One benefit of a blog is that it can keep readers on your website for a longer period of time, and lower your bounce rate. If you’re not currently measuring your web traffic ( which you should be), your bounce rate is the percentage of readers who leave your site after only visiting a single page.
This reader engagement doesn’t just happen automatically, however. You’ll need to work at incorporating strategies to keep them on your site. Here are a few suggestions:
- Link to previous posts within your blog content. This strategy can benefit you in many different ways. For one, it can help turn your blog into a better resource for your readers, which is kind of the whole point of what you’re doing. Let’s say your reader came into your plumbing blog on a post about how to fix a leaky bathroom sink. If you did a similar post about shower fixtures six months ago, you can always mention it with a link to the post. You’ve created a quick way for readers to jump around within your site. A word of caution, however. Make sure that your linking stays relavent. Also, don’t over do it. When there’s way too much blue in a post it looks spammy.
- Make it easy for your readers to act. If you want them to do something, you have to tell them by creating a strong call to action. Don’t make them go on a scavenger hunt for your contact information. You’ll only frustrate your readers, causing them to leave before they find what they’re looking for.
- Write something worth reading. No one wants to stick around for posts littered with grammar and spelling errors. No one wants to stick around for a wandering, meandering post that makes no sense to begin with. Figure out what your readers are looking for and provide it. Period. Make it punchy\, and make it fit your larger point.
- Keep things conversational. Another turn off for readers is content that totally misses the mark. Check your industry vocabulary at the door. Chances are your customer base and readership don’t know as much about your industry as you do. Explain things in ways that are easy to understand.
- Make sure things are updated. When you land on a brand new web page, the last thing you want to see is “Copyright 2006” right there in the footer. If you have blog posts visible on the home page, make sure that they’re recent work.
- Keep a contemporary design. WordPress themes are continuously making this easier, but it may still mean utilizing the help of a designer for your logo, graphics, or theme modifications. Sorry though, animated GIFs scream 1990s. You don’t want to give people the impression you went out of business two decades ago.
As a reader, what else causes you to close the browser window? What are your web surfing pet peeves that will cost a company your business?
Matt Brennan is a Chicago-area marketing writer and copy editor. He is also the author of Write Right-Sell Now.
