In our last blog post, we discussed what a website bounce rate is, why it’s important and how to decipher the data you have – what’s bad bounce and what’s good bounce?
We also shared that the average website bounce rate for mid-sized, UK-based, B2B businesses, based on our Benchmark Group data, is: 63.89%.
If you’ve looked at your own data and are concerned your bounce rate might be too high, there are plenty of reasons not to panic or take this number at face value:
If, however, you’ve delved into why your bounce rate is high and still aren’t happy, there are plenty of things you can do to improve it. It’s time to take action to help your visitors stay engaged for longer. Here are some tips from across the ESM Group to help improve your website's bounce rate.
‘A slow-loading website is like a closed door to your business. Don't let your potential customers walk away before even getting a chance to see what you have to offer. Invest in improving your website's load time and keep that door open for them to walk in and explore further.’
Visitors are impatient, and if your website takes too long to load, they are likely to leave before even seeing your content.
Use tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights to identify ways to speed up your website's load time.
‘You can't simply scale a desktop design down and expect a great performance; the mobile view needs to be well considered. Remove superfluous content and ensure that the navigation, CTAs and site speed are all optimised.’
More and more people are using mobile devices to browse the internet, so it is essential that your website is optimised for mobile.
Use responsive design to ensure that your website looks good and is easy to use on all devices.
Use clear navigation menus, breadcrumbs and search functions to help visitors find the information they need.
‘If you’re optimising your use of content marketing – using buyer personas or ideal customer profiles to better understand the people you’re attracting – you’ll already know the exact types of content and topics that will hold your visitors’ attention.
If you aren’t tapping into those pain points and needs, and if you aren’t clearly signposting visiting towards this content, visitors will bounce straight off your website. So bounce rate is a really good test as to whether you need to refine those personas or not.’
Visitors are more likely to stay on your website if they find your content valuable and relevant.
Make sure your website provides useful information that addresses your visitors' needs.
‘Our attention span isn’t as long as we’d like to believe. On average we take eight seconds before we start skimming and navigating away from a page, so high-quality images that stand out and help your audience digest your content in a more visual way is key!
Readers process visual content more quickly than written, so using elements like infographics in place of copy will help them absorb your content far easier. Plus, they’re now so easy for anyone to create with platforms such as Canva.’
Visuals can help to break up text and make your website more engaging.
Use high-quality images, videos, and infographics to help illustrate your points and make your content more interesting.
Use clear calls-to-action to guide visitors to the next step, whether that is to contact you, sign up for a newsletter, or make a purchase.
‘It’s worth not just taking a high bounce rate at face value: for instance, if you have a really popular blog post or pillar page that people read, it could be that this is accounting for a high bounce rate – they read it and then leave. This isn’t automatically a failure because lots of people are reading your content and building trust with your brand.
That’s why I always recommend clients to dig into why their bounce rate is high – if it’s high because they’re bouncing off key website pages, such as the home page or service pages, then you have an issue. But if it’s high because they’re engaging with one key piece of content, there are positives to this.’
Use tools like Google Analytics or HubSpot to track your website's performance and identify areas for improvement.
Look at your bounce rate over time and see if there are any trends or patterns that you can address.
By following the tips outlined above, you have a better chance of creating a website that holds the attention of your visitors, encourages multi-page journeys and ultimately converts.
But remember, first you must identify whether your bounce rate is a cause for concern across your site, or just on some key pages. Once you decide on the pages that need attention, your task becomes far more manageable, instead of worrying your entire site needs a redesign. We hope with the tips from our experts, your bounce rate will decrease in no time!
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