Building Visitor Loyalty Posted on October 20, 2009 Post a comment

I’ve been posting custom content on the Internet for over a decade. After millions and millions of views, I’ve learned a lot about visitor loyalty and how to build expectations through Web-based content.

There are all sorts of traditional writing tools that translate nicely to the Web. For instance, a cheap credibility intro (above) is a great way to assure new site visitors they’re getting veteran insight. However, creating return visitor expectations and building their loyalty takes a bit more effort.

Web surfers are neurotic. They click, click, and click again looking for entertainment or knowledge with very little regularity. But, if you can work to proactively satisfy visitors by creating expectations for your content then you can begin to build a regular following. For instance: staying fresh and interesting is necessary if you want anyone to come back for a third visit—updating timely yet novel content is key for users who actually visit sites other than yours—and being spontaneous in your routine can engage frequent visitors without forsaking their expectations.

Here are a few more tips that will help you structure your site’s content:

• How do users currently use your site?
  This article on ‘using analytics to better understand customer behavior’ is a great starting point for review.

• How are users finding your content?
  This article discusses in detail how a visitor’s expectations should be consistent with what you deliver them, “and offers some advice to keep your search elements (page title, opening content, and URL address) in alignment with the page’s content”

• How consistent is your content?
  Post frequency, regularity, and length all tell your story as much as the theme and tone you write in. So, when you determine what that equation is for your updating style, stick to it. And, without belittling your audience, be sure to give your reader cues so they know what to expect when you do mix things up.

• How about medium consistency?
  
  • Text: Line breaks, stylized fonts, headings and more will all help your user navigate their page visit, so direct them wisely, and set about to standardizing a method that works well for your content. This way, users can easily scan or dig deeper when they please.
  • Images: Pay attention to your photo quality, sizing, and style. Be sure to stay unique and engaging, but developing standards here will really help your site look cleaner down the line.
  • Videos: Similar story, it’s important to keep your video player’s style, size, and title consistent with how the visitor will view it. Begin to think about video length and even how the content is structured, because all of these qualities will play into a more user-friendly experience.
  • Feeds: Obviously it would be great if everyone that visited your site added it to their feed reader. So, first make that an easy task for them, and then pay attention to your feed’s content. A stirring title and description will make or break a feed reading visitor’s return to your site.

• Finally, How do you vet content before it’s published?
  If you intend to post a stream of consciousness, then maybe the same level of vetting doesn’t apply as would to a news publication. However, your site’s content should still keep a consistency in quality. Seth Godin practices a great model for his blog’s content. One that allows him quality control and continual enhancement: “I (Seth Godin) write at least one a day. I queue up the extras, and replace ones I don’t love with a new one. This discipline does two things… first, it treats each post as a precious opportunity (which it is) and second, it cajoles me into overcoming whatever little voice in the back of my head says “nahhhh.”

Visitor loyalty is not something you’ll develop overnight, but with some attention paid to the qualities your audience expects from the content they seek, then you can hopefully develop an atmosphere the user will eventually call home. Drop us a line if you would like to learn more. Remember, there are no set rules for every site, instead there should be discussion and planning for each site!