10 Strategies to Reduce Bounce Rate: Tips to Keep Visitors on Your Website

Lisa Trevelyan ,

We’ve put so much time, money, and attention into the assembly and management of our website and all it has to offer, right? So we really want people to stay awhile and take a look around, right? Even better, we’d be thrilled if the people visiting our site helped increase our conversion rate with a purchase, right?!! Right!

We don’t want someone to leave our page without completing a conversion or even checking it out at all. What we don’t want is a high bounce rate.

What is Bounce Rate?

Bounce rate is a metric that’s used to determine how many people visit a website and leave immediately without viewing any other pages. A high bounce rate can indicate that a site isn’t engaging or relevant to your audience, which can hurt your business’s bottom line.

Keep reading for 10 strategies that you can use to reduce bounce rates and keep visitors on your website.

  1. Improve Your Website’s Loading Speed

One of the main reasons people leave a website is because it takes too long to load. If a website takes longer than three seconds to load, it’s guaranteed to lose visitors. A way to improve a site’s loading speed is by optimizing the images on the page. Minimizing the number of plugins and choosing a web host that is known for its fast loading times will also help reduce bounce rates.

A great tool to assess a website’s speed is “Pingdom”. By simply putting in the website’s URL, you can determine the site’s loading speed. From there, you’re able to identify if there are any improvements that need to be made.

  1. Use Relevant Content and Target the Right Visitors

If your website’s content is irrelevant or not engaging, visitors will leave immediately. Make sure to post fresh, current, and interesting content on a regular basis. Using infographics, videos, and images helps make content more engaging.

It’s important to make sure the site’s content is aimed towards its target market. A/B testing is one strategy that can be applied to help determine which channels or social media platforms are the right ones to target for your campaigns.

  1. Use Calls to Action (CTAs)

Calls to action are important for converting website visitors into customers. Making CTAs that lead to resource pages can be a helpful strategy because resource pages readily and easily provide visitors with the specific information they came to the site for. Another way CTAs can be used to increase conversion rates is through free trials or special access to educational resources.

Make sure to place CTA throughout your website. Making them brightly colored is a great way for them to stand out. Remember, the more time a visitor spends on your site helps your bounce rate!

  1. Optimize Your Pages through Keywords and SEO

One way to keep visitors on your website is by optimizing the pages through keywords and SEO. This helps improve the site’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs), and when a site appears higher in SERPs, it’s more likely that visitors will click through to the page. SEO is an ever-evolving field, so it’s important to keep up with the latest changes by following industry blogs, attending conferences, or hiring a digital marketing firm to do the research for you.

Google AdWords Keyword Planner Tool is one tool that can be used to determine which keywords are most used for various topics. High-traffic keywords can be informational or commercial. Informational words help inform and create awareness, whereas commercial words are more for selling.

Knowing what high-traffic keywords people are using when they are looking for the information that your site provides, and applying them to your pages, is one of the best ways to get your brand in front of your target market.

  1. Design and Content Formation

If your website looks unprofessional or the design is outdated, visitors will leave immediately. The layout and design of your website need to be attractive and easy to navigate. Make sure to use fonts and colors that are easy on the eyes and avoid using too many animations or Flash elements. For instance, charts/images, bullet points, and lists make a reader more likely to review more of the site.

  1. Multiple Landing Pages that are Easy to Navigate

If visitors have to rigorously search for what they are looking for, they will leave the website. By creating multiple landing pages that are relevant to your target audience and ensuring that the menus and links are easy to navigate, you have an opportunity to reduce bounce rates.

Drop-down menus and breadcrumbs help visitors find their way around your website. Every landing page should have the option to go back to your “Homepage” and link to others. It goes without saying that every link should work and lead to where it is intended, or you risk losing a potential customer.

  1. Offer Free Downloads or Subscriptions

Offering something of value to visitors increases the chances that they will stay on your website. This could be a free eBook, whitepaper, or subscription to your company’s blog or email newsletter. You can also offer discounts for products or services that you offer.

These types of incentives increase leads and bring target audiences in more consistently. Keeping them on the site longer ultimately increases the chances of a conversion by way of a purchase or subscription.

  1. Be Mobile Friendly

Websites that are not mobile-friendly are losing out on a lot of potential customers! More and more people are using their smartphones and tablets to access the internet, so it’s important that your website is responsive to a range of devices.

You can use a tool like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check if your website is mobile-friendly. If it isn’t, you may want to consider making some changes or hiring a professional firm to update and optimize your website, so it not only looks great but also functions properly on all devices.

  1. Set External Links to Open in a New Window

When you set external links to open in a new window, it keeps the visitor on your website. Links that open in the same window can cause visitors to leave your site before they have a chance to explore other pages.

There are two ways to do this: by adding target=”_blank” within the HTML code of the link or by selecting “Open in new window” when you insert a link into your text.

  1. Branding and Storytelling

A website should have a strong brand that tells a story. This helps visitors connect with the company and understand what they offer. Businesses can utilize images, videos, and testimonials on their website to help tell their company’s story.

Branding should be consistent across all channels, including social media, email marketing, and print materials. The most important thing is to always be honest. The more people feel you are genuinely trying to help them, the more they will trust you and want to come back. It’s all about gaining their assurance that you are knowledgeable in the content you are putting out.

The Takeaway

By following these simple tips, you can reduce your website’s bounce rate and keep visitors engaged. Remember to focus on the user experience and make it easy for people to find what they are looking for. Keep your branding consistent, tell a story, and offer incentives for visitors to stick around. These techniques will help improve your website’s overall effectiveness and increase your chances of a conversion.

 

About Lisa | Spherical Strategies Content Creator & Copywriter

Lisa works with Spherical Strategies as a content creator and copywriter. She brings a deep understanding of human motivation to her mastery of writing by utilizing her education in market psychology. She has worked over the past several years as a private contractor, providing industry-specific content and editing for companies of all sizes.

Outside of her work as a content creator, Lisa is passionate about caring for her young son and is only slightly obsessed with gardening.

If you’re looking for more ideas on how to use digital marketing and NFTs for your business in 2022, be sure to check out our website! Not only do we have information about new digital trends and nonfungible tokens, but we also offer free consultations to see how Spherical Strategies can help you achieve your digital marketing goals in 2022!