Causes of High Bounce Rate and Ways to Reduce It

Causes of High Bounce Rate and Ways to Reduce It

The bounce rate is an indicator that shows how often visitors leave your site without going further or engaging in any activity. For website and online store owners, it is crucial that visitors take some action, preferably making a purchase. Therefore, it is worth looking into the reasons for a high bounce rate.

Here are some of the most common reasons for a high bounce rate:

  • Slow page loading.
  • Low-quality or uninteresting content.
  • Incorrect or inappropriate metadata.
  • Pages not optimized for mobile devices.
  • Lack of clear calls to action (CTA).
  • Poor user experience (UX).
  • Many different factors can contribute to a high bounce rate. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to reduce it. However, it will never be completely eliminated – there will always be people who accidentally click a link or simply do not find what they are looking for.

Here are some approximate bounce rate values:

  • < 20% = Excellent, but it could also be due to a tracking error
  • 21-40% = Very good
  • 41-55% = Average
  • 56-70% = Poor
  • > 70% = Bad (with some exceptions, as mentioned below)

How to fix it?

Start by aligning your site’s content with what was promised to visitors. Then check if your site is sufficiently interesting, paying attention to color schemes, layout, content, and images. After creating an engaging page, make sure it has the appropriate internal links and clear calls to action that guide customers further in the purchasing process.

What is a good bounce rate?

While the lower the bounce rate, the better, it all depends on the type of your site, industry, and target audience. It is crucial to monitor the bounce rate in analytical tools such as Google Analytics.

A high bounce rate is not always bad. It may indicate that the user quickly found what they were looking for. For example, if you run a blog, the bounce rate will often be high because readers may visit the site just to read one latest post.

If you want to learn more about the possibilities of reducing the bounce rate on your site, contact us.