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Nashville SEO Variables Explained

Bounce Rate: Defining It, Improving It

I am setting up accounts for certain clients who want to be able to login to Google Analytics themselves on order to view their Nashville SEO-related reports and variables. As a result, I am seeing a need to explain in layman’s terms some of the words that are being used on the Google Analytics website. The first question I received: What is bounce rate?

Bounce Rate Defined

The bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits (out of the total visits) to your website. (i.e. visits in which the person left your site from the entrance page. Bounce rate is a measure of visit quality and a high bounce rate generally indicates that site entrance (landing) pages aren’t relevant to your visitors.

The bounce rate is simply the measure of people that arrive at a page on your site, and exit, or bounce off your site without going any further. These people either found the info they need on that one page, don’t see what they’re looking for, or are confused about where to go from there.

There is a second definition of bounce in SEO, but this is not what Google is talking about – although the two are very similar – and that is the length of time a user spends on your website. For example, if a user is on a website for less than 15 seconds, then leaves, it is considered a bounce – even if the visitor glanced at three or four pages during that short time. It makes good sense to call that a bounce, and it should probably be treated about the same as the first type of bounce.

Interpreting the Bounce Rate

A high bounce rate often signals a low quality web page: either the web page doesn't offer what the visitor is searching for, or the usability of the web page isn't good enough.

If the contents and usability the web pages in question were improved, the bounce rate might be lowered from 75% to 65%. This would lead to a remarkable 40% increase in conversions (35 out of 100 visitors now stay on the website, instead of 25 out of 100 visitors).

Improving (Lowering) the Bounce Rate

In addition to improving the usability of the web pages, one can lower the bounce rate by tailoring the landing pages to the keywords and ads being run. If the landing pages offer the information being sought, then there will be a lower bounce rate.

Bounce rates can be minimized by tailoring the landing pages to more closely match what is expected to be on the page or what is "supposed" to be on the page. This is yet more SEO common sense; obviously, landing pages should provide the information and services that are promised in the ad copy, META tags, and other indicators of webpage content.

All content you use on your site should be as interesting and as grammatically correct as you can make it; this way, visitors are likely to spend more time on the page. Yep, it’s more common sense: ensure spelling, punctuation, and grammatical technique as a whole is proper; failure to do this can make your site appear sloppy, or worse, the visitor will immediately leave your site.

Ecommerce sites -- or product/service sites in general -- should strive to draw attention to any sale items or new items they may have.

Another way to help lower bounce rate is by reducing the load time of your site. All those pretty images and flash banners/intros that you thought made your site look good – the stuff we advise against having on your website in the first place – can in fact have an adverse effect on bounce rate. I know I am not the only one who immediately leaves all sites that contain sound or take extra time to load ads or Flash or other heavy content.

Bounce Rate is Critical

Measuring the bounce rate is something this SEO professional views as critical, as it is among the more useful and interesting SEO variables. Using the bounce rate as a factor in measuring the quality of websites is brilliant – as long as proper filters are set in place (a complex subject in itself).

Is Bounce Rate Used in Site Rankings?

There has been quite a bit of discussion and debate about whether Google actually uses the bounce rate as a ranking variable. It appears that the bounce rate is used by Google to some extent.

The first signal that search engines like Google have used bounce rate as a universal ranking variable (that I can recall) was in late 2007, when Google Analytics changed the way they calculated the bounce rate. Google received quite a lot of complaints and switched it back. This signifies – though not conclusively -- that they have used bounce rate as a variable.

But even if search engines do NOT use bounce rate as a factor in calculating their rankings, it remains one of the more interesting and important variables about your website of which to be aware.

BestWeb Nashville