What is it and why should I care?
Google says “A bounce is a single-page session on your site”. In other words, your bounce rate is how many users click off your website after looking at the home page. The whole point of your website is to keep that user on it, exploring your pages, reading all the information you have to offer and converting them to a customer! Your bounce-rate is important as it allows you some insight into what is working on your website and unfortunately what isn’t. But don’t worry, Siva Creative is here to help you learn more about what your bounce rate is, why it’s important and help fix it!
How do I find out what my bounce rate is?
In order to determine your bounce rate, you need to ensure your website is running on google analytics where you can browse all kinds of data about your website, including your bounce rate. Sign into your Google Analytics account and select your website. This will allow you to see the ‘Audience Overview Page’ where you can view the entire site’s bounce rate and other metrics.
Is my bounce rate THAT bad?
Your bounce rate can range from very good to very bad, depending on the number of users interacting with a single page of your website or multiple pages on your website. There are many factors that can influence this but it really all boils down to what type of content is on your website based on the type of website it is! This content can either be heavily focused on sales, more laid back and informative, interactive through quizzes and videos or a mixture of all these.
This graphic from Neil Patel’s website illustrates the bounce rates of multiple industries, showing you it depends on the type of content you have on your website.
For example, simple landing page’s (with one call to action like adding an item to your cart) have a 70-90% bounce rate. While retail/e-commerce websites selling multiple skus (meaning multiple actions) have only a 20-40% bounce rate. They both have the same end goal, sell product, but do so in a different way. This further proves how content is important for your bounce rate.
How can I fix it? There’s many ways you can fix or help your bounce rate, here is our top 3 ways to do so!
1. Make sure your navigation is clear and easy to use.
Your navigation is super important for your user experience and bounce rate, as it’s how people navigate through your website! Ensure there’s a clear navigation menu on the top of your website and/or a search option so users can search for exactly what they’re looking for and get to it FAST. There are a lot of different styles for your navigation menu but which one is right for you? When you pick a style keep in mind who’s browsing your website. Do you want the menu to be modern by having your menu hidden ‘hamburger menu style’ OR do you want the menu in your viewers face, clearly written? Here are two screenshots of our client’s website and ours to give you a more clear understanding of what your navigation can look like. Your navigation is important, so choose wisely!
AiA Insurance‘s website features a clear menu that tells you all of the pages in the navigation menu.
Our website features a ‘hamburger style’ menu that when clicked, our menu appears full page style with all of our website’s pages listed out, along with our social media links of course.
2. Clear Call to Action buttons in the header and throughout the website.
Your header is the first thing a user sees when they land on your website and has a big part in determining your bounce rate. If a user lands on your website and doesn’t know what to do or where to go, they’ll leave your website which increases your bounce rate. Once you include call to action buttons in your header, you can direct the user to different pages of your website. This improves your bounce rate because the user is visiting multiple pages on your website not just just one.
Christine Brayford’s website has 2 call to action buttons in her header, leading you to either her contact page or her listings page.
3. Interactive content that leads to more information/another page
Like we mentioned before, content on your website is super important when it comes to your bounce rate. When someone comes to your website, they want their information clear and straight to the point with some visuals and fun things to click along the way. This article explains what we already know, which is that internet users love to scroll. We’ve been conditioned through social media apps and websites to scroll through posts, pictures, tweets, videos, etc. to land on the content we care about.
Websites aren’t any different and this is where interactive content helping your bounce rate comes into play. With dynamic and fun content a user can click such as animated buttons, interactive quizzes and sections, a user is enticed to spend more time on the website and in turn browse the other pages on your site. Keeping your website viewer’s attention & engagement on your website is the key for keeping your bounce rate low.
McGoey Bros Insurance’s website features quizzes throughout their website, enticing the user to click through them, learn more about insurance and be led to different pages on the website.
I finally understand what a bounce rate is & why it’s important, so now what?
You’ve finished reading this article, understood what we’ve explained but are left wanting more. That’s where we come in! At Siva Creative, we’re web design experts, top three rated in Barrie in fact. We know how to design a website that takes all factors into effect when keeping your bounce rate low, engagement high and people coming back! We offer a range of services from custom website design & development, growth marketing and graphic design. Interested in working with us? Fill out the form below and get started today.
