A bounce is defined as a single page visit. If a user clicks on a link to a page on your website, spends five minutes reading that page, and then exits your site, they’re a bounce. In other words, a user could find exactly what they’re looking for, have a great experience on your website, and still be counted as a bounce.
To put your mind at ease, most of the best blogs in the world have a bounce rate over 80%. So why are we trying to decrease it?
Less bounces means more page views, which may translate into more revenue, more engagement, or a stronger connection with readers. An unusually high bounce rate is also a signal of poor user experience, so it’s worth decreasing it to a point where you’re sure that your users are ‘good bounces’, not bad ones.
Following methods can help you in reducing your bounce rate.
- Update your outdated content
- Reduce your broken links
- Improve your page loading speed
- Stop targeting keywords/ marketing channels which are sending low value traffic
- Create landing pages which satisfy visitor’s query
- Create landing pages which prominently display your ‘Call to Action
- Make your ‘Call to Action’ relevant to your landing page
- Develop contents which can be consumed in short span of time
- Use Virtual Pageviews or Event Tracking for Ajax/Flash based contents
- Create landing pages which are visually appealing & load fast
- Develop a need to explore your website further
- Run Page Level Surveys
In short, you want to keep customers on your site longer and going to different pages. Use links that stand out to encourage them to browse different pages of your website.