You have a website that receives quite a few visits. The problem is that your users leave after viewing just the first page. Here, we will see how to make them stay—in other words, how to reduce your site's bounce rate. The bounce rate? It's the percentage of people who leave your site after the first page. Naturally, the lower this rate, the better.
So, what is a good bounce rate?
It is generally said that an acceptable bounce rate is between 20 and 40%. Of course, this varies depending on the type of website. For example, you can expect a low bounce rate on an e-commerce site, as users will move from one page to another and thus view multiple pages.
On the other hand, on a blog, the bounce rate often exceeds 70%.
The question to ask to reduce the bounce rate is: "Why are my visitors leaving?" There are two possibilities: the visitor did not find what they were looking for, or the site's usability put them off. In other words, either a content issue or a design issue.
Your page must answer a user's question
When writing your page, keep in mind that it should answer a question the user is asking. If you answer it, there's a good chance they will continue browsing. At the same time, address one topic or question at a time. This avoids overly long pages and makes reading easier. Ideally, for each query you identify, write a specific page that will answer it. This is one of the fundamentals of natural SEO work: each query should have its own page.
Your site must offer a satisfying user experience
Another aspect to work on to reduce the bounce rate is the user experience, in other words, the quality of navigation you offer your visitors. Here are some important points to consider:
- Content structuring: title, subtitles, content
- Comfortable reading: use a sufficiently large font; moderate use of colors; avoid overloading the page
In addition to these formatting aspects, also pay attention to your site's loading speed. If your page takes 10 seconds to load, there's a good chance the user will leave before it finishes.
In conclusion, here are some points you can work on to reduce your website's bounce rate. Of course, applying these tips won't change your rate overnight (although it might), but you will certainly see a trend emerge after a month or two.