If you’re concerned that you’re attracting visitors to your website only to have them leave right away, you’re not alone. Finding ways to keep people on your site so that they view multiple pages (or better yet, share your content) is a concern of virtually every Internet marketer. One fun and effective way to do this is with gamification.
According to “Huffington Post,” businesses of all sizes have seen dramatic results from using gamification, and the practice is just getting started. Huff Post estimates that this practice increases user engagement by an average of 30 percent.
What is Gamification?
Gamification, as the name implies, puts a little bit of sport–and a little competitiveness into browsing the content on your site. When you use gamification, you reward your visitors with points, tokens, badges, “clout” or other intangibles for doing things like viewing videos, reviewing products, sharing articles on their social media pages and downloading a free ebook. Some sites even post a “leader board” so that visitors can see where they rank against other “players.”
Tips for Using Gamification to Keep Your Visitors on Your Site
While gamification can yield impressive results, like most business strategies there are smart ways to introduce such a plan and not so good ways. Following our tips will get you started in the right direction.
1. Don’t try everything at once. Trying too many gamification strategies at once can be a set-up for disaster. Not only does such a move increase the odds of technical failure (and thus alienating your visitors), but you can overwhelm your visitors so they won’t know what to do first. Better to start slow and add a few features at a time.
2. Align your gamification strategy with your marketing goals. While setting up a gamification strategy can be fun and exciting, you don’t want to lose sight of your bottom line. You want to encourage and reward those actions that further your marketing plan.
3. Find a partner. There’s no rule that says you have to do everything yourself. Seeking the aid of a SEO specialist with experience in gamification can help make implementing this strategy easy. Or, you can hire freelance writers to create your web content so that you have more time to devote to your gamification strategy.
4. Know when gamification is appropriate. While gamification can be profitable for most applications, there are times when it’s just not a good fit. For instance, if someone is looking for information on foreclosures or DUI offenses, or if yours is an employment site, perhaps you want to limit your gamification strategy to the “non-essential” parts of your site.
While gamification may not be the right choice for every business, this strategy is a great way to engage your visitors and have them coming back for more. Though it’s still in its infancy, gamification can jump-start your Internet marketing efforts. Who wouldn’t like to see a 30 percent increase in traffic?
Sandy M has been writing web articles, blogs, social media posts and ebooks for more than a decade. When she’s not typing away at her computer, she dabbles in Internet marketing. She’s even tried a little gamification herself.
