Bounce rate is one of the most underrated terms in many industries. But if you are a service provider or product seller via digital media, you must understand and reduce bounce rate of your websites to get more conversions from the lead. In this blog, we will discuss everything you need to know about the Bounce rate like what it is, why it is considerable, and how you can reduce it. So, go through this complete write-up and get an edge over your competitors.
What is the Bounce Rate?
Bounce Rate is the percentage of users who landed on your website but returned without taking any action. The term without taking any action means, Visitors had not clicked on any link or opened any other page. Instead, they left the entire website.
When a person lands on your page and opens another page of your website that does not increase the bounce rate because they did not leave your website. They make a click which is counted as an action. Now, that you know what the bounce rate means, reducing it is imperative for better results.
Why Even Bother to Reduce Bounce Rate of Your Website?
Reducing the bounce rate means improving the user experience which further increases the chances of conversion. Although a bounce rate does not affect the SEO ranking of your page as per some experts, it loses the chance of conversion with every visitor leaving your website.
If you are providing a service or selling a product, conversion is more crucial to you than just the number of visitors. A website having fewer visitors than you but most of them are converted will undoubtedly be better than you.
Also, when users stay longer on your website, they explore other pages and become more familiar with your website and product/service. It builds trust and leads them to visit again and be more likely to get converted.
What is Considered a Good Bounce Rate?
The benchmark of a good bounce rate varies from industry to industry. For an e-commerce or travel website, around 20% – 40% is considered a good bounce rate. On the other hand, some industries are happy with a bounce rate of around 50% – 60%.
Also, there is nothing like a 0 bounce rate because no website is capable of grabbing the attention of all visitors. The main crux is that there is no specific number for everyone. It depends upon the industry type and business goals. And you have to reduce it to the least possible value to get a high conversion rate.
Best Tips to Reduce Bounce Rate of Your Website
#1. Improve Page Load Time
Minimizing the page load time is the primary thing that you can do to minimize the bounce rate. Most users think that a high bounce rate is the outcome of poor content on the page and a lower bounce rate meaning the content is exceptional. However, what if a user is unable to see the page content? A page that is taking more than 3 seconds to load is more likely to have a high bounce rate.
The best thing you can do to drop down bounce rate and improve the SEO of your website is to optimize Google Core Web vitals. They are the speed metrics of a page based on various parameters. Also, you need to make sure that your website loads quickly on mobiles.
#2. Deliver Better User Experience
Wandering on a page without having any idea where to go leads users to leave the page and further causes a high bounce rate. Therefore, your website must deliver a better user experience.
Make sure that everything the user wants is easily accessible. The page is consistent and it must have a flow. Also, the content is easy to navigate so you need to implement a simple and sober design.
#3. Increase the Readability of Content
Once users land on your page then it is up to the web content whether visitors stay on your website or leave it. You need to ensure a good readability score for the write-up. Write articles or blogs with short paragraphs. The reason behind this is when someone looks at a large block of text, they most probably avoid reading it.
Also, your web content must have proper headings and subheadings. So that a visitor can easily search for what they want. Also, all the crucial things are mentioned in bullet points. Employ these tips to enhance the readability of the article.
#4. Allow the Right Audience Visit your Site
One of the best practices to reduce bounce rate on websites is to attract the right audience. Your main motive should not be attracting everyone to your site. Instead, it should be attracting users who are specifically looking for what you provide. Bringing irrelevant users to a web page only increases the bounce rate because they do not find the required information.
To make sure that your website ranks for the desired search query, you need to use proper keywords and create your content around that keyword. It helps users find what they want on your website and significantly reduces the bounce rate.
#5. Use Proper Call-to-Action
A Call to Action is basically a phrase or an image that directs visitors to what they should do now. Imagine a user lands on your website, reads the complete article gets the required information then returns without clicking on a link or making a purchase. Remember what we mentioned above that bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that leave your website without taking action.
With a suitable CTA, you can make users click on a link or navigate to other pages of your website. A call to action is also a way to convert a visitor into your customer if you are selling a product or service. So, at least use one to two CTAs on your page.
#6. Execute Appropriate Internal Linking Strategy
Another way to prevent users from leaving your website and minimize the bounce rate is by implementing a suitable internal linking strategy. When you link a relevant page, a person is most likely to click on it and check that page too. It reduces the bounce rate of your website pages.
You can link to another blog, product pages, purchase pages, etc., as per your requirements. The key concept here is not letting users leave your website without taking any action. Furthermore, internal linking enhances the on-page SEO of your website.
#7. Fix Broken Links to Reduce Bounce Rate
While directing your visitor to another page of your website, ensure that the page exists. When a user opens a link and finds a 404 page not found issue, they will definitely get frustrated.
A Broken Link is a link that no longer works because either you have deleted the page, some technical issue, or any other reason. So, you must fix the Broken links on your website to improve the bounce rate.
Just like the Internal linking, it also contributes to improving the overall On-Page SEO of your website and makes your website easy to navigate.
#8. Eliminate Irrelevant Pop-ups and Ads
If you really want to give users a better experience on your page, eliminate all the irrelevant ads and popups. A popup that appears once and describes your product or service is fine. But, when these pop-ups are irrelevant and appear frequently, it is quite irritating for the visitor.
A person comes to your website to get an answer to their query or purchase the service or product you are providing not for getting blocked by these intrusive elements. So, it is your duty to deliver them uninterrupted information and let them stay on the page.
#9. Use Google Analytics and Similar Tools
Google Analytics shows the data regarding bounce rate so that you can check which page has the maximum bounce rate and which has the least. Also, you will get insights about where users are landing on your page from. Based on that you can make suitable changes on your pages to reduce bounce rate.
Many other tools show you the bounce rate metrics of various pages. But, I personally recommend Google Analytics as it is free and provides accurate data.
#10. Ensure Credibility
Last but not least, ensuring the credibility of the information you are delivering on your website is one of the most crucial factors in decreasing the bounce rate. Showcase positive reviews given by customers. Having specific location and contact details also ensures credibility. By making these enhancements, you can significantly improve the time span users spend on your website.
Wrap-up
Bounce rate is a metric that shows the percentage of users that landed on your page but returned without making any action. Although it does not affect your overall SEO as per the experts, it could lower the chances of conversion. So, it is imperative to reduce bounce rate. You can implement numerous strategies like improving page load time, fixing broken links, delivering better user experience, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a good bounce rate mean?
No fixed number is suitable for everyone. For an e-commerce or traveling website, a good bounce rate is around 20 – 40%. Whereas, some websites are happy with a percentage of 50 – 60%.
How can you reduce bounce rate?
You can adopt different practices:
- Improve page load time
- Deliver a better user experience
- Increase the readability of content
- Use proper CTAs
- Fix broken links