As important as it is to attract visitors your website, keeping them there long enough to make a purchase or subscribe is the ultimate goal. This is where a site’s bounce rate comes in. The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who go past the first page of your site to investigate further. The longer a guest is at your site and the deeper into the site they go, the more likely a sale will be made.
Decreasing your bounce rate from the average of 40 – 60% to a lower more profitable level can be accomplished by solving a few design flaws that may be present at your site. To reduce bounce rates be certain your site is designed to answer the following questions:
Where am I – Visitors come to a site with a purpose in mind. They read a teaser and want to read the rest of an article or they are looking for a specific product, service or information on a particular subject. Once they have arrived, they want access to what they came for. Be upfront with what your site is about, and don’t make your guests search for what they came for. All tho your goal may be to reduce your bounce rate and keep visitors on the site longer, you don’t want to make them hunt for something.
What’s over there – Assuming your guests have come with a purpose and found what they are looking for, the next step is to guide them to explore the rest of the site. A cluttered site will turn people away. Your customers shouldn’t have to work to find the way. Keep it simple and easy to maneuver if you want prospective customers to hang around.
Who’s place is this – Be sure to include an about me page with a picture of yourself. People feel more secure doing business with someone they know. Reading a short bio and a few words about your present life will engender their trust.
Where is everybody – Make it easy for you guests to connect with other by adding plugins to social media sites such as the following:
- Diggit
- StumbleUpon
These plugins reduce your bounce rate by making your guests feel at home and by not making them leave to connect with their friends. They also provide a handy way for your guests to invite (promote) others over for a visit.
How can I learn more – At the bottom of your site provide related content links to enable your guests to put what they have found at your site in context. Below are three of the most popular.
- LinkWithin – The most low key of these three
- Nreate – Simplest for site users to work with
- Outbrain – Presently more popular than the other two
Remember, once visitors arrive, the emphasis switches to keeping them there as long as possible, encouraging them to look around and make them want to come back and recommend that they friends come too.