Take a look at this infographic from KISSmetrics. If you want to see it larger just click on the image. 

Remember to check out theses tips about reducing your bounce rate too.

Enjoy your day, Henrik

Henrik Sandberg More tips to reduce your bounce rate (infographic) SeoCustomer SeoCustomer - Easy strategies to get traffic NOW

What Is Bounce Rate?
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that hit a page and don’t visit any other pages within the same visit.

So bounce rate is a way for you to measure the quality of your site. Do your visitors like your page or do they run away from you. Your goal will be to make people stick around a little more and have them look at more then one page at your site.

Bounce rate stats will differ depending on the type of sites and pages you’re measuring. In Google Analytics, there is a page that allows you to compare your site’s bounce rate and metrics to other sites based on size and category.

Why Is Bounce Rate Important?
Think of it as your potential girlfriend or boyfriend – we would love to have her/him stick around a little more – right?

That’s why I will show you how to engaged your visitors so they stay with you

Google now says that the Page Rank in the search algorithm is almost useless. Instead, developers want to focus on results, CTR, and bounces, which provide the user with fuel gauges showing how effective the site is.

Google wants to stress that sites with high Page Rank does not necessarily get higher ranking than sites with a lower Page Rank. Small sites can improve their performance by making the content more relevant and useful.

So the conclusion is that you have to think of your sites bounces.

What is a high or a low bounce Rate?
Well there is no simple answer for that. I depends on which kind of website you have. Websites like online forums will have a much lower bounce rate compared to blogs. And why? Because when you go to online forums you will click around but when you go to a blog – it could because you have got a link with an interesting headline. Blogs have many subscribers, and those are users who might visit the blog only to read the latest post.

Read also my post about why a high bounce rate might not be a bad thing.

What is a high or low bounce rate?

I know – you wanna hear some numbers about the bounce rates so there they are.

If you have a blog the bounce rate could be above 70%. If you have many ads on your blog the bounce rate could be higher up to 80 or 85%. If you don’t have many ads on your blog and low traffic you bounce rate could be between 40% and 70%.

If you are very active on social networks – you will probably get a lot of traffic but also a much higher bounce rate. If you have a website with engaging content and a very user friendly design you bounce rate can be below 40%.

How to get a lower bounce rate
Okay let’s get practical. We want your visitors (or girlfriend/boyfriend) to stick around. But what can you do.

Theses advices will help you to make your readers click on more than one page on your site.

1) Layout and design
Theme Selection is maybe the most important to reduce bounce rate on a blog website. Most of the readers who bounced off, do not stay more than a few seconds on a blog, which means they didn’t even read your content.

A cluttered, disorganized theme can put your readers off, where a clean, professional looking theme can force them to at-least read your content. I would change my theme to a professional one rather than a free theme.

If your blog look creepy your bounce rate will get high. So choose your theme wisely.

2) Stay to your niche – Content
Content is king. So make sure you also publish quality content. Don’t copy content from other websites or blogs.

If your blog is about how to sell used cars make sure that you drive only those people to your blog who are really trying to sell their used car. Stay in your niche. So your ads or links have to be relevant for your target audience.

Don’t write an article about Formel 1 cars if your target audience what some good advice about selling their own car. Make your content relevant.

3) Font Size and Selection
Font selection depends on the size of the font and the readability.

In general you need to be sure your text is not too small. If you make it might not look good either. But remember to make it readable.
Serif fonts will help the reader to read smaller font sizes.

4) Related Articles
I have just learned that the position of the related articles is very important too. First of all you have to show related articles of couse.

It will give you much more clicks and therefor lower bounce rates.

5) Loading time
Your loading time is an important factor in SEO. But also for your bounce rate. Do you have heavy pictures or videos on your site. Your audience might not have the patient to stick around but will leave you right away.

6) Image Sizes
Image size can also be a factor in bounce rate. Nice and good size images attract readers.

Do a test. I hope you love to test. Remember to experiment and check out what your readers like. It can be very different depending on what kind of website you have. How important are your images, should there be more, fewer, larger, smaller…

Photos are a way to engage your visitors so they stay a little longer. When they stay longer its more likely that they will click on other pages on your site.

7) External links
Be careful to show links to external pages where people can read more information. This can create an exit point to your user. Maybe you can put the external links at the bottom of your page. Maybe you can put your external link on another page. So when people read your article tell them to click here to get more information about the subject.

Remember by the way always to open external links in a new window – and why? Because that will give your reader a chance to get back to your site.

8) SEO headlines – keywords
It’s tempting to use an important keyword in your headline, because it will help your SEO. But if the article is not about that subject your reader will leave you right away.

9) Search bar
Remember always to have a search bar. And make the seach bar visible for your readers always. In that way then can find other contents on your blog or website.

10) About me
Many people would love to see who is behind the blog. With an About Me page you will get people clicking and therefor lower your bounce rate.

11) Tags
Use more tags so your readers know what they are going to read about. This way you will not disappoint your reader.

12) Make it easy for people to make a comment
Depending on your system – when people make a comment often it will refresh your pages and that means that your visitor has seen more then one page

13) Internal linking
In your article do some internal linking. You probably have another article about something that is close to the content of the article you are making. So in the content do a linking.

14) Sidebar
Put usefull data in the sidebar rather then just ads.

Please make a comment – how high or low is your bounce rate.

Wishing you a great day. Enjoy
Henrik

Henrik Sandberg How to Reduce your Bounce Rate and get more traffic SeoCustomer SeoCustomer - Easy strategies to get traffic NOW

We all like to keep the visitors on our site or blog (yes so do I – so please STAY ) There is an awesome tool that can help us keep track on the visitors. Some of you might know it already – it’s called “Bounce Rate”. If you are have been working with Google Analytic you probably know it. And if you haven’t Google Analytic on your site – go and get it as fast as you can.

Okay ready for the definition – taken from Google Analytic ?
Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page.

So is a high bounce rate bad? No – it doesn’t have to be. Maybe your visitors came because of a search on Google and clicked on your natural link or your Google Adwords and found what he or she was looking for. Maybe your visitors stayed 2 hours on a single page or maybe the visitor stayed only for 2 second. You can’t really tell. So it doesn’t have to be bad with a high bounce rate – BUT. (Yes I know .. There is always a but!)

Normally you would like a low bounce rate. You want your visitors to see more pages, maybe go and sign up for something or maybe buy something. And then you have to work with the bounce rate (I like the sound of the word Bounce – don’t you?)

So what is a good bounce rate?
It really depends on your line of business. Many blogs have like 80% bounce rate. So if your blog has that – don’t worry. With blogs – many visitors read a post and then move on.

In business like hotels and motels its normally with a bounce rate around 30%. The reason is that people are looking at the hotel, try to read about it, looking pictures and so on.

But – you are in trouble if the bounce rate suddenly increases or decreases dramatically. What did you change that made that happened? If one page on your site has a very high or very low bounce rate you might want to change that page, or change your other pages to get the same high bounce rate.

The bounce rate on your site depend a lot on your site architecture and industry. But let me tell you some good advices to get it lower.

How to get a lower bounce rate
Okay there’s in fact a lot you can do to lower the rate. So I will take you on a “lower-your-bounce-rate-tour”. Ready?

Yes yes yes… I will do it as a list. I am a list lover

How you write
1. Motivation. Your visitors have been curious enough to click on a link to your site in the first place. So if you can offer something else, something interesting or compelling, maybe a block of related articles or recent user comments – then he will probably stay longer on your site.

2. Content Format. Don’t write too lengthy paragraph. Instead use bullet points, a few pictures (yes I know I have to be better with that) to break up things Specific topics. Stick to your topic. If your blog is about …. Hmm… Dogs don’t write about fast cars.

3. Important information and call to action first. Get to the point, what do you want the reader to know. And remember to put a call to action near the top too.

4. Provide Relevant Content. Yes I know that sounded simple – well something things are simple right? Most people are searching on Google, found your link interested. So maybe you should work a little more on the copy . Yes I know the old saying – content is king.

5. Language. Use the language of your target audience. I tell you guys my Danish is much better than my English. But I wonder how many of you can read Danish? You don’t write the same way if you are writing for kids or for business people right? Let a customer read your text though.

6. Update Your Content. If your text is 6 years old. Take it away or update it. Nobody wants to read old stuff on the internet.

Sites architecture
7. Search box. A search box is always great to let the visitor find other relevant pages on your site.

8. Page load time. Is your page slow at loading. Do you have too big pictures or heavy pictures. If so many people will move away.

9. Design. How is your aesthetically design. A good aesthetic design shows trust. If it looks homemade you will lose some visitors right away.

10. Clear Navigation. Don’t make it hard for people to find his way around on your website.

11. Traffic sources. Check out your sources. Sometimes people from Twitter or digg getting a much higher bounce rate than people from Google Adwords. Maybe you need new specific landing-page for some of your traffic sources (you really should try that out)

12. Pages check. Check out your different pages. Do they have a different bounce rate? What is the different content, copy, design of theses pages?

13. Test test test. Every time you change something to lower the bounce rate – remember to check out the rate. You will have to know what is working for you.

Okay that was the writing… The fun part is to higher your bounce rate – so go out and kick it

As always yours

Henrik

Henrik Sandberg Why a high bounce rate doesn’t have to be bad SeoCustomer SeoCustomer - Easy strategies to get traffic NOW