How do users get to your site

Starting a blog is one of the most efficient ways to not only drive traffic to your site but give visitors a taste of how you think as well as what your brand is about. Not to worry though, as there are plenty of guides on how to begin. Thought leadership follows in the same vein as blogging but differs in that the content you produce is based more on ideas and observations about your respective industry. As BlueHost noted in its 8 Outstanding Ways to Promote Your New Website , strategies like developing a contact list and changing your email signature are simple steps in the right direction.

Partnering with another successful business can be an excellent way to show off the types of brands you align yourself with and to gain new followers almost instantaneously. However, while plenty of business owners have their bucket lists of people they want to work with, a partnership still needs to be a symbiotic relationship. In short, a partnership is just like any other relationship: a shared experience of value.

So make sure you bring something to the table, too. In fact, the key to success with it is right in its name: "social. Julia Weikel. Zac Almeida. Do you find yourself overwhelmed by the number of potential website…. Are you looking for landing page examples? The landing page is probably one of the most important pages on your website. A slight change in….

How long do users stay on your website? Marketers seeking to dominate their respective niches should be focused on the best website layouts. Your homepage is your only chance to…. Pack your bags.

It should activate the travel bug with…. Color can affect us in unexpected ways. It can: Change the way hot chocolate tastes Change our heart rate Make us stronger and faster If….

We share the 3-step process for the website usability testing we recommend to our customers, plus the tools to pull actionable insights out of the process. You have a formidable task ahead of you. How can you make it so that all of your prospective customers really, really hate your website…. A beautiful website can impress anyone upon first touch.

When creating a website…. Over , websites use Crazy Egg to improve what's working, fix what isn't and test new ideas. This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links that we may earn a commission. Skip to content. Share on: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook. It all comes down to your bounce rate. Why you should care about your bounce rate Bounce rate is one of those deceiving marketing terms that kind of sounds fun.

And low bounce rate suggests things are running smoothly. According to Yoast , bounce rate has three different interpretations: 1. Keep in mind that it varies by industry. You have to know why visitors leave your website. Go ahead and click on that link. Seriously, give it a click. One way to start is by addressing web design. Poor web design drives visitors away. Consider a site that has too many options. What do you think the results were? But of those who stopped, 30 percent took home some jam.

So what does this mean for your website? Take loading time, for example. Hubspot shared these guidelines for good web design: Simplicity: Eliminate unnecessary design elements and make your site easy to understand.

Hierarchy: Arrange your site so visitors naturally gravitate to the most important elements. Consistency: The look and feel of your site should be uniform throughout.

Accessibility: Your site should be compatible with all devices mobile, tablet, etc. Use elements and design that people are familiar with. Credibility: Be upfront about your intent and your pricing. User-centricity: Gather user responses to all site elements to get the best UX. What does this look like when it all comes together? The coloring is neat, and the navigation is clean and easy to browse.

And when you scroll down, the good design trends scroll with you. Do you see how all of that flows together to keep you engaged and interested?

You can see the opposite effect in a poorly-designed site too. Even something as simple as the font or script you use makes a difference. It kind of undermines what they were going for, right?

But what about the other elements of what your audience is expecting? For example, think about the content. Your modernized content will serve you much better. Then you can start adding graphs, imagery, or other helpful interruptions. You can use them like this: These charts are meaningless.

In fact, those longer sentences are often why you lose your audience. Never stray off-brand. What does that look like on a website? It draws the eye, engages, and converts. One aspect that you might not expect is how frequently you update your website. It lowers load time. And, new updates can help extend the value of your visual appeal.

So you see how vital content updates can be when trying to drive traffic to your site. Even one misstep can turn a visitor away, so take the time to do this well. Pro Tip: Keep It Real! Not quite, actually. What does that mean? A good example of a site that is always available and accessible is Facebook. Think about it. When was the last time you can remember Facebook going down? How do you achieve clarity on a website?

Do you see any distractions? There are no frills, no bells, and no whistles. They put it right in front of you. You would likely scroll upward until you saw the navigation toolbar. Credibility is one of the cornerstones of any website.

If someone leaves as a skeptic of your brand, they may never come back. The content you share also plays a part in how much people trust you, and for good reason. The key here is to go all out with your expertise. The more facts, figures, and successes you can share, the better your site will be. But beyond credibility, you should also strive to stay relevant. In other words, they were relevant. Before we end this discussion on usability, I want to switch gears to a more technical topic.

How responsive or mobile-friendly is your site? A responsive site will change based on the needs of your audience. A responsive site responds to that by shrinking with your browser. So by design, a responsive site is also going to work on mobile. Less really is more. For example, have a look at the following homepage: This site is just way too busy, and look at the number of hyperlinks! I counted Too much information, in this instance, is a symptom of an even bigger issue though.

Sending your visitor through a maze to get to the information they want is not helpful. And as you can see in their WordPress plugin, they provide a red flag for a lack of internal links: So how do you build these internal links? Then, as you create content, use links that push viewers to check out your additional content. You can see how they changed a rather boring call to action into an eye-catching offer.

Impulse buys need to be just that: impulses. But how often do we consider the presentation? Consider this example : This example uses a few powerful presentation aspects that you can start implementing in your own designs to help show visitors what they can do.

Show them what you want them to do. There are no decimals or added fluff. The idea is that if all of these other big name brands trust the service, you can too. A great example of this comes from Hootsuite. Instead, they give you limited options. By breaking up the selection, you can reduce your bounce rate and drive up conversions. It prompts immediate action without having to ask.

If you were in the market to consider an iPod, which description would you rather see? Pro Tip: Keep It Simple! Proof that your website is legitimate and trustworthy. Also, notice that there were several ways in which a user could get help from the website: Once in the footer section Again on the side Also on the top menu bar As a result, it was clear that the user could contact someone and get the help they need.

Customer reviews are also a great way to build trust fast, particularly in ecommerce. That same company in the U. Overwhelming visitors with ads drives them away and hurts their perception of your brand.

It makes you appear coercive and needy instead of generous and in control. Why do I say that? About one click per 2, visitors, in fact. I hope you can see just how ineffective these ads are for anything. Stay away from putting advertising on your site. People hate this type of stunt. And yes, it is a stunt. Or, try to convey the same info in written copy or powerful imagery.

And your customers and your bounce rate will thank you for it. The last thing you should keep an eye out for is something you may not consider very much: Hacking. But think again: Statista reported a spike in data breaches between and They might not even visit at all! Take the hack on the U.

Vogue website as an example: Dinosaurs wearing hats? This hack is objectively funny. What a blow to a brand. And that all came from a single compromised password. Pro Tip: Keep It Secure!

Your first impression is everything. Now, we know that the first 15 seconds is everything. Simple imperfections add up, and our window to win attention and leads is shrinking. So how do we impress? How do we inspire people to not only not leave, but to choose to stay? Not surprisingly, it all starts with audience analysis. You need to address your basic demographics, like: Age Location Education Gender Income Marital status of children Ethnicity Occupation Once you know these facts, you can dig a little deeper and try to speak to the mindset of your audience.

Millward Brown shared a really illuminating diagram of how brands can have different archetypes. This gives us a deeper look at some of the personality traits a brand can have. They capture the attention of their audience with alluring imagery and snarky headlines. Is your personality consistent across the board?

Why or why not? This advice comes straight to you from your high school English class. Anyone writing to an audience needs to actually consider three audiences: 1. The Primary Audience These are the decision makers, points of contact, and the other people at the top of your list. The Secondary Audience This is the expert in your industry who will scrutinize every word you write.

We all want that. Sounds great, right? When you have a captivated audience, delighting them is easy. So go discover what your audience likes, create more of it, and share it. Pro Tip: Keep It Appealing! And consider all of your audiences: primary, secondary, and shadow. Scroll Map A scroll map will tell you how far people are scrolling down on any given page before they leave.

Overlay Report and List Reports An overlay report will isolate your clickable elements and tell you which ones are doing best. Recordings To see where people are bouncing from your site, recordings are going to be your most helpful tool. Make sure that your pages are as technically optimized as possible , including image file sizes, page structure and the functionality of third-party plugins.

The faster your site loads, the better. People want to speak their minds and weigh in on subjects they feel passionately about, so building a community into your site is a great way to start a conversation and increase traffic to your website.

Implement a robust commenting system through third-party solutions such as Facebook comments or Disqus, or create a dedicated forum where visitors can ask questions.

You probably visit at least a few sites that are relevant to your business on a regular basis, so why not join the conversation? Just remember that, as with guest posting, quality and relevance are key — you should be engaging with other people in your niche, not dropping spam links on unrelated websites. Image via organictalks. Google Analytics is an invaluable source of data on just about every conceivable aspect of your site, from your most popular pages to visitor demographics.

Keep a close eye on your Analytics data , and use this information to inform your promotional and content strategies. Pay attention to what posts and pages are proving the most popular. Inspect visitor data to see how, where and when your site traffic is coming from. Got a Twitter account? Then join in group discussions with relevant hashtags. Is your audience leaving comments on your Facebook posts?

Answer questions and engage with your readers. Nothing turns people off quicker than using social media as a broadcast channel — use social media as it was intended and actually interact with your fans.

Choose a relevant subreddit, submit your content, then watch the traffic pour in. Text-based content is all well and good, but video can be a valuable asset in both attracting new visitors and making your site more engaging. These services aggregate the social performance of specific sites and content to provide you with an at-a-glance view of what topics are resonating with readers and, most importantly, making the rounds on social media. Find out what people are reading and talking about , and emulate that kind of content to bring traffic to your website.

People love to learn, and webinars are an excellent way to impart your wisdom to your eagerly waiting audience. Combined with an effective social promotion campaign, webinars are a great way to increase traffic to your website.

Make sure to archive the presentation for later viewing, and promote your webinars widely through social media. If you're wondering how to do a webinar , click the link for some tips. Attending these events is a good idea — speaking at them is even better. Even a halfway decent speaking engagement is an excellent way to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and gain significant exposure for your site.

Originally from the U. Home Blog.