5 Tips for Improving User Engagement on Your Website
Now more than ever, the ability to attract, engage and bring visitors back to your website is critical to the success of your company. Here are 5 tips for increasing user engagement on your website.
1.) Calls to Action
Your web visitors are already accustomed to following visual cues to determine which content is important to them. Calls to actions that are clearly marked with an action word enable your user to more easily navigate your site and get to where they want.
In creating buttons for your website you should think about color and the psychology of color. Think about the message that you want to evoke for a user (trust, experience, intelligence) and choose your colors wisely. Something else to consider are the actual words you use for your buttons. The words should include a verb or an action word that excite the user to do SOMETHING. Choosing the right words or psychological triggers is highly determined by the level of emotional identification that word prompts. No emotional connection means no action. So make your words bold, time sensitive and action-oriented.
2.) Hyperlink Differentiation
When you add a link to any page you are saying you want the user to click there. Make sure links are easily identifiable by visual cues. Underlined text and different colored text, draws the attention of the reader and lets him know that this is a link. Regular web user see blue-and-underlined text as links and know to click on them. When it comes to hyperlink differentiation you do not need to reinvent the wheel. Sticking to convention can be your best ally here. A simple way to test how effective your links are is to blur and remove the color from the design and see what stands out.
3.) Use Bullets
Bullets will enable the user to quickly get all the information they want. This will make your propositions more attractive and will enable the user to get all the information they need. Additionally you do not have to go the traditional route with a simple circle. With custom graphics, you can also get creative with your bullets and help the reader further with images that represent your point. This is also useful because it will force you to isolate the most important points you are trying to make without getting caught up in terminology or specifics.
4) Use Images Strategically
People across the Internet are getting smarter and faster at judging company websites. When they first visit your site they are easily able to pick out a generic stock photo that they have already seen elsewhere or that resembles the non-personal style of stock photography. Using stock photography can decrease trust and also stand out as generic and non-unique. Unfortunately these associations carry over to your business as well.
Ultimately, no stock photography will be as capable of conveying YOUR brand, services, and products the way that you want to. Only your own actual images can do that while also speaking clearly to your potential customer. Use images strategically and place them in your website to support the content and allow the users a visual break from text, but make sure they are relevant and non-generic.
5.) Use Video Where Possible
Unless your website visitors have crazy speed-reading skills, it is a safe bet that they digest information they see and hear faster than information they read. Because of this, a custom video is a great way to get your message across in a format visitors will quickly and easily digest. We’re not saying video should completely replace written content, but it is a great complement to your copy and will strengthen your message overall.