How To Keep Visitors On Your Website
If you’ve got a high bounce rate on your site, you may need to change things up.
Unfortunately there’s no definite science to online business, no surefire recipe for success. The online environment is changing all the time, and customer personas are evolving. There’s been a power shift from businesses to customers thanks to the growth of online business, as customers now have more avenues than ever to vent their frustration with your brand should they need to. They are also spoilt for choice with your competitors, so are less likely to remain loyal to your business, especially if they have a bad experience with you.
So how do you bring that bounce rate down?
A bounce rate shows the number of your website visitors who landed on your site and then left straight away. It’s called a bounce rate as your visitors literally “bounce” off your site, and if it’s high then you’re doing something wrong.
If you have a Google Analytics account you can easily find out what your bounce rate is in your dashboard. If it’s higher than 50% – or you have an average visit duration of less than a minute – then you should think about making the following changes:
Review your content:
How much content is on your website? If your visitors are greeted with a long mass of text they’re not likely to find your site very engaging, even if the content boosts your search engine visibility. Remove any excess written content, and make sure all the remaining content is engaging and on-brand; continuity is the key to creating brand loyalty so don’t miss the opportunity to create and cement your brand voice through your content.
Introduce visuals:
Visual content will hold your visitors’ attention more effectively than written content simply because it’s more engaging. How about introducing video content on your landing page, introducing your business or showcasing some of your premium products? Other options here are image galleries, slideshow presentations or even audio. Beware of autoplay multimedia content though, as this can be deemed annoying by some of your potential customers.
Make navigation clearer:
Visitors may be landing on your website and wondering where they’re supposed to be heading next, which is likely to send them off to another website. Include clear links to product pages, your “About Us” page and any other areas of your website you’d like them to visit. Your online shoppers’ journey should be as simple as possible, so don’t make navigation difficult.
Provide clear calls to action:
Your call to action (CTA) should be clear on every page. What is it you want your site visitors to do once they land on your website? If it’s not clear to them what you need from them they will likely bounce away. If you’re running an online blog, invite readers to leave comments at the end, or subscribe to receive notifications about future posts. For eCommerce online stores, make sure “Buy Now” buttons are clearly accessible and include an email subscription form for visitors to sign up for your mailing list. Whatever the action, make sure you’re calling for it.
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