Quick -- You have 2 seconds to tell me what you do, 2 seconds to make it relevant to me, and 2 seconds to keep me interested. Repeat process until I leave your page.
Imagine you're driving past a billboard and that speed determines what you will see, read and retain. It's the same with keeping visitors on your page and website. The visitors are speed reading and wanting fast answers. So how long will a visitor stay? The answer has always been and will always be the same
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not very long.
NN Group reports the average stay is less than a minute. My review of page analytics has shown this to be very accurate. Though the internet makes information readily available, it doesn't change the fact that people scan content, speed reading to quickly access whether the information they want is on that web page and on the website. Don't count on the exceptions to this rule when planning your website. Targeting the visitors who aren't rushed and are looking through websites as entertainment would be a poor business plan. This casual visitor isn't a hot prospect (though they may eventually be).
Visitors speed read web pages only taking in maybe 25% about of what you present. Your content has to be short, concise and visual. A picture speaks a thousand words and that picture can be a critical component in enticing more time from your visitor. The image may be the only reason they don't bounce off immediately. Time on individual pages by different visitors varies, as is evident when reviewing your website analytics. You may find that a landing page is working as a gateway to the pages your visitors spend the most time on. But if the page has a high bounce rate then you need to put in content your target audience is looking for or they will find it elsewhere, on your competitors website.
Look at your website and individual web pages from your customers perspective. What problem do they have that you can solve? What would they search for? Consider that they may not use the terms that your industry uses. You will discover very quickly why pages have a high bounce rate. When you refine content, your objective is to keep visitor long enough to persuade them to take the next step and provide an easy process to take that action whether it is to request information, sign up for your service or purchase. Every page of your website should engage your visitors with the sole purpose of moving them through they're buying cycle to conclude with a sale.
Create a website that keeps visitors on its pages. Download this free ebook.
