Avoid A Website Bounce
A website bounce is a visitor who leaves your website after looking at just one page. Bounces are measured on a percentage basis, called a “bounce rate.” A typical bounce rate is usually in the 20 to 40 percent range. The lower the bounce rate, the better. A low, single-digit bounce rate indicates visitors are staying on your site and looking at more than one page. They’re engaged and like what they see. One of my clients with a new website has a bounce rate in the 4 to 6 percent range. That’s excellent.
In addition, if a site has a high bounce rate, it may not necessarily indicate a problem. It depends on the content and products being sold. It also depends on the methods used to direct traffic to a website. For example, a company that runs very aggressive PPC advertising campaigns will usually generate higher bounce rates because the traffic funnel leads visitors to a specific landing page that may or may not engage the user. Since the focus is just a single page rather than the whole site, a higher bounce rate is usually the result.
PPC campaigns are designed to focus on a single page, then sometimes a click that leads the visitor to Amazon to buy. If that’s the pattern, then higher bounce rates are common. Also, if your goal is to get the visitor to call your business and the landing page or home page clearly states, “Call Now For 20% Off,” then a bounce is common because they arrive, call, and leave.
Either way, high bounce rates will often tell you if the correct target market is arriving on your site, and if something is encouraging your targets to leave quickly. It could be poor usability, design issues, a slow site, bad content, or a number of other reasons.
By Stuart Atkins
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