The average 15 seconds just isn’t enough to communicate all the information you want them to know about a product. Read the content. And decide if the product is for them.

So how do you tie them longer to the page?

Here are my 5 suggestions.

Mesmerize With a Stunning Design

The data says it all:

According to this Stanford study, 94% of visitor’s first impressions of a website were based solely on the visual design.

Just a quick glance is enough to make a snap judgment about whether you even want to view the page or not.

Clean and logical layout with every element easily identifiable will always entice users to view the page.

A cluttered page, overloaded with content on the other hand will push them away from viewing the product. And that’s regardless of how much they’d need or want it.

But I admit:

The above example might be too extreme.

However, many stores still feature cluttered and ancient looking designs. If yours is one of them, invest in a good theme or custom design.

You should see a results almost instantly.

Write Engaging Product Descriptions

You know:

Features, facts and stats do sell…. But only to customers deeper in the buyer’s journey.

When you’re trying to hold someone on a page though, you need to build connection with them. Engage them. Raise their interest.

And facts and figures will never help achieve it.

Stories on the other hand….

Just take a look at this product description from MethodHome:

“a handful of hydration.

any hand wash can clean, but our nourishing hand wash goes one step further. it moisturizes too. and your hard working hands deserve nothing less. we hand-selected nutrient-rich botanicals, like seaweed and kelp extracts, and combined them with our unique, naturally derived hydrating complex. the result is a fabulous formula that leaves your skin feeling soft, smooth + luxuriously clean. and our heavenly, nature-inspired scents mean your nose is in for a treat too.”

It’s simple, captivates you from the first sentence and… communicates all aspects of the product you need to know.

And contains no dry talk.

Of course you should always tailor the description to your target audience. If you sell medical equipment to laboratories, you’ll need to focus on technical details. For the majority of consumer products though, a story will captivate visitors more than facts.

But wording isn’t the only way to keep the users longer. The way you present it could achieve a similar effect.

Here are a couple of suggestions for that:

• Use short paragraphs, 2-4 sentences max.
• Break content into sections with subheadings
• Use lists to organize information
• Style key words on a page bold.

All of these will make the copy easier to scan. This however won’t result in visitor skimming it and moving on.

You see:

Readable copy does not intimidate.

And thus, your reader will naturally want to stay longer on the page. Absorb the wording but also, discover what other information they could find on the page.

Captivate Visitors with Images

I’m sure you’ve heard this old adage before:

An image is worth a thousand words.

But what happens if you show visitors more than one image?

It’s a known fact: images could alter our behavior. And there’s plenty of research to prove it:

Simply placing a poster featuring a pair of staring eyes beside a honesty box makes more people to actually put money into it (source).

A study conducted at the University of Newcastle found that displaying images of companionship increased the participants desire to seek help (source).

And lastly, according to a joint-study on the effect of images in TV ads, conducted by researchers from University of California the George Washington University found that images using non-rational connection with the ad’s topic actually dumb our rational thinking, leading to higher emotional purchases.

All in all, we’re influenced by images and that’s that.

This also means that both the type and quantity of images you use on product pages could affect your visitors’ behavior:

Use image that highlights why people would buy the product

Remember the original Mac Air ad? The image below quickly became synonymous with it:

(Here’s the full ad if you want to see it)

Notice that it doesn’t really feature the product.

Or boast about it in any way.

But it’s clear as hell that the Mac’s so small, it would fit into an envelope.

Now ask yourself, why would anyone buy a Mac Air? For portability, isn’t it?

And there you have it…

Offer More than One Image

Next, play on the visitor’s curiosity. If the first picture engaged them with the main benefit of buying a product, they might be likely to check what the others contain.

But if you feature just that one image… they’ll have nothing else to do on the page.

Grab Their Attention with Videos

There’s plenty of stats on how videos improve conversions:

• According to Invodo, 52% of shoppers confess that watching product videos positively affects their buying decision.
• 40% are likely to visit a store’s site after seeing a video on a 3^rd party site (source), and
• 46% of shoppers are likely to want to find out more about a product after seeing a product video (source).

But there’s more…

Visitors who watch videos spend on average 2 minutes longer on a page than those who don’t (source), and

Website visitors are 64% more likely to buy a product after watching a product video on an online retailer’s site.

Case closed.

Expand Page Content with Reviews

Fact:

Many online retailers fear reviews.

Some want to avoid negative feedback. Others, not getting any at all.

In truth though, not including reviews on product pages only hurts conversions.

And as always, there’s plenty of data to prove it:

• 61% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase decision. (source)
• 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (source),
• 63% of customers prefer buying from a site that features customer reviews (source) and
• According to Reevo, reviews help increase sales by up to 18% (source).

But how review keep visitors on a page?

It’s simple – because they keep them engaged.

Reviews provide unbiased and unedited insight into how well a product has served others. And reveal the quality of your service.

Most customers will at least stop and flick through reviews, in turn remaining longer on the page.

Final Thoughts

Often the secret to increasing conversion isn’t a better product, lower price or free shipping. Keeping a visitor just a bit longer on a product page could allow them to consume more content and in turn, increase the chances for making a purchase.