Quality media buys and journey optimization key to improving user engagement and satisfaction

Research finds a reduction in user engagement and satisfaction despite an increase in ad spend, but there are steps marketers can take to turn this around

Key points:

• On average, the cost per website visit increased by 9.4% during 2023, but all key metrics related to user engagement and satisfaction deteriorated.
• 40% of web visits encounter some form of frustration.
• Marketers could improve these figures by focusing their media buying on quality rather than cost, as well as on improving the post-click experience.

Companies saw a significant drop in overall traffic to their website in 2023, despite having increased their ad spend, research has found. But marketers can improve their traffic figures by focusing on quality rather than cost within their media buying and providing a better user experience by optimizing the user journey.

On average, the cost per visit increased by 9.4% during 2023, according to data by ContentSquare. All key metrics related to user engagement and satisfaction took a hit. The figures differ per industry and country, but overall, web traffic decreased by 3.6%, session consumption dropped by 3% and the conversion rate fell by 5.5%. At the same time, user frustration rose by 3.9% and the bounce rate increased by 0.7%.

The research by ContentSquare found that 40% of web visits encounter some form of frustration, ranging from slow page loads to navigation hiccups.

How to reduce user frustration

One of the ways marketers could improve these figures is by focusing their media buying on quality rather than cost. By ensuring their ads are being shown in appropriate and relevant environments, users are more likely to engage with the content and click through to the landing page.

Furthermore, companies will need to focus on improving the post-click experience. Our experience at Fundamental Group is that many marketing teams often invest the majority of their resources in the pre-click experience (ad copy, media selection, creative, etc) with little thought going into the user’s experience once they land on the landing page.

By ensuring that the visuals and copy of the advert match those on the landing page, and providing users with the information they would expect to find after having seen the advert, companies can take some important steps to reduce the bounce rate. Further thought also needs to be given to the rest of the user journey: what do you want users to do after having arrived on the landing page? Users are more likely to spend more time on site and convert if there is a clear journey.

The importance of a quick loading speed

According to research done by Forbes Advisor, 47% of users will not wait longer than two seconds for a website to load, and 40% will leave a site if it takes more than four seconds to load. That is a ton of traffic potentially lost. On average website users spend 5.59 seconds looking at written content on a site, and 6.44 seconds focused on the main navigation menu. This increases significantly on pages with video.

With 61% saying that if they do not find what they are looking for within about five seconds they will go to another website, it is crucial to think about your user journey, and what you need to portray very quickly.

Frustrations with university websites

A survey by Modern Campus found that students’ top five frustrations with university websites were:

1.       Hard to find information about specific majors/programs

2.       Confusing directions related to admissions process

3.       Hard to use navigation or links

4.       Lack of information about job opportunities related to each program

5.       Lack of information around admission statistics

While not every organization faces the same plight of dwindling website traffic, the imperative for user journey optimization transcends industry boundaries. Investing in a superior user experience not only increases the likelihood of a positive user experience but also improves engagement levels and lead generation.

To better discuss how edits to your website and landing pages could make a difference to your marketing goals please reach out to Robyn Davidson at Fundamental Media, [email protected]