Bounce rate is one of the most commonly used metrics to determine certain qualities of a website. Along with site loading speed and inbound links, it is considered one of the ‘major factors in search engines’ appraisal of a website and its consequent ranking. That is to say, the lower your bounce rate, the better the rankings that you can hope for. But what exactly does this term denominate?
Bounce rate represents the percentage of people who came to your site and left without clicking through to another page on the website. How they left is irrelevant ads by closing the tab or the browser, going one step back, visiting some other website or staying inactive until the session times out. Naturally, there are instances in which leaving the website after seeing just one page is not a comment on site’s quality or relevance, but since we cannot really do anything about such cases, we all focus on the ones when a user had a solid reason to leave.
Too Many Ads
If a user comes to your site, especially if it is the home page and they see a cluster of ads, chances are that they will not be too interested in perusing the rest of your site. This is especially true if a pop-up ad interrupts their browsing. This is to say that if Google’s too many ads above the fold algorithm update did not deter you from covering most of your pages with advertisements, high bounce rates should. Advertising is not inherently bad, of course, but try to keep it subtle and always have user experience in mind.
Failed Expectations
It might do you well to see how did people who bounced arrive at your site in the first place. One of the most common reasons for people leaving immediately after seeing one page is that they were expecting to find something else. You should try and analyze what caused the misunderstanding. Perhaps the anchor in the link to your website was misleading, or perhaps the environment in which the link was found. In any case, make sure that you are not presenting a false image to your potential visitors, and your bounce rates should drop significantly.
The Purpose of Your Site is Unclear
Try to take a step back and consider if you were a first time visitor, would you know what your site was about. You can solve this potential issue by having a clear statement explaining the purpose of your website. You do not want to leave the visitor perplexed as to what exactly is it that you are doing.
Make Sure That Your Site is Mobile Optimized:
An increasing number of people are using mobile devices to browse the web, and if your site is not able of properly displaying the content on such devices, chances are you will lose that visitor, perhaps even for good (which is to say they won’t use your website on their PC either). Regardless of the bounce rates, optimizing your site for mobile devices is a prudent move, as by not doing so you are denying yourself a large portion of the market share.
