The ups and downs of website bounce rates and how they could impact your business
When visitors click through to your website do they take their time? Do they have a look around your website, read your blog posts, find out how to contact you?
Or do they take one look at your site and bounce straight back out again? (possibly to your competitors website!)
In the world of websites, the ‘bounce rate’ is calculated by the percentage of visitors that arrive at your website and then leave before clicking on anything else.
According to a Rocketfuel study, the average bounce rate for websites is 49%. A bounce rate of 25 to 30% is optimal but very difficult to achieve. Websites that have a bounce rate exceeding 70% are usually struggling with a serious problem.
Quora describes some industries with higher bounce rates can be perfectly effective with a higher bounce rate.
Just like in sport, there are good bounces and not so good bounces.
- A good bounce is if the visitor found the information they needed straight away (such as your phone number) and didn’t need to click through to other pages.
- A not-so-good bounce would be if they didn’t find what they were looking for (or found your site confusing or difficult to navigate) and left (possibly to your competitors website!).
However, it’s worth keeping an eye on your bounce rates as they can be a good indicator of a more serious issue, such as:
#1 Relevance
Maybe your page isn’t relevant enough and people aren’t finding the information they require. It can help to research what visitors to your page are hoping to find. Then include content that fits the bill.
On the other hand, the traffic coming to your website might not be relevant. Consider your past online advertising and regularly check for links to your site on industry forums. These may be bringing the wrong audience to your page.
#2 Credibility
You’ve got less than seven seconds to make a good first impression. It’s extremely important that your site looks credible. Great design, membership of professional bodies, expert blog posts and customer testimonials can all give your site credibility.
#3 Persuasion
What are you offering visitors to your website to encourage them to click through to other pages?Or find out more and ultimately purchase your product or service? You could (offer discounted prices, free delivery or a one-off free gift with purchase to) encourage customers to complete a purchase. Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing and try to match or better their offers.
#4 Engagement
You want visitors to engage with your site and click through to other pages, but what if your landing page isn’t inviting them to do anything else? Calls to action throughout your pages, photos, expert blog posts and videos can all help encourage visitors to discover more.
#5 Choices
Sometimes there can be too many choices. A cluttered page with lots of options for visitors to click through can sometimes be overwhelming, resulting in the visitor bouncing straight off your page. Good design can ensure a streamlined, easy to navigate website.
Keep an eye on your bounce rates and you’re more likely to keep the ball in your court.
Could your website be working be working a whole lot better for you?
Give us a call on 0800 2 Nettl or pop in and see us and we’ll give you a completely free website review.
