Want to captivate your Internet audience and increase the average visit length to your website? I have some simple tips that might help you accomplish this goal.

1. Provide High Quality Compelling Content – I don’t want to sound like a broken record but I cannot stress the importance of having great content. Video is in high demand on the Internet and is the single best method that I know to attract vistors to your website AND keep them longer! Great pictures are another way to add great content to any website.
2. Great Titles and Snippets – If you blog, tempt the reader with captivating titles and eye-catching written content that will motivate someone to look further in to your website. Provide the first 2 sentences of an article with a link that will allow them to READ MORE…
3. Engage Your Audience With Interactivity – I think the best examples of this on realtor websites are mortgage calculators, live chat and property listing serches. Provide more than just textual information by providing utility for the visitor. How much can I afford to borrow for a mortgage? Let’s compare prices for recently sold houses in this area. Essentially, to obtain the desired information, the user will need to interact with your website. You may find them coming back again and again.
4. Create Communities – People want to interact with others who share similar interests. One of the Internet’s strengths is it’s ability to create communities. Forums, chatrooms, bulletin boards and blogs that allow comments all keep people returning to and staying at your site. Again, these examples all provide a common place to exchange information with others in your “community”.
5. Provide Informational Resources – Les Twarog’s website (www.lestwarog.com) is a great example of a website that provides really useful information to anyone interested in condos in Vancouver. He has created a detailed list of all the buildings in the downtown core with individual links to information about each building. Information about each individual building consists of links to the buildings strata website, developers website, address, number of stories, number of units, photographs, map, and floorplans.

Essentially, create something of value for your visitor. You must keeep your design attractive and navigation easy-to-use, but it is the value that will keep visitors coming back and staying longer.