10 ways to reduce your website's bounce rate

Tips 1-3: To Do Immediately

1. Create a usable website

If you've ever visited a webpage that hasn't been updated in a decade, you'll know what a turn-off ugly, outdated landing pages can be. Make sure your site is structured well and easy to use. Avoid confusing functionality, and check that your content is well-formatted and easy to scan.

   2. Make your site mobile-friendly

It goes without saying that if your site isn't already mobile-friendly, it needs to be. More people are choosing to use their mobile devices for shopping and browsing, and they'll avoid sites they can't access from their phones.

   3. Improve your loading speed

The second most off-putting thing about any online site? Slow speed. If your visitors are met with a loading icon, they'll likely leave (bounce). You can use tools like Google Page Speed to optimize load time, which should be between 1 and 3 seconds.

Tips 4-6: To Do In The Next 2 Weeks

   4. Add a news feed widget

When a potential customer visits your site, they may quickly lose interest in the single page they're viewing. A good way to maintain their interest is to add a news feed widget or pop up to your site. You could, for example, add a news feed widget that showcases different deals for similar products on a sidebar. If a customer clicks on a deal, you'll reduce your bounce rate.

   5. Put your call to action in the right place

.. and make it clear and honest. Whether you're prompting users to sign up to your email newsletter, spin your wheel of fortune for a discount, or subscribe for weekly deals, make sure they know exactly what you're selling - and are enticed by it.

   6. Use images to capture visitors' attention

A big chunk of text is a turn-off for anyone. Keep your visitors interested with high-quality images — videos, if you can —  and your bounce rates will improve as your visitors become intrigued to learn more about what you offer.

Tips 7-10: To Do In The Next Month

   7. Practice varying content strategies

Your first content strategy probably won't work so well. Or it may have worked for a while, but now your user bounce rate is on the rise,  and you think it's time for a change. It's wise to practice a variety of content strategies, then consistently follow several plans that work best for you.

   8. Engage with your customers

No matter what product or service you're selling, any user will appreciate being able to put a face to your business. Be sure to offer a simple way for customers to contact you prior to, or after, a purchase. Having a widget that allows them to chat with you via their preferred social media is a great way to do this.

   9. Build up customer testimonials

When a customer stops by at your site for the first time, they need to know why they should choose you over your competitors. While they’ll initially be influenced by the appearance and functionality of your website, if they hang around for even a minute longer, you have the opportunity to sell yourself with your customers’ words. Make sure your testimonials are always in view on your site, perhaps on a sidebar widget.

   10. Target abandoners

In many cases, the people who are leaving your website are doing so because they’ve seen all there is to see for now - and that doesn’t mean they won’t return in the future. 

A good way to bring them back for longer is to target them with a personalized message right when they’re about to leave. Offer them something valuable, like a free course or case study, if they become an email subscriber. There are plenty of tools that allow you to do this nowadays.