9 Ways to Increase User Engagement on Your Website

Sometimes you might see that your website has all the needed components yet it fails to give you new users and potential customers. It is a pretty common thing that affects many websites but even if it is common, it is important to address and decrease it. Increase user engagement on your website.

Many statistics show that different things affect how long users stay on the website. For example, 38% of users will leave the website if the layout is unattractive while 53% will leave the website without even waiting for it to load if the load time is more than 3 seconds.

So, how to fix such issues? In this article, we have come up with a list of options you can try to increase user engagement. We will delve deeper into what tools might be used for specific cases, and give you tips on how to make the process smooth. So, let’s start!

1. Optimize Website Speed

Most users will agree that the most they will wait is 3 seconds for the website to load. Google also takes into account the page’s speed as a ranking factor. It means the slower the website loads, the lower the ranking it will get. Finally, loading speed is a significant factor if you consider creating or maintaining a website that should bring new clients and improve user engagement/conversion rate.

Tips for Optimization

You can find many tips and strategies to increase the load speed of the website. Here let’s cover the most common strategies that might help increase loading time.

• Compress images and files. If you have heavy images or files, use TinyPNG or ImageOptim to compress them as the more the image weights the slower the website will load.
• Use a content delivery network (CDN). If your website is used by users from different parts of the world, it is a good practice to use Cloudflare, Amazon CloudFront, or Akamai. They store the files on the local servers and send them to the users with the closest location. This way the content loads faster and users have better UX.
• Minimize HTTP requests. When the website loads, each element on it (images, scripts, and stylesheets) needs its own HTTP request to load. If you can reduce the amount of these requests – you can make the website load faster. To do that, you can combine multiple CSS and JavaScript files into one or use CSS Image Sprites to combine multiple images into one image file.

2. Improve Mobile Responsiveness

Every year, more and more people use mobile phones more often than PCs. Due to this, if a business wants to reach a broader audience it should consider implementing mobile optimization. It is about using responsive design and flexible elements to make your website flexible to every screen possible.

All Webnode website templates are responsive and ensure that your website will look good on different devices.

Tips for Creating a Mobile-Responsive Design

If you feel like this is your task to work on, consider the following tips.

• Use responsive frameworks. To make the design look good across various platforms and devices, you can use frameworks like Bootstrap or Foundation. They automatically adjust the content of the website to fit the screen width.
• Use flexible media files. When adding images and media to the website, make sure that it is scaled appropriately to the screen width. Use CSS adjustments (e.g., max-width: 100%) which will keep the images responsive.
• Implement a touch-friendly design. Make sure to place the important clickable elements inside the green zone to make them reachable. Also, avoid placing multiple clickable elements too close to each other to avoid accidental clicks.

Source: The Thumb Zone: Designing For Mobile Users

What Tools to Use to Test Mobile Responsiveness?

When implementing the steps mentioned above, it is important to check whether these things work or not. You can find many tools, both free and paid that can help in checking mobile responsiveness. The most common tools include built-in tools for developers, tools created by Google, or even websites that let you resize the view to see how it will work on different devices.

• Google’s mobile-friendly test. With this tool, you can check if the website meets Google’s criteria, and once checked, it shows instant results.
• Browser developer tools. Browsers like Chrome or Firefox have built-in developer tools that also have responsive design mods. Such a tool helps to check how the website will look on different devices with different screen widths.
• Responsinator. With this tool, you can see how the website looks based on different frames and also different tablets and smartphones.

3. Implement Interactive Content

The next thing you might find interesting which also might attract users and keep them engaged on your website longer is interactive content. Interactive content refers to any type of content that requires actions from users compared to regular content. For example, you might include polls and quizzes, videos, or even interactive infographics.

Benefits of Interactive Content

When implementing interactive content, the website gets several benefits. Since interactive content is meant to attract more attention, which, if done smartly, does its thing, it improves user engagement, makes the visits longer, and often helps to increase the conversion rate.

It leads to a more memorable user experience, improved customer satisfaction, and finally, a higher likelihood of achieving the website’s goals, whether it is about sales, sign-ups, or even brand awareness.

• Longer visit durations. With interactive content, users tend to spend more time on the website (up to 4-5x more pageviews), and if the content is worth it, they tend to return.
• Knowledge retention. If the content makes users engage with it, they are more likely to remember it for longer periods of time.
• Better conversion rates. Interactive content provides better personalization, which in return increases conversion rates. It happens due to users feeling more appreciated and feeling like they put more effort into the website compared to those without interactive content.

What Are the Types of Interactive Content?

Interactive content comes in different types that require active engagement from the user, rather than passive consumption. It allows users to engage with content, make their experience on the website better, and thus, help businesses improve by providing important insights on user behavior.

• Quizzes and polls. You can use this content in many different ways – from educational to entertaining ones, or even use it to gain feedback on new features or read information. Quizzes also can provide a more personalized experience based on user responses.
• Interactive infographics. This type of content allows users to explore the data in detail by clicking on different topics to find out about complicated info without much hustle. It is a good way to both keep the user engaged and increase visit time.
• Add interactive videos. When creating interactive videos, you significantly increase engagement time and conversions. These videos give viewers control, which allows them to feel more connected to your brand.
• Slideshow. It helps you catch visitors’ attention, engage them and convert them into customers.

4. Personalize User Experience

If you ever looked at any statistics, you could notice that personalizing user experience always adds additional points to the website and makes users return again and again.

For example, the research by Epsilon shows that almost 80% of users will buy a product from a company that implements personalization onto their website. So, let’s take a closer look at how to make personalization work and what tools can help.

Methods of Personalization

When implementing personalization on the website, you can use several methods. Personalized content can be used to create individual user experiences, which can improve user experience and user engagement, as well as foster customer loyalty.

With this approach, you can improve conversion rates and overall user satisfaction because, with such personalization, users feel more connected and valued and increase brand loyalty.

• Use of cookies to track user preferences. Cookies store user information (preferences and browsing behavior) which allows the website to remember all the previous interactions and fit the recommendations (show recently watched items or items based on the search) accordingly.
• Personalized recommendations and content. Another way is to use algorithms that will analyze the user behavior to suggest matching products or services (e.g., Netflix, Amazon).
• Email marketing personalization. The collected data from user interactions can also be used for email marketing campaigns. For example, you can customize target offers or product recommendations based on this data.

Popular Tools for Website Personalization

To make and manage website personalization, you should consider tools that will measure how personalized the content is, have tools to create and manage data, or use data to later create this personalized content.

• Optimizely.com – create and test the personalized experiences to see what might be the one thing that users like.
• Segment.com – use it to collect and manage user data to later use it to create personalized experiences.
• Monetate.com – with this tool, you can use user data to create tailored content and recommendations.

5. Improve Navigation and User Interface

Often the main issue, of why people tend to spend less time on the website, happens to be a poor navigation system and user interface. Some might find the menu structure too confusing or the way you have to look for the specific page way too difficult. Such things decrease user engagement and leave not the best feeling which results in them not wanting to return to the website.

To improve that, it is important to take into account how fast the user can navigate to the specific page, how clear and understandable the labels and icons are, and whether the user interface is in general appealing to the eye. Below, let’s focus more on the practical tips to improve navigation and user experience.

Tips for Better Navigation

There are many things you can implement but it is recommended to start from something basic. Things like menu structures, breadcrumbs, and search bars ease the user navigation greatly which in turn increases user engagement and lets users stay on the website longer.

• Simplified menu structures. Keep your website structure simple and organized. For example, use a minimal number of items on the page to avoid making users overwhelmed, and group related items under clear, concise categories, so that each item is easy to understand and is also easy to access.

Source: Website structure A to Z (with examples)

• Breadcrumbs and clear labels. If the hierarchy is too big, it is good to implement breadcrumbs for users to easily navigate the pages. You should use clear, descriptive labels so that the users would understand what each link means, as well as where it will take them.
• Search functionality. If you want to help users find content faster, create a search bar across all pages. You can also use autocomplete and filtering options that help users refine their results and find relevant information with ease.

6. Create Compelling and Regular Content

High-quality content is what makes the website stand out. Engaging content attracts visitors, keeps them on your site longer, and encourages them to return, as well as boosts SEO, which in turn drives more traffic to the website. If you can create valuable and engaging content regularly, it will build trust in your audience and make them return to get more useful insights.

Types of Content

When thinking of what type of content to put on the website, think of what you want your website to look like, how your users will react to it, and whether you are ready to spend time and resources creating content. It also has advantages, such as easier finding by keywords, better rankings, and showing users you understand the field you work in.

• Blog posts and articles. With articles and blog posts, you can deliver valuable information about your company, the insights you found, and generally useful tips and industry news.
• Videos and podcasts. Add videos if you want to keep the users on the website longer. Many people prefer the content to be visually or audibly created, such as tutorials or interviews.
• Case studies. To make your website look more professional, add social proof, and show how exactly you work, it is good to add case studies that will show that you can work with different clients and deliver 100% results.

7. Use Social Proof and User-Generated Content

You might think your website is okay, but there might be another reason why users don’t visit your website. In such cases, check your social proof and see if you can prove that your product indeed helps potential customers.

To prove it right, according to BrightLocal, around 92% of users read reviews before buying the product. This statistic shows how reviews and social media presence shape people’s preferences, so, don’t sleep on it.

Types of Social Proof

There are many ways you can increase your social proof so for you to make it less hassle, we have come up with a list of what you can start working on right away.

• Customer reviews and testimonials. It is a good practice to place customer reviews and testimonials on your website as it can potentially reassure new customers that your product is of high quality and worth using. Additional pieces of advice is to check outer review platforms (e.g., Google Maps, Trustpilot) as they are also a great way to shape traffic to the website.
• Case studies and success stories. Another positive option is creating case studies for users and potential clients to see what were the positive or negative experiences with your product and how it worked out.
• Social media mentions and shares. Use social media mentions and shares to show that your brand is being talked about and recommended by others. This type of social proof reassures users and gives them the feeling that if people they follow use this product, then it is a good one to try.

8. Implement Gamification

Gamification is a way that is widely used in improving user engagement with the website. It stands for implementing elements that increase user’s natural desires for competition, achievement, and reward.

Adact research shows that companies that implement gamification see an increase of 22% in customer retention. Additionally, 70% of Global 2000 companies use gamification methods in some form to boost their product engagement. As a result, it leads to higher user retention and increased time spent on your site, which makes the experience on your website more enjoyable.

Gamification Strategies

Gamification comes in different ways and it’s important to understand which one suits your specific case. Here, let’s talk about the most common uses of gamification and how it can influence website engagement.

• Points, badges, and leaderboards. Use a method to award users with points for making some actions as it makes them want to participate more. Badges and leaderboards are also a good way to foster competitiveness and give a sense of recognition of the achievements.
• Challenges and rewards. Create challenges that users can do and receive rewards (discounts, special content, virtual goods, or status upgrades).
• Progress tracking and goals. Let users track their progress or set goals (progress bars, achievement milestones) so they will feel a sense of accomplishment and continue working towards their goals.

Many websites implement gamification but few do it better than others. For example, Duolingo uses points, streaks, and leaderboards to motivate their language learners, while Khan Academy uses badges and progress tracking to encourage users not to give up and continue learning.

9. Improve Communication Channels

Finally, let’s talk about communication. The better you communicate with the users through your website and additional tools, the better the trust for your product will be and the more people will use it.

With improved communication, you also create a more engaging and interactive environment that keeps users coming back. Effective communication can also lead to higher user satisfaction, increased loyalty, and a stronger sense of community around your brand.

Types of Communication Channels

Effective communication comes in different forms, thus, it is important to find the one that works best for you. Each channel has its own unique benefits and can be used for different purposes as well as tailored to specific audiences.

• Live chat and chatbots. If you know users might have immediate questions about the product, add live chats to the website. Such tools can significantly decrease the waiting time and improve user experience.
• Email newsletters. If you release new updates, content, or products, and want your users to know about it, think of creating a newsletter. Personalized newsletters can re-engage inactive users and drive traffic back to your site.
• Social media engagement. Social media allows companies to interact with users where they spend a significant part of their time. Responding to comments under your videos/posts, sharing user-generated content, and participating in conversations related to the product topics can drive traffic to your site and boost user engagement.

Conclusion

To sum up, user engagement is a key to website success, conversions, and customer retention. Incorporating these strategies will increase user engagement and keep them coming back to your website.

Do you want to engage visitors more and keep them coming back? Start a blog and show them that you are an expert in your field.