How do you optimise a website for user engagement?

Types of Website Engagement

There are a number of different website engagement types you need to be aware of. You can prioritise those that are aligned with your business goals. Some types of website engagement includes:

• Reading your website content – when a visitor lands on your home page and reads the content, they then click to other pages on the site, this is what user engagement is about, they are actively engaging with your website, learning about your business.
• Watching videos and viewing images – text content can sometimes be too long to keep your users engaged. When you add videos and images, you can keep your visitors on your website for longer, encouraging them to take the next step, based on your CTA
• Comments – this happens when people actively engage with your website. This may be encourages through quizzes, surveys, pools, and other interactive content.
• Social sharing – most websites these days have social media icons for users, enabling them to share their content on their own social media page. Social shares are great user engagement aspects, as it shows the user believes the content is worth sharing to their own friends and followers

How to Optimise for User Engagement

Now that you understand the important of optimising your website for user engagement, you need to know what strategies to use. We have put a list of proven strategies and best practices you can use to get you closer to your user engagement goals. You need to know that some of these strategies may require professional help, ensuring that they are carried out properly for optimum website performance.

Target Audience Motivation

It's important to understand your target audience, what interests them, their behaviours and what motivates them to take action. Taking the time to understand your audience enables you to position your website in front of the right people. Put yourself in your audiences shoes, take note of what you would expect when arriving on a website and what would direct you into taking action.

Make use of Colours

Did you know that colours are powerful tools, they bring out emotion and help with identification. It is a proven tool to boost your website engagement. When looking for colours to use, there are some things to bear in mind:

• There are emotions associated with colours. Red grabs attention, showing excitement, passion, energy, danger, and action. 
• Colour impacts your CTAs. With minimalist web designs using colours ensures your CTAs stand out on all your web pages
• Choose colours that align with your brand
• Use colours that resonates with your audience
• Fifty seven percent of men prefer blue, compared to thirty five percent of women, so ensure your colour pallette appeals to the majority of your audience

Conclusion

User engagement is not something you put in place and forget about. Much like SEO, it requires ongoing attention, monitoring, and adjusting. User behaviour is evolving, and it's essential to stay ahead of user engagement, adapting accordingly to achieve long term success.