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A low bounce rate indicates a website that engages readers, encouraging them to explore rather than turn to the competition. Your website must reduce the bounce rate to increase user experience, drive organic traffic and feature highly on search engine results.
But what is a bounce rate, how is it calculated, and how can you improve the bounce rate of your site? This article will discuss these questions and give you proactive tips for improving your bounce rate.
A bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave a website after only viewing one page. The average bounce rate for a website is around 40-50%.
Several factors, such as poor design, irrelevant content, or slow loading times, can cause a high bounce rate (70-80%). A low bounce rate (20-30%) is usually a sign that a website provides relevant and engaging content.
The needs of popular search engines such as Google are constantly changing, but bounce rate appears to be a consistent factor considered when ranking websites. Websites that routinely rank on the first page of Google tend to have meagre bounce rates, indicating they’re providing quality, helpful content for their readers.
Perhaps even more significantly, a high bounce rate indicates that readers are leaving your page immediately and are not converting into genuine customers. Consider the goal of each page. It may be to drive customers to your shop, take them to a service page, or convince them to get in touch. If users are jumping directly from your site, you will not be reaping the rewards in sales and missing out on these potential leads as they go elsewhere.
Unfortunately, this question is entirely context-specific. While a bounce rate of 80% is adequate for some industries, this may be disastrous for others.
You should be aware that where the traffic comes from will dramatically impact your bounce rate. Traffic reaching your website from paid advertisements or social media posts tends to have a significantly higher bounce rate. This is a legitimate reason for a high bounce rate and should not cause concern.
A bounce rate of 50% tends to be a figure many websites aim for, but this should be taken with a pinch of salt. It is always best to focus on improving your statistics rather than on what others are doing.
Be wary of bounce rates that are too low. On the surface, bounce rates of 20% look exceptional. However, these are usually the result of wrongly implemented Google Analytics tools rather than an exceptionally performing website.
Firstly, you must consider whether your website’s content meets your readers’ needs. Think about how useful, interesting, and engaging your site’s substance is and how it will benefit your ideal visitor. Ensure that your design is modern, your images are slick, and your copy is exciting.
Users want to know that you are experts in the field and want to enjoy using your website. They do not wish to view vast blocks of text, which will immediately make them click away.
Short, snappy sentences work better.
Give the users the information they require without all the fluff surrounding it. Use infographics and photography to break up the text blocks, but ensure these graphics are relevant.
Videos are also a great way to engage users, keeping them on your website longer and helping reduce your bounce rate.
Whilst this might sound obvious, many websites fail to implement a user-friendly navigation system.
A concise, helpful menu that gives simple directions is essential for any great website. Users need it abundantly clear where to click to find the information they require. Additionally, having a search bar visible from every page on your site will encourage readers to remain rather than revert to their search engine.
This is especially true with WordPress sites, where many users purchase a template and stick with it. Ensure your WordPress set-up covers the basics, like a customised 404 Error page, add related or popular posts and include a WordPress search bar. Check for the basics, like no-follow links, meta titles and descriptions, and correct image formatting. These little changes on WordPress will make a big difference to the navigation.
Hiring an SEO agency for WordPress websites can help you find these errors and correct them.
A website that loads quickly is crucial to excellent SEO and hugely benefits your website’s bounce rate.
Users are not willing to wait for buffering pages. The average internet user will click away in less than three seconds. Readers clicking away before the page has even finished loading will be catastrophic for your bounce rate.
If you are a service-based company, your website’s primary aim is to sell that service to your readers. Therefore, it is likely that you need to drive them to a contact page or, failing that, a newsletter subscription to keep them updated on your business.
Users probably find your website through a helpful blog post you uploaded rather than directly on your home page. Therefore, they might not even be aware of your company and the service you offer.
A call to action on every page will help drive them to another screen, converting them to genuine customers and keeping them on your website for longer. A successful CTA tells the reader what to do and leads them to do it immediately. Remember, readers won’t go hunting on your site to contact you – they’ll want it to be easy.
We all know the importance of internal links for your website ranking. It allows search engines to crawl your website and promote it for the most relevant user queries. However, it can also drastically improve your bounce rate.
Users are much more likely to continue reading when intuitive, sensible links are included.
This is where the best-researched websites shine above the rest.
Besides specific keyword research, you should conduct a regular, thorough investigation into your target audience. Your website may not be reaching a readership that is converting into a genuine market.
This is where your bounce rate and an excellent overall SEO strategy tie together. You should look more widely at your SEO strategy, considering both your organic and paid-for advertising.
Optimised content will reach the best audience, which will keep them on your site and which will, in turn, reduce your bounce rate.
Regularly updating your blog with fresh, relevant content will hugely help to reduce your bounce rate.
Returning users will steadily begin to outweigh new visitors when readers begin to trust your posts and appreciate your content’s value. Returning users who come to your site directly are much more likely to browse for longer, helping to bring down the bounce rate.
ClickSlice is an award-winning London SEO agency offering SEO strategies for businesses like yours that deliver results. We specialise in boosting the search engine rankings of company websites. We take an individualistic approach to SEO and work with businesses to develop a plan that works best for their specific situation.
For more information on how we transform businesses through the power of organic internet traffic, contact ClickSlice today at 020 3287 3638 or email us at hello@clickslice.co.uk.
Search engines use a variety of tools to assess your website. They need to understand what the content is about to accurately supply their users with the best response to their queries.
Search engines will consider the content itself, the titles and subheadings and the internal links used.
But they will also look directly at the URL. This is an element of SEO that is often overlooked yet can dramatically impact your ability to rank on the first page of search engine results
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a website address. One element of the URL is the domain, which signifies the website that the page is attached to. The remainder of the URL represents the specific page or post that this unique link is pointing towards.
Think of the domain as the postcode, showing the area in which the page sits. https://www.clickslice.co.uk/seo/.
Whereas the slug would be considered the front door number. Highlighting to the user the exact location they are currently accessing. https://www.clickslice.co.uk/seo/.
An SEO optimised URL is designed to work for both search engines and users. The best will generally be very short, include smart keywords, and always be secure.
A holistic approach to SEO does not focus on one particular element but instead considers a rounded approach. An SEO friendly URL is imperative to complete this and should always be considered when looking at both on-page and technical SEO strategies.
An SSL certificate provides your users and customers with the reassurance they need that your website is secure. When the SSL certificate is installed, the URL will look something like this: https://www.clickslice.co.uk/seo/.
Enabling an SSL certificate means that an encrypted connection will be established every time a browser contacts your website. So, your user’s information cannot be stolen, and their activity cannot be tracked.
Having a secure website verifies your identity to search engines. It legitimises your website, and therefore your company. Search engines see HTTPS as a site with integrity, so it is a crucial ranking factor, integral to solid SEO.
Short links, consisting of 2-4 easy to read words, are generally more attractive than those longer. Additionally, your URL should be no longer than 60 characters.
A consistent URL structure must be implemented throughout your website. This is not only for the benefit of search engines, but it will significantly improve user experience.
Stop words are words that do not provide any context or information to search engines. Stop words include terms such as ’a, the, an, but, what’.
Although it is thought that stop words make up around 25% of content on the internet today, they need to be used carefully when complying with the general rules of SEO.
Using stop words in your URL requires a careful balancing act.
On the one hand, the URL slug should be as concise as possible. It does not need to be grammatically perfect but should include the relevant keywords. A URL packed with stop words is going to be longer and more complicated.
However, the use of stop words will not cause search engines to downgrade your page. In fact, search engines such as Google pretty much ignore stop words. Often it will be the case that your URL will not be readable without the stop words. In this case, you should not omit.
So, wherever possible, remove the stop words. However, please do not remove them at the sacrifice of the slug making sense.
Your URL should contain at least one keyword that you want the webpage to rank for.
Although the requirements for excellent search engine rankings are ever-changing, consistent use of keywords when structuring the URL will only complement your SEO strategy.
However, be sure not to repeat keywords. It is tempting to believe that including the same word twice will boost your chances of ranking for this query. But this will not work.
The easier the URL is to read by humans, the easier it is for search engines.
The URL doesn’t need to match the page title exactly – it will generally be significantly shorter. However, make sure it represents the phrase you are trying to convey.
It is essential always to consider readability when choosing your keywords. It should be apparent to any person when they read your URL what the webpage is likely to contain. Hyphens should separate each word.
Some content management systems automatically generate a URL. If the user does not alter this, it will often consist of a random bunch of letters and numbers. Not only is this extremely damaging for the website rankings, but it also does not encourage users to click.
Your ideal URL will be simple yet compelling, accurately summarising the content that the reader should expect.
Special characters can also cause severe URL problems and often cause links to break – wherever possible, they should be removed.
As with all things SEO, the topic of case sensitivity is much debated.
In some instances, it has been shown that case sensitivity is not relevant for URLs. However, using standardised lowercase text is considered the best practice. It is simpler for the user and machines to read.
Using all lowercase text will also massively help with preventing broken links. Both internal and external links are vital for excellent SEO on a website, and frequent 404 errors will cause massive problems for the relationship between your website and popular search engines.
Finally, using a mixture of upper and lower case has been shown to cause search engines to recognise two separate pages. Although this can be rectified, it means that your work will be viewed as duplicate content; even just for a short period. Search engines will then be reluctant to rank the page highly, preventing readers from accessing your valuable content.
ClickSlice is an SEO consultancy, that specialise in boosting the search engine rankings of company websites. We take an individualistic approach to SEO and work with businesses to develop a plan that works best for their specific situation.
For more information on how we transform businesses through the power of organic internet traffic, contact ClickSlice today on 020 3287 3638 or email us at hello@clickslice.co.uk.
There are currently over two billion websites on the internet, and it is estimated that thirty thousand of those are hacked every day.
An unsafe website impacts everyone. Not only can it be hugely detrimental to your company, but it will make your users and customers vulnerable. An unsecured website will make their data and personal information easily accessible to cybercriminals.
The reality of an unsafe website is hugely daunting. But, you can take clear and relatively inexpensive steps to elevate your website quickly and allow your users to browse with the utmost confidence.
For anyone looking to create an online presence through a website, choosing the right web hosting company is integral to their success.
To choose the best company to work with, you will need first to determine the level of support you require. Hosting levels can broadly be separated into three distinct categories.
Shared hosting is great for small to medium businesses. It allows multiple websites to utilise the same server, making this option much more affordable. However, once your company begins to grow, you may notice some severe performance issues.
When your business requires a little extra, consider upgrading to a VPS. A virtual private server provides a happy middle ground, simulating a dedicated server’s experience whilst sharing the hardware costs with other businesses.
Once your company begins experiencing large volumes of traffic and processing a substantial number of financial transactions; a private server will likely be required. This option provides you with complete control over your website and allows you to implement customisations that meet your business’s demands. The most robust option, which comes with the most substantial price tag.
Alternatively, hosting in the cloud may be a more suitable environment for your business.
An SSL is a secure sockets layer.
It sends a message that your website is safe, enabling your customers to browse and shop on your website securely.
For E-commerce sites, an SSL certificate is essential. It is entirely unethical to allow users to input their bank details without assuring that their information will be kept private. Additionally, it can be logistically impossible to accept many bank accounts without an SSL in place.
An SSL certificate cements your identity on the internet and gives your users peace of mind. It protects users data and allows people to enjoy your site with confidence. Additionally, search engines have made clear it is a crucial factor considered when ranking websites.
A website backup is essentially an identical copy of your website data, which might include content, media, and databases.
Suppose your website becomes compromised and is hacked, having a backup means that you can be back online in no time.
Backups need to be regular as if the worst does happen; you need the most up to date version of your site. Consider investigating automatic backups which will ensure you have regular copies of your site.
Many web hosting services offer backups as part of their service. However, the storage on these can be limited, so may only be useful for part of your site.
Alternatively, you may choose to invest in a specific backup service, which sits independently of your website hosting. Finally, various plugins are available across many content management services that can help back up your site.
Whether you have one, or one thousand people who access and update your website; strong passwords are essential.
Stay away from your birthday, your dog’s name, or worse, 123456.
First and foremost, do not store passwords in your browser. Although it makes life infinitely more simple, it is just another way for hackers to attempt to steal your information.
The most robust passwords are long yet memorable. Choose something that is over eight characters, using a combination of letters, numbers, and special symbols. Try to use a phrase unique to you, such as a nickname or term that only you would know.
Do not write your passwords down, and do not use the same password for multiple accounts.
Content management systems, such as WordPress, offer a vast array of plugins for your website. Some of these can add extra functionality to your site, whereas others simply increase aesthetics.
Whilst all plugins purchased from WordPress will be vetted independently, every addition to your website presents a chance for hackers to access your site. Keep potential risks to an absolute minimum by carefully and strategically adding plugins to your website.
WordPress comes with a set of security measures in place by default and offers a range of plugins to increase your website’s security, click here to see what those plugins are.
Thorough SEO is essential for a website that gets noticed. However, once the traffic starts rolling in, it is vital that you closely monitor it.
It is estimated that close to half of all internet traffic is bots. Whilst some bots are harmless, others can be catastrophic for your business and your customers.
For example, web scraping bots will crawl your website, copying the entire contents identically. This can then fool users into believing their site is legitimate, enabling them to trick visitors into handing over their personal information.
If you have a WAF (Web Application Firewall) installed, monitoring for ‘bad’ traffic will be less of an issue. Without one, however, you need to ensure that manual monitoring is conducted regularly.
You will need to select a tool to monitor your website. Google Analytics is generally the favourite and provides a comprehensive overview of your site, providing you with information regarding the viewers’ location, how long they spend on your site, and their behaviour once on the site.
What to look out for:
There has been a rumour circulating for some time now; that blogging is dead.
This could not be further from the truth.
Blogs are everywhere, with over 150 million on the internet today. Ranging from tech to gardening through to learning languages, there has never been a better opportunity to secure revenue through blogging.
Blogs drive traffic to your website, ensuring your reader receives valuable information as well as being introduced to your company, services, or products.
However, this does not mean it is easy. Building a relationship with your audience is vital to boost your engagement rate and create a community of people who regularly read, share and enjoy your work. An engaged and enthusiastic audience will also help promote your products and services, reducing the amount of paid marketing that is necessary.
This is where microblogging begins to shine.
Most businesses and blogs are already microblogging without even realising it.
Microblogging was coined in 2005 when popular social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook burst onto the scene. Many websites give elaborate, over-complicated descriptions of what microblogging actually is.
Put simply,
Microblogging is the process of creating short, concise ‘articles’ often accompanied by images or infographics. Microblogging is typically done to engage your audience.
Twitter, the founder of microblogging, is perfect for drumming up a conversation. Twitter limits character length at 280. Meaning, you have to convey your thoughts, opinions, ideas, and information in a way that is easily digestible for your readers.
LinkedIn users often produce articles which would be considered microblogs. While they will not contain as much information as a long-form article, they will give the reader a wealth of knowledge and drive them to where the author wants them to land.
Microblogs work well when accompanied by long-form articles and can be used to encourage attention around upcoming content. Additionally, they facilitate a discussion and conversation which allows your customers to feel closer to your company.
For effective content digital marketing, you need to be consistent. There will inevitably be times where you may not have the time, budget, or access to multiple long-form articles per week.
Microblogging allows you to put out valuable, informative content but in a fraction of the time.
This keeps your brand visible and helps you to beat social media algorithms.
Your brand wants to be at the forefront of current affairs – and creating long-form content is not always achievable, or necessary. It allows your company to visibly show they are aware of trending topics without spending too much time or energy on each one.
Microblogging allows you to give your audience an insight into your personality without the need for a detailed article, particularly useful for small businesses or bloggers.
Writing a long-form blog post, that is SEO optimised, and formatted perfectly takes time. Yes, blog posts can be extremely profitable, but those with low views will not lead to a strong return on your investment.
Microblogging allows you to see what topics your audience are interested in, and what draws in chatter from elsewhere. Tweets with no replies, mentions, or retweets show that this topic does not resonate with your audience.
A great, and relatively inexpensive way to conduct market research.
You can microblog on pretty much any social media platform.
They each have advantages and disadvantages, and all work better in different niches.
Do not try to master them all. Spreading yourself too thin will mean your content is weak.
People will not comment; they will not be engaged. For example, Instagram works great for travel. Beautiful pictures grab your readers, and your captions will engage and convert them to your site if that is the goal. Pinterest is great for infographics.
Take your time to experiment with platforms, considering what works for your business and audience. Then put your energy into one or two platforms, where you can share regular, valuable content.
In short, you should be doing both.
Microblogging allows you to quickly catch your readers, maybe over their morning coffee or on the train home from work. Times they might not necessarily be sitting down to read a full post.
Microblogging helps build your reputation and lets your audience understand what your brand is all about.
People do not post because of what it says about you; they post because of what it says about them.
Have you ever logged onto Instagram and seen that every person you follow is posting the same story? It is because they want to show they are in the know, they want to look great.
A viral micro-blog on Instagram must not only be saying something of value, but it must be aesthetic enough for others to re-share it.
Microblogging allows for more significant mobile interaction.
Around half of all web searches are now done on mobile. Your readers may find it difficult to interact with long-form blogs on mobile, but enjoy accessing the content via social media.
If you or your business wants to gain traction through microblogging, then work with your chosen platforms. Features like ‘live’ videos on Instagram work wonders to boost your engagement, which breeds further comments, follows and eventually sales.
Leverage hashtags to your advantage. And most of all, be consistent. Whether consistent for you is posting daily, weekly, or monthly. Make a schedule and stick to it.
Blogging boils down to what you want to achieve from it.
If you are all about engagement, then microblogging on social media is fantastic. Readers love receiving bite-sized pieces of information and connecting with the writer immediately. It opens up conversations, questions, and allows your audience to interact with each other.
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