I don’t know about you, but it takes a lot for someone or something to grab my attention. If this was me reading this right now, you would have probably lost me at about… here, but if I do still have your attention then thank you. I shan’t be long. I promise to be as engaging as I can. From a digital perspective, research has shown that users decide in 10 seconds if they want to stay on your website. 10 seconds they say? Ha! And I thought I had a short attention span. In 10 seconds: you could try and kiss your crush in bar and get a drink thrown at you, score a winning goal, win the 100 metres and a gold medal at the Olympics, or even attempt to complete the good old cinnamon challenge. So we’ve established that a lot can happen in 10 seconds, get your mind out of the gutter guys… (I know what you’re thinking). So it’s everyone who need to be engaged immediately—I thought I was the only one who was a goldfish but it appears that it’s a general consumer behaviour. Maybe I just voice the fact that I have lost interest instead of sitting or standing there pretending to be listening/intrigued/engaged. So, what are two important things to think about when trying entice your audience to stay on your website? Blah, blah, blah, blah… only joking. Still with me? Value. Value. Value. We all want value. Whether it be value for money, knowledge or something for free. We are constantly upsizing or buying in bulk to get the best value because showing value is “invaluable” haha #punqueen. When I asked Dave, one of WME’s senior SEO technicians, what entices him to stay on a website, he said: “You need to give them a reason to want to stay. You need to give them value.” Sure, he had to ask me several questions about why I was asking the question and what parameters were in place in order for him to give his answer but we got there in the end. He is analytical and even he had to see the value of my question before he answered. So, when a user lands on your site they need to have a reason to want to stay. You need to be able to tell them why they need to stay on your site and what they are going to get from it. Get to the POINT. General Manager of WME says: “A website with a video works for me. I’m time poor and if something is too long, you’ve lost my attention.” A lot of the time we can get side tracked, blabbing on about a whole lot of nothing. It’s essentially white noise. A lot of the time we can get side tracked, blabbing on about a whole lot of nothing. It’s essentially white noise. If you are looking to purchase a bottle of red, no one really cares about how long the grape was nurtured and loved before it was harvested and put into a factory, squashed, put in your bottle and then in your blood stream. What’s the wine? When was it made? How much is it? Where is it from? That’s it. Signed sealed and bottled for your enjoyment. Even General Manager of Nothing But Web said: “I like a clean website that is fairly direct without too much interference. That way I can find exactly what I need and where I want to go, quickly and easily” Got it everyone? Short, sharp and simple. Competitive edge Humans all know what their competitive edge is and we use it our advantage. If a woman knows that her long legs and plump lips are better than her friend’s, then she will be in a two piece bikini at the beach when it’s a comfortable 21 degrees. If a man knows his rock hard abs and chiselled pecks are better than his mate’s, then we all know their top will be off at any chance they get. As a business, you need to identify what makes you different from your competitors and make sure your audience knows. Your point of difference could be the deciding factor when a user chooses to engage with your products or services. So get your legs out and flex your abs, and showcase your point of difference. Aaaaaand, that’s a wrap. So be smart about your message and how you want to engage your audience because remember, you’ve got 10 seconds.

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