10 Easy Ways You Can Increase Website Engagement Now

The best websites don’t just look pretty, they make people follow a set process they determine rather than making a user think about what to do next. These processes could be as simple as making the user click a specific button on your website, or creating a sense of trust and reliability so people want to work or buy from you and increase website engagement without voodoo magic tricks.

Neuromarketing is the application of neuroscience and cognitive science to marketing that discovers customer motivations, needs and desires. Once we know WHAT triggers them, we can work out HOW to harness this for our own use. It means users will instinctively interact with your website and follow the breadcrumbs you set without them even realising it.

Studies show users take just milliseconds to form their views on your website’s visual appeal. These steps are simple, easy and may leave you wondering ‘why didn’t I think of that before’. So get yourself comfortable, strap in and get ready to learn something that’ll make your life easier as I highlight my top 10 ways to increase website engagement within your own website. 

1. Are you looking at me, kid?

We all know of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and the age-old question of ‘is she looking at me’? There’s even a scientific term to it- the ‘Mona Lisa Effect’ referring to the impression that the eyes seem to follow viewers as they move. 

You can use this same effect within your own website images. 

Most humans follow the look and gaze of other humans, so if there’s a button you want to be clicked or a key piece of information you want to stand out, simply get the background image focusing ON or AT the CTA you want people to notice rather than looking absently elsewhere.

2. Capture the heart and emotions

When watching a sad film, you might feel a bit sad too and maybe resonate with the characters (even though your house has never flown ‘Up’ and away by 1000’s of balloons). When writing or using images, capture the tone of voice and mood you want your user to ‘get’ and feel and you’ll massively increase website engagement. 

For example, if you’re selling a product that’ll save people time, make your website copy or images scream urgency, speed and quickness and it’ll help convey the message that your product will save them time, just like your speedy purchasing process and product understanding will do.

3. The science of colours

You may not realise it but there’s more to colour than its aesthetic qualities, especially when you’re trying to increase website engagement. We react to certain colours differently and specific ones can influence how your users respond to your marketing messages.   

Research shows colour Is critical in consumer purchasing decisions with 75% of snap judgments about consumer products being based on colour. 

Take a look at this list and see if you feel the same way:

• Blue is a colour of calm, cheer, and honesty, it often represents things that are considered wholesome, safe and dependable.
• Red is urgent, new, daring, exciting, and contemporary, often associated with product sales or attention-grabbing.
• Green represents a reliable brand that is fresh, imaginative, and often organic in creation but also successful and confident.
• Purple is usually interpreted as regal, unique, out of the box, and dependable, sometimes with a higher expense or high-end item.
• Orange/yellow: Oranges and yellows are typically interpreted as rugged and strong, cheerful and optimistic, full of life, and with the expectation of longevity.
• White is viewed as pure, honest and true with a sense of style and elegance to it.
• Black is stable, strong and sometimes youthful. It’s the building blocks of ‘what you see is what you get’.

4. LOOK AT ME RIGHT NOW!!!

Made you look didn’t it?! There are certain things you can do within your text copy to make parts of it stand out, especially when people skim-read on the first view.

Skim reading is a strategy where the users read certain bits of a text quickly in order to find out what it is about and how it is organised. 

Some key techniques you can implement within your website copy to increase website engagement includes:

• Using bullet points or numbers for lists
• H1, H2 and H3 and generally braking the text into bite sized chunks
• Highlight or bolden key and important words or phrases, like this and maybe that.
• Use capital letters for words you really want to POP out
• Make sure the very first sentence of each paragraph is key and interesting
• Use visual representations of the content, such as images, diagrams and tables
• Exclamation points- yes it may not always sit grammatically correct, but if used a little more frequently (not for every sentence mind you!), it can help highlight the points you are trying to make.

5. DFS are onto something with their ‘sale’

Think about your pricing structure and what’s more appealing, something for 99p or £1? Instinctively, by not rounding a product price up to a whole number, it helps people feel like they’re getting a bargain even if it is one of the oldest tricks in the retail trade. It’s in the same category as DFS’ ‘sale’ prices, BOGOF (buy one get one free) and other ‘free promotions’. 

But according to a French study, the phenomenon still swings a considerable number of shoppers. Researchers found that lowering the price of a pizza from 8.00 euros to 7.99 euros boosted sales by 15%. So by simply looking at your pricing structure, you could increase your website engagement in a natural way. 

6. Guide your users to where you want them to click

Call to action’s (CTA’s) are fantastic things, they help guide your website visitor to the next step that YOU want them to take and increase website engagement. Rather than letting your user read a page and then have to scroll back up to go somewhere, add CTA’s at the bottom of the page leading them to another section on your website or a ‘call now’ button that loads the phone number directly. You want to keep them on your website for longer to learn more, or purchase your product, or take them to a key page/ action, e.g the contact page for them to Get in Touch. 

7. Only 4 left in stock, buy now

People respond to urgency and to being part of a crowd; they don’t want to be left out and miss out on something everyone else is taking part in. If you’re selling a product or running a promotion, adding a sense of urgency e.g ‘only X number of products left in stock’, or ‘X amount of time left until this amazing deal ends’ captures peoples attention and makes them want to act now for fear of missing out. 

FOMO (fear of missing out) is real and scarcity makes people worried they’ll miss their chance. If you have a limited supply of a product or your time, be sure to let visitors know e.g ‘this event sold out last time.’

8. 7 top tricks to capture your attention 

People are lazy, give them short numbers and make things appear easy and so simple that even THEY can make it work. There’s not only a science to how we can use numbers, but there is sometimes a cultural reason behind it too. 

For example, the number 7 is considered people’s most ‘favourite number’ and is featured heavily in our society, religions, mythical traditions and even pop culture: 7 deadly sins; 7 days in a week, 7 seas; 7 continents; 7 colours of the rainbow; 7 wonders of the world; 7 dwarves (plus Snow White); James Bond, 007 etc. 

I often use the number 10 when I write my ‘guides’ as 10 creates a sense of fulfilment, it gives practical solutions and is a realistic and obtainable number. We have 10 fingers on our hands so you can tick each task off one at a time without feeling overwhelmed. 

9. Choose your words carefully

Make your titles quick, snappy and attention-grabbing. Yes, it’s good to get your keyword or keyphrase in there to increase your SEO chances, but short power words create a simple way for your user to feel like the title was written just for them, and more likely to engage with what you’re saying and increase website engagement. 

Not only are we often restricted in how many characters or words we can say (think 140/280 characters in a Tweet), you want a power word that sums up the exact emotion you’re trying to convey whilst keeping your words short to help with your overall post reading score and conversion.

10. Testimonials reinforce your message

Going back to the earlier point that people like to follow the pack and do what everyone else is doing, testimonials simply reinforce that fact. By putting testimonials throughout your website, you’re confirming that you’re a safe bet in language and words that your users resonate with. 

People may not always listen to what you’re saying, but when presented with a testimonial, they’re more likely to believe it as it’s social ‘proof’, it’s supportive evidence as you make your case.

Whilst, not every person will respond to every Neuromarketing tactic the same way, it can strongly HEIGHTEN your chances to Increase Website Engagement. This list is only a short one with a handful of steps you can take.

I love Neuromarketing, I find it fascinating stuff and I’ve seen it work REALLY well for some of my clients. That’s why when I make websites or improve existing ones, I do so using my Neuromarketing knowledge. Basically, I’ve done the research and reading so you don’t have to. 

I build websites for people to actually USE, not just sit there and look pretty. If you’d like me to do the same for you, get in touch with me.

Photo by jose aljovin on Unsplash