MANY WEBSITE OWNERS TODAY ARE WORRIED ABOUT HIGH BOUNCE RATES
5 TIPS TO LOWER BOUNCE RATE
A bounce rate is a number that tells how many visitors come to the website and only visit one page. The working theory is that a high bounce rate indicates the visitors are not satisfied with the website and are leaving to find someplace better.
This is not always true. Sometimes a high bounce rate may even indicate that visitors are clicking on affiliate ads, which is exactly what we want them to do.
If that’s not the case, what is the best course of action? These 5 tips can help reduce a high bounce rate.
1. Check the page loading time.
Website owners love bells and whistles. But, what do those extras cost? If the site takes longer than 4 or 5 seconds to load, most visitors will leave in search of greener pastures. Turn off unnecessary plugins. Reduce the size of graphics. Do you even need all of those graphics?
2. Make it nice.
Yes, we understand that not all of us are graphic design artists. However, first impressions do make a difference. If the site does not look nice, many visitors will not even bother to stay long enough to find out about the content. If graphics and design isn’t your thing, hire someone to take care of that part for you. It will cost, but the cost will be well worth it, in the long run.
3. Make it easy to navigate.
One reason visitors leave without moving to another page is that they cannot figure out how to get anywhere else. They may believe the website only consists of one page. Or, they may simply find the navigation interface too confusing to use. Either way, make sure that visitors can easily see how to get to more content. If the site is a blog, be sure to include links for relevant and most popular posts.
4. Leave out the distractions.
It is true that popup windows get information in front of the visitor. But, face it. Most people have popup blockers these days. And, those who don’t may view a popup window as a good reason to leave your site. Flashy graphics were all the rage in the beginning. It was a cool toy. Not many people knew how to make them. Now, those same graphics can be seen as annoying and very unprofessional. Give the visitor what they came for – great content.
5. Provide consistent and up-to-date content.
Nothing will turn a visitor away faster than arriving at a site that says it was last updated five years ago. Visitors are looking for specific content. However, they are also looking for relevant content.
Make sure to keep the new content coming. Post content that provides new information, relevant to the present time.
Hook Them and Keep Them