Bounce Rate: What It Is and How to Reduce It
Why is it critical to understand the bounce rate? What does this value mean? It is used to determine how many people “leave” our site after visiting it. The causes might vary, and understanding them can help us much in resolving any issues.
It goes without saying that the longer a person remains on a site or page, the more the contents respond to her need or interest. So let us try to figure out how this parameter is monitored and how we may use it to our advantage.
When a visitor views a website, they stay for a specific amount of time. Knowing how long visitors spend on a website is useful information. We can learn about the percentage of people that view a single page and then leave.
What is the bounce rate and how to know it
To clearly and uniquely explain this value which, we repeat, can give us valuable information on the effectiveness of our site, let’s take a simple example. Let’s say we have a site of our business that receives 50 visitors a day. If of these 30 leave the site immediately, the bounce rate will be 60%; if they drop out in 25, the bounce rate will be 50% and so on.
What does this all mean? In theory, a site with a low bounce rate has a good user participation rate, which is therefore well designed, in a nutshell, which is functional.
If the bounce rate is high, on the other hand, it means that the user has visited only one page and then left the site. The reasons may be different, so you should not be alarmed immediately, but in the presence of a high bounce rate, it is good to make the appropriate checks.
In this way we could know if we are facing a real problem or if, instead, the high bounce rate is not attributable to the characteristics of the site, such as in the case in which the user immediately finds what he is looking for and, having satisfied his need leaves the portal.
High bounce rate: the causes
We have said that the causes of a high bounce rate can be many, some are physiological, others indicate an actual problem or more problems.
The physiological causes are different, we list some of the most common:
Single page site: in this case the bounce rate is not a value that certifies the actual quality of a site, it is a very common condition for landing pages or sites consisting of a single page.
Specific search: the user is looking for something specific and therefore quickly scrolls through the search engine results and, just as quickly, leaves the site, whether he has found the information he was looking for, then satisfied his need, or have not found it and consequently look for it elsewhere.
The user has found what he was looking for: it often happens when the object of the search is a telephone number or the address of an activity such as, for example, hotels, restaurants, bars and so on.
Causes due to real site problems
On the other hand, there are causes of a high bounce rate that are attributable to real problems:
Irrelevant content: it is obvious that the user does not find what she was hoping for and leaves the portal.
Low-quality content: the content is relevant, but poorly written or not very usable and offers no value to the user.
Code errors: they can make the site difficult to use, such as broken links or blocking scripts that induce the user to leave.
Structure of the site not very usable: in this case there are no real errors at the code level, but the site is unclear, perhaps due to the graphics and font, or due to a menu that is too complex, or due to the slow page loading.
Too much advertising: too much advertising or with excessively invasive formats, as if they make it difficult to read the contents.
Made for ads: these are portals consisting mainly of advertising and whose purpose is to obtain clicks for sponsors.
How to improve your bounce rate
We then come to the fundamental topic: how to improve the bounce rate by intervening ad hoc on each specific problem.
Identify the problem: to remedy it, we must first know what the nature of the high bounce rate of our site is. We must therefore check the loading speed and what is fundamental.
Based on what you have been able to learn from this article, check your site and correct any critical issues without also neglecting the topic of on-page SEO, a factor that is not directly responsible for the abandonment of the site page, but which if taken care of and optimized, it makes the page much more usable.
Dummies’ guide to local SEO
Local SEO is an excellent chance to capture so-called proximity buyers, or those who want to make a purchase without wasting too much time on the go. So, let’s look at what the components are for successful local SEO.
There is a lot of discussion regarding SEO, what it is and what it is used for. Often, however, a single speech is delivered without distinguishing between the many acts and activities and without truly knowing which method is the most effective. SEO, in all of its complexities and declinations, is not a bingo bag from which to choose random numbers, but rather a series of methods arranged and reasoned in accordance with the goals to be reached.
In a nutshell, what is local SEO?
These are SEO optimization actions centered on local search, as the name implies. For some time now, mobile device searches have played an increasingly vital role, providing a considerable boost to local SEO.
But what are the benefits of operating in a “local” manner and thereby focusing on a limited section of the territory? To grasp it better, consider SEO optimization in a larger sense, one that is based on the usage of certain keywords as well as a series of extra actions targeted at ranking high on search engine results pages.
Certain keywords, on the other hand, are highly sought after; it goes without saying that the major enterprises that exploit them devour tiny businesses, making it impossible to place oneself on a term on which a market behemoth is positioned.
Here comes local SEO, which enables even small and medium-sized businesses to rank well on search engine results pages.
The benefits of local SEO for certain business categories
The advantages that can be obtained by taking advantage of local SEO are different, it all lies in developing a good strategy. The goal is to intercept proximity consumers, therefore potential customers who need a product or service close to them and who mostly want to buy in a physical store.
Proximity consumers prefer to find what they are looking for within a short distance of their location, which is why the store they are looking for must be close to where they are.
This is a huge possibility for various activities, in particular for freelancers, such as lawyers, doctors, but also workers, craftsmen, insurance agencies, banks. Local SEO, for all these activities, can really mean the turning point in an increasingly competitive market.
How local SEO is done
The first thing you need is a good online presence. If you don’t have it, there’s no point trying to scrape some chance contact with local SEO. We will never tire of repeating that these activities cannot be improvised and require skills, perseverance, determination and patience.
The online presence
The construction of one’s online presence cannot disregard SEO on page activities, therefore internal optimization of the pages, and activities external to the site, such as link building activities which, in synergy with local SEO, help the activity to position itself in a congenial on the results page and to attract users who need that product or service that the company offers in that specific place.
Reviews
Reviews are another essential ingredient for a business that works. In local SEO, these play a really incisive role to the point that they are considered the greatest ranking factor.
Reviews must be of quality, we will select the best ones, those that will be more indicative and descriptive and that will really make a contribution to other users regarding our service or our products.
Also in this case, therefore, it is important to take care of the image of your business both on the web and off the web.
An effective showcase: Google My Business
Another key ingredient of local SEO is Google My Business. Sure you already know it, but do you really know how to make it effective? Well, take care of the description of your business in all its parts and update it frequently, so that all the information is always correct.
Within the My Business tab, you will now find the question and answer function that is used directly by users, so we recommend that you follow this space carefully.
A few other useful tips
Finally, in addition to the things we have exposed to you so far, we recommend that you give your potential customers as much information as possible. For example, if your business is a restaurant, in addition to giving the correct information (preferably with Google maps), provide all the contacts, maybe write how many tables you have, if you need to book and, if so, how much in advance.
All of this will greatly help you rank locally on the results page.
