What Makes People Bounce Off Websites?
You checked your website’s analytics figures today and the results showed there were thousands of visitors to your website. It’s the same story every day: High traffic volume but very few people actually making purchases.
Why could that be?
Understanding Bounce Rate
Instead of checking on the number of people visiting your website every day, there is another metric that you should look at: bounce rate. This is a metric that defines the percentage of visitors to your website that leave the website directly from the landing page without viewing any other page on the website. Bounce rate is given as a percentage of visitors who leave your website.
The average bounce rate for an eCommerce website according to data from Google Analytics is 57 percent. The best enterprise eCommerce solutions record bounce rates are as low as 35 percent. A high bounce rate may be an indication that visitors are getting the information they need without having to search your website further. However, it can also be an indication that users aren’t getting the information they need from your landing pages and don’t believe that they can get it anywhere else on your website.
Reasons Your Website May Have A High Bounce Rate
If your website has a high bounce rate, chances are it has to do with one of the following:
Slow Loading Landing Pages
Landing pages that take a long time to load can kill your conversions. In a survey by Gomez.com and Akamai, 79 percent of online shoppers admitted that they would not shop again on a website they considered slow. The same survey showed that 50 percent of online users expect websites to load in less than two seconds. It’s therefore important to ensure that your host servers are up to the task. Investing in enterprise eCommerce solutions like that can provide fast servers. An eCommerce platform should be able to handle high traffic and order volumes to provide your visitors with an enjoyable experience.
Ugly Landing Pages
Your landing pages are just like shop windows. Would you place ugly items in your shop windows? No. You would make your windows attractive in order to draw visitors into your shop to see other products and hopefully make a purchase. Landing pages are an important component of a website. It is important to not only invest in a visually appealing design, but one that can grab visitors’ attentions quickly. The aesthetics should make visitors curious to visit more of your website.
Intrusive Advertisements
Ads can help you make passive revenue from your website. However, they can also do the opposite if they are intrusive. No one likes to go to a page that promises to solve a problem, only to be forced to watch an unrelated video ad for 30 seconds before they can retrieve the information they want. Banner ads can also be distracting. Some may actually reduce the level of trust that your visitors have for your website. Visitors may feel like they are being scammed or are in danger of being exposed to spam or other malicious software when bombarded with flashy banner ads. Keep ads to a minimum. Get rid of them completely where possible.
Misleading Headings or Keywords
Using striking or interesting keywords or headings is important for SEO and drawing people to your website. However, if your headings or keywords are misleading, it will be counterproductive. Many people will visit your website but leave almost immediately since they won’t find the information they’re looking for. Live up to what you advertise by aligning the content of your landing page to the keywords or headings you use.
If you’re guilty of any of the mistakes outlined above, take the steps required to correct them as soon as possible. This will reduce your bounce rate and help you avoid sinking your eCommerce ship.
