Web page bounce rate – what is it? What does it mean to you?
Bounce rate is the rate at which visitors to a page of your site leave before visiting any other pages. It’s usually expressed as a percentage. You can view this information if you have some kind of analytics tool on your site, our clients get to see this through the Google Analytics tool they’re all provided with.
Bounce rate is banded about a bit by web developers and is a key indicator for improving a website. All sites/web pages will have some people ‘bouncing’, but is worth keeping a general eye on how the pages of your website are performing on bounce rate, as this will give you opportunities to improve content, or make it easier for visitors to find what they want. Remember though that high bounce rate is not always bad! Generally speaking we aim to keep people on your site for longer, but if they get what they need from one page to buy what you offer, for example date, time and location of your event, then great! Although there are opportunites to interact with these visitors more that may be worth considering.
Overall your business website should be regualrly tweaked, along with all elements of your business and marketing, so monitor bounce rate (along with other indicators). Consider ways to reduce bounce, improve your visitor experience and if you see major changes in bounce rate consider what is causing this….
Things to consider when monitoring your bounce rate…
- Does the page put the visitor at ease? Does the page look professional and trustworthy?
- Look over the page content, and layout; does it clearly tell the customer what you do and what your site is about? (in both text and images)
- Where do I want to lead visitors to on the site/what do I want them to do? e.g. get in touch, sign up for a newsletter, read my blog. Could you make it easier for them to do this?
- How are people landing on this page of your site? (e.g. google search or link from another site)Is this relevant to what they are looking for?
- Is there another business with a similar name that visitors are actually looking for and landing on your site in error?
- Are you giving visitors all the information they need to buy your products/services on this page, and therefore they are leaving for positive reasons?
- Does the page contain links to other websites, which people are clicking to visit.
If you would like further information or help with bounce rate, or making improvements to your business website, get in touch. We offer free consultations on design or improvement of your website, in Chester, Cheshire. Or via phone or Skype if you’re based outside of the area. Get in touch to book your free consultation.
The info on bounce back rate is really interesting. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Thanks Jan, I’m pleased you found it useful. If there are any specific areas you’d like me to write a blog post about, just let me know, we like to share what’s most useful!