Bounce Rates Primer - Top 7 Common Issues and Solutions

Web marketers really like bounce rate data. And what's not to like? In the massive sea of data that analytics software can provide nowadays, the bounce rate for any given web page is one number that can immediately indicate a problem or a success. It works across all levels of visitor traffic, and can generally be applied to almost any website. As Malinda said in her previous post explaining bounce rates, it really is the golden metric - for a general overview of what constitutes a "bounce" and why it's a solid metric to use, definitely read through that first.

Now, as explained , when a visitor "bounces", they arrive at your website and immediately leave. It's usually a good indicator that whatever they saw, they didn't like. What I'd like to do in this post is go over some common causes of high bounce rates for certain pages, and some actions you can take to reduce these numbers.

Generally, a bounce rate over 40% - 45% is something you definitely want to check out. If people are treating your site like a trampoline, run through this list.

1. Remember your statistics class? Of course you do! Begin by applying a Bayesian inference model - OK, just kidding, but the big takeaway from stats is that you really need actionable, significant data. If you've got a 80% bounce rate on a page with 10 visits, don't freak out! Do some digging if need be, but drawing any sort of conclusion from such a small sample pool won't do you much good. Build up some data first!
   
   
2. Maybe it's NOT so bad. What's being displayed on the page in question? Remember, most analytics programs consider a visit to be a bounce if they don't click through to any other part of the site - it's entirely possible that the visitor got everything they came for without needing to browse deeper. You'll generally see high bounce rates for:
   -pages with an offline call-to-action (IE, a phone number)
   -pages that only link out to another domain (counted as a bounce, since the visitor is leaving www.yoursite.com)
   -pages that many people have set as their browser's homepage
   -blogs (most folks tune in to read the newer entries; for these, it's better to examine returning visitors vs. new visitors).
   
   
3. MAN that's ugly. For designers, this is always hard to take, but look at your site through a visitor's eyes - how attractive is the site? Look at color scheme, graphics, font size and choice, content placement, etc...does the site make you want to hang around? Could you remove maybe one or two of the flashing "CLICK THE BUTTON!" banner ads? Run it by your friends & co-workers to get some fresh eyes on it.
   
   
4. Functional Issues. Closely related to design, site usability is paramount! Some very basic features are still being ignored by some websites - is the navigation easy to use? Do links lead to functioning pages? Is the text size big enough to read? Does the logo at the top of the page lead back to the homepage?
   
   For a great general checklist covering details like these, check out Larisa Thomason's Web Site Usability Checklist over at NetMechanic.
   
   
5. Technical Issues. Perhaps the most basic, but still forgotten often! Does the page work? Find out what links/search engines are driving most of your visitors - then take that route yourself! If the page in question has dynamically-generated content, make sure the page is getting populated with the right information.
   
   And folks...it's 2009. Pop-ups, pop-unders, etc...let's just set aside that ugly chapter in web marketing and move along. Nothing to see here!
   
   
6. CONTENT. Really, after doing the housekeeping of the previous steps, this is what it comes down to. Most analytics software allows you to segment your visitors, so try to narrow down which sources are sending you traffic with the highest bounce rate:
   
   -For PPC traffic, make sure your keywords, ad text, and landing pages all align and are relevant to each other - the more they match, the better. If someone types in "tennis balls", make sure your displayed ad and the landing page are about tennis balls, not tennis rackets.
   -For visitors from organic search results, examine the keywords that visitors came in on. Make sure the page is optimized for the correct keywords. Most search engines are getting better about indexing pages correctly, but on-page content still has a lot to do with it; if folks are coming to your tennis balls page, make sure they're not finding it by typing in "tennis nets."
   -For traffic coming from links on other sites, be sure that your link is surrounded by the appropriate keywords and content. Your bounce rate for the tennis balls page is gonna be pretty high if someone gets there via a baseball equipment site.

These are some problems we look for right off the bat when we spot a high bounce rate. Run through this checklist thoroughly and hopefully you'll see that bounce rate drop!