How to Reduce Bounce Rate and Increase Dwell Time

How do you improve your website’s search performance? Oftentimes users don’t find what they are looking for or a user doesn’t have a good experience on a certain site and moves on from it.

When a user visits your entrance page and leaves without going to any other page on the same domain, that is called a bounce.  The bounce rate is the percentage of total users that visit and then leave the same page without any further clicks or exploration.

Basically, you don’t want a high bounce rate.  A high bounce rate means your landing page is not engaging or well-organized or you may not have one at all which causes confusion for your main home page.

You want to decrease your bounce rate and increase a user’s dwell time.  Dwell time is the time during a user’s information retrieval where they spend time browsing a document or page after clicking on a link in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

Here are some guidelines on how to reduce your sites bounce rate and keep users engaged:

Optimize your Site Content 

1. Improve Your Brand – Make sure to tell a story that stands out.  Storytelling is important so be truthful and create a trust that makes your users want to share and recommend your product or service.

2. Keep it Fresh – You should keep your site up to date with new content. Consistently producing the right content and keeping it fresh will ensure trust with your users and create repeat visits.

3. Use High-Value Target Keywords – SEO Keyword research is vital so make sure to use target keywords that have high traffic and conversion value, are in-depth, and are powerful enough to keep users reading.

4. Write Attractive Meta Descriptions – Use target keywords, a call-to-action, and keep it an optimal length, around 155 characters, to attract users.

5. Make it Readable – Another way to optimize your content is to improve readability.  A good user experience starts when your content is quick and readable. Large chunks of text scare readers away so brevity is key.

You should craft engaging paragraphs and make them easy to read.  Here are a few tips to help format your content to make it more readable:

• Use subheadings
• Use bullet points to explain notable points or benefits
• Use charts, images, screenshots, and quotes from industry experts when needed
• Bold keywords a few times
• Ask questions in your content that gives readers an invitation to participate
• Make your conclusion actionable.

Improve User Experience

1. Attract the Right Visitors – When you create a campaign or new content make sure you are targeting the right audience.  Make sure your content is distributed on the right channels to reach users that will be interested in your site.

2. Avoid Popups – Most readers find pop-ups annoying and will leave causing a bounce. While they do work in some cases, they should be used sparingly

3. Use a Compelling Call-To-Action – Write a CTA that makes users curious and willing to click to see what your site has to offer.  This will improve usability.

4. Custom 404 Page – Make that error page work for you. Create a custom 404 page to help visitors find what they’re looking for on your site with menus or site redirects back to your homepage

5. Create Multiple Landing Pages – The more landing pages you have using high-volume keywords, the richer the user experience.  Make them easy to navigate and link them to your homepage.

6. Set External Links to Open in New Windows – Use internal linking to keep visitors moving to other relevant content on your own site.  Make sure these windows open in a new window or tab so they don’t experience “back button fatigue” and stay on your site.

As a final tip in reducing your bounce rate, it is important to show credibility.  The more credible you are, the more likely you will generate interest and profit.

You should be transparent in your business offerings, offer free valuable resources, and create trust with your customers.

A credible trustworthy site includes:

• Have believable content that people trust
• Giving reassurances that users personal information is safe
• Instilling confidence in users when spending their money on our site
• Eliminating the buying dilemma of should they buy from you or not.

Using these guidelines and tips will help reduce your bounce rate and keep your target audience engaged with your website.