While there are many metrics that website owners need to pay attention to for growing their online business, few compare in importance to bounce rate.
This metric measures the percentage of website visitors that click away from your site by hitting the back button almost instantly after they arrive there. Like it or not, most websites actually have a high bounce rate — with one study finding that the average internet-wide bounce rate is 58 percent.
Despite this, bounce rate actually plays an important role in determining SEO rankings.
Why Bounce Rate Matters
According to research from Backlinko, a web page that appears on the first page of Google search results has an average visit time of 2.5 minutes. In other words, these sites have a relatively low bounce rate because visitors are spending more time consuming content. A low bounce rate is strongly correlated with a better search results ranking.
A big part of this stems from the fact that Google prioritizes delivering value to those who use its search function. When someone spends more time on your website, it indicates that your content matched what they were looking for when they typed in a search.
On the other hand, if they “bounce” from your site quickly, it means that something about your site did not deliver what they were hoping to find. This won’t just hurt your SEO rankings — it also causes you to miss out on important conversion opportunities.
Some Quick Fixes For Improvement
Reducing your bounce rate ultimately comes down to providing a better experience for your visitors. Start by looking at your website and making sure that it is optimized for all devices, including smartphones and tablets. This is also a good time to reconsider your layout and formatting — ugly imagery or color schemes could easily be enough to drive traffic away.
Improving your website speed also plays a big role in reducing bounce rate. According to Neil Patel, 40 percent of web users will abandon a website if it takes longer than three seconds to load. They’re essentially “bouncing” before they even see your content!
You can also make your content more digestible by using clear headings and optimizing your call to action placement. For example, a call to action on a landing page should appear prominently above the fold, with clear copy that offers a good reason to click through.
A clean, easy to navigate design will also reduce user frustration. Simple menus and plenty of white space are always easier on the eyes.
Finally, don’t forget to make your content as engaging as possible! Customer testimonials and videos are two easy ways to get visitors to spend more time on your site.
Build a Better Bounce Rate!
Many of the things you can do to improve your website’s bounce rate ultimately come down to creating a better experience for your users. When you focus on what your target audience wants and needs to see, you can fine-tune your content and layout to better fit their expectations.
When your website provides real value to your target audience, they’ll be less likely to hit that back button — and they’ll be far more likely to convert into paying customers.
