Whether or not you already have an SEO program underway, it’s important that you work on further engaging site visitors by delivering the content they came to your website looking for. You can do this by committing resources to improve the structure of your web page design, boosting interlinking across your site and making design changes that allow visitors to more logically understand where they should click next.
Of course, these are only a few of the many strategies to accomplish this goal. And, there are just as many ways to measure success. However, one of the most telling ways you can measure engagement of visitors to your website is through the number of pages each visitor views. When you can get visitors to click through your site and engage with a greater number of pages you can feel more comfortable knowing that your web content is both interesting/informative and that people are easily finding what they need.
If you’re looking to take your existing website to the next level, you may want to consider implementing a few of the following strategies to guide site visitors from one page of your site to the next. In doing so, you’ll ultimately make your site a more useful resource.
#1. Improve Interlinking Between Pages of Your Website
One of the most important website updates that will contribute to increased page views per site visitor is making sure that the each page of web content links to more detailed, related or relevant content on your site. Instead of site visitors clicking aimlessly to find what they’re looking for, you can quickly guide them to recommended content and better control the flow of how a visitor traverses your site by properly interlinking content.
A few of the different ways that you can use interlinking to benefit site visitors, includes:
- Reducing extensive explanations or duplicate site content by using links that send clicks to more detailed pages of information or frequently asked questions
- Helping users establish a more in-depth understanding of a topic, even when the link sends the visitor to an external website
- Carving pathways for site visitors. For example, when you have a step-by-step process you can use interlinking to take people from page one to page two and so on
- Establishing trust with prospects by backing up arguments and linking to supporting information such as research or blog content
- Promoting your most popular content or pages/posts that site visitors may also find of interest
#2. Take a Thorough Review of Your Existing Content (and Your Competitors’ Content!)
If you want to increase page views, it is important to review your site’s content to determine if the current information actually offers any value to site visitors. If each page of your site only includes a few sentences of fluffy language that you put together quickly to get your site launched, it’s unlikely that those details are actually encouraging prospects to do business with you. But, when you can take honest stock of your current web content and compare it to online competitors you can:
- Get a better idea of different types of pages and topics of information to include on your site
- Better understand the type of online research your audience is conducting
- Identify where you can bulk up thin content to better satisfy potential customers
- Improve formatting so that web content is easier to consume and/or more visually appealing
#3. Split Longer, More Detailed Content Into Multiple Pages
Alongside your review of existing website content you should consider if any lengthier pages, existing PDF guides, eBooks or manuals could either be created as pages of your website (assuming these document currently exist as downloads) or split out into multiple pages. The purpose of this exercise isn’t to increase the number of pages on your site, rather to make content easier to digest. Instead of forcing site visitors to download files to find helpful info, you can improve their experience on your site by:
- Making content more easy to locate
- Minimizing time or steps to access content
- Reducing excess scrolling
- Helping guide your audience from one page to the next using strategic interlinking
When making such changes, make sure that you do not break up content at the expense of angering your site visitors. It’s also important you adhere to other content best practice guidelines tied to page length (make sure each page contains at least 400-500 words), incorporate optimized, supporting visuals and implement some of the other recommendations noted in this post.
#4. Minimize Distracting Design Elements
When you can simplify your website and reduce the visual overload that is often associated with a web design that includes excessive navigation, a lot of photos, too many buttons, an abundance of logos or distracting color choices you can actually increase the number of page views per visitor. Instead of being overwhelmed by the many different options to click on, when you minimize competing design elements you can create a more captive audience. In turn, your efforts to showcase content or direct traffic to specific pages are easier for site visitors to follow.
As you design your new website, or consider updates to your existing design, try your best to edit out design elements that do not directly support your site goals or enhance a user’s experience on your site. Some of the elements that you may want to pare back are:
- Sidebars
- Blog or calendar feeds
- Social widgets
- Advertisements
- Call-to-action buttons
#5. Take Advantage of Web Design Elements to Attract Attention, Clicks & Conversions
While minimizing a heavy design can contribute to increased page views per visitor, exploiting certain design elements or colors can also assist in the effort. For instance, when you use well-researched button placement, size, colors and text you can make call to actions, or any other information you are trying to draw attention to, easier to see.
By commanding attention through bold design elements or well-placed contact information you can make it much easier for site visitors to decide on their next action. Whether it is clicking a button or dialing your phone number, you can help directly encourage the actions of your audience with purposeful design choices that stand out from other graphics and colors incorporated within the design.
More Page Views Per Visitor = Confirmation That You’re Matching Audience Expectations
There are many ways that simply improving upon your existing website’s structure, content and design can help you boost page views and overall site engagement without having to start from scratch. And, in the long run, the more that you can engage site visitors that have already landed on your website the more likely it is that you’ll be able to convert them into a stronger lead or customer down the road.
Not only do such efforts benefit prospects, but improvements to your page views per visitor can also help you feel more confident about how your website is contributing to your overall marketing and business goals.
