Dwell Time: Visually Explained.

SEOs should be obsessed with dwell time, but most aren't.

They don't even think about dwell time because some don't think it's a ranking factor, and as a data point, you have to go and look for it.

However, there's more to dwell time that many consider.

Firstly, studies over the years strongly suggest that dwell time and user engagement are ranking factors.

But in any case, the role of your content is to build mental connection between your brand and your reader.

You want to increase what is referred to as mental availability.

You want to be considered in the purchase journey evaluation stage, where the prospects have a few choices of preferred products or vendors.

You want to be purchased.

This can't happen unless you occupy some part of their memory.

Remember the old saying, people buy from who they know, like and trust.

Well, unless they read your content and connect with your business mentally, the above can't happen.

The other key aspect is that, as humans, we forage for information.

It's been said that "new knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become".

Knowledge is indeed power.

And that's why your prospects turn to search engines when they are thinking of buying.

They simply lack the knowledge to make a purchase decision and are looking to be informed.

That's where SEO comes into play.

Of course, there are 2 aspects to this.

Yes, dwell time on your page is important, but also. The prospects can click on other pages.

Dwell time then goes from page to site.

And again, your brand is building that all-important mental connection.

The thing is, you can't see into people's heads.

You don't know that the article you wrote has built a mental connection. But your search and content analytics data can give you clues.

So, what increases dwell time?

1. Writing style

Everyone hates walls of text.

Everyone hates long and boring introductions.

A good writing style for the web keeps people on site.

2. Interesting H2s and bullets

Your readers will scan to assess the value of a page.

Make it looks valuable piece of content on the first scan.

3. Chunking

Add lots of visuals to break up a page. Custom graphics get people thinking and add to that mental connection (there's a reason that I create graphics for my Linkedin posts).

4. Embed videos

Video content is important in today's society, but you can easily create your own.

Most video editing software will allow you to create great-looking videos that you can embed on page to increase dwell time.

5. Page speed

We all love a fast-loading website.

We all hate a slow loading one.

Try your best to ensure your site loads as fast as possible.

Dwell time matters.

Content quality matters.

If it looks bad, it'll probably perform the same way.

Aim to create content that matters.

That's how you'll win SEO.

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Make Good Content.

I'm a huge Neil Gaiman fan.

And if you haven't heard his 'make good art' speech, you are missing out.

To paraphrase, no matter what happens, keep making good art.

Content is art.

Content is my art.

I can't sing or dance.

But I can send my ideas out into the world.

So can you.

So can your business.

Content is your voice.

It's how you signal the character traits of your business.

Originality?

Excellence?

Passion?

Experience?

Expertise?

Trust?

Your business might have many other great traits, but your content is how you display these traits.

Not all content should be created to rank.

You need content that showcases your brilliance.

I just read someone's 'Ultimate Guide to…'

It was 1100 words long.

It was not ultimate.

It was not a guide.

It was a letdown. A waste of time for both the reader and the writer.

It wasn't good content.

But it could have been framed differently "Basic Principles of…"

Suddenly the content improves.

Suddenly the content achieves a goal.

Suddenly the content could be part of something bigger.

It takes courage to look back and say, "that could have been better".

It takes courage to keep making good content, especially after you've created something bad.

Not every post will be a hit.

Not every post will get clicks, views or readership.

This post will probably get little of them all.

But I'll show up tomorrow and try and make good content.

Some businesses look at content and try and find the ROI.

And sure, sometimes they'll be an obvious link.

And sure, more often, there won't.

But that's because you're often measuring the wrong metrics.

One metric that will never change is that we all love great content.

We're a species of content consumers.

So start off small.

Aim to make good content.

Good compounds.

Good can lead to great.

Good gets noticed…even if it takes a while.

And that's the question you need to ask yourself.

Do you make good content?

If you don't, keep trying until you do.

#content #seo