Essentially, a bounce is someone who arrives on a single page on a website and then “leaves” without viewing any other pages. For example, a bounce is a person who arrives at the home page of a website from a search engine, and then clicks the “Back” button.
A Person Leaving a Website Can Mean That Someone Has
- Clicked “Back” on the browser
- Closed the window/tab
- Typed in another URL into their address bar
- Left the page/session idle for 30 minutes (this time isn’t documented but is generally accepted by the community as being recorded as a bounce)
A Bounce Is Not
- Someone only viewing a page for 10 seconds
- Someone arriving to a landing/sub webpage, going to another page then leaving. For example, they landed on the Contact Us page but did not view the Home page.
Bounce Rate Calculations
Bounce rates are a calculated in the following way:
Total Number of Visits Viewing One Page / Total Number of Visits
Figures are going to be skewed if the page on which the visitor lands provides all the information they require (for example, a phone number, address, article of interest, a forum, blog post, etc.) Another example would be if a website home page shows the business’ phone number and that is generally all a visitor is coming to the website for. In that case, the bounce rate could be 90% or more, which would be acceptable given the scenario.
What Is a Good Bounce Rate?
There isn’t any typical figure you can give, but keep in mind that if the purpose of the website is achieved by viewing one page, then a bounce rate of 100% could be acceptable.
How to Bring Down or Decrease the Bounce Rate
There are a number of measures that we can take to grab attention and compel users to stay on the site and thus decrease the bounce rate. Here are just a few:
- First impressions count; Use compelling headlines to draw and keep website visitor’s attention.
- A good way to make use of your bounce rate stats is to measure the efficacy of content changes. When you make a content change, record your bounce rate. Then make a comparison after a week and see if you are encouraging visitors to move further into your site.
- Research and provide information that your visitors are looking for.
- Make sure the keywords on your website are directly related to what you have to offer on your website.
- Make sure your website loads quickly.
Learn More
If you would like to know more about Bounce Rates or need assistance monitoring and/or decreasing your website’s bounce rates, give us a call. We’re here to help.
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