12 Steps You Can Take to Reduce Bounce Rate on Your Website

Before publishing the survey, adjust the response options based on your niche and the page you’re trying to optimize. For instance, if you own an eCommerce website, the reasons for a high bounce rate on your product page may differ from those on your homepage. Additionally, include a comment field to allow visitors to provide their own responses.

2. Optimize page load time

Nobody likes slow websites. HubSpot’s studies reveal that nearly 70% of consumers may lose their willingness to buy from a brand if its website is too slow.

If it takes longer than a couple of seconds for your landing page to load, it might be a reason for an increased bounce rate.

Start by examining how fast your website loads using tools like Pingdom or Google Page Speed Insights. These tools will tell you how long it takes your site to load and what you should do to boost performance.

Once you receive the report, it will indicate your site’s loading time and provide recommendations for boosting performance.

If slow speed is causing visitors to leave your website prematurely, here are some steps to improve speed and reduce your bounce rate:

• Minimize script and style files
• Optimize images on your website
• Reduce the number of plugins or apps in use
• Consider changing your hosting plan or hosting company
• Opt for fast-loading themes if you’re on Shopify or WordPress
• Use a caching plugin (such as WP Rocket if you’re on WordPress)
• Implement a content delivery network (CDN) to serve images and static files, such as MaxCDN or KeyCDN

3. Ensure relevance and content matching

One of the most common reasons visitors bounce is because the content on your page does not match their expectations.

This mismatch occurs when the content on your page doesn’t align with what’s promised in your ads, social media posts, or meta titles and descriptions. For example, if someone clicks on a link for budget-friendly backpacks but finds a list of expensive backpacks, that’s an immediate mismatch.

Here are some tips to for ensure the content of your page meets your visitors’ expectations:

• If you receive organic traffic from search engines, ensure your meta titles and descriptions accurately reflect the content of your pages.
• Use tools like Google Search Console to identify the queries that bring users to your site and adjust your content to match their expectations.
• Regularly audit your content to ensure it stays relevant and up-to-date.
• When running ads and time-limited promotions, ensure the landing page text is updated to reflect the offer mentioned in the ads.
• Watch out for products getting out of stock in your store (while still being advertised).

4. Use videos

Videos quickly capture attention and convey valuable information, helping to keep visitors on your site longer and reduce bounce rates.

This tactic is effective for both ecommerce websites and media websites. For example, you can embed a short promo video of your product to show it in action, like Matcha Land does.

Or you can use walkthrough videos of how-to format videos if you’re driving traffic to a blog post, like Sleep Foundation does.

For best results, embed high-quality videos that are relevant to the page content and load quickly. If you need examples, here are 13 ideas for using videos in your online store.

5. Review your traffic acquisition channels

While on the topic of relevancy and matching, consider comparing your website’s bounce rate from different traffic acquisition channels. You may be surprised by how drastically the numbers can vary.

Poorly – or broadly – targeted traffic will have higher bounce rates, compared to the traffic from highly-targeted search ads, for example. As a marketer or a website owner, you want to understand whether a high bounce rate is a problem for all traffic channels or just some. Once you determine the source, you can adjust your efforts accordingly, whether through page optimization or by selecting a more relevant platform for your ads.

6. Ensure mobile-friendliness

This goes without saying, but your website must look good and work properly on all devices.

According to Statista, mobile traffic accounts for nearly 60% of all web traffic worldwide, as of 2023. This number is even higher for ecommerce.

If your website is not mobile-friendly, you could be losing a significant chunk of potential customers. Use tools such as PageSpeed Insights or Bing Mobile Friendliness Test Tool to check if your website or specific pages are optimized for mobile devices.

If your results are subpar, optimize your site for mobile devices by using a responsive theme, larger buttons for easy clicking on smartphones, and ensuring form input fields trigger the appropriate keyboard. For example, the number keyboard should be triggered for phone numbers, and the text keyboard for input fields such as name, address, and coupon codes.

7. Add social proof and credibility

People do business with people they know, like, and trust. The same goes for website engagement.

Here are a few ways to build trust when a visitor lands on your website for the first time:

• Displaying testimonials you’ve collected from customers
• Showcasing product reviews from your store or third-party websites like Google, Yelp, Facebook, and others
• Displaying logos from media outlets you’ve been featured in
• Displaying logos or accreditation badges from professional associations

While most websites have a dedicated section for social proof, you can also get creative in how you display it. For example, this is how Thinx displays social proof to hesitant visitors using a well-timed popup:

When your business has both testimonials and media coverage to showcase, your visitors may be more inclined to take a closer look at what you offer. The longer visitors stay on your site, the higher your chances of converting them into subscribers or customers.

8. Provide clear calls to action

Lack of clarity might be another reason why your bounce rate is high. Every page on your website should have a clear call to action.

The call to action will depend on your customer journey and what you consider a conversion at each stage.

For example, if you have an online store, your call to action could be to take advantage of a special deal, pre-order a product, or pick a product category.

One way to feature your call to action is by using welcome popups, like the one featured above.

If you provide services, your call to action could be to book a free consultation call or to fill out a contact form. If you’re building an email list, your call to action should reflect the value of subscribing.

9. Enhance readability

Web visitors are often in a rush to find the information or product they need. And if you have what they’re looking for, it’s crucial that you present it in a clear, intuitive way.

Cluttered, cumbersome pages can increase your bounce rate. Opt for a cleaner layout, eliminate distractions, and ensure intuitive navigation.

Resist the temptation to put too much information or too many offers on the first screen. It can confuse visitors and impair action. Make your content easy to read by using subheadings, short paragraphs, bullet points, and plenty of white space.

Make sure each page has a clear, singular focus and that any additional content or links enhance, rather than detract from, the user experience.

Speaking of additional links…

10. Make use of internal linking

Another way to reduce bounce rate that is often overlooked is to link to relevant pages and blog posts on your website. Depending on your niche and website type, use regular text links within your content, employ the sidebar for navigation to relevant categories, or display related products and articles with slide-ins.

11. Use exit-intent popups to reduce bounce rate

When used right, exit-intent popups can bring great results if you’re trying to reduce cart abandonment, grow your email list, or lower the bounce rate on your website.

Larry Kim, the founder of Mobile Monkey and WordStream, was able to reduce bounce rate by up to 60% using exit-intent popups, according to his interview.

But what exactly should you offer to a visitor who is heading to exit?

If you own a media website or a blog, the most common practice is to offer a lead magnet in exchange for an email. Your lead magnet can be an eBook, a cheat sheet, a checklist, or a video guide.

This strategy not only helps lower bounce rate by sparking user engagement but also helps grow your email list.

If you own an ecommerce brand, you can also offer a lead magnet, such as a discount or a free shipping coupon, in exchange for a signup; or you can try to pique your visitors’ interest with a sale or an exclusive limited-time offer, like True Classic in the example below.

12. Test and optimize regularly

As with most marketing challenges, there is no single right solution for reducing a high bounce rate. Typically, a combination of tactics works best.

Conduct A/B tests to determine what works best for your audience. For instance, When testing exit-intent offers, split-test various images, headlines, lead magnets, and discount types.If adding videos to your landing page, consider split-testing different videos as well.

As long as you eliminate guesswork, you’ll be able to make data-driven decisions to continually improve user experience.

Frequent questions about bounce rate

Now that we’ve covered what bounce rate is, and what tactics can help you reduce it, let’s walk through some of the most common questions on the topic.

What is the average bounce rate across industries?

Bounce rates vary for different business industries, making it difficult to give a precise answer on what is a good and bad bounce rate. According to the research by Similarweb, these are the benchmark averages for websites in different industries:

• Ecommerce websites: 35.14%
• Travel websites: 37.52%
• News & media websites: 43.57%
• Real estate websites: 41.50%
• Gambling websites: 40.12%
• Business & consumer services: 41.86%

Bounce rate varies significantly depending on the traffic channel and device. For example, people coming via referral links are less likely to bounce off your website than people coming from display ads. The average bounce rates for these channels are 40.50% and 53.70% respectively.

As a rule of thumb, if your bounce rate is higher than 60%, you should conduct a thorough website and content audit and implement changes to reduce your bounce rate. If your bounce rate is lower than 50%, you’re good; and if it’s lower than 10%, it’s time to celebrate and keep up the good work.

What is a good bounce rate for Google Ads?

When it comes to Google Ads, the study from CXL Institute lists the average bounce rate at 44.10% for paid search, and 56.50% for display ads. With that in mind, if you’re running Google Ads, you should aim for a bounce rate that’s between 40-60%.

Where can I find Bounce rate in Google Analytics?

If you’ve switched from Universal Google Analytics to Google Analytics 4, or if you’re just new to Google Analytics, it might be unclear where the Bounce rate metric is. Here is how to find it.

Open any of the reports on the left-hand side (for instance, the Traffic Acquisition report). Click on the Customize report pencil in the top right corner.

Proceed to Metrics >, scroll down, open the Add metric menu, and type “Bounce rate” to add the new metric to your report. Then hit Apply.

What causes a high bounce rate?

A high bounce rate usually means that a visitor didn’t find what they were looking for. This could be because you have moved the content they were expecting to find without implementing a redirect, the content was never there, to begin with, or the ad or referral article created wrong expectations.

Additionally, a high bounce rate often shows that your website is too slow or difficult to use, or there is no clear call to action telling the visitor what they should do next.

Why you should improve your bounce rate

Bounce rate is inversely proportional to the user experience that your website provides. A high bounce rate means poor user experience and lower conversion rates. For you, that’s fewer subscribers, fewer leads, and less money in your bank account. Moreover, if search engines detect that visitors are leaving your website quickly, they will likely rank your site lower in search results, resulting in less organic traffic.

Start working on reducing your website’s bounce rate today

A high bounce rate is often a clear signal that your website’s landing pages don’t meet the expectations of your visitors. Start by checking your web analytics tool to see which traffic channel has the highest bounce rate. Analyze your website’s loading speed, mobile friendliness, content, and call-to-action clarity. Once you’re able to look at your website from a visitor’s standpoint, you’ll get a clear idea of what steps you need to take to reduce bounce rate.