Statistics say that most people stick around on a website for less than sixty seconds. Other estimates are closer to thirty. Some even say that the majority of users leave a website in the first one second. Most would agree that it’s safe to say that the first ten seconds are the most important time period of a page visit.
During these first ten seconds, it’s your job to show your website visitor that they’ve come to the right place and that what you have to offer is worth their time. So how do you accomplish this?
Here are the top 3 reasons why users leave websites and how you can combat these simple problems:
1. They’ve Come to the Wrong Place
If you write a press release about your company that makes outrageous claims that you can’t back up just to bring people to your website, the chances are your visitors will leave the second they realize that you can’t deliver on your initial claim.
Your website and all your marketing materials leading people to your website must be consistent. You simply must give people what you’ve led them to expect.
2. They Don’t Know What to Do
If your website is cluttered and clunky, visitors will likely feel overwhelmed and leave quickly. The key to keeping people in one place is to lead them down a clear path towards a simple goal. If your goal is to get someone to contact you, your website should feature that strong call-to-action front and center. If your goal is to showcase your services, the eye should be drawn straight down this path from the moment the home page loads.
Clear navigation menus, a search function, calls-to-action, and option buttons are great ways to subtly move visitors through your website in a clear and simple way.
3. They Don’t Think You’re Legit
If you’re Amazon or Facebook or Google, you probably don’t have to do much anymore to prove to people that they’ve arrived at a legitimate website. But if you don’t have immediate brand recognition, you have to prove that you are a valid company that has something valuable to offer.
One excellent way to prove your validity is to link to your social media profiles. This shows that you’re transparent and have nothing to hide. Another strategy is to provide a way for visitors to contact you. This shows users that you are a real person and that you are willing to help. It’s all about transparency and accessibility.
If you don’t know how quickly people leave your website, drop everything and contact us. We can help you install analytics on your site that will allow you to track exactly where your visitors are coming from, how long they stay on your website, and even how they move around your site during their visit. This is invaluable information that can boost business drastically!