Understanding and Reducing Google Analytics Bounce Rate Pt1

Understanding and Reducing Google Analytics Bounce Rate Pt1:

Bounce Rate is the percentage of single page visits or visits in which the person left your site immediately from the entrance page. There is much speculation about whether Bounce Rate site actually has an impact on ranking. At the moment there is no confirmation that there is a connection, but it is still worth thinking about, because it has been included as a possible factor in the recent update Panda.

We had to split this post over a few days, so click here for part 2

Most bounce rates fall between 18 – 30% on the front page and site in general. Any site with Bounce Rate is greater than 30% should be looked at closely. Retail sites and drive targeted traffic 20-40% bounce. A simple landing page (with a call to action such as add to cart) I saw a much higher bounce rate, anywhere from 70-90%.

If you see a higher Bounce Rate, even if your site has a blog and has more than one page, make sure you mark all your pages with tracking code. If you have just marked the home page, Google Analytics account will not be able to identify any other web site page views. You can use Google Analytics Site Scan tool to verify that all pages on your site containing the tracking code.

Write about things that HOLD people’s interest

Factual posts about things that people will search for are all well and good, but they WILL lead to a high bounce rate. It is also not enough just to have interesting content, it has to HOLD their interest. Once people have found the information they were looking for, what next? The best way to lower your bounce rate is to give people an incentive to see what happens next by writing about topics that people will always want to know more about.

1. Write posts in a series
2. Make your pages have links to further information
3. Don’t give readers EVERYTHING they want in the first few paragraphs
4. Refer back to past information on the same topic
5. Write about topics that are ongoing, like events, fashions, news items, and keep people updated
6. Keep your pages between 300 and 500 words and spread your information out

Give People Something To Do

This is probably the most obvious one, but it is often overlooked because bloggers think they are just putting out information, and it doesn’t matter what happens next. The difficulty is the balance between putting up other interesting related information, putting up your call to action AND keeping the reader engaged.

1. Apparently adding links to videos on your site is a good way to get more clicks
2. Encourage people to leave a comment, or start a discussion
3. Make pages interactive, allow people to take tests and fill out forms etc
4. Add quizzes to your site

We had to split this post over a few days, so click here for part 2

Related posts:

1. Understanding and Reducing Google Analytics Bounce Rate Pt2
2. 1 Week Google PageRank Jump
3. Google Panda Questionnaire