How do we encourage repeat visitors to our website?

This sign reminded me of something us Web site content strategists and marketers don't like to think about: the end of a site user experience. The bounce. The exit. People will leave. It's inevitable. But can you help guarantee their return? Sure.

6 Easy Ways to Increase Repeat Visits to Your Site

Here are a few ideas to help inspire people to return to your site:

1. Give them a reason to come back in the first place. Provide valuable, dynamic, evolving content: ideas, articles, pictures, videos, press releases. Let them know what to expect next.
2. Take the time to be sure it's well written.
3. Provide obvious ways to share content with friends.
4. Be active outside your site, wherever your customers are. Yep, this is part of your social media plan.
5. Give customers a really good reason to sign up for email and RSS. Then follow through on your promise.
6. Keep your site clean and well organized. Hire a taxonomist and information architect to help make it easy and obvious for find and do things online.

Do you have more successful methods of keeping customers coming back? Please do share in the comments below.

Plan Ahead

Often, the plan to get a site visitor to return -- or to tell their friends and family to visit -- is left till the end of the site development. Integrating it throughout the planning process will help guarantee your target audience's re-entry and engagement with your brand.