As the owner of a website, you may think that any page view is a good thing, but if your hits start to bounce, it could mean trouble for you and your SEO. What does it mean when your views “bounce?” “Bounce,” in this context, means to leave, so it basically means that your viewers visited your site through Google, viewed one page, and upon seeing that page, backed out, not bothering to check out any other page on your site. Imagine if your site was a business, and people walked in, only to leave once they took a quick glance around. Bouncing is the same thing, and it can be a sign that the content on your website, or how it’s displayed is not resonating with many of your visitors.
What Kind of Bounce Rate is Normal?
Just like those customers who do a little looking around and leave, however, it is expected that your site will have bouncers. If half of the people who visit bounce, then that’s not abnormal, but anything higher and you might need to fix a few things. Google keeps track of what its users do, and even though they do not use Google Analytics data to determine rankings, if they see that a high number of people are clicking the back button on the first viewing (Return-to-SERP behavior), then your rank may still be affected.
How to Improve Your Bounce Rate
1. Keep it Ethical
One way you can make sure that your bounce rate is low is to be honest. For instance, if you say your product is free on your header but then say that you have to pay for it on your page, then that’s going to give you a high bounce rate. People do not like being lied to, especially when they are looking for one certain thing and are given something else. You may think that by being a little deceptive, it will be a springboard to get you on the front page of Google, but that will not last if your bounce rate is high. Keep your keywords relevant, too, and don’t just implement every single keyword under the sun to attract views.
2. Be User Friendly
Speaking of the front page, you have to make sure that your front page is presentable to viewers to avoid a high bounce rate. Does your front page not support a certain browser? Well, your viewers won’t support you. Does your front page have annoying features like loud music and automatically-playing videos? Well, your viewers will back up immediately. Also, check and see if your front page loads easily. Your high-speed internet may support your fancy website filled with flashy gadgets and images set at a higher resolution than most computer screens, but if it’s not optimized for mobile and people with slow Internet speeds, then people’s patience may wear thin if they attempt to load it.
The idea of your viewers bouncing before exploring may be a frightening thing, but by employing a few easy precautions, you can keep your bounce rate under control. There is no such thing as a 0% bounce rate, but that is to be expected. Just be honest and user-friendly and you will see your bounce rate improve.