9 Underrated Tactics for Boosting Your Website Retention Rate

All the incredible headlines, content, and research reports in the world can only get you so far.

If you don’t make customer experience your top goal, your website retention rate will always suffer.

Buyers consume an average of 13 pieces of content before they choose a vendor.

Most of that content should come directly from your website. But if your site experience pushes people away from the first contact, how can they ever read it?

They won’t. They’ll go somewhere else with a better experience.

Here’s how to rethink your site’s function and goals for better retention rates.

What is a Good Website Retention Rate? Why Benchmarks Don’t Matter

This is such a tough question to answer honestly.

If we’re talking about your website retention rate in terms of visitor traffic, benchmarks say B2Bs should aim for 40% to 60%.

In other words, 40% to 60% of people who find your site through any channel should stick around to consume more than one piece of content or page.

But there’s a big channel with retention rate benchmarks – and all website traffic analytic benchmarks in general. There’s no “normal” way for people to interact with a website.

Everyone who visits your site has their own job, industry, needs, and reason for visiting your site in the first place. That’s why so many marketers sing the praises of quality traffic over quantity.

How people find your site also matters.

  • Someone who opens a blog you shared on social media is still in the scroll mindset. You must overcome the allure of the endless scroll with something fascinating if you want to convince them to stay.
  • When someone finds that exact blog post from an organic Google search, however, they’re in a researching mindset. That’s why search traffic tends to stick around more than social traffic.

Your Goals for Your Site Directly Oppose the Reasons People Visit It

Most B2Bs design, update, and manage a website with the main goal of collecting leads.

Content pulls people into the website. Lead forms restrict access to the best content in exchange for data. Pages and posts are designed to encourage conversion.

Unless someone already knows who you are and they’re prepared to buy, that’s not why they’re visiting your website in the first place.

Most visitors don’t want to feel duped into clicking a blog link. They don’t want to give you more data, and they definitely don’t want to buy anything or sign up for a list – especially when they feel used, tricked, or forced.

People visit your site because they want to learn something. They might want to know more about who you are, what you do, who you’ve helped, or just what you can teach them about your industry.

You must design your site to meet those goals if you want an impressive website retention rate – along with all the benefits that come with it.

9 Underrated Tactics for Boosting Your Website Retention Rate

The concept is simple: Create the website experience your visitors want and they’ll stick around. In other words, think about their needs more than your own.

Unfortunately, this is harder said than done – especially when you have to prove an entire website overhaul to your higher-ups that conflicts with everything they believe.

Below you’ll find a list of specific and actionable strategies you can use today to improve your website experience for visitors, ultimately boosting your website retention rate.

1. Rework the Same Piece of Content in Multiple Formats

Reading, listening, watching, viewing – everyone learns differently.

Create your content in bundles. Each topic deserves a blog or eBook, infographic, video, and audio recording.

Internal links are useful for both SEO and website retention rates, but relevancy is key.

AI-powered tools scan your content and analyze visitor behavior to understand which content they should read next.

3. Update Evergreen Content for SEO Consistently

Your organic traffic gems deserve consistent updates. Add a few hundred words, update stats and links, include new context, and replace keywords if needed.

4. Direct Visitors to Custom ABM Campaign Pages

61% of B2B buyers say they like to reach out to sales teams for custom pricing. Why add the extra step? Take the burden off visitors with customized ABM landing pages with personalized pricing, offers, and content.

Graphical user interface, website Description automatically generated

Hushly

5. Custom Exit-Intent Popups That Don’t Ask for Anything

No one wants to fill out a form when they’re trying to leave your site. Instead, use AI-powered tools to recommend relevant pieces of content and keep them on the page.

6. Remove Invasive Lead Forms from Your Content Marketing

Forms and gated content also drive visitors away from your entire website. Even worse: many fill required forms with fake details. Bad lead data is a silent killer among 80% of personalization strategies.

Just say no to invasive forms.

7. Endless Content Streams with Personalized Suggestions

People will binge content for hours if it’s interesting and relevant. Use personalized streams to do the work of finding that content for them.

8. Publish More Video and Visual Content

Video works wonders for engagement. Branch out from promotional videos into interesting series or interviews with industry experts. Be entertaining.

9. Sponsor Original Research for an Under-Addressed Topic

Like organic search, referral visitors are already in a researching mindset. Choose an industry topic lacking current research and either use your own data or hire a research company to do it right. Make sure to promote your findings in the right papers.

A Solid Website Retention Rate Starts with the Right UX Tools

Your website retention rate really boils down to making a good first impression. If you can create a positive experience, visitors will be more likely to stick around and return later. Plus, they’ll think of your brand fondly.

AI-driven tools are vital for creating the personalized content experience your visitors expect. B2Bs across several industries trust Hushly with their content engagement needs because our tools are easy to use and deliver results almost instantly.

Learn why Hushly guarantees a 51% increase in lead conversions with our content engagement tools.

Your Ultimate Checklist for Reducing B2B Website Abandonment

Your buyers spend most of their journey researching independently without ever contacting your sales team.

In fact, your buyers spend 27% of the process researching online resources like your website.

Your website is your most valuable asset for:

  • Building authority as an expert in your industry
  • Earning the trust of your target audience
  • Allowing leads to self-nurture
  • Explaining why you’re the best choice over competitors

For your website to do its job, people need to stick around and consume your content.

That’s why reducing your website abandonment is key.

Most abandonment problems stem from your website experience. Your website experience must be optimized to offer the most relevant content instantly without friction.

Use these tips to keep people on your website longer.

What is a Good Bounce Rate?

It depends. Some sources say B2Bs should shoot for a 40% to 60% bounce rate but it all depends on your individual pages and their purpose.

Some landing pages are intended to have high bounce rates. For example, the goal is for someone to sign up for an email list or download something and leave. High abandonment rates in these pages are fine.

Your content, however, should tell a different story.

If your content is engaging, useful, and relevant, people should almost never bounce.

Why Does Your Website Retention Rate Matter?

Your website retention rate tells you how many people return to your website week-over-week or month-over-month.

A high website retention rate is a good sign that your content is engaging and relevant. It’s also a great sign that your website provides an overall user experience your visitors enjoy.

It’s smart to monitor both website retention rates and bounce rates as you evaluate the effectiveness of your website experience.

Don’t necessarily shoot for a specific number. Rather, aim for improvement compared to your current statistics.

6 Steps to Reduce Your B2B Website Abandonment and Improve Engagement

Use the tips below to create an awesome user experience and effectively reduce website abandonment.

1. Remove Intrusive Lead Forms to Reduce Website Abandonment

If all your content is hidden behind a form, people can’t stick around to read it.

Most B2Bs use long lead forms to collect contact details but the reality is that quality leads are more likely to abandon your website than fill out the form.

Instead, offer your visitors a few hundred words of each piece of content. Gating all content all but guarantees over 90% abandonment rates.

Visitors will feel compelled to stick around and read your content until they see something interesting enough to provide their email address for downloading.

2. Add an AI Engine for Personalized Recommendations

We all know apps like Facebook and Netflix are addicting. These apps use our behavior and the behavior of millions of other users to provide personalized recommendations for a totally unique experience.

Plus, these apps are interactive. They just beg to be tapped, clicked, and shared.

Your site should supply a similar experience if you want to reduce website abandonment – and the numbers show it. 58% of buyers say they’re likely to spend between five and 20 minutes consuming content if you offer it in an interactive format.

An AI engine is easy to add to your website – no coding knowledge needed – yet can instantly boost content engagement by 280%.

3. Don’t Leave Landing Page Visitors Hanging

If visitors get to the bottom of your landing page and don’t find your CTA relevant enough to take action, they’ll abandon your website.

Instead, swap out your traditional landing pages for self-nurturing options. A self-nurturing landing page offers personalized recommendations at the bottom of your content.

We’ve found that 37% of all leads come from content recommendations, so personalization is key. Artificial intelligence tools will take information from the current landing page and suggest the next best article to nudge leads down the funnel.

4. Speed Up Your Website to Reduce Abandonment

Speed is everything. If your website takes longer than three seconds to load, visitors will hit the back button instantly.

Tools like Pingdom can help you identify your current website speed and find issues you can address instantly. Large images, Google Ads, certain plugins, heavy themes, and poor coding can all drag down your website speed.

When it comes to load times, every little bit helps. Installing a compression plugin or speed optimizer can help you clean up problems.

Speeding up your website is a quick way to reduce website abandonment right away.

5. Offer Personalized ABM Landing Pages

In addition to self-nurturing landing pages, AI can also help you offer a completely personalized experience for each account.

It’s not as tedious or challenging as you might think.

Start by breaking your audience up into segments by industry and vertical. Next, look for key accounts who you think deserve their own individual pages.

Using a template, create individual landing pages for each account or cluster. Include personalized logos, branding, content, and pricing.

People are more likely to stay on your website and return when they receive the most relevant content possible.

6. Have a Backup Strategy to Reduce Website Abandonment

Finally, you should always have a plan in place to keep people on your website when they attempt to leave your page.

Most B2Bs use lead forms but these aren’t the most effective options.

Nobody wants to fill out a form and provide personal information as they’re trying to exit your page. Instead, give people a reason to stay on your page – personalized content.

When people hover their mouse away from your site, use a pop-up powered by AI to suggest content within their vertical, preferences, and stage of the sales funnel.

Hushly

Reduce Website Abandonment and Improve Website Engagement Instantly

AI-driven tools offer some of the best solutions for reducing website abandonment. Instead of static pages and generic content, AI lets you provide hyper-personalized and interactive content recommendations.

Hushly AI is user-friendly and easy to implement without any coding knowledge. B2Bs trust Hushly’s technology for personalized ABM landing pages, minimalist lead forms, Netflix-style content hubs, and more!

Learn how artificial intelligence can help you increase website content engagement by 280%!