Improve User Engagement on Your WordPress Website

70% of buying decisions are based on whether the customer believes that they are treated well. 

Whether scrolling through a Facebook page, talking to a sales representative, or even browsing a WordPress site, the experiences you can provide to your target audience will play a vital role in whether your website is successful.

Unfortunately, many WordPress websites fall well short of audience expectations when it comes to engaging users. 

Poor layout, unfocused copy, or even frustrating issues are just the tip of the iceberg regarding the common challenges today's consumers face online.

But how can you make sure that your site doesn't suffer from the same problems?

Well, the good news is that there are steps you can take to set your user engagement on an upward path and ensure that the majority of your site's visitors are happy.

Ready to learn more? Then read on below. 

1. Evaluate Your Current Performance

Before you can move on to the actual steps to improve your user engagement, you must first perform a thorough audit of how your website is currently performing and the things you could improve upon.

Each website is unique; therefore, only by understanding your current issues can you effectively plan your next steps and prioritize your time.

And the best way to do that is to talk to your audience directly, which will provide you with the most authentic feedback you can work with.

By conducting surveys, mailing them out to your list, or even creating a blog post where you ask people to share their opinions, you can learn a ton about what people find frustrating and what they'd like to see on your site. 

If you want to look at more objective data, analyzing your site's key metrics is another approach you should try. 

Look at which pages are the most popular among your visitors, and try to figure out why that might be the case. If you notice trends for what generates the most attention, you will have a much better idea of what you should do more of. 

At the same time, if you find pages that have a high bounce rate, that can mean that you might need to reconsider how those pages are structured or even if they need to be on your website in the first place. 

By getting a broader picture of where your WordPress site currently is, you might discover glaring issues that you had no idea about before, which will provide you with a clear roadmap of how to improve user engagement in the shortest amount of time possible.

2. Start Using Video

The rapid rise of video consumption online has changed blogging forever. Even a decade ago, a simple blog could get away with not doing any video content, but today it's becoming a huge disadvantage that will have a significant effect on your user engagement. 

More than half of marketers name videos as the type of content with the highest ROI, so even though they can take more time to create, videos are usually well worth it in terms of the results that they can produce.

But how can you use videos to increase user engagement on your WordPress site?

Well, a good starting point is to go through some of your most popular posts and consider whether they could be enhanced with video.

If it's an instructional post, perhaps a video version showcasing the step-by-step process could provide more value. If you're just writing about an issue your audience is facing; you could make a video around the same subject, expanding on some of the talking points and making the topic more accessible to those that prefer video over reading.

You could even use video to make more sales, creating engaging promotional videos that promote your products or services. To have more control, you can use a free video hosting service that allows customizing how your videos appear, where the video starts or ends, and even how much control you want to give the person watching. 

Today, free video editing software and a smartphone camera are all you need to get started with video. There's no excuse not to add this powerful user engagement tool to your arsenal if you want to supercharge your website's growth.

3. Take Care of Your Website’s Speed

Although each website is unique, there are common problems that you'd probably find in the majority of WordPress sites today. 

Trends in web design and development are emerging every year, so a website that was perfectly fine a few years ago may seem outdated and even deemed not good enough to be ranked by the search engines.

For one thing, you must consider whether your website is fast enough. Slow websites not only get penalized by search engines but also impact purchasing decisions of around 70% of customers. 

You can take a website speed test online, and if the results aren't good enough, consider some of the best WordPress hosting options that might provide you with better page loading times. 

4. Include Custom Post Types 

Another common issue that is faced by many WordPress sites is poor searchability. You want people to be able to find the information that they're looking for when browsing your site, which can sometimes require customizing your on-site search accordingly.

Luckily, that doesn't have to be complicated. 

You can include custom post types in WordPress search results and ensure that all the pages you want to be seen will be visible, improving user engagement and making your site more convenient. 

5. Optimize Your Site For Mobile

Finally, you should consider whether your website is convenient for any device. 

Most WordPress themes are already responsive, but you might want to tweak your website's layout so that it's not only accessible on smaller screens but also intuitive and simple to browse.

Test out your website on different devices using a mobile device simulator, which can show you whether the experience on your site is consistent across devices. 

Final Words

Keeping the site's visitors engaged is a top priority for any marketer that wants to succeed online. And the good news is the process doesn't have to be complicated.

By looking at your current data, making sure your website is easy to browse, and embracing video, you can ensure that your visitors are happy and eager to return for more of what you have to offer.

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