Tips to increase website dwell times
When someone uses a search engine, they type in certain keywords or phrases and they are presented with a search engine results page (SERP). They choose a link from this page and – you hope – navigate their way to your site. Their dwell time is the amount of time that they will then spend navigating on your site before they return to that results page and choose another option. In some cases, people will leave the site immediately, and this is known as your bounce rate.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is good for getting traffic, and one of your goals should be to increase their dwell times so that the people who end up on your site will spend more time there. You also want to decrease that bounce rate so that you’re not immediately losing traffic. Below are some ways you can do so.
Focus on the first 10 seconds
Some reports claim that the first 10 seconds someone spends on your website are the most important. The reader is going to determine very quickly if they want to continue investigating the site or if they’re going to switch back to the search results page. As such, it’s important to get important information and interesting information right at the very top of the page. If the user is confused, even for a few seconds, that may be enough for them to leave. They’re not going to bother to figure it out. They have a whole page of other options.
Include other types of information
One thing to consider is putting more than just text on your site. For instance, infographics are shown to increase dwell times because the user simply spends time studying the image and reading the text. You could also include videos or have sections of your site where visitors are able to comment and engage in discussions. All of this means they’ll spend more time on the website and be more engaged.
Make sure you’re using the right keywords
Next, remember that your SEO efforts are connected to the dwell time. If you’re focusing on the correct keywords and truly connecting with your target audience, they are more likely to spend a greater amount of time on your site. If you’ve optimized for the wrong keywords, even if you are getting a lot of initial traffic, many of those users will quickly realize they don’t want to be on your site at all. It just isn’t relevant to them.
Utilize longer content
Some studies have found that longer content naturally increases dwell times. This does make sense because people simply have to take longer to read it. But you still want to break this content up in certain ways, such as using headers, lists or the aforementioned infographics and videos. Long content could be beneficial, but you still want to make it easy for the reader to scan so they can find the specific information they are seeking.
Do you feel like your site just doesn’t get long enough dwell times or that your bounce rate is too high? Call us at Content Customs to find out how we can help!
