In the world of SEO, a high bounce rate is often a bad omen. It indicates that visitors are coming to your site and then leaving without taking further action.
But what does that mean, exactly?
It means your conversion rate efforts aren’t working, and your pages aren’t performing optimally. Below, we’ve outlined a few quick fixes to troubleshoot the issue.
What’s a Bounce Rate?
A bounce is a Google Analytics metric used to measure the number of single-page sessions on your website. In other words, the bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave after viewing a single page without taking any further action.
Typically, this happens in one of several ways, including:
- Clicking the back button
- Clicking on an external backlink
- Closing a tab or window
- Typing a new URL into the search bar
- Being booted from the page because of a session timeout
To that end, what’s a reasonable bounce rate?
The answer to this is: it depends. A high bounce rate is a relative term contingent upon your specific goals and website. According to Search Engine Journal, “Most websites will see bounce rates between 26% to 70%.” This can be broken down into several tiers:
- 25% or lower – Something is probably broken
- 26-40% – Excellent
- 41-55% – Average
- 56-70% – Higher than normal, but could be okay depending on the site
- 70% or higher – Bad or something is probably broken
What Are the Common Reasons Why Visitors “Bounce”?
Before we can dive into how to improve your page, you must first consider the common reasons why your bounce rate might not be where you’d like it.
There could be myriad issues, but the most glaring mistakes tend to be:
- A non mobile-responsive webpage
- Low-quality content
- Content that is too effective (i.e., they get all the information they need and leave)
- Title tags or meta descriptions that are misleading
- Your page is difficult to navigate
- Your pages load slowly
- Your page has technical errors
How To Reduce Your Bounce Rates?
Increasing conversions starts by addressing your bounce rate.
The goal of any page is to have the reader act, whether it’s clicking on an internal link, signing up for a newsletter, or making a purchase.
To fix the rate and improve conversions, you need to focus on the website itself. There are several steps you can take to optimize, including:
- Improve your content – It’s important to be producing high-quality content that is informative, up-to-date, and readable. Few things will turn off a reader as quickly as massive text walls and poorly written content. Remember, white space is your friend. Be sure to include plenty of bullet points and headers to make the content easy to scan and read.
- Revamp your website – Google’s search engine has begun prioritizing links that load quickly and are formatted for mobile search. If your website has slow load times and wonky formatting on mobile, it may be time to invest in a site-wide upgrade. Doing so will instantly improve the user experience, especially people on mobile.
- Build landing pages for high-volume keywords – The more landing pages your site has, the better. It not only increases search click-through rates, it also improves the user experience. A Hubspot Marketing Benchmarks From 7,000 Businesses discovered that companies experience a 55% increase in leads when increasing their number of landing pages from 10 to 15.
- Analyze your top Exit Pages metrics – In Google Analytics, you can review your Exit Pages to see where visitors are landing—be it a home page, landing page, or internal link—and which pages are being most commonly abandoned. This lets you see where specific improvements need to be made.
- Add images and videos – A high bounce rate is a strong indicator that your website isn’t engaging. By interspersing eye catching images and informative videos throughout your website, it’s much easier to grab a visitor’s attention.
Semgeeks, Bouncing on Bounce Rates
High bounce rates show that site visitors aren’t lingering on your page. That, in turn, reduces the likelihood that they convert to a paying customer. Fortunately, there are simple actions you can take to tweak your web pages and optimize your website.
Do you need experts to help you identify the underlying problems with your website and then propose solutions to improve conversions? Do you need content creation services to fill the gaps with engaging assets that entice, persuade, and convert?
If so, you’ve come to the right place. At Semgeeks, we have the tools and expertise you need to organically grow your digital presence. Together, we can transform your site into a portal that captures visitors’ attention and reduces your bounce rate.
Sources:
Google Analytics. Bounce Rate. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1009409?hl=en
Search Engine Journal. 13 Reasons Your Website Can Have a High Bounce Rate. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/website-bounce-rate/332439/#close
Business News Daily. Why Your Website Needs to Be Google Mobile-Friendly. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7808-google-search-ranking-mobile.html
Hubspot. Not Another State of Marketing Report. https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing?_ga=2.82511254.1487965852.1621960280-1294241915.1616456921
