Increasing pageviews has long been treated as a default objective in digital marketing. Dashboards highlight it, executives ask about it, and teams celebrate it. Yet pageviews, on their own, are not inherently valuable. They are a byproduct of interaction, not a guarantee of progress. In many cases, encouraging someone to click to another page is an expensive action that introduces friction, latency, and abandonment risk. The more pragmatic question is whether another page load genuinely improves the user experience and advances a business outcome.
Modern websites increasingly recognize that value does not always come from moving users around. Progressive disclosure, inline content expansion, modals, drawers, embedded checkout, and contextual lead capture often outperform traditional multi-page journeys. If a visitor is already engaged, forcing a click can interrupt momentum rather than enhance it. That reality does not make pageviews obsolete, but it does make them situational.
Table of ContentsUnderstanding When Pageviews Actually MatterB2B Websites: Exploration Before AccelerationSaaS And Product-Led ExperiencesB2C Content And Commerce: Intent Dictates StructurePublishing And Media: Pageviews As Inventory, Not A TrickMeasuring Beyond The PageviewMethods For Increasing Pageviews (When You Actually Want Them)A More Grounded Conclusion
Understanding When Pageviews Actually Matter
Pageviews make sense when additional content consumption increases value for both the user and the business. They matter less when speed, clarity, and task completion are the priority. The distinction is not philosophical; it is structural.
Publishing is the clearest example of pageviews as a strategic metric. When monetization is driven by advertising impressions, sponsorship visibility, or affiliate discovery, additional relevant pageviews directly increase revenue opportunity. A site like Martech Zone benefits when readers move from an article to a related analysis, a glossary term, or a vendor overview because each page delivers both value and inventory. In this model, thoughtful navigation, contextual links, and related content modules are not manipulative; they are part of the product itself.
By contrast, transactional experiences such as checkout flows, demo requests, or account creation benefit from fewer pageviews. Every additional step increases cognitive load and the risk of dropout. High-performing e-commerce and SaaS funnels routinely reduce page count, collapse steps, and surface critical information inline for precisely this reason. In these environments, pageviews are often a tax on conversion.
B2B Websites: Exploration Before Acceleration
B2B websites often straddle both worlds. Early-stage visitors need context. They want to understand the problem, evaluate approaches, assess credibility, and see proof. In this phase, pageviews can be a healthy signal. A prospect who reads a solution overview, then a case study, then a comparison page is not lost; they are qualifying themselves.
The mistake many B2B teams make is extending that logic too far. Once interest is established, forcing navigation becomes counterproductive. Gated landing pages that interrupt reading, standalone contact us pages that require another click, and disconnected demo request flows often underperform compared to inline forms and contextual calls to action. When pageviews are used to support education and validation, they add value. When they slow down intent, they subtract it.
SaaS And Product-Led Experiences
SaaS has fundamentally reshaped how pageviews should be evaluated. In product-led growth models, the website is not just marketing collateral; it is an on-ramp to the product. Users increasingly expect to experience value immediately, not after navigating a maze of pages.
In this context, pageviews are often a vanity metric. A single-page experience that enables sign-up, onboarding, configuration, and activation may outperform a multi-page journey across every meaningful KPI. Tooltips, walkthroughs, expandable documentation, and in-app guidance replace navigation entirely.
That said, SaaS companies still benefit from pageviews in specific areas. Documentation libraries, integration directories, pricing explanations, and comparison pages often serve both acquisition and retention. A visitor who reads multiple help articles or integration guides demonstrates seriousness, not confusion. The strategic error is treating all pageviews as equal rather than understanding which support learning and which slow adoption.
B2C Content And Commerce: Intent Dictates Structure
Consumer brands often blend content and commerce, making pageview strategy more nuanced. Editorial content, buying guides, and inspiration-driven experiences benefit from deeper navigation. A reader exploring a buying guide naturally expects to move between articles, reviews, and product listings. Here, pageviews reflect curiosity and confidence-building.
Once purchase intent emerges, however, the experience should contract. Inline reviews, expandable FAQs, embedded size guides, and contextual upsells often outperform separate pages. Popups are frequently criticized, but when they are intent-driven rather than intrusive—such as surfacing a discount when a cart shows hesitation—they improve the user experience (UX) and increase conversion without adding pageviews.
Publishing And Media: Pageviews As Inventory, Not A Trick
For publishers, pageviews remain a core economic unit. Advertising, sponsorships, and affiliate programs scale with content consumption. However, short-term pageview inflation tactics often undermine long-term value. Forced pagination, misleading next buttons, and excessive interstitials may increase counts temporarily but erode trust and loyalty.
The most sustainable publishing strategies focus on relevance. Related articles are genuinely related. Navigation reflects actual reader interests. Topic clusters guide deeper exploration rather than chasing clicks. When pageviews increase as a natural extension of usefulness, both engagement and monetization improve.
Measuring Beyond The Pageview
A pragmatic approach to pageviews requires better measurement. Not all pageviews contribute equally to outcomes. Some precede conversions, others precede exits, and many are simply neutral.
Modern analytics environments increasingly emphasize event-based measurement. Scroll depth, in-page interactions, form engagement, video completion, and contextual clicks often provide a clearer picture of progress than raw page counts. A single pageview with multiple meaningful interactions can be far more valuable than several shallow visits.
Methods For Increasing Pageviews (When You Actually Want Them)
When pageviews align with your business model and user intent, the goal is not to manufacture clicks but to invite continued exploration. The following methods work best when they feel like a natural extension of the experience rather than an interruption, helping visitors discover more value at their own pace.
Breadcrumb navigation: Breadcrumbs help users understand context and explore adjacent categories. They improve usability and discovery, though their impact is limited on single-purpose landing pages.
Comments and community features: User-generated discussion can encourage exploration of related content and keep readers engaged longer. The upside is depth and loyalty; the downside is the need for moderation and quality control.
Content series and multi-part guides: Serialized content encourages sequential reading and return visits. The advantage is sustained engagement, while the risk lies in uneven quality causing drop-off.
Exit-intent prompts: Exit-intent overlays can surface relevant content or offers just before a user leaves. Used sparingly, they recover attention; overused, they feel disruptive and harm trust.
Internal linking: Contextual links within content guide readers naturally to related material. When well-curated, they enhance relevance; when excessive, they feel manipulative.
Navigation menus and mega menus: Clear navigation exposes content breadth and encourages exploration. The benefit is discoverability, while overly complex menus can overwhelm users.
Pagination and next-article prompts: Sequential navigation works well for editorial content. Poor implementation, however, frustrates users and signals click inflation.
Recommended content widgets: Algorithmic or editorial recommendations can extend sessions through personalization. The risk is irrelevance if tuning is weak.
Search and filtering tools: Internal search and filters help users uncover more content efficiently. They increase pageviews organically but require thoughtful UX to avoid dead ends.
Topic hubs and pillar pages: Centralized hubs organize content around themes and encourage deep exploration. They build authority but require ongoing maintenance to remain useful.
No single tactic works in isolation, and none should be applied universally. The most effective approach is selective, combining only the methods that reinforce relevance, clarity, and trust—while avoiding those that add friction or distract from the outcome you actually care about.
A More Grounded Conclusion
Pageviews are not a universal objective. They are situational metrics that matter only when they align with how a business creates value. In publishing, education, and content-driven monetization models, pageviews can be both user-friendly and profitable. In transactional, product-led, or conversion-focused environments, they are often a liability.
The most effective digital strategies start with respect for user intent. Sometimes the right experience is just another click away. Just as often, the best experience is eliminating the need for one.
©2026 DK New Media, LLC, All rights reserved | DisclosureOriginally Published on Martech Zone: When Increasing Pageviews Makes Strategic Sense And How To Get More