How to Reduce Your Website's Bounce Rate
Jun 20, 2016
WHAT IS A WEBSITE’S BOUNCE RATE?
If you’re familiar with Google Analytics (which we’d strongly advise you are!) then you should be aware of your website’s bounce-rate.
According to Google, “Bounce Rate is the percentage of single-page visits (i.e. visits in which the person left your site from the entrance page without interacting with the page).”
Although Google deny that they look at Analytics data when considering your website ranking, evidence suggests that pages with low engagement can drop down the search results. By following these simple steps, it's more likely that that a higher proportion of your web visitors will engage with your website content and make a call-to-action as a result.
CHECK YOUR WEBSITE LOAD TIME
According to statistics, 40% of people abandon a web page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load and a 1 second delay in page response can lead to a 7% reduction in conversions.
There are a number of handy tools out there, such as Dare Boost, which test your website load speed for free and give you some tips for reducing this. Often this can be caused by having a WordPress template website or if your images haven’t been optimised correctly.
ENSURE YOUR WEB PAGES ARE FULLY OPTIMISED
Whether through organic traffic or PPC, when people make a search in Google they expect to be taken to the relevant content on your website, as opposed to your homepage. It is vital that your website pages are optimised correctly. Check your H1 Tags, Meta Tags and keyword consistency on each page to make sure the message is clear for both website visitors and for Google.
For more information on how you can optimise your website content, take a look here.
CREATE ENGAGING CONTENT
Your website design should reflect the service that your business offers. Your website is your virtual shop front – make sure it appeals to your target audience and engages them. It is vital that your website is mobile optimised and easy to navigate. You want people to like what they see and get in touch with you, so make it easy for them to do so.
Other factors such as a page containing too much text or lacking clear formatting, such as headings and sub-headings, can also be off-putting to your website visitors.
Why not liven your website up with a video, such as the special one on our About Us page, or even subtle video headers like the ones we created for Ruxley Garden Centre?
DON'T BOMBARD PEOPLE WITH POP-UPS
Pop-ups such as invitations to rate your site or sign up to a newsletter can put people off and make them less likely to explore your website further. If people have found themselves on your website and are keen to get in touch or sign up to your newsletter, they will.
DISPLAY A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION
Ensure that your website’s call-to-action is prominent on each page. A simple way of achieving this is to have “Contact Us” / “Get In Touch” clearly displayed in your navigation so it will be in the same place on every page.
DON’T WORRY
Conversions can still come from websites with high bounce rate as this can mean that visitors are finding the information they need on the first page they land on. For example, if someone searched in Google for your business’ opening times and your website is correctly optimised, they should find this information on the first page they land on and may pick up the phone before exploring your site further.
If you need some advice on how to reduce your website’s bounce-rate, and need help turning your website visitors into conversions, then why not get in touch? We work with a number of clients across London and Kent, and would be more than happy to discuss your requirements.
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