What is bounce rate? Why is it important for your site's SEO and how to get it down?

There are dozens of different metrics you can use to measure the performance of your website. But among these metrics stands out one that most clearly shows the interaction of users with your site and reflects the success of your SEO strategy: Bounce Rate.

Well, What is the bounce rate, what are the values considered ideal for your site and what effective methods can you apply to reduce this rate? In this comprehensive guide, we'll go over all the curiosities in detail, from the definition of bounce rate to its impact on SEO, to 10 proven ways to lower that rate.

What is bounce rate?

Immediate bounce rateis a metric that shows the percentage of people who visit your site who view only one page and leave the site without any interaction (for example, without switching to another page, clicking a button, or filling out a form).

It is calculated by a simple formula:

• Dropout Rate = (Number of Single Page Visits/Total Visits) x 100

For example, if 60 of the 100 people who visit your site view only one page and leave, your bounce rate is 60%.

What is the difference between exit rate and exit rate?

These two metrics are often confused, but they have completely different meanings.

• Immediate Dropout Ratemeasures visitors who leave the site after viewing only one page.
• Output Rateshows the page the user last left your site. If the user has visited 5 different pages on your site and left on page 6, this affects the page's bounce rate, but it has nothing to do with the bounce rate.

What should be the ideal bounce rate?

Judging the bounce rate as “good” or “bad” varies depending on the type of your site and the purpose of the page. But the general industry averages and accepted ideal ranges are:

• 25% - 40%: It is considered an excellent ratio.
• 41% - 55%: It's a good ratio.
• 56% - 70%: It is considered high and may require improvement.
• Over 70%: It is a worrying situation for most sites and requires urgent optimization.

An important note: A high bounce rate (e.g., 90%) on a one-page contact page containing only a phone number or address information can be considered normal. Because the user has found the information he is looking for and is gone. But in a blog post or product page, this rate indicates a serious problem.

10 Effective Ways to Reduce the Quitting Rate Right Away

Reducing bounce rate is one of the most important ways to improve your SEO and increase user experience. Here are 10 effective methods that you can apply:

1. Increase Website Speed: Users do not wait on a page that opens slowly. Long page loading timedirectly increases the bounce rate. Analyze your site's speed and make improvements with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights.
2. Create Quality and Readable Content: Difficult to read, complex and irrelevant content causes immediate exit. Make your content more fluid by enriching it with titles, subheadings, bullet points, and images.
3. Improve User Experience (UX): The design, navigation, and overall availability of your site should be user-friendly. Intuitive menus, correct font choices, and a clean page layout keep users on your site longer.
4. Use Internal Connections Strategically: From a blog post, to another related article or a product page by giving internal links Keep users on your site. This both reduces bounce rate and supports your SEO.
5. Use Pop-ups with Caution: Pop-ups that annoy the user, cover the screen and are difficult to close, immediately throw off the bounce rate. Make pop-ups less annoying or use them exclusively for users who show exit intentions.
6. Provide a Mobile Friendly Design: With the increase in traffic from mobile devices, mobile compatibility of your site is now a must. A site that looks bad on mobile will automatically increase your bounce rate.
7. Attract the Right Audience: Traffic to your site immediately goes out when it does not find the content it is looking for. Reduce bounce rate naturally by focusing your SEO and advertising strategies on a target audience that is exactly relevant to your site's content.
8. Open External Links in New Tab: Links you give out from your site will drive the user away from your site. By having these links open in a new tab, you can enable users to keep your site open.
9. Optimize Meta Descriptions: The meta descriptions of your pages should give you a clear idea of what users will encounter when they click in search results. Misleading explanations increase your bounce rate.
10. Optimize Landing Pages: Your landing pages, which meet traffic from ads or campaigns, should serve a single purpose. Remove distractions and use a clear call to action (CTA).

How the bounce rate affects SEO

Although bounce rate is not directly used as a ranking factor by Google, indirectly affects SEO in a serious way. Google examines what users do after clicking on a search result. If people enter your site and return immediately, Google will conclude, “This page does not respond to what the user is looking for.” This, in turn, causes the ranking of your page to drop over time.

So, a low bounce rate is an important signal for Google that your site satisfies users, that is, offers a good user experience. ,

Conclusion: Low bounce rate is fundamental to a successful site

The bounce rate is not just a statistic. It is a reflection of the relationship your site has with users. Achieving a low bounce rate is not an SEO gimmick but, on the contrary, a natural result of building a site that truly values users and meets their needs.

By applying the methods mentioned in this guide, you can optimize the bounce rate of your site, make users stay on your site longer, and thereby increase your visibility in search engines. Remember, happy users, happy search engines means.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What does a high bounce rate mean?

A high bounce rate often indicates that the page content does not meet the user's expectation, that the page loads slowly, or that navigation is difficult.

Where can I see bounce rate in Google Analytics?

In your Google Analytics account, you can see the bounce rate of each of your pages from “Behavior” > “All Pages”.

What is the fastest way to reduce the bounce rate?

The fastest way is to increase the speed of your site and make the titles and format of the page content more readable. But for lasting results, it is necessary to make improvements across the entire site.