How to fix a high bounce rate?

Find out everything you need to know about reducing a high bounce rate! 

In fact, we are firm believers that despite the ever-changing online environment, at the heart of everything is human engagement. So, generally, if your visitors leave your website without clicking on anything, you should start rethinking your website’s design and content.

However, even if you are struggling with a high bounce rate, it is not too late. You can turn your business around, reduce the bounce rate, maximise your traffic, and convert leads faster.

So, don’t lose hope yet, and keep on reading if you want to find out more about fixing your website’s bounce rate.

What is a bounce rate?

According to Google analytics, a single-page session on a site is a bounce.

Essentially, your website’s bounce rate shows the percentage of visitors that leave your website immediately after landing on it or without clicking somewhere else on the website and visiting other pages.

Having said that, the bounce rate is calculated by dividing the total of single-page sessions by the total number of sessions.

Well, it’s crucial that you understand that there’s no such thing as a 0% bounce rate. In truth, a bounce rate between 26 and 40% is considered excellent. However, a bounce rate below

20% is suspicious, as it indicates a problem with the analytics setup.

Now that you know what a bounce rate is, you might ask yourself what a high bounce rate is and how it affects your website.

First of all, you should keep in mind that there is no such thing as a universal good bounce rate. Therefore, there is no exact answer to the question “what bounce rate is good?”.

It varies from business to business. For example, a bounce rate that is good for a library’s website might be catastrophic for an e-commerce website, therefore it would be useful to set a benchmark for your website’s bounce rate. That being said, if you are constantly surpassing that benchmark, then it might be a great idea to make some changes.

Keep on reading to find out more about reducing your website’s bounce rate!

Six ways to reduce bounce rate

While there is no universal “good” bounce rate, there are certainly ways to improve your bounce rate.

What does a high bounce rate say about your website? Well, from bad design to excessive boots or lack of call-to-actions, there are many factors that can lead to a high bounce rate.

However, what matters is that no high bounce rate is definitive and, most of the time, it’s easy to decrease.

1. Optimize your website for mobile

Mobile devices have become extensions of our arms, so, it’s safe to say that even though investing in a mobile-friendly website may mean going that extra mile, it will definitely be worth it.

2. Reduce page load time

Have you been solely focusing on your website’s aesthetic? We hate to break it to you, but no matter how sleek and cool your website may look, if it takes more than two seconds to load, you have some fixing to do.

In fact, slow-loading pages are one of the primary reasons for shopping cart abandonment. In this fast and ever-changing world, a fast-loading website is no longer an option, it is a must.

3. Pay attention to pop-ups

Pop-ups have been described as “the most hated online advertising techniques”. However, when it comes to growing your email list, they do the job, no question about it.

Luckily, you can have the best of both. So, as long as you avoid those annoyingly large and aggressive pop-ups, you can still use them. Nonetheless, pay attention to the design and the language.

4. Improve your content’s formatting

Your content might be insightful and valuable, but with the wrong formatting, it can also be hard to read or intimidating. Luckily, you can improve our content’s readability easily by doing these things:

• Break down the post by using subheadings or images
• Use bullet points
• Bold some keywords
• Make your content more engaging by including some rhetorical questions.

5. Enhance your website’s navigation

Your mantra when it comes to your website’s navigation should be “less is better.” Your site should be easy to navigate. Having said that, you should constantly be looking for ways to make your users’ experience with your website more seamless. From a logical internal structure to dividing categories clearly or to making the navigation elements clickable links, a user-centric approach is crucial for creating an easily-navigable website.

6. Include a clear and compelling Call-to-Action

So, you have optimized your content and your website for your visitors. The next step? Encouraging them to take that desired action (making a purchase, filling a form, clicking a link, etc.) with a compelling CTA (call-to-action) button.

Still, don’t go overboard. Including too many CTA buttons on one page will most likely overwhelm your visitors.