4 March 2019 - Richard Shire
When a visitor leaves your website quickly we refer to this as bouncing. Ideally you want as many people to stay as long as possible and have a low bounce rate. The longer they stay the more likely they are to buy. There are lots of reasons why someone would leave a website without exploring it or purchasing anything and in this post we will look at some of those reasons and suggest actions you can take to reduce the bounce rate.
People make quick judgements. They live busy lives and will quickly decide if you’re website is appealing to them or not. if they do not like it they will leave quickly. The design is a big aspect of this. Some questions to ask yourself, is the layout aesthetically pleasing? Is it too jumbled? Are the colours agreeable to your ideal client?
While on the subject of your ideal client, keeping them in mind throughout the design process is absolutely paramount to the success of the site. The reality is that there will always be some people who arrive on your website and leave quickly, but the people you want to stay are the people that your business is targeting. This is why designing your website to appeal directly to your audience is vital, you don’t need to worry about pleasing everybody, it’s just not possible and you don’t need to.
Words are very important on your website. Your visitors need to feel that you are speaking directly to them. They need to know in the first couple of sentences if you provide a product or service that they need.
Copywriters call this the pre-positioning statement. It is simply a short paragraph that explains very clearly what you do and who you do it for. This statement should be the first thing that visitors read. Having a strong statement reduces bounce rate. Keep in mind that it will deter some people and encourage them to leave but that’s ok because the people who do not feel like staying after reading your pre-positioning statement are not your ideal client. They can go.
Human beings are very visual we like to see images that reflect ourselves and we particularly like to see pictures of faces. Our brain takes longer to read a face than any other picture we see. If appropriate to your business then including an image of a person who would be relatable to your ideal client. This is one way to reduce bounce rate.
Does your website have clear navigation? Can a visitor easily ascertain where they need to go to make a purchase, find out more about you or browse your products and services. Some websites have a confusing navigation system that leaves visitors lost. This will increase the likelihood that they will leave and push up your bounce rate. To reduce it, make sure your visitors can easily find their way around.
Have you made it clear on your website how your visitor can take the next step? The call to action is a direction that tells the visitor what to do. It is important because it gives them guidance and takes away any confusion they might feel about what to do next. There are many different places you can direct them to for example it might be to directly purchase a product or service, it could be to book a free consultation. Perhaps you have a free download available or an option to sign up to an email list. We recommend that there is one clear direction on the homepage that is visible above the fold (the top part of the page which visitors see immediately before they scroll down).
Here at Aspire Shire we specialise in creating highly converting websites. For a website to convert well the bounce rate needs to be low. If you would like to understand more about how we do this and how we could help you and your website to keep visitors then contact us today for a free no-obligation consultation.