What are you doing to keep your website’s bounce rate down? Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that visit your site and leave without looking at another page, or taking any action (opt-ins, etc). A high bounce rate would be a bad thing in most cases. There are sites where higher than normal bounce rates aren’t unusual, but for most business-oriented sites that have sales, service and related functionality – it isn’t usually a good thing. A business site may have some pages that have a higher bounce rate than the rest of the site, but those tend to have specific purposes and are self-contained (ie: everything the customer/prospect needs is on that page – like a phone number or the answer to a specific question).
High bounce rates can be caused by pages that are: boring, objectionable, uninformative, unclear, misleading, or didn’t match the expectation (reason) that the view believes that the page exists. For a home page, a high bounce rate might tell you that the page doesn’t do a good job of communicating what the company does and why you should be there. Think about the reasons why you leave a site after visiting only one page. You didn’t find what you wanted. The site isn’t what you thought it was. The site is too technical or is filled with jargon. The site isn’t technical enough and targets people far less experienced in the subject than you.
Some of those reasons are legitimate, depending on the person coming to the site and their expectation. It’s a reason audience-specific landing pages exist – the home page can’t be everything to everyone. Even so, your site (like a retail store) needs to set the stage.
Set the stage
When you walk into most retail stores, someone either says Hello (or welcome). In many cases, the store’s next action is for a staff member to ask if they can help you. Sometimes the ask is inquisitive, sometimes it’s asked in a tone that clearly hopes you say no, sometimes it’s perky. No matter how the question is asked, the most common answer is “Just looking”, of course. The possible translations of “just looking” include: “I got this”, “Leave me alone”, “I don’t need help, thanks”, and others. Sometimes, “just looking” is OK. Sometimes, they’re showrooming – but they’re in your store, so reducing their bounce is what you do next.
In far too many cases, “Can I help you?” is a conversation that tends to feel like this: “How was school today?” “Fine.”
Many stores handle in-store visitors in a more effective way. Some explain how the store works, particularly if it has an unusual process or there’s something non-obvious about it. A good example: “If you see an item you like, and you want it in a different color – please let us know. We have every color of every item in stock and ready to take home.” Is there a similar comment your website could make to set the stage for the visitor to accomplish what they came for? Take that same “we have every color…” angle and look at your website.
Compare it to face time
I looked at a computer bag / luggage site recently. Their site made it clear which laptops fit which bags. It showed how to measure the dimensions of your laptop (vs. trusting “15 inch laptop”) so that you’d be sure your gear fit. My guess is that poor fit is a common reason why people return computer bags. Their site makes sure I buy the right thing and don’t bounce due to uncertain fit. What makes your visitors bounce?
What would you say if a web site prospect was sitting with you at a local coffee shop or cafe? If they walk in and sit down with you, how would speak for your website in a way that encouraged them to look further, or help them find the answer they’re looking for? What would they say as they were seated? What’s the first thing you would say to them to help them feel comfortable, welcome and knowledgeable about what your site is all about? What would you say to enable them to take the next logical step, assuming they are the type of person (or business) that you want to visit your site?
Is that what your site says now?
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a strategic, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site, contact him on Twitter, or email him at [email protected].