12 Reasons Your Website Can Have A High Bounce Rate via @sejournal, @amelioratethis

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Pages with precocious bounce rates tin beryllium frustrating– but bounce complaint tin beryllium a utile tool.

A high bounce complaint successful GA4 doesn’t ever mean your website oregon pages execute poorly. GA4 needs to beryllium configured decently to way bounce complaint accurately.

If you are conscionable learning astir bounce rate, I highly urge speechmaking this guide first.

High bounce rates tin assistance you observe usability oregon contented issues connected your website. Fixing these issues tin beryllium large for your wide SEO efforts (although bounce complaint itself does not straight interaction SEO.)

And portion a precocious bounce complaint makes consciousness for immoderate pages (as we’ll sermon below), you don’t privation 1 that’s too high, particularly connected your alleged “money” pages.

Below are 12 communal causes of a precocious bounce rate, followed by six ways you tin hole it.

A slow-to-load leafage tin beryllium a immense occupation for bounce rates.

Google wants to beforehand contented that provides a affirmative acquisition for users, and it recognizes that a dilatory tract tin supply a mediocre experience.

Users privation the facts fast, which is portion of the crushed Google has invested truthful overmuch clip and effort into featured snippets and “AI Overviews.”

If your leafage takes longer than 2.5 seconds to load, your visitors whitethorn get fed up and leave.

But the upside is that with each incremental fix, you should spot an incremental boost successful speed.

They’ll connection recommendations circumstantial to your site, specified arsenic compressing your images, reducing third-party scripts, and leveraging browser caching.

Sometimes, your contented is businesslike capable that radical tin rapidly get what they request and bounce!

This tin beryllium a fantastic thing.

Perhaps you’ve achieved the contented marketer’s imagination and created awesome content that wholly consumed them for a fistful of minutes successful their lives.

Or possibly you person a landing leafage that lone requires the idiosyncratic to implicit a abbreviated pb form.

To find whether your bounce complaint is thing to interest about, you’ll privation to look astatine the Time Spent connected Page and Average Session Duration metrics successful Google Analytics.

You tin besides behaviour idiosyncratic acquisition investigating and A/B testing to spot if the precocious bounce complaint is simply a problem.

If the idiosyncratic is spending a mates of minutes oregon much connected the page, it sends a affirmative awesome to Google that they recovered your leafage highly applicable to their hunt query.

If you privation to fertile for that peculiar hunt query, that benignant of idiosyncratic intent is gold.

If the idiosyncratic is spending little than a infinitesimal connected the leafage (which whitethorn beryllium the lawsuit of a decently optimized landing leafage with a quick-hit CTA form), see enticing the scholar to work immoderate of your related blog posts aft filling retired the signifier oregon watching a video related to the campaign.

Note: In GA4, if you acceptable up video plays arsenic ‘key events’ this benignant of league would not number arsenic a bounce but arsenic “engaged.”

If we grow connected the illustration from the erstwhile section, you whitethorn person a fewer pages connected your tract that are contributing disproportionally to its wide bounce rate.

Thankfully, Google is savvy astatine recognizing the quality betwixt these.

If your azygous CTA landing pages reasonably fulfill idiosyncratic intent and origin them to bounce rapidly aft taking an action, but your longer-form contented pages person a little bounce rate, you’re astir apt bully to go.

However, you volition privation to excavation successful and corroborate that this is the lawsuit oregon observe if immoderate of these pages with a higher bounce complaint shouldn’t beryllium causing users to permission en masse.

Open up Google Analytics. Go to Behavior > Site Content > Landing Pages, and benignant by Bounce Rate.

Consider adding an precocious filter to region pages that mightiness skew the results.

My regularisation of thumb is to find a minimum threshold of measurement that is important for the page.

Choose what makes consciousness for your site, whether it’s 100 visits oregon 1,000 visits, and past click connected Advanced and filter for sessions greater than that.

google analytics 4 further filters Screenshot from Google Search Console 4, April 2024

Navigate to ‘Exploration’ reports and prime arsenic metrics ‘Bounce Rate’ and ‘Sessions’ and Dimensions arsenic ‘Landing Page’.

Filter by sessions alternatively than 100 (or possibly 50 for your circumstantial project) to region pages with less visits.

Here is simply a video usher connected however to bash it:

4. Misleading Title Tag And/Or Meta Description

Ask yourself: Does your title tag and meta statement accurately summarize the contented of your page?

If not, visitors whitethorn participate your tract reasoning your contented is astir 1 thing, lone to find that it isn’t, and past bounce backmost to wherever they came from.

Whether it was an guiltless mistake oregon you were trying to crippled the strategy by optimizing for keyword clickbait (shame connected you!), it is fortunately elemental capable to fix.

Either reappraisal the contented of your leafage and set the rubric tag and meta statement accordingly.

Or, rewrite the contented to code the hunt queries you privation to pull visitors for.

You tin besides cheque what benignant of meta statement Google has auto-generated for your leafage for communal searches – Google tin change your meta description, and if they marque it worse, you tin instrumentality steps to remedy that.

5. Blank Page Or Technical Error

If your bounce complaint is exceptionally precocious and you spot that radical are spending little than a fewer seconds connected the page, it’s apt your leafage is blank, returning a 404, oregon different not loading properly.

Look astatine the leafage from your audience’s astir fashionable browser and instrumentality configurations (e.g., Safari connected desktop and mobile, Chrome connected mobile, etc.) to replicate their experience.

You tin besides cheque successful Search Console nether Coverage to observe the contented from Google’s perspective.

Correct the contented yourself oregon speech to idiosyncratic who tin – an contented similar this tin origin Google to driblet your leafage from the hunt results successful a hurry.

Coverage Screenshot from Google Analytics 4, April 2024

6. Bad Link From Another Website

You could beryllium doing everything perfectly connected your extremity to execute a mean oregon debased bounce complaint from integrated hunt results, and inactive person a precocious bounce complaint from your referral traffic.

The referring tract could beryllium sending you unqualified visitors oregon the anchor substance and discourse of the nexus could beryllium misleading.

Sometimes, this is simply a effect of sloppy copywriting.

The writer oregon steadfast linked to your tract successful the incorrect portion of the transcript oregon didn’t mean to nexus to your tract astatine all.

Reach retired to the writer of the nonfiction first.

If they don’t respond oregon they can’t update the nonfiction aft publishing, past you tin escalate the contented to the site’s exertion oregon webmaster.

Politely inquire them to region the nexus to your tract – oregon update the context, whichever makes sense.

(Tip: You tin easy find their interaction accusation with this guide.)

Unfortunately, the referring website whitethorn beryllium trying to sabotage you with immoderate antagonistic SEO tactics retired of spite oregon conscionable for fun.

For example, they whitethorn person linked to your “Guide To Adopting A Puppy” with the anchor substance of FREE GET RICH QUICK SCHEME.

In bid to hole that issue, you request to exclude traffic from those spammy sources.

7. Affiliate Landing Page Or Single-Page Site

If you’re an affiliate, the full constituent of your leafage whitethorn beryllium to deliberately nonstop radical distant from your website to the merchant’s site.

In these instances, you’re doing the occupation close if the leafage has a higher bounce rate.

A akin script would beryllium if you person a single-page website, specified arsenic a landing leafage for your ebook oregon a elemental portfolio site.

It’s communal for sites similar these to person a precise precocious bounce complaint since there’s obscurity other to go.

Remember that Google tin usually archer erstwhile a website is doing a bully occupation satisfying idiosyncratic intent adjacent if the user’s query is answered rapidly (sites similar WhatIsMyScreenResolution.org travel to mind).

If you’ve acceptable it up truthful that a click connected your affiliate nexus is considered a conversion event, this benignant of league volition not number arsenic a bounce but alternatively arsenic “engaged.”

8. Low-Quality Or Underoptimized Content

Visitors whitethorn beryllium bouncing from your website due to the fact that your contented is conscionable plain bad.

Take a long, hard look astatine your leafage and person your astir judgmental and honorable workfellow oregon person reappraisal it.

(Ideally, this idiosyncratic has a inheritance successful contented selling oregon copywriting. Bonus points if they beryllium to your people audience.)

One anticipation is that your contented is great, but you conscionable haven’t optimized it for online speechmaking – oregon the assemblage you’re targeting.

Are you penning successful elemental sentences (think precocious schoolhouse students versus PhDs)?
Is it easy scannable with tons of header tags?
Does it cleanly reply questions?
Have you included images to interruption up the transcript and marque it casual connected the eyes?

Writing for the web is antithetic than penning for offline publications.

Brush up your online copywriting skills to summation the clip radical walk speechmaking your content.

The different anticipation is that your contented is poorly written wide oregon simply isn’t thing your assemblage cares about.

Consider hiring a freelance copywriter (like me!) oregon contented strategist who tin assistance you alteration your ideas into almighty contented that converts.

9. Bad Or Obnoxious UX

Are you bombarding radical with ads, pop-up surveys, and email subscribe buttons?

CTA-heavy features similar these whitethorn beryllium irresistible to the selling and income team, but utilizing excessively galore tin marque a visitant tally for the hills.

Google’s Core Web Vitals are each astir idiosyncratic acquisition – not lone are they ranking factors, but they interaction your tract visitors’ happiness, too.

Is your tract confusing to navigate?

Perhaps your visitors are looking to research more, but your blog is missing a hunt box, oregon the paper items are hard to click connected a smartphone.

As online marketers, we cognize our websites successful and out.

It’s casual to hide that what seems intuitive to america is thing but to our audience.

Make definite you’re avoiding these communal plan mistakes, and person a web oregon UX decorator reappraisal the tract and fto you cognize if thing pops retired to them arsenic problematic.

10. The Page Isn’t Mobile-Friendly

While SEO pros cognize it’s important to person a mobile-friendly website, the signifier isn’t ever followed successful the existent world.

Google announced its power to mobile-first indexing mode backmost successful 2017, but galore websites contiguous inactive wouldn’t beryllium considered mobile-friendly.

Websites that haven’t been optimized for mobile don’t look bully connected mobile devices – and they don’t load excessively fast, either.

That’s a look for a precocious bounce rate.

Even if your website was implemented utilizing responsive plan principles, it’s inactive imaginable that the unrecorded leafage doesn’t work arsenic mobile-friendly to the user.

Sometimes, erstwhile a leafage gets squeezed into a mobile format, it causes immoderate of the cardinal accusation to determination beneath the fold.

Now, alternatively of seeing a header that matches what they saw successful search, mobile users lone spot your site’s navigation menu.

Assuming the leafage doesn’t connection what they need, they bounce backmost to Google.

If you spot a leafage with a precocious bounce complaint and nary glaring issues instantly leap retired to you, trial it connected your mobile phone.

You tin besides cheque for mobile issues successful Google Search Console and Lighthouse.

11. Content Depth

Google tin springiness radical speedy answers done featured snippets and cognition panels.

But lone you tin springiness radical deep, interesting, interconnected contented that’s a measurement beyond that.

Make definite your contented compels radical to click to research different pages connected your tract if it makes sense.

Provide interesting, relevant interior links, and springiness them a crushed to stay.

And for the assemblage that wants the speedy answer, springiness them a TL;DR summary astatine the top.

12. Asking For Too Much

Don’t inquire idiosyncratic for their recognition paper number, societal information number, grandmother’s pension, oregon children’s names close disconnected the bat (or ever, successful immoderate of those examples).

Your idiosyncratic doesn’t spot you yet!

People are acceptable to beryllium suspicious erstwhile they click connected a caller website, considering the fig of scam websites retired there.

Being presented with a large pop-up asking for info volition origin a batch of radical to bounce immediately.

Your occupation is to physique trust with your visitors.

Do so, and you’ll some beryllium happier. Your visitors volition consciousness similar they tin spot you, and you’ll person a little bounce rate.

Either way, if it makes users happy, Google likes it.

Tips For Reducing Your Bounce Rate

Regardless of the crushed down your precocious bounce rate, here’s a summary of champion practices you tin instrumentality to bring it down.

1. Rework Your Title Tag and Meta Description

In immoderate cases, your leafage mightiness beryllium awesome. You whitethorn person a cleanable leafage plan filled with each the elements your visitors are looking for.

Maybe it’s a broad how-to usher that’s well-written, well-organized, and tricked retired with illustrative photos (maybe adjacent video) and links to different applicable resources connected your site.

Or, for an ecommerce page, you’ve got a compelling merchandise description, photos from your customers and your selling team, idiosyncratic reviews, Q&A, and carousels of related products.

The lone happening moving against you is simply a mismatched rubric tag and/or meta description.

In these cases, your to-do database is abbreviated and sweet. Simply rewrite your meta tags truthful they lucifer what’s connected the page. Huzzah!

2. Make Sure Your Content Lives Up To The Hype

In different cases, your rubric tag and meta statement oversell your content.

In these situations, you request to rework your contented to marque definite it matches immoderate you’re advertizing successful the hunt motor results pages (SERPs).

Don’t telephone your leafage an “ultimate guide” if it’s a abbreviated station with 3 tips.

Don’t assertion to beryllium the “best” vacuum if your idiosyncratic reviews amusement a three-star rating.

You get the idea.

Also, marque your contented readable by:

Breaking up your substance with tons of achromatic space.
Adding supporting images.
Writing successful abbreviated sentences.
Using a good, cleanable design.
Not bombarding visitors with excessively galore ads.

Remember: spellcheck is your friend!

3. Keep Critical Elements Above The Fold

Sometimes, your contented matches what you advertise successful your rubric tag and meta description. It’s conscionable that your visitors can’t archer astatine archetypal glance.

When radical get connected a website, they marque an contiguous archetypal impression.

You privation that archetypal content to validate immoderate they thought they would spot erstwhile they arrived.

A salient H1 should lucifer the rubric they work connected Google.

If it’s an ecommerce site, a photograph should lucifer the merchandise statement they saw connected Google.

Also, marque definite pop-ups oregon advertisements don’t obscure these elements.

4. Minimize Non-Essential Elements

Don’t bombard your visitors with pop-up ads, in-line promotions, and different contented they don’t attraction about.

Visual overwhelm tin origin visitors to bounce.

What CTA is the astir important for the page? Compellingly item that.

For everything else, delegate it to your sidebar oregon footer.

Edit, edit, edit!

5. Help People Get Where They Want To Be Faster

Want to promote radical to browse much of your site?

Make it casual for them.

Leverage on-site search with predictive search, adjuvant filters, and an optimized “no results found” page.
Rework your navigation menu and A/B trial however analyzable vs. elemental drop-down menus impact your bounce rate.
In your long-form articles, see a array of contents with anchor links that instrumentality readers consecutive to the conception they privation to read.

6. When In Doubt, Test

You whitethorn not cognize what changes you request to marque to hole your bounce rate.

Guess what? That’s okay.

Use A/B and multivariate investigating to assistance you out.

You tin experiment with antithetic updates to spot what your assemblage responds to. Test retired antithetic titles, headers, content, images, layouts, and designs.

Conclusion

Remember: Bounce rates are conscionable 1 metric of many, many, many SEO metrics you could beryllium keeping way of.

I’m getting bushed conscionable reasoning astir it!

Fortunately, Google Analytics is present to assistance you enactment connected track.

Whatever your bounce complaint is, it’s wholly fixable.

There are steps you tin instrumentality to bring it down to a much mean scope portion improving the acquisition for your users.

So, instrumentality immoderate clip contiguous to optimize your website.

Review your bounce complaint for immoderate halfway pages, and see which of the tactics supra volition assistance nudge it successful the close direction.

Good luck!

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