Bounce rate refers to the percentage of visitors who navigate to your website and don’t interact after the first page, indicating that visitors aren’t interested in your content or your webpage wasn’t user-friendly. A high bounce rate means visitors are closing your website or hitting the back button and is a sign you should improve your call-to-actions, optimise your content and analyse what your target audience is looking for.
Your bounce rate is an important factor in search engine marketing and increasing your website traffic as Google takes this into account when determining where to rank your website for specific keywords. You can view your average bounce rate percentage when you log into your Google Analytics account. The higher your bounce rate means the more people who come to your website are leaving after only viewing the page they entered on.
Tips
- Create a helpful and easy to navigate website where readers can quickly search through your content and easily find what they are looking for.
- Add more links to similar pages within your content to encourage viewers to navigate around your website.
- Optimise your page load time, as sometimes your high bounce rate may not be due to your content, but the time it takes to load your page. Check your mobile-friendly website as well as your desktop load time.
- Add interesting links with unique content on your sidebar. Take advantage of sidebar widgets to promote your best pages but be cautious of cramming in ads or overwhelming visitors.
- Enhance the usability of your posts by using bulleted lists, large fonts, white space, organisation and a good colour contrast. This will allow visitors to quickly scan your content and identify relevant points they are looking for.
- Ensure any external links to other websites open in a new tab and do not load over your own webpage.
- Avoid using irrelevant pop-ups as they may annoy users and cause your bounce rate to increase.
Working with a professional marketing company can ensure you improve your website in a timely and cost effective manner. Here at Clarity Marketing and Communications we have the resources and knowledge to help you with all of your web design and development needs. For further information or for assistance in any of the above website issues, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 1300 060 204 or submit an online enquiry.