Bounce Rate: How to Minimize It and Increase Engagement

Let’s get one thing straight from the start – bounce rate is one of the metrics you don’t want to be high on your website. When it comes to SEO, it is usually the bigger the better, but with the bounce rate case, you really want to be as close to zero as possible. This, of course, is much easier said than done, because to have a good bounce rate you need to keep your visitors interested.

What is bounce rate?

Let us start by defining what bounce rate is and what factors influence it.

When a visitor comes to your website through any channel, if they visit one page only and quickly leave your website – that means that it is a bounce. The bounce rate is one of the many metrics that Google takes into consideration, but it is one of the most important ones you need to keep an eye on. A high bounce rate means that there is something wrong with your website – either the content is not entertaining, the landing page is not appealing, or you have the wrong strategy. So how to minimize it? Here are some of the proven ways that can make your bounce rate go down!

1. Improve Readability

Regardless what kind of content you have on your website, you should always make sure the content is readable and appealing. This doesn’t refer to the style of writing only, but it also refers to how your content is structured. If you have longer content on your website, for example tutorials or blog posts, make sure you segment it like we are doing here now. Using subheadings increases the readability, and using bulletins where possible also make the content more appealing. A quick way to check if you are doing a good job is by using Read-able, a free web tool to test the readability of your work.

2. Keep it Fresh

According to HubSpot, website that regularly post fresh content will generate 126% more leads than those who have static and out-of-date content. Keeping your website up-to-date can directly influence the bounce rate in a very positive way (don’t forget about “quality over quantity”).

3. Do Your Targeting Right

If you do paid advertising on your website, the first thing you should worry about is your money, and then your bounce rate. In a case of paid advertising, if your bounce rate is high that definitely means that you are wasting your money. Do a research of the market and find out who are the people that will be interested in your website. By reaching out to them, not only will your paid advertising efforts pay off, but you will also decrease the bounce rate.

4. Don’t Write Misleading Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions serve as snippets in Google search results. How many times has it happened to you – you go to Google, search for something, read the snippet and think “This is exactly what I am looking for”, and when you go to the website you realize it has nothing to do with what you are looking for. And of course, in such case you just hit backspace and go to the next website. To avoid an increasing of your bounce rate with one such thing, make sure your meta description is appealing, contains the keywords you are targeting, but is also a good representation of what the visitor should expect when going to your website (this is absolutely very important).

5. Avoid Pop-Ups

Pop-ups are annoying. They can be the best pop-ups in the world, but in the majority of the cases, they will annoy visitors. Save the pop-ups for other pages instead of your landing page. Instead, it is better to have an email offer since customers respond better to it.

  13/02/2018     2,206 Views