Why Does My Website Have a High Bounce Rate?

Managing bounce rate is one of the trickiest parts of owning a website. It pertains to the rate of visitors that leave your website after a few seconds or after viewing several pages. A high bounce rate is a bad sign. It can say a lot of things about your website, including its navigability and appeal to users.

Still, bounce rates aren’t always a bad thing. At some point, your visitors will leave your website, which is quite normal. So when should you panic? Here’s a tier you can refer to:

25% or lower – Exceptional

26% to 40% – just the right level

41% to 55% – can be considered average but still normal

56% to 70% – higher than the considered normal but can be acceptable depending on the niche

Higher than 70% – something is really wrong and it needs an immediate fix

If your website falls in the higher spectrum, you need to consider the following reasons for the excessive bounce rate:

Technical problems 

People will often leave your website for another option if it often yields 404 pages. Also, if your website is very difficult to navigate on mobile, expect that your visitor will look somewhere else.

The easiest way to diagnose the problem is to put yourself in the shoes of your visitors. Check your website to know the technical difficulties they are experiencing.

Slow loading time

Slow page speeds aren’t just an enemy in terms of bounce rate. They can also hurt your rankings in Google. Since slow loading is an unpleasant experience, your visitor will just close the tab and look for the next option. This also spells trouble on your search engine results ranking.

It’s best to perform a site audit to know what’s causing the slow loading. Your site could make use of compressing images or videos, fixing coding errors, and solving other related problems.

Poor content

Internet users want content they can easily digest. So if you’re writing in a PhD dissertation tone, expect that your visitors will give it a pass. Always write in a conversational manner and make sure that the header tags are easy to skim.

A sea of text is a bad sign and the sight of it is enough reason for a site visitor to look somewhere else. Take note that writing for the web is way different than writing for a school paper or a publication.

It’s best to check your copywriting skills. Also, avoid very salesy content. As much as you want to market your service or product, you don’t want to put off potential customers with your pushy content.

Conclusion

A high bounce rate is a sign that something’s wrong with your website. A complete audit will help you see the bigger picture. Through that, you can apply the necessary solution. Always start with the basic problems and move to complicated ones until you have fixed all of it. Just remember that bounce rates aren’t always bad. You just have to get the right balance based on your site’s niche.