This post was last updated on November 22nd, 2020 at 09:24 pm
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, so when you click these links and make a purchase, I may get a small commission. It won’t cost you anything, but it helps me to run this site. Find out the disclaimer here.
Getting a steady stream of readers to your blog can be a challenge. This means that once you get a reader, you want to do everything possible to keep readers stay longer on your blog and then entice them to come back for more.
You started a blog for yourself, you post high-quality content regularly, and you’re tracking analytics rigorously. But for some reason, readers’ time spent on your blog is low while bounce rates are high.
Studies show that 55% of visitors only read articles for 15 seconds or less. This means that if you’re only looking at your visitor count, you’re only getting a glimpse of the whole picture and not focusing enough on what makes a blog really successful: reader engagement.

Improving readers to stay longer on your blog is very important to the success of your blog. Yet, it’s also one of the most challenging metrics for content creators to succeed in. If you’re noticing that your readers don’t seem to be very engaged with your content, you are not alone.
Here are some blogging tips you can use to turn that around in a big way.
Table of Contents
Interlinking To Your Own Content
Do you publish multiple blog posts on a similar topic?
Make sure you include a link to other relevant posts. For example, you can write ‘If you enjoyed this post, you may also like ____”, “you might like:”
This is not only GREAT for SEO practice, but also provides a better user experience for your visitors, increases your page views and keeps readers stay longer on your blog.
While we are talking about linking, you should always refer to other articles that underline your points, especially if they reside on high-quality websites.
However, in order not to send away your hard-earned traffic, make sure when creating the link, you tick the ‘open link in a new window/tab.’ That way your readers can look at whatever you recommended in the article but do not automatically leave your site in doing so.
Include a Related Posts Plugin
If you have a WordPress site, install a plugin like WordPress Related Posts. It will add a related posts box at the end of your posts that will suggest other content on your site.
This is a great way to increase page views and keep readers stay longer on your blog.
There are a ton of Related Posts plugins out there and I wouldn’t be surprised if your theme can with a suggestion for one!
This plugin will usually automatically pull posts that have similar keywords or tags or some will even let you decide which posts you want to always include!
Insert Most Popular Blog In Your Sidebar
You can add the ‘Popular Post’ widget in your sidebar. I have one also for the ‘Recent Post’ widget if you look to your right and up a bit, BAM … they’re there!
This widget gives your readers a really good idea of what your blog is about overall and makes it easy for them to find new content that keeps readers stay longer on your blog.
You can also use this as a chance to promote your posts as well or your offer. These posts are clearly already popular so the chance that the reader on your blog is interested in that topic is pretty high!
Frequently Publish New Content
If you want your readers stay longer and keep checking back, you absolutely must regularly add new content.
And it’s no longer enough to just add short – 400 words – posts to your blog. The key now is to write longer, more in-depth posts that tackle issues your readers really care about.
RECOMMENDED:
- 15 Powerful Steps To Optimize Your Blog Post
- 7 Fantastic Ways To Planning Blog Content Ideas
- 8 Notable Ways To Create The Best Blog Post Structure
Repurpose Your Old Content
Once you have to build a trusting audience, they may see links and assume they have already read that post. Update your old posts with new information and re-publish it. Then you can also mention that the post your linking to has been recently updated!
That’s a sure way to keep readers stay longer on your blog. Just make sure you actually did add new content or value or they might be disappointed you wasted their time!!
Write Longer Blog Posts
I cover this in detail in my post, What Is The Average Blog Post Length? To Get Rank In Google Top 10.
I’ve noticed that some bloggers don’t write over 800-1000 words because it depends on the topic they’re covering and their target audience.
The good people over at Google will like you that much better and rank your posts better in searches if they include more content. It also takes a reader a longer amount of time to read through a longer post.
So, make sure you’re writing high-quality content that does a great job of covering a unique angle on your topic. Don’t just rehash the same stuff over and over again if you want readers stay longer on your blog!
YOU MIGHT LIKE:
- 8 Exclusive Legit SEO Guide For Bloggers
- 10 Free On-Page SEO Optimization To Skyrocket Your Blog
- Unlock Exclusive 5 Off-Page SEO Techniques To Drive Organic Traffic
- 7 Technical SEO To Instantly Boost Your Site’s Ranking
- 10 Proven Steps To Grow Your Domain Authority Ranking
Readable Content
If people get to your site to read a post and it looks like 2,000 words all crammed together in one large paragraph, chances are they are out before they even start reading. I will choose the same too! No one wants to read a giant wall of text!
It’s important to make them readable by using:
- break down your content into short 3-4 sentences
- use sub-headings for different topics
- use bulleted lists (like this one)
- emphasis on important words/sentences
- check your spelling or grammar mistakes
Think of it like you are speaking with someone. If you start rambling on and on without taking a breath, chances are the person listening will tune out pretty fast. The same thing happens with reading.
On top of that, the majority of readers these days scan posts rather them reading them fully, so it’s important to make your posts as reader-friendly and scannable as you can!
Make Your Content Visually Appealing
Even if you break up your paragraphs, sometimes too much text can still be overwhelming for your readers. This is especially true if you’re giving your reader a lot of technical information like me. No matter how you deliver it, the information would still seem dull to someone outside of the field.
I’ve seen that many bloggers use 1-2 photos for their content and some use more than 5 infographics to make their content more appealing.
Visual content generates up to 94% more views on a blog post. Using charts, graphs, or even screen captures can help to illustrate your ideas and make things more readable. Just keep in mind that you should avoid stuffing stock images into your post just for the sake of it.
Here some my favorite places to find graphic design or stock photos:
- Creative Market: marketplace where you find any blog graphics from fonts, theme, logo, etc.
- Ivory Mix: they offer stock photos that you can use it on multiple promotional campaigns, designs, and digital media, cheap and fast to use, and do not have to find photographers to create the exact image you need.
- And here some trustables sites where you can find gorgeous stock photos for your blog.


Photo credit: pure julia
SUPPORT THIS BLOG
To end this post, I know that most people don’t think that sharing, purchasing through affiliate links, donating, viewing (and clicking) ads, or commenting is a huge deal, but as a content writer or blogger, it actually means the whole world.
Not only me, but most bloggers also spend a lot of time running their blog, researching, creating, and writing valuable content, and not to mention shooting and editing the photos you see. So, I want to say thanks to the support of people like you who help me keep running this blog and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.
One way to support me running this blog is to share or comment on my posts, view (and click) ads, subscribe to my newsletter to get free ebook + access to my freebies library, or buy me a cup of coffee.
IF YOU’VE ENJOYED THIS BLOG POST, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH YOUR FELLOW BLOGGER, PIN FOR LATER, CLICKING ADS, BUY ME A CUP OF COFFEE, OR LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW!

These are some great tips, thank you. I’m definitely going to see what plugins I can get to help with my blog.
Thank you for reading, Sarah 😀
wonderful post, will use these tips!!
Great tips! How long readers are on the site is often overlooked (also by me) but it is a big factor, isn’t it?
Yes, it is 😀 If they spend longer on my blog, it means they read other posts and that makes me feel happy 🙂
Thank you for reading, Lisa xxx
These are good tips. Thank you for sharing.
Great suggestions! This is really helpful. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for reading 😀
Thank you for the great advice!
These are some awesome tips! When I write longer pieces, I always try to include a couple relevant interlinks, and I love having a related posts sidebar! I know I click on related writing that interests me, and it is a nice way for readers not to have to scroll to much to read something else.
So do I! When visiting others’ blogs, I click on related posts that interest me and ended up making me stay longer on that blog 😀
Thank you for reading this, Jaya xxx
I have reduced my bounce rate by around 40% doing some of the things you mentioned. Definitely interlinking my content has been helpful. I also find that if the content you interlink is even more in depth and related to the original content post they will stick around longer to delve further into the subject. This has been critical to finding my target audience. Thanks for sharing!
Agree! By interlinking content and regularly publish new content, I can reduce my bounce rate for the last months 😀
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, Shyla xxx
These are all super helpful tips! Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m glad that you find this helpful, Sarah! Thank you for reading xxx
very helpful article. Thank You. I do most of the things already, but I found some other tips that I can include
Thank you for reading 😀
These tips make so much sense… especially the readability aspect. I’ve kept my sidebar off from my own blog, but I’ve been wondering lately if I should actually have it back on!
Hi Merry this is another very informative post thank you for sharing.
Thank you for reading too, Aphila xxx
As a reader, the most effective way to keep readers on the blog is the writing style of a writer. One of my favorites is Elna Cain, and even when she talks about something that is out of my domain of interest, I still read her blog posts anyway because I am addicted to her writing style. Whenever I am on her blog, I find myself clicking from one story to the next to read more of what she has to say as well. Your related posts plugin is definitely one important way to keep getting readers to click and read more. Thanks for sharing!
I agree! Writing style and the structure of blog posts are the ones that make me want to keep reading and stay longer, even when someone shares useful information but the structure is so messy, I won’t read it. I love your writing style and you share many ideas in your post that I wouldn’t think of before 🙂 Because of your post about Notion, I start to add it as my digital planner as well! Thank you so much, Ming 😀
These are all great tips! Having the related posts plugin & best posts in the side bar sounds especially useful!
Agree! Thank you for always reading, Kara xxx
These are really good tips! It’s true that most readers scan now (including me) and making blog posts scannable is important. If the reader is interested in the point, they will read all of it, but scanning is how it starts.
Yeah, I always do the same too. I will scan first then if I found something interesting, I’ll read that over again 😀
Thank you for reading xxx
Very helpful post for bloggers, thanks for sharing
Great suggestions, I will use som
thanks for sharing
https://uncuaderno4cero.wordpress.com/