How to Reduce Your Bounce Rate

By Karen Salter Repoli

What is a Bounce Rate?

Do you know your bounce rate? A bounce occurs if a visitor lands on a page and then leaves without visiting any other page on your site. If the number of visitors who leave your site without clicking through to another page is too high, Google will conclude that something is wrong - and they could be right. The average for most sites is between 40% and 60%. Oh course, the longer a visitor sticks around, the more likely they are to convert to a paying customer!

My website had a bounce rate of over 60%. With some statistic tracking, tenacious tweaking and diligence, it is now below 5%!

It's not difficult to do! First analyze why your site is not enticing visitors to stick around. Some possibilities may include:

· Your site design is off-putting. Maybe it's difficult to read, or appears spammy, or maybe it greets visitors with annoying music on auto-play. All of these things present a bad user experience that can manifest itself in a high bounce rate.

· Your keywords don't match your message. If you search for "life coach for women" and Google gives you a link to a site that sells knitting supplies, you'll probably immediately hit the back button. That's a clear indication that something is wrong with the search results.

· Your ad promised something you didn't deliver. Have you ever clicked on a Facebook ad because the photo was enticing, only to find that the item which interested you is not available? Chances are you hit the back key. While ads are a separate issue for Google, this type of misleading advertisement can increase your bounce rate and lower your search engine ranking.

Of course, some pages will naturally have a high bounce rate, and there's nothing you can do about that except try to keep it in perspective. Squeeze pages, for example, will have a high bounce rate because they are a stand-alone page. There is no menu bar where visitors can surf to another page on your site, no links to read other articles, no "visitors who liked this also views that." There is nowhere else for a reader to go. Your visitor will either opt-in or "bounce."

Tips for Reducing Your Bounce Rate

Here are some easy-to-implement techniques to reduce your bounce rate:

· Adding a list of related products or articles at the bottom of each page. "Visitors who viewed this item also viewed... " is a good way to get readers to click through to other pages - especially if compelling titles and images are used.

· Link to other pages within your content. Not only do links to other pages give your reader someplace else to go, but it's good for SEO as well - remember to use your keywords!

· Use excerpts. If a reader lands on your home page and can read the entire last article from your blog, there's no good reason to click further. Instead, craft a compelling excerpt that entices your visitors to want to read more.

· Make your site easy to navigate. If your menu is hidden at the bottom of the page in a tiny font, you're going to lose a lot of readers. Make it clear to them how to get from one page to another.

· Make sure your site is mobile friendly. A site with tiny print and impossible-to-click links will turn off viewers who arrive via mobile devices with tiny screens.

· Clarify your message. You have about 3 seconds to get your point across to a new visitor. If he or she can't figure out what your site is about in that time, they'll hit the back button and move on.

· Include an about page. The internet has become more personal and people want to know with whom they are dealing. When you tell them more about your business and you, it makes the experience more personal. And don't forget to include a picture (or better yet, a video - they want to see YOU as well!

· Make it easy to share! Sharing buttons help your readers to share and recommend your services to their friends, so it's vital to install them. So be sure it's easy for your readers to share.

· Capitalize on the popularity of Facebook. Facebook is the #1 social network with over 1 billion active users. Your website can easily utilize this network with a Facebook widget. Since people love Facebook this is an easy way of providing a good user experience.

· Keep your blog up to date. As I am fond of saying, posting your blog regularly is essential for your SEO. Keep it current. When your target audience is searching for information, if they find only outdated posts most likely they won't even bother to click through.

· Turn off auto play! How many of you have landed on a site to be startled by an audio or video! This makes many people click off before they even read the first word. Give them the choice to listen to your video or audio when they are ready.

· Don't use huge blocks of text. With the plethora of information on the web today and the lightning fast pace of most people's lives, people want to scan and get information quickly. Give them what they want - quickly and easily.

o Use bullet points

o Short paragraphs

o Graphics

Want to know what your bounce rate is and which pages are the worst offenders? Google Analytics is an invaluable tool. You will be able to access this data (and a whole lot of other stuff) easily and for free.

Karen Repoli is a professional virtual assistant whose international company, HIT Virtual Assistants helps manage the administrative and marketing of their clients business so they are free to do what they do best. Her practical, proven systems helps Coaches, Authors and Speakers to accomplish their business goals. Karen is passionate about helping motivated entrepreneurs so they can manifest their brilliance to the world.

To learn more please visit our website: http://www.hitvirtual.com

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