It's NOT How Long, It's How Far

One of the things most of us would like to be is 'interesting'. Or at least, not boring.

When we tell a story we like people to be hanging on our every word, eager to know more or hear the next twist. What we don't want is to see them switching off.

But if we're in business there's a big danger people will be doing that all the time. It's fair enough if you've interrupted them and what you have to say doesn't interest them, but if you thought they were interested and they still can't wait to get away, you have a problem.

Turning people off can hurt you in other ways, too. After a while you'll find fewer people even notice when you start talking. And it turns out the same applies to your website. Google's infamous 'bounce rate'* is not a measure of how quickly people leave your site (or walk away, in real world terms) but how many of them only visit one page. That could be the real world equivalent of pretending to listen while they don't really engage at all, even if they don't actually walk away for some time. So, although they stay, they're not really with you.

If you want people to be interested, tell them a better story (by whatever medium you use), and one they want to hear. Your business, and your Google ranking, could depend on it.

Roy

*Google increasingly penalises a high 'bounce rate' by demoting your website in the search results.