Best way to get new users to stay on your website? Give them what they want. Don’t make them work to find what they’re looking for; use clear calls to action, logical navigation, and be succinct in your copy. The idea is to keep things simple, and with 55% of users spending fewer than 15 seconds actively on a page, the idea is to keep it focused.
All well and good when you’ve got that user’s undivided attention, but it takes more than a totally fantastic user experience to keep busy, rushed, and on-the-go users engaged. Maybe they took a phone call? Maybe they remembered a previously forgotten dental appointment? Maybe the fire alarm went off at work and they had to down tools, buddy-up, and assemble in the car park? Real life is distracting, and as a website owner, you’re in no position to control that, but you can work to make visitors come back once the alarm’s been re-set. But How?
Be good
A positive user experience gives a great first impression and without that, users kind of haven’t got a reason to come back if they get distracted. Why would they? You need a speedy site that’s easy and logical to move around, and that delivers what the user is looking for – even if they don’t quite get there before the fire alarm goes off (ok, enough with that hypothetical).
Be memorable
This one’s kind of obvious, but might be a bit more difficult to execute – we’re all snowflakes after all.
A catchy name
First impressions mean a lot, and your company name has to create much more of an impact than it used to with the rising level of competition out there. It’s got to stick in people’s minds, and it’s got to be marketable.
A profanity? Memorable.
A sticky message
A novel ethos or message that resonates is going to get you far. Remember how mad we all went for LoveFilm when that was a thing?
No Late Fees. Ever. **Crying Kiefer**
A different approach
Just doing things a bit differently might make all the *ahem* difference. Think Uber, Airbnb, Carvana – booking a taxi, finding somewhere to stay, or buying a car – but done in a new and novel way.
Be in touch
Rather than the entire conversion resting on that one visit, if you can get users’ contact details, then you can reach out to them at a later date. You can use multiple, low-commitment calls to action over days, weeks, or months if you can convince them to follow you on social media, or through remarketing.
Contact details
If you can capture their contact details (maybe an email address or phone number) you can get them into your CRM and enter them in abandoned-cart campaigns, leaky conversion funnel campaigns, or whatever follow-up campaign you have in place.
How to make visitors come back
We’re not talking about managing bounce rate here. You’re offering users the right stuff at the right time on that first visit, but there’s no way you can predict the environment/situation/mood they’re in when they are visiting your site. That’s where an unforgettable brand with a solid outreach campaign comes in. You are putting yourself in the best position to re-attract and then re-engage those distracted users, so they get to experience your awesome website all over again.
