5 ways to decrease your bounce rate

A bounce rate is the percentage of users who visit your website and leave before viewing any other pages. While the goal is to increase most key performance indicators (KPIs), bounce rates should be kept as low as possible. The industry benchmark is between 0–30%; anything above 30% implies your audience is either not finding what they’re looking for, or there is an onsite issue that needs addressing. Bounce rate is an important KPI that you’ll want to review on a monthly and annual basis when doing your digital marketing audits.

That being said, here are 5 ways to decrease your bounce rate.

1. Think mobile — It’s no surprise that businesses today will see a majority of website traffic coming from mobile phones. Google Algorithms favour mobile-optimised websites and according to Broadband Search, 83% of social media usage is on a mobile device. This doesn’t mean you should forget about desktop, but it does mean that both platforms should absolutely be considered. Optimising your mobile website will bring a number of benefits to your business and decreasing your bounce rate is just one of them.
2. Analyse patterns — Within your Google Analytics, check to see which landing pages have received the most traffic; of those top-performing pages, which ones have the lowest bounce rates? Which ones have the highest? Compare the layouts and formats of each one and reflect best practices across your site. The top 3 landing pages per month are usually a good place to start. Investigate each page individually while considering where the traffic to that page came from. Was the context correct? Did the landing page deliver what the original pitch was offering? Were call-to-actions clear and easy to find? Find the patterns to fix customer experience problems and decrease your bounce rate.
3. Create Heatmaps — Creating a heatmap on your homepage, or any desired landing page will help you determine what and where people are clicking most when arriving onsite. Hotjar is a well-known tool used for creating heatmaps and it’s easy to use. Heatmaps are a great way to ensure continuous website optimisation and smooth customer journeys — both of which directly impact your bounce rate. Update your heatmap monthly to run alongside your audits.
4. Encourage action — Your audience shouldn’t have to scroll to see their first call-to-action. When a user makes it to the bottom of a page, give them something else to do. Whether that’s viewing a similar product, watching a related video, or signing up for access to a special offer, giving customers something to do will keep them on your website longer and inevitably decrease your bounce rate.
5. Keep it simple — From the minute you present your content to the minute a user lands on your website, keep all communications and designs clear and simple. That means one call-to-action at a time, appropriate designs that enhance your copy, not distract from it, and smooth functionalities onsite that are easy to navigate. The equation is simple. Clear message + smooth customer journey = lower bounce rate.

Need help with your digital marketing? Get in touch or email styledbygracieclemens@gmail.com.