by David Hockenbroch

Created on: December 08, 2008

The ability to retain website traffic is a fundamental element of creating a successful website. Repeat visitors are the online equivalent of having loyal customers at a store. They'll contribute to the website's success both by being there themselves, and by spreading the word about your website to others.

While the website's layout can make a good first impression, but content is far more important in keeping a user's loyalty for the long term. Because of this, one of your top priorities should be to make sure the content works correctly. Don't just test your website in the browser you use. The majority of your users will be viewing your website in Internet Explorer or Firefox. Make sure your website works in at least those two, since there are some differences in how the two browsers behave. It can never hurt to test it in others, such as Safari or Opera as well. Knowing your audience is also important. If you are making a website about iPhones, for instance, be sure to look at your website on an iPhone too, not just from a PC!

If a user is going to remain loyal to your website, he or she must have a reason to return after the first visit. If your website consists of three or four pages of content that never changes, what reason does the user have to come back again next week after having read all of them? Having content that is updated on a regular schedule will bring users back. Also, once such content is implemented, make the user aware of the update schedule. If you say your website will be updated regularly, that will signal the user to check back again sometime in the future. If you say your website will have new articles every week, that will signal the user to check back again next week, and the week after that, and the week after that, etc. Something as simple as a heading on the section that says, "Weekly Articles," would be effective.

Once you have some content that is worth coming back for and have made the user aware of it, provide ways for the user to be reminded to check back. A "Bookmark This Page" link may be a good start. Use an RSS feed if you have the option. You may also want to provide the user with an option to sign up for email alerts, which seems to be particularly useful for shopping websites. When there is a sale, you can send out an email flier to those who have signed up.

You will also have to know your competition and compete proactively, rather than reactively. If you wait for users to migrate to another website before you update

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