You’re a savvy business owner who knows data, analytics and numbers can make or break your company. It’s one thing to be presented with a wealth of information, especially when it comes to how your website is performing, but it’s a totally different animal when it comes to actually understanding and interpreting all of that data.
It’s ok, you’re not alone! I understand how confusing website analytics can be. With terms thrown around like “Impressions”, “Tracking Code” and “Exit Page”, it can get a bit overwhelming. It’s for this reason I decided to create a series of articles to help demystify website analytics.
Using the most common industry terms, I will not only provide you with an easy to understand definition, but, by the time we’re done you’ll also understand what specifically these phrases mean to the profitability of your website. Are you ready? Let’s get right down to it!
What Exactly Does “Bounce Rate” Mean?
To boil “bounce rate” down to it’s most basic definition, it is a percentage of website visits where viewers leave your site from the page they entered without clicking to other pages. For example, someone turns to Google in search of a product or service. Hallelujah, they found your site in the search results on page one! Now they’re on a specific page of your site, they scan the page and then navigate away from your site. In website analytics, this is referred to as “The Bounce Rate.”
If you’re finding your bounce rate is excessive, anything over 40% in my humble opinion, 
and your audience is just simply jumping from your site, it’s important to use this information to make a change. Take a long, hard look at these pages and ask yourself why potential clients are bouncing so quickly. Maybe the information provided is too vague. Perhaps the design of the page could be improved. It’s possible the content isn’t engaging enough. Use your bounce rate analytics not to fret and wring your hands, use it to implement positive changes! Once you’ve made improvements, compare updated analytics with the previous reports—you should begin to see a much lower bounce rate!
Want even more tips to reduce your bounce rate? Pepper some relevant links throughout your content; valuable directions to even more engaging information found on your website will go along way to enticing viewers to stay on your site longer than usual. Like any other strategy, it really goes back to your content, grabbing the interest of your audience immediately, holding their attention to the point they are eager for more and more information about your product or service.
Don’t fancy yourself a writer? That’s ok, Power Marketing can help with that! Give me a call at 301.416.7861 to discuss how we can help you lower that bounce rate, improve your content and increase your conversion opportunities! But before we go, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer one closing thought on this subject—and this one will really get you thinking.
Is A High Bounce Rate Always A Bad Thing?
I know, I know, I can hear you right now saying “Brian! You just told me a high bounce rate isn’t doing my business any favors! What do you mean it’s not always a ‘bad thing’?”
Now that I’ve opened the proverbial Pandora’s Box, let me explain.
Your bounce rate could also be high, because your visitor actually found the information they wanted, quickly and easily! Hmm…this deserves a bit more explanation, right? Let’s say the only thing the audience in our example above wanted was to find the phone number to your business— and there it is, right on the page they landed on. In that case, your site served the viewer well. Maybe you’ve been experiencing an increase in phone calls to your business, yet when reviewing your analytics you notice your bounce rate is high. I don’t know about you, but I’d take the increased telephone conversations all day long!
Next time, we’ll roll up our sleeves and talk about the differences between Referral, Direct & Organic Traffic!
