What Is Bounce Rate
So, after investigating you’ve realized that you have a high bounce rate. What is this, how exactly is it impacting your business and what steps can you take to solve the problem?
Simply put, bounce rate is the percentage of users that land on your site, don’t perform any action and leave without viewing a second page. Websites experience a high bounce rate for a number of reasons; maybe the website didn’t have the information the user was searching for, or maybe the page provided a bad user experience (such as a slow loading page).
Whatever the reason, you want to make sure that you can:
- Get user traffic to your site.
- Keep the user’s attention once there.
- And most importantly, convert your website visitors to customers.
What Is A Good Bounce Rate?
Google has not given a clear definition of what a good vs. bad bounce rate is. But, a study by RocketFuel deduced a bounce rate in the range of 26% to 40% is excellent. 41% to 55% is average. 56% to 70% is above average. Anything over 70% is disappointing but, keep in mind that you can anticipate certain individual pages to have a high bounce rate such as a blog article, news, events, etc. If your home page or product page has a high bounce rate you clearly have a problem that needs to be addressed. So, let’s get to it! How can we fix this issue?
1. Be Sure Who Your Audience Is
Although getting traffic to your site is critical, making sure your website provides the user with the information they are searching for is key. If your site is getting traffic that has nothing to do with the services or products you offer the user will bounce. This is why knowing your audience is a must. Stop targeting keywords and marketing channels that are sending poor-quality traffic.
2. A Clear, Compelling Call-To-Action
Make sure to have a clear, compelling call-to-action (CTA). CTA’s should be easily distinguishable and readily available to click. Title tags and descriptions should include a CTA relevant to the landing page the user is taken to. This improves usability, bounce rates, and conversions. It’s a win, win, win.
3. Pay Attention To Page Speed
We live in a high tech world and people expect quick results. Studies have shown that users expect a page to load within 3 seconds or less. After 3 seconds, bounce rates skyrocket. It is also important to note that Google has made it clear that site speed (which is the page speed for a sample of page views on a site), can affect how your site ranks in Google search engine results. If you want to know if your site is up to par you can check out Page Speed Insights for a free and easy resource.
4. Readable Content
It’s true, you need to have valuable, well-written content but also keep in mind how that content is formatted. Users will quickly leave a site if they see a wall of text. Using bullet points or numbering main ideas makes content more digestible for readers. As a standard, every page on your website should have headers and photography to break up the text.
5. Keep Design For Mobile and Desktop In Mind
In today’s mobile-first society it’s crucial to keep desktop and mobile in mind when you design your website. Looking at Google analytics can give you a clear understanding of what devices your main traffic sources are using. We have a saying in our office, “a website is only as good it’s photography.” The images that you chose speak for your site. Stay away from pixelated, low-quality photos, and if possible stock. You want your photography to represent your brand as much as possible. You only have one chance to make a first impression.
6. Use internal links
You can impact your bounce rate in a major way by using internal links. Link related content to pique interest and encourage users to explore your site. Be intentional and ensure the content you are linking to help aid in user navigation. Additionally, internal linking can boost your SEO. Who wouldn’t want that? Google will use a google bot to explore each of your pages and links to discover the hierarchy of your website. If you are interested in using google analytics for your website or have any questions feel free to reach out for a free consultation.
