How to reduce Website Bounce Rate- SEO 2022

Bounce rate is the percentage of the single-engagement visits to your site. Google Analytics tracks the number of visitors that stumble upon your page and leave without viewing any other type of page on your website or engaging with your page in any meaningful way. Many SEO experts have debated the relevance of Google Analytics bounce rate to search engine rankings for years. 

Bounce rate is not a typical measurement of how long any user spends on the page. You can have a tremendous engaging page and a high bounce rate because bounce rate does not measure the time spent on site.

Diagnosing high bounce rates and identifying the areas of improvement is an advantageous way to increase user engagement and improve site rankings.

There are many misconceptions about bounce rates, and Google’s algorithm identifies what a page of content is all about and what a search query is all about. 

Mentioned below are some proven ways to reduce the bounce rate when needed-

1. Pay attention to page load time

When a user has to wait excessively for a page to load, it creates a bad user experience. The content on your page does not matter if a visitor cannot see it.

Page load time is also crucial on mobile devices because users are more likely to become frustrated with slow load times and bounce rates. Hence, one should pay keen attention to the page load time. Page load time is the typical average time it takes for a page to appear on the screen. It is calculated from initiation to completion.

2. Make site search easy.

Some websites out there neglect adding any site search functionality or make it difficult to see. If any random user is searching for something specific that they do not instantly see on a page, it is a handy tool that they can use for the purpose of searching instead of possibly leaving the page entirely.

3. Provide easy navigation

Navigation should be straightforward and effortless for the visitors. When users get to a site, they need a clear direction of where the content they want lives. If the content is not feasible and out of their reach, they will likely bounce from the site. 

Given below are some of the methods which help you navigate a site easily-

• Keep it consistent.
• Divide all the categories.
• Use accurate navigation titles.
• Ensure that your search feature works.

A site which is easy to navigate also allows the users to find the content they are looking for much faster. It means having a clear menu structure and the ability to navigate between pages quickly.

4. Focus on a great design

The Google website design is very intuitive and it builds trust with a user. A good website design is a signal of quality. Many visitors will not spend much time on a site that is unpleasant or attractive or have difficulty trusting. 

One should always focus on a great design and providing an appealing user experience by starting with a captivating design is not just about aesthetics. It is also about creating a functional, pleasant and intuitive website. 

Navigation is the most important feature of design, and the easier it is for the visitors to find what all they need, the more likely they will be able to convert to lead. It can lower your bounce rate and also improve your rankings.

5. Make web pages easy to read

The content on the web page should be clearly and effectively formatted. It is extremely crucial from a user experience standpoint as no visitor to a website wants to deal with large chunks of disorganized text. The content should be short and crisp and should be to the point. 

One should create a unique title and description for each page of their website. These are the brief texts that accurately describe what your business does. When you hover over a tab, a short phrase that pops up under your mouse is the title of the page. The title and the description are among the first elements search engines track for determining the ranking of your site. Once your site shows up in the search results page, the web surfers will also read your title and the description to learn what your website is all about. 

Many people make use of Technical SEO audit services. It is a process which checks various technical parts of a website to make sure that they follow best practices for search optimization.

6. Write shorter paragraphs in your content.

One of the primary things that helps one with the overall readability of a particular site is the length of the content. One should create content within shorter paragraphs so that your visitors can quickly read the content on the small devices most people make use of these days when they consume the content. 

Writing shorter paragraphs also lure in more people to read your content. One should also add subheadings to the paragraphs to help the readers understand what that specific paragraph is all about. The subheadings will also help a reader grasp the main message of the text. Many people use subheadings for determining whether to read the article or not. They also use them to understand the augmentation of the text.

7. Use various types of content

When it comes to website readability, one should use multiple forms of content to engage the site visitors way more effectively. Video content can also communicate certain kinds of information way more efficiently than any kind of text.

Many people also make use of high-quality images which help to break up the text and improve the communication of big ideas.

8. Use relevant keywords

One should use relevant keywords that are appropriate for the content topic. The accurate use of words, paragraphs and sentences will help to communicate to Google what the page is all about. 

If the website owner uses relevant keywords, Google sends will also be on-topic with what they expect to find on the page and it also reduces the bounce rate.

9. Target relevant audience

Similar to the relevant content, relevant keywords, the right users should also be targeted. It is important to identify the core target audience of the site and create niche content around that particular audience. The targeting should not be too broad. There is a huge chance of getting the users who are not looking for what the site features.

One should also focus on a specific group of users who help you ensure that you are finding the people who want to find what all your site has to offer. All these users will be more engaged and spend a great amount of time exploring your site.

10. Stay away from popups

Many users generally do not enjoy intrusive interstitials that prevent them from getting the best content. There are many ways to show the interstitials that will not impact the users or your webpage rankings. You should try avoiding the popups and stay away for them.

11. Limit distracting ads

One should also try to avoid distracting ads. An ad is a horizontal rectangular ad unit at the top of the page that generally performs well. It comes within the content and along the sides.

One can also encounter large ads that make it very difficult to read the content. It can be a very poor user experience.

One should also listen to site visitors if they complain about specific ads and follow up with them to understand why they are having a problem with those ads.

12. Add a convincing call-to-action

A call-to-action should be extremely visible on a website. The user should also be able to locate this within the first few seconds of being on a particular page. It should be extremely compelling. The types of colours used, the verbiage, fonts are the elements that can make a very large impact on whether a particular person clicks. 

13. Limit broken links

There are a large number of broken links that will only create a poor user experience which leaves a visitor to a website dissatisfied and extremely frustrated if they are not able to locate what they want to find.

There are some ways to locate all of the broken links on a website. One can also make use of site auditing tools.

14. Focus on an internal link strategy

One can increase the likelihood of a user staying on your site by using several internal links to keep a user there.

 Conclusion 

A high bounce rate is frequently an obvious sign that the landing pages on your website don’t live up to visitors’ expectations.

In order to determine which traffic channel has the highest bounce rate, start by reviewing your web analytics programme. Then, pay greater attention to the language you employ on that channel. Do you have current and correct metadata? Do your Google advertisements take users to the correct page? Are you sending the proper message with your social media posts?

You’ll have a clearer notion of the measures you need to do to lower bounce rate once you can view your website through the eyes of a visitor.