As a business owner, you know that SEO is crititcal for driving traffic to your website. But it’s not just about getting people to visit your site – it’s about keeping them there. That’s where “time on site” comes in. This metric measures how long a user stays on your website after clicking through from a search engine. And, the longer they stay, the better it is for your SEO. In this article, we’ll go over the importance of time on site for enterprise SEO and give you some tips for improving it.
Understanding time on site for enterprise SEO
Make sure your site is easy to navigate.
When it comes to keeping visitors on your website, having an easy-to-use navigation is key. If people can’t find what they’re looking for, they’re going to leave, and that’s not good for your SEO. So, let’s talk about how you can make sure your site is easy to navigate and keep those visitors sticking around.
- Have a clear and simple menu.
Make sure your menu is easy to find, and that it’s obvious what each link leads to. Keep the number of menu items to a minimum. Too many options can be overwhelming and make it harder for people to find what they’re looking for.
- Use breadcrumb navigation.
This is a great way to let people know where they are on your site and how they got there. It also makes it easy for them to go back to a previous page.
- Use search functionality.
If you have a lot of content on your site, a search bar can be a lifesaver. It allows visitors to quickly find what they’re looking for without having to hunt through your menu.
- Make sure your site is mobile-friendly.
More and more people are using their phones to browse the web, so if your site isn’t optimised for mobile, you’ll lose a lot of visitors. Make sure your menu is easy to use on smaller screens and that links are easy to tap.
Make sure your site is mobile-friendly.
As a business owner, you know that SEO is crucial for driving traffic to your website. But it’s not just about getting people to visit your site – it’s about keeping them there. That’s where “time on site” comes in. And, one important aspect of time on site is making sure your site is mobile-friendly. Here’s why it matters and what you can do to optimise for mobile:
- Mobile usage is on the rise.
According to a study by Google, over half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices.
- Mobile-friendly sites load faster.
A mobile-friendly site is designed to adjust to the smaller screen size of a phone and load faster. This means that your site will load quicker on a mobile device and visitors will be less likely to leave due to slow load times.
- Mobile-friendly sites are easier to navigate.
A mobile-friendly site will have larger buttons, easy-to-read text, and a layout that is optimised for touchscreens. This means that your visitors will be able to find what they’re looking for more easily and will be less likely to leave due to a confusing navigation.
- Mobile-friendly sites are good for SEO.
Google has stated that mobile-friendliness is a ranking factor in its search algorithm. This means that if your site is mobile-friendly, it will rank higher in search results, which will lead to more traffic and more time on site.
- How to check if your site is mobile-friendly?
You can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to see if your site passes the test. You can also use the Google Search Console to see how your site is performing on mobile and find out if there are any issues that need to be addressed.
Create engaging content.
Creating engaging content is one of the most important things you can do to improve your time on site and boost your SEO. But what exactly does “engaging content” mean? In this article, we’ll go over the key elements of creating engaging content and give you some tips for making your own.
- Make sure your content is informative and useful.
People come to your site looking for information, so make sure you’re providing it. Write about topics that are relevant to your industry and answer common questions your customers may have.
- Use a conversational tone.
Instead of writing in a formal tone, use a more conversational one. This will make your content more relatable and easy to read.
- Use visuals.
Breaking up your text with images and videos is a great way to make your content more engaging. Not only do they make your content more visually appealing, but they also give readers something to look at while they’re reading.
- Keep your content up-to-date.
Make sure your content is always current and relevant. Nobody wants to read outdated information.
- Make your content easy to share.
Including social sharing buttons makes it easy for readers to share your content with their friends and followers.
Optimize for speed.
When it comes to SEO, time on site is crucial. It measures how long a user stays on your website after clicking through from a search engine. And the longer they stay, the better it is for your SEO. One key factor that can affect time on site is the speed of your website.
Here are some tips to help you optimise your site for speed and improve your time on site:
- Minimize the size of your files.
Large files like images and videos can slow down your site. Use a tool like TinyPNG to compress images and reduce their file size.
- Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN).
A CDN stores your site’s files on servers all over the world. When someone visits your site, they’ll be served the files from the closest server. Helping speed up the load time.
- Remove unnecessary plugins and scripts.
Some WordPress plugins and scripts can slow down your site. Review your plugins and scripts and remove any that you don’t need.
- Use browser caching.
Browser caching stores certain parts of your site on the visitor’s computer. This means that when they visit your site again, it will load faster.
- Monitor your load time regularly.
Use a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights to check your load time and see where you can make improvements.
Use internal linking.
You’ve probably heard that time on site is important for SEO, but did you know that internal linking can play a big role in keeping visitors on your website longer?
Here’s how internal linking can help improve your time on site:
- It makes it easy for visitors to explore your site.
When you link to other pages on your site within your content, it’s like putting a little map in your visitors’ hands. They can easily find other related pages that might interest them.
- It helps search engines understand your site’s structure.
Search engines like Google use links to understand the hierarchy of your site. By using internal links, you’re helping search engines understand which pages are most important, which can lead to better rankings.
- It helps keep visitors engaged.
If you’ve got a blog post that’s really interesting, but it only links to your homepage, you’re missing out on an opportunity to keep visitors engaged. By linking to other related posts within your content, you’re giving visitors a reason to stick around and explore more of your site.
- It gives you more control over how long visitors stay on your site.
By using internal links, you can guide visitors through your site in a way that keeps them engaged and on your site longer.
Use analytics to track your progress.
Knowing how long people are spending on your website is key to understanding how well your SEO efforts are paying off. But, how do you track this metric? Enter, analytics. By using analytics tools, you can get a clear picture of how long people are staying on your site and where they’re spending their time. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use analytics to track your time on site:
- Set up Google Analytics on your website.
If you haven’t already, you’ll need to set up Google Analytics on your website to start tracking your time on site. It’s free and easy to do, and you can find instructions on the Google Analytics website.
- Go to the Audience Overview report.
Once you’re logged into Google Analytics, go to the Audience Overview report. This report will give you a general overview of your website’s traffic, including time on site.
- Look at the average time on site.
In the Audience Overview report, you’ll see a section called “Avg. Session Duration.” This is the average amount of time people are spending on your site.
- Check out the Bounce Rate.
The Bounce Rate is the percentage of people who leave your website after only viewing one page. The lower the bounce rate, the better.
- Use the Behavior Flow report.
The Behavior Flow report will show you how people are moving through your website. This can help you identify any problem areas or pages where people are spending a lot of time.
- Track your progress over time.
Use the data from Google Analytics to track your time on site over time. This will help you see if your efforts to improve time on site are paying off.
