Causes of High Bounce Rate and Effective Solutions to Reduce it

Website bounce rate is defined as the number of visitors who arrive on a particular home page of a  website and leave without visiting any other pages of the website. Website owners can track the bounce rate percentage through Google Analytics. So if a website has an average bounce rate of say 75% then it means that 75% of the people who visited the website did not go beyond that particular page. A high bounce rate can therefore make your online marketing strategy ineffective and it is important to address the problem as soon as possible.

Some of the possible causes for bounce rate and the way to overcome them are included below:

Usability And Design Of The Website Affects The Bounce Rate –  In the online world, presentation is of utmost importance. If a website is full of colors and animations that make a visitor’ experience irritating, then it is a sure thing that the website will have a very high bounce rate. Similarly, if the visitor has to invest extra time and energy in understanding the navigation process and features of the website, then also bounce rate of the website will be high.

Solution –  A good, sleek and simple website with good content is a sure- shot way of not just attracting visitors but ensuring that they stay as well. Rather than just communicating with the target customers, each website owner must make a conscious decision to engage with them at all times.

Other helpful tips include:

1. Keep navigation simple. If the visitor cannot find what they want easily, they will leave.
2. The main purpose of the website or call to action must be clear and evident on the home page itself.
3. Don’t depend on third party content and widgets. They increase bounce rate and increase load time.
4. Make your content easy to read on all kinds of devices. A responsive website is extremely important.

If Content Does Not Match The Expectations Of The Visitor, It Can Affect The Bounce Rate –  Content is the key reason why any visitor visits any website and investing in good content always pays rich dividend. So while content is important, make sure that content is easily accessible as well. The font, color and size used in the font is extremely important as it makes the reading either difficult and easy.

Solution – So while the importance of good content cannot be undermined, it is very important to  enhance the accessibility of the site as well through proper use of contrast. Make your content easy to find and focus on. Contrast is a powerful tool that can be used for attracting the visitor’s attention to a particular place or page.

Other tips

1. Make your website readable across all types of platforms be it a computer, laptop or mobile
2. Invest in spontaneous writing that maintains the curiosity of the readers, thereby ensuring  that they go to other pages of the website as well
3. The content must allow the visitor to know the purpose of the website at all times

Too Many Advertisement Copies on Your Website Can Create A Much Higher Bounce Rate –  An advertisement copy is extremely important for a website owner from a marketing point of view but at the same time it poses as a hurdle in the viewing experience of the visitor. Advertising that is close to the site navigation can lead to accidental clicks, forcing the visitor to leave the website out of frustration. Advertisements sometimes tend to interrupt the content and can create confusion in the minds of the visitor.

Solution: The best way to tackle this problem is by placing ad in such a manner that they do not interfere with the experience of the visitor in any manner.  Also while creating ad copies for your website, make sure that it is line with what your website offers, otherwise it can lead to a very high bounce rate.

Bounce rate affects many websites, but that does not mean that website owners cannot tackle it in an efficient manner. Understand the reason for such high bounce rate and take steps to correct it accordingly. The above mentioned points can be good starting points for websites that are interested in reducing their bounce rate and want to boost the number of people that stay on their website, past their initial page. Each website is unique and it is important to take steps according to the nature of each website for effective results.

What other suggestions do you have for lowering bounce rates? Let us know in the comments below.