As we conduct workshops across the country we are finding that more and more people are set up on Google Analytics, this is great, however there is one key statistic that Google Analytics provides that more than 90% of you pay no notice to, Bounce Rate.
Imagine this; You run a shop front in a popular shopping strip, one afternoon you are standing at the counter and over the next few hours 100 different people, interested in what you have to sell, walk through the door. Of those 100 people, 65 of them walk in, stand there for 30 seconds and then turn around and walk straight out. How would you feel?
I know I would be pretty gutted if 65% of the people that walked in my shop door turned around and walked straight back out and only 35% were left to look around or enquire about a purchase. Essentially this is exactly what could be happening to you, only your shop front is your website and you aren’t seeing the people that are rejecting you, these people that are leaving straight away are the people impacting your Bounce Rate Rejection Rate.
When it comes to your Bounce Rate, all hope is not lost just because yours is above average (the maximum you want is 50% and if you have between 20-35% bounce rate you are doing well). There are a number of recommended solutions for a website or web page suffering from a bad bounce rate, we have provided 4 of the top solutions below:
1. Headlines
Headlines rule the roost; if your headline is rubbish your visitor won’t read any further, its as simple as that. It doesn’t take too much work to construct a killer headline, just express your main message in a headline that:
- is created to show the benefit to the customer not a summary of product features
- portrays the person getting the results easily
- is believable (by showing proof), and
- is specific
When you create a headline it is important to remember that it is more about what you say rather than how you say it. Changing a few words here and there won’t get you the same results as changing the core message. The best way to construct a successful heading is to take a note from the bigger publications, most use formulaic headlines such as “The X truths you may not know about ……..”.
2. Guarantee’s
If you have a great product or service don’t be afraid to back it up with a guarantee. You probably already have a guarantee for your business, the best first step is to transport this onto your website and social media accounts. If you don’t already have a guarantee check out what your competitors are offering.
3. Testimonials
We have said it time and time again and will say it once more; Testimonials sell! Add testimonials from happy customers or past guests to your product and booking pages. Showing visitors that other customers have had a great time will provide the positive reinforcement that they too will have a great time and love what you have to offer. Where you can include testimonials from the media; such as newspaper clippings or news videos. Don’t just stop there though, ensure you have a great testimonial capture process in place so past guests or clients can leave you a review – this can be via a thank you email, Facebook message or request to leave a review on your Google Places listing.
4. Call to Action
Sometimes people just need a little extra push, by telling people what you want them to do next you increase your chances of them actually going it. Include calls to action such as “Book now and get a 5% discount!” or simple statements such as “Learn More” on your blog posts. Don’t forget that nice bright buttons often convert better as they capture the readers attention (don’t over do it with a rainbow though as that will deter them).
Your Turn
What are your website pages that have the highest bounce rate? Dive into your Google Analytics account and look at your pages then sort by Bounce Rate descending and take note of which pages have the highest bounce rate. I hope they are not your main product or service pages otherwise that could signal a problem that needs to be fixed immediately.
If you would like to discuss how you can reduce your bounce rate or any other aspect of your online marketing simply fill in the form below and take advantage of our free 1/2 hour consultation.
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