articles he referred to in the new post. That is quite a skill and I am trying to learn it (this is not a paid review, it is just my sincere testimony of the quality of his work).
Other webmasters use Freebies to keep visitors glued to their site (that is another trick). I have several free e-books and software downloaded from such sites. The freebies are used as bait and arranged in such a way that after getting one, you get a recommendation to get another one that will take care of another need. So, you are hooked. You keep going from one bait to another until you have your hands full.
In summary, my advice is that you give your visitor a rich experience. Let your site be a Treasure Island that the visitor will need to explore. Fill the site with gems of useful information that will make the visitor feel that the time spent is not wasted. Use baits to link the gems together so that as they discover one, they also receive a tip on how to discover another one, and another one etc. Since they have time constraint, they bookmark and return another day. If they happen to forget, your RSS or newsletter comes to the rescue. I almost forgot to mention that Yaro is always luring me back to his site with those wonderful newsletters of his. I encourage you to subscribe, they are rich in content.
How do you feel about this site? Have I wasted your precious asset, time? I sure want to know so that I can improve on my strategy. Your visit is much appreciated and I will love to make sure each visit is a pleasant experience and quite rewarding. Your feedback will help me accomplish that. Drop your comments! Compliments or rebuke, question or suggestion, all are welcome? I am not kidding. I read through all.
Are you a webmaster or blogger? Tell us how you make visitors linger on your site. Remember there is love in sharing 😉 Feel free to share this post via Stumble, Digg etc. The links are right below, it takes just a click. Thanks.
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Tags: Blogging, Tips & Tricks
Thanks for touching on this incredibly important topic. As far as practical little tips and techniques that helped increase my page views and reduce my bounce rate:
a) Targeted traffic: Make sure the key words you use and the communication channels that you build are to people who will find value in your site. My site is dedicated to African migrants and as powerful as Stumble is for directing traffic I can’t expect high page views or a low bounce rate because it’s not targeted. On the other hand, if I get my traffic via African blogs and forums, my bounce rate is very low. Most powerful technique I have discovered for lowering bounce rate.
b) Related Posts Plugin: Do a Google search for this great plugin. This is what took my pageviews from one to 2 within a week. Paste some code somewhere on the page and posts similar to the published one will be pulled up (check it out on my blog, it is the list of links below the box at the end of the article before the comments)
c) Interlinking: If there are any terms in your field that are common, you should write a post defining them so that you can link back to this definition post regularly and increase page views.
d) Writing things in series: We love things in categories and are more likely to read things that are logically linked to one another.
Just a couple of hints on how to increase Pageviews and reduce the bounce rate
Mwangi – the Displaced Africans last blog post..Stuff African People Like: Meat
[re=342]Mwangi – the Displaced African[/re]:
Pal, that is quite a handful of tips you drop there. I agree with all the point. I have started implement point (a) and (c). I will work on getting (b) installed. No promise on (d). That is hard-work that I dodge from. But I agree with you. Those series give value like single posts can’t. I will buckle up and start writing some.
I am thinking on how I can reciprocate your love. Maybe I will introduce your blog to some of the forums that I patronize 😉 Mostly Nigerians, who love COW meat.
Please feel free to share my blog and link to it as much as is possible. That would be very appreciated as I want to spread the message of my blog all throughout the continent and the African diaspora.
Mwangi – the Displaced Africans last blog post..Stuff African People Like: Meat
In the last paragraphs you underlined some key phrases. At first I thought they were links to additional posts about these topics in more detail. Maybe it is a good idea for you to do so.
Greg Braves last blog post..Whales around Wellington
[re=347]Greg Brave[/re]:
Thanks Greg, that is a pretty nice idea. I will work on it.
It is nice having you around again. I really feel guilty that I am unable to reciprocate. Your blog is lovely, but I will be doing you a disservice if I post in “Nice Post” “Great Post”
Since I can’t relate with the topic of the posts, I decided to just enjoy the view 😉 If you have another blog, do let me know, I will love to be your friend.
Thanks for the ideas from you and the other commentors. I will try more of them out and hope to see more people staying on my site longer.
[…] place links within the content that refer to other contents on your site. That is a better way of baiting than using […]
Thank you for the tip being shared about linking my post to my other posts.
freebiztraffics last blog post..Incorporate video into your actual sales process
Hi Naija,
I post comments in your blog simply because I like what you are doing and support you and want to contribute. You don’t have to post in my blog just because I am posting here.
I hope we can still be friends 🙂
Greg Braves last blog post..Christmas Eve in Blue Lake Hut
Hi Greg, nice to have you around. I understand that your participating on my blog is purely a selfless action. I am not trying to pay you back in anyway. However, I believe that friends must have at least one thing they are mutually interested in. Well, I am enjoying the volcanoes series on your blog. Cheers.