Bounce Rate Issues

Several times this week I have had current clients and potential clients ask why their current bounce rate is so high on their website, or just general questions regarding bounce rate. The truth is, there are several factors that cause your website to have a high bounce rate, or how quickly a customer is going to your website and leaving after looking at one page,” bouncing to somewhere else”. This is definitely not what you want.  So, what causes a high bounce rate and is it fixable?

Speed

The most common reason for a high bounce rate is speed. When was the last time you waited 8 or more seconds for a page to load? Chances are last time was 1999. Let’s face it, people are impatient and growing more impatient daily it seems. Remember dial up? A kid under 14 would be so dumbfounded if they saw how long it used to take us just to get onto the internet!

Along these same lines can be the lack of mobile friendliness. If it’s not working on my phone, then I’m moving on. Fact is, most searches these days are made from a mobile device and not a desktop. So, if you are not hip to the mobile game then you need to consider that most of your visitors are.

Look and Feel

An often-overlooked aspect is how your site looks. If you have a website that looks like it was made when you had dial-up internet, then people may be leaving. Your website is your online business card, your first impression. You may have a business where you never see some of or even, all of your clients or customers face-to-face, so your site IS YOU! You want people to know that you have taken the time to stay up-to-date in your business areas and having up-to-date technology is a great first way of showing people you are invested in your business and keeping up with today’s marketplace.

Content

Perhaps your bounce rate increase is due to your content.  It may not be engaging your target audience. Another content related issue may be that you have an overwhelming
amount of content and scaring folks away from the get-go. I know if I go to a site and feel like I am reading the dictionary then I will be moving onto somewhere else for sure!

You want clear and concise content. Get to the point in a quick manner but still adding all of the necessary information. Make sure it is grammatically accurate and easy to read, remember to write more for a high school or under reading level, no need to impress your Doctor friends. It is also important that the content is relative to the title.  You cannot have a spammy title that you choose to help optimize the page and in turn it has nothing to do with the content, not good.

Photos and ads

Make sure you have broken up your content with eye appealing, related images, this makes it easier to follow along and more pleasing to the eye. On the opposite end you don’t want to overwhelm you visitors with 1000 ads dancing all over the edge of their screen. No one wants a bunch of ads popping up every 10 seconds. There are many arguments for pop-ups, and they can be an effective marketing tool if used properly. So, if you want to have ads on a page just remember, less is more.

Breakdown

You want to make sure you have website with and up-to-date look and feel. If it’s been more than 2 years, then you are ready for an update. You want a site that loads quickly and doesn’t have any broken pages. Make sure you have clear and to-the-point content that is related to the title. Content that is written to a medium level reader and free of grammatical errors. Include images that help your feel and are related to the given content. Don’t overwhelm your audience with too many words or ads.

We would love to help you figure out what’s causing your issues, give us a call and we can help you gather data and get more people staying and less people bouncing!

Call Us Today: 480-630-9992