Ensuring users stay after the click

Getting someone to your website is the hard part. But it is not the win. If your SEO and PPC campaigns are doing their job, you are paying (in time or money) to earn attention. If the page experience does not meet the user’s expectations in the first few seconds, they leave. That means your traffic numbers look good, but your conversions do not.

This post is about what happens after the click: how to keep users on the site, build trust fast, and guide them towards the action you want.

Why users leave quickly

Most bounces are not random. They are usually caused by a mismatch between what the user expected to find and what the page actually shows them. This happens even on well-designed websites if the structure, messaging, and speed are not aligned to intent.

Common reasons people leave immediately include:

• The page does not match the search or ad promise
• The content is too generic and does not feel relevant
• The page loads slowly, especially on mobile
• The site feels untrustworthy or out of date
• There is no obvious next step
• The enquiry process feels like work
• Popups and banners interrupt the first impression

The painful part is that all of these issues waste SEO effort and PPC spend. This is something we have written about before, because we don’t want to see organisations wasting money.

Match intent, not just keywords

A user clicking an ad or search result has a specific goal. Most people fall into one of three mindsets:

• Researching: “help me understand.”
• Comparing: “help me choose.”
• Ready: “help me act.”

If you send all three types of users to the same generic service page, you force them to do the hard work and search for what they’re looking for. They usually won’t spend long doing this.

A better approach is to build landing pages around intent:

• Map core landing pages to the intent behind the query
• Make sure each page answers “why this, why you, why now” immediately
• Use the headline and first section to confirm the user is in the right place

A simple check: the first thing a user sees should mirror the promise that made them click. Make the first 10 seconds obvious as people do not read, they scan. The top section of the page needs to do three jobs fast:

• Confirm relevance: “this is for people like me.”
• Explain value: “this solves my problem.”
• Provide direction: “here is what to do next.”

If any of these are missing, users hesitate and hesitation is often the moment they leave.

Improve speed before you improve anything else

Speed isn’t just a performance issue. It is a trust issue. If the page loads slowly, users assume the service will be slow too. They also feel friction before they have even started and are more likely to abandon forms.

The key areas to focus on are:

• Mobile page load time
• Image size and compression
• Fonts and third-party scripts
• Heavy tracking setups that block rendering

If you are running PPC and your landing pages are slow, you are paying to send people into friction. It’s almost throwing money away.

Build trust early

Users are asking one question immediately: “can I trust this?”. You build trust faster when you remove uncertainty:

• Use clear, specific language
• Show proof: reviews, accreditations, outcomes, client logos
• Make it obvious who you are and how to contact you
• Avoid vague claims like “high quality service” without evidence

If you want users to stay, the page needs to feel credible within seconds. You need to reduce “thinking effort” because users bounce when they feel like they have to work to understand what you do. You reduce thinking effort by making information structured and predictable:

• Use short sections with clear headings
• Put the most useful information first, not buried halfway down the page
• Avoid paragraphs that explain your company before you explain the benefit to the user
• Use bullets where users are comparing options
• Keep forms short and only ask for what you actually need.

Make the next step impossible to miss

Even when users like what they see, many pages fail because the next step is unclear. Every landing page should have one primary action, supported by a secondary option. Here’s some examples:

1. Primary: “Get a quote”
2. Secondary: “See pricing” or “View case studies”

Common mistakes include:

• Multiple competing calls to action
• Buttons that do not match the intent of the page
• Contact details hidden in the footer
• Enquiry forms that feel too committal for early-stage users

If a user is not ready to enquire, give them an easier step like:

• Download a guide
• View a case study
• See pricing
• Book a quick call

If there is no low-friction option, they will leave and you lose them.

Keep PPC users on-track with message alignment

For PPC especially, the ad and landing page must feel like a continuation of the same conversation.

If your ad says:

“Magento support in Essex – same day response”

But your landing page opens with:

“We build digital experiences”

You have a gap and gaps cause bounces. Better alignment is:

• Using the same terms in your headline that the ad uses
• Match the offer, not just the service
• Make sure the first section answers the exact promise of the ad

Use a dedicated landing page for high-value ad groups, not a generic catch-all page.

This also improves Google Ads quality score, which can reduce cost per click. So it is not just a conversion play.

Make mobile your default, not an afterthought

Most paid and organic traffic is mobile, and mobile users are less forgiving. On mobile, people bounce when:

• The page takes too long to load
• Text is hard to scan
• Buttons are small or buried
• The cookie banner eats half the screen
• Popups appear before they have even seen the offer

Your landing page should be designed mobile-first, and tested on a real phone, not just resized in a browser.

In summary

If you are paying for traffic, you should treat the landing experience as part of the campaign. SEO and PPC do not end at the click. If your site experience is weak, your campaigns end up doing the expensive part: getting attention, then handing the user a reason to leave.

If you want better conversion rates without increasing ad spend, this is one of the most reliable places to focus.

And if you need a practical audit of your landing pages? We can review a small set of key pages and highlight the highest-impact changes first. Simply get in touch.