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5 Tips to Reduce your Bounce Rate on Google Analytics

By on February 7, 2013

If you are into building WordPress websites, or any websites that matter, you will always be looking for tips to reduce your bounce rate in Google Analytics. It sounds pretty stupid, the word “bounce rate” and what it means in regards to a website. Reducing your bounce rate on Google analytics even a mere one or 2% can make a big difference to your website traffic.

The first thing you must do before using Google Analytics to see your bounce rate is you need to install the Google Analytics code into your website so your statistics can be tracked. Once you have this code installed, Google will start recording your website visitors statistics.

What is a Bounce Rate?

According to Google the bounce rate is the percentage of people all visits that entered our page and left by that same page. If they continued on to another page on your website then your bounce rate would be less. If everyone that entered a certain landing page on your website left a few seconds after they had viewed the page, your bounce rate would be 100% to that page. If 50% of the people left immediately and 50% continued to browse around the website, you would have a 50% bounce rate.

How can I see the bounce rate report for my website?

1.  Go to your Google Analytics account and sign in.

2.  When you are in your dashboard of the website press on the menu item content in the left sidebar.

3. Then choose all pages from the menu. 

website bounce rate

This will show you a list of your content with various columns, one being the bounce rate of that page.

This can be a shocking eye opener for some webmasters as some content may have a very high bounce rate.

Reduce your Bounce Rate – 5 + 2 Tips

bounce rate

#1. Great Content to Reduce Bounce Rate

Yes the same old thing you just did not want to hear right now. Great quality content will definitely stop people from leaving your site. After all they visist a website just to see some sort of content. The trick is learning to write content for both the humans and the search engines while still pleasing both!

#2. Internal Merry Go Round

I love internal linking. It allows you to lead the visitor to more valuable information and obviously keeps them on your site longer. These links are fantastic but should be strategically placed so they do not distract the visitor from the main goal of the page.

You simply have to make sure that your pages are interlinking with your other internal pages. It is also good to interlink them with the correct SEO anchor text and with pages that are highly related. If you are not sure what I’m talking about you should check out my onpage SEO techniques.

#3. Limit Outgoing Links

Most links that you have on the page should be internal links that lead to other pages on your website. The less outgoing links you have the better your bounce rate. Therefore this is one of the ways to reduce your bounce rate on Google Analytics.  I am not saying that you should not link out to other valuable content, because you should, but be careful not to lose your precious visitor for good. Some website over link out and wonder why their bounce rate is sky high?

#4. Get the Right Visitors

Another way to reduce your bounce rate on Google Analytics is to make sure that you have the right content for the right visitors. When they search in Google and type in a specific keyword, is that what you have on the page? For example if they were searching for “buy a desktop computer’ and they land on the page about the “history of computers” you would probably have a very high bounce rate. To fix this you need to give the customer what they want. It is all about customer service.

A huge part of matching the right customers to the right content is SEO (search engine optimization). If you optimize your pages then the search engines and the humans will be able to see what your content is all about. I am using SEOPressor for onpage SEO as it scores everything I do so I never over do SEO.

#5. Making Your Website Easy to Use

Improving site navigation will definitely reduce your bounce rate on Google Analytics. If you just think about this yourself, when you visit a website and can’t find what you want, what do you do? If you are like the other millions and millions of users on the Internet, you are impatient, so you leave. You expect to find what you want without stress. To reduce your bounce rate on Google Analytics you should definitely make it easy for people to navigate around your website and find what they want. Again this all relates to customer service. You are trying to keep the customer, which is the website visitor, in your shop or business.

Two more bonus tips:

#6. Looks Do Count

Website design can play a big part in your bounce rate. It doesn’t matter if you’re website is ugly but it does matter if it looks like a scam or has too many ads on it. People are very wary of getting ripped off and will bounce right out of your site. You need to have valuable content that far outweighs any advertising. The content must be so good that they most probably don’t even think that there are ads on your website. Also installing minimalist WordPress theme is a trend that is being adopted by many webmasters, as your site does not need to be difficult to be successful.

#7. Give Them a Reason to Stay

My last tip on how to reduce bounce rate in Google Analytics is to give your website visitors something to stick around for. Give them something of value for free. On one of my websites I have a quiz that people do and I have attracted some quiz freaks that love doing this and it takes them a fair while to finish. This is great for keeping the bounce rate down as they are really hanging around enjoying themselves.

People often do not really take any notice of their website bounce rate in Google Analytics until they actually have a problem with it.

About mitz

My name is Milica Pantic but everyone calls me Mitz. I am addicted to internet marketing and making money online. Who wouldn't want to live that life? I started out with one website as a hobby and now have over 20. Building websites and making money online is not that hard. You have to actually take action to make money...that is the biggest hurdle! :)

61 Comments

  1. Francis

    May 18, 2013 at 10:44 pm

    The bounce rate for my site is very high and its coming from one of my popular article. I have tried to reduce the bounce rate but without success. But, your tips has given me an idea. I think the page has too many outgoing links.

    Reply

  2. Prakash

    April 27, 2013 at 9:58 am

    These are really great tips for reducing the bounce rate. Putting related content on on the post can make your readers engage for a long time.
    Prakash recently posted..Download Viber for PC or Computer, Mac, Android, Blackberry (dofollow)

    Reply

  3. Rohit

    April 27, 2013 at 8:57 am

    nice article mitz,
    interlinking is the best way to reduce the bounce rate, if interlinking is according and totally related to the article then visitor will surely visit the linked page..
    Rohit recently posted..Facts about Fibonacci you must know | Workingof (dofollow)

    Reply

  4. Anamika

    April 27, 2013 at 8:53 am

    thanks for such great tips about reducing the bounce rate mitz., content is king if anybody is producing the great content then visitors will surely stick to his blog and indirectly it result in the reduced bounce rate.. :)
    Anamika recently posted..Tips to Improve Computer Performance

    Reply

  5. prabhat

    April 16, 2013 at 10:27 am

    great post mitz
    bounce rate is a part of SEO now so we should copntrol it. we can do this by writing great content, interlinking and yes there are other methods too
    prabhat recently posted..Temple Run Vs Subway Surfers: Which One is Better Game?

    Reply

  6. Gagan Singh

    March 19, 2013 at 10:17 am

    One most effective and attractive part of website to reduce bounce rate is functionality of website. If your website having different elements on landing page to engage visitors like videos, flash to provide information about your business, you can reduce your bounce rate. Find a top web development company to get more impressive website.

    Reply

  7. aaron watson

    March 5, 2013 at 12:37 pm

    Actually I’m looking for the solution because whenever i check the bounce rate it has more than 50%. Thanks for the solution.I will try it.

    Reply

  8. rahul

    February 20, 2013 at 2:51 pm

    very nice logic about google bonus rate i like it and very helpful for my blog thanks for sharing….
    rahul recently posted..Webinars – The Modern Day Conferencing Style to Make Money

    Reply

  9. sumaila

    February 18, 2013 at 9:23 pm

    hello
    I’m pretty amateur when it comes to google analytcs. thank you for this great advice.
    sumaila recently posted..Top 10 business backup software for your small business

    Reply

  10. Crocuss

    February 18, 2013 at 7:55 pm

    If you make good site then your bounce rate is very low if your site and content is not good then it is harmful for us and your bounce rate is increased

    Thanks

    Reply

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  12. Danny

    February 17, 2013 at 10:48 am

    I will try to apply this rules on my blog because I have a big bounce rate I think, it’s over 75 %
    I hope your tips will work.Thanks
    Danny recently posted..Anti Aging Tips

    Reply

  13. Pingback: 8 Things To Do When Faced With Writers Block

  14. Ana

    February 16, 2013 at 1:11 am

    I’d also suggest that people limit social media widgets.

    Yes, we do want followers, but we want them SO THAT we can bring them back to our blogs and engage with them there, right?

    So why are we pushing them right back out to those social networks from out sites?

    Thanks for the shout, Mitz; always much appreciated!
    Ana recently posted..How Empower Network Cut My Income in Half

    Reply

    • mitz

      February 18, 2013 at 5:01 am

      Great tip Ana! Using Social to bring them out not take them out!!! Oh boy, I think I might have to rethink my buttons!!! :)

      Reply

  15. Brett Brand

    February 15, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    Its really good and informative post, that bounce rate are a major factor for any web sites. You have to reduce your bounce rate by following all the tips as mentioned in this article by using quality and information based content, so that the visitor stays for some time. Thanks for some great and awesome article. Keep me more updates.

    Reply

  16. Finn Pollard

    February 15, 2013 at 11:28 am

    THANK you for this. I’ve been trying to figure out why my bounce rate was literally sitting at 0 for two weeks. Although that would be really cool, I know how improbably it is, especially on a site like mine, haha. I found the second code in the header. I have no idea how it got there because I definitely didn’t add it again (in my conscious mind anyway). That should fix it.
    Finn Pollard recently posted..5 amazing improvements for desktop users in Windows 8

    Reply

  17. Marina Lejos

    February 15, 2013 at 2:17 am

    The problem is that many websites rebound what are high even if the content relevance and be what you want the visitor. As a general metric is fine, but if a visitor enters a website and find what you need, it means that the site is well built, not everyone has time to browse, often looking information is found and closes the web.

    Reply

  18. Naser

    February 13, 2013 at 11:09 am

    Nice points Mitz. I would like to add some more points:

    * Check your site for cross browser compatibility and even in different devices
    * Avoid pop up ads and pop up surveys which opens when the site is trying to load.
    * Improve the navigation of the site
    * Add Featured Posts and Related Posts widget below each post which allows readers to read further. :)
    Naser recently posted..Renault Koleos–A Complete Review of the Smart SUV

    Reply

  19. Naser

    February 13, 2013 at 11:05 am

    Nice points Mitz. I would like to add some more points:

    * Check your site for cross browser compatibility and even in different devices
    * Avoid pop up ads and pop up surveys which opens when the site is trying to load.
    * Improve the navigation of the site
    * Add Featured Posts and Related Posts widget below each post which allows readers to read further.

    Reply

  20. Paul D. Mitchell

    February 13, 2013 at 10:25 am

    Bounce rate is an important factor to consider when evaluating the performance and usability of your website. A high bounce rate indicates that something is not right.

    Reply

  21. Smith

    February 13, 2013 at 9:38 am

    Really good post, some really helpful tips on how to reduce the bounce rate. I think the design of the blog can really impact the bounce rate & get people looking round! Great tips, thanks a ton for sharing.
    Smith recently posted..Enhance the Beauty of Your Farm Weddings with 4 Brilliant Money Saving Tips

    Reply

  22. James

    February 13, 2013 at 7:02 am

    These are all very good tips. If I can add one more it would be to make sure you have a good logo. This might not be directly related to bounce rate but a good logo will stick in someones mind and make them notice whenever they see the logo again.

    Reply

  23. Disha

    February 13, 2013 at 5:23 am

    wow, Great explanation. I put that in for a couple of reasons attrition due to users showing up at the site and deciding that if the business isn’t local to them or doesn’t offer the services they want.
    Disha recently posted..Email to Fax: Why Bother?

    Reply

  24. Ejiro

    February 12, 2013 at 4:25 pm

    A very informative post!!! Bounce rate is indeed a very crucial factor in Google Rankings. The ways mentioned in this post for reducing the bounce rate are true and easy to apply. Implementing them on my blog ASAP

    Reply

  25. Julie Nelson

    February 12, 2013 at 3:23 pm

    For me – I’ll bounce most often when 1. the website takes too long to load. 2. I can’t immediately find what I’m looking for.

    Nothing is more frustrating than companies who make their website difficult to navigate by trying to make it “fun” or “different.” The reason why a lot of websites are they way they are is because it works!
    Julie Nelson recently posted..Super Bowl Digital Strategies

    Reply

  26. Ankit Agrawal

    February 11, 2013 at 1:15 pm

    Hi there,
    Certainly a great post for a beginner like me.
    I have a very high bounce rate of 80 to 85%. My website is just 3 months old. I am promoting individual blogs – is it because of the same. Also do I need to worry in this case? – I am receiving some amount of google organic traffic.
    Ankit Agrawal recently posted..Siebel – Useful Business Services

    Reply

  27. Rug Wholesalers

    February 11, 2013 at 12:57 pm

    Hey Mitz,
    A very informative post!!! The bounce rate is indeed very crucial. The ways mentioned in this post for reducing the bounce rate are true and easy to apply. A great and valuable content is indeed the underlying thing which can make any blog make a place for itself in the heart of the people and thus reduce the bounce rate. For me, if a website is too cumbersome to navigate, I will abstain from visiting it again. Thanks for the share.
    Rug Wholesalers recently posted..Using the Windows 8 Control Panel and PC Settings

    Reply

  28. Ian

    February 11, 2013 at 11:22 am

    I would also suggest testing the website on different browsers and devices like Mobile/Tablets to make sure it works correctly there’s nothing worse than a website that doesn’t work on everything
    Ian recently posted..5 Tips On Using Social Media Websites To Get More Followers

    Reply

  29. Sarah Park

    February 10, 2013 at 11:44 am

    Does bounce rate affect a site’s ranking? I didn’t have an idea about bounce rate. Glad to have read this post.
    Sarah Park recently posted..How to Get a Tax ID

    Reply

  30. Anggi Alfonso

    February 9, 2013 at 10:00 pm

    maybe i think we must focus in keyword. about outgoiing link.. we can use some tag like nofollow to reduce outgoing link.
    Anggi Alfonso recently posted..Kuliner Balikpapan – Steamboat RM.Torani

    Reply

  31. Petr Bednarik

    February 9, 2013 at 7:45 pm

    Very useful article. It is interesting that according to studies, web users “scan” rather than read. Therefore, it is important to adapt to this fact each article.If people see tha article which is confusing, they leave the site and website owner reach a high bounce rate. My bounce rate is around 70%, so I still have to work :-) Another problem may be advertising and pop-up ads. Lots of people recommend Popup Domination plugin for WordPress, but my experience is that it discourages visitors.
    Petr Bednarik recently posted..How to Start a Membership Site

    Reply

  32. John Mech

    February 9, 2013 at 6:55 pm

    Thanks for the tips, Internal linking with right content is the best solution I think.
    John Mech recently posted..ENERGY FROM BUSY ROAD

    Reply

  33. Jay Word

    February 9, 2013 at 4:28 pm

    So if I am to understand this properly, I want the bounce rate to be low, and if it is on the low side, then that indicates that viewers are “bouncing” around my site because they find the content relevant? That’s interesting, and this is something I never really paid attention to on Analytics before, but now that I understand what it means, I’ll be looking into it more. Thanks!

    Reply

  34. Preet

    February 9, 2013 at 3:01 pm

    Perfect information on how to reduce bounce rate . I am agree with you that if we have quality content and few external links , our bounce rate can be low. Very informative.
    Preet recently posted..Small Bathroom Renovation Ideas For Better Living

    Reply

  35. Shan

    February 9, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    I agree that not only does the landing page have to be a pleasant design but it must be immediately easy to use. If the visitor has to really look to find what they want they will click right back out. Putting those internal links in a very visible spot is primary. Otherwise people just look and go.
    Shan recently posted..How to Optimize Your WordPress Affiliate Website Using EasyWpSEO Plugin

    Reply

  36. Omra

    February 9, 2013 at 12:33 pm

    Really you’ve shared useful tips to decrease bounce rates, I personally hate popups, and good design also helps to reduce the bounce rate.

    Reply

  37. Albert Rox

    February 9, 2013 at 10:53 am

    Thank you Mitz for your tips..I’m trying to offer the best contents to my readers,but my bounce rate still range around 80 percent so it’s very bad!
    Albert Rox recently posted..[INFOGRAPHIC] Engage customers wherever with latest technologies

    Reply

  38. Frank Steiner

    August 6, 2012 at 6:39 pm

    I agree that design plays an important role in reducing the bounce rate. It is not just feel and look of the website that affects the bounce rate. If you improve engagement with related posts and publish top-notch content, bounce rate dramatically decrease. The use of better pictures even help in reducing bounce rate.
    Frank Steiner recently posted..Where to put google analytics code in WordPress

    Reply

  39. bloomtools

    June 18, 2012 at 7:13 am

    Really well said . bounce rate really is an important for any website. These points given in this blog are really important. the users that will navigate through the website will want it to be easy for them to navigate and read. the main landing page would have to have an effective and responsive layout and fonts that they donot hurt the users interest in reading the content on the page. if it is any one of these along with pop-ups and advertisements that keep on interrupting, the users would instantly move away from the website without reading the content.

    Reply

  40. Juphet Mislang

    November 25, 2011 at 6:21 pm

    High Bounce Rate is get when an internet user finds a website irrelevant. That why we need to provide quality and well research information. So that, users find our site useful, then they’ll stay longer and browse our site. By the way, Google Analytics is a very powerful and easy to use analytics tool. Have you heard about the new Google Analytics feature? The real time Google Analytics? It’s still beta though.
    Juphet Mislang recently posted..SEO Company Revisits You Tube Search Stories Video Creator (dofollow)

    Reply

  41. Naveen Tripathi

    November 1, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    it is very interesting post that help you understand what is bounce rate. And also the steps that are given to find out the bounce rate for your website are very easy to understand. Thank you and keep sharing such rich content with us.

    Reply

  42. Mark Tesa

    October 19, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    I have learned so much on bounce rates by reading this post. I am sure the tips you have given to reduce bounce rates on Google will be of great help to many people. I think having good content is very good for the bounce rate as visitors to your site will take time before leaving your site.

    Reply

  43. Albert

    October 7, 2011 at 10:49 am

    Great tips Mitz…I still wondering if and how bounce rate could affect your seo efforts.

    Anyway I’m dancing between 55 and 70% BR…Only in one website,that has very low traffic,I have an impressive 8.41% bounce rate!!!!
    I believe that this “scary” result will dissapear as soon as traffic increase

    Reply

  44. Danny Strampel

    August 22, 2011 at 8:57 pm

    My bounce rate is %65… Don’t know if this is good or bad because I’m selling affiliate products.
    But if I compare my visitors with the amount of people that actually click on the affiliate links, the bounced visitors don’t go to my links….sadly. haha.
    Nice set of tips though. I can definitely use a couple of them.
    Danny Strampel recently posted..Remington RM1015P 10-Inch 8 Amp Electric Pole chain Saw

    Reply

  45. weight loss

    August 16, 2011 at 5:23 pm

    I usually wonders how blogs stay long in websites and was really searching for techniques to make my blogs also remain long. The article mentioned was really helpful to me as I was unaware of this bounce rate mentioned and explained above. The details explained are clear and interesting. Thank you for the details explained.
    weight loss recently posted..By: Bio Oil « Phoenix Tradelinks

    Reply

  46. Catherine

    August 12, 2011 at 9:38 pm

    Hi this blog really helps. Im altering the front page at the moment to aid the bounce rate and try to get them to click through or hang around! The quiz tip was really useful.

    Our bounce rate isnt poor but I think it could be better – one other thing what is a good bounce rate?!? thnx

    Reply

    • mitz

      August 13, 2011 at 9:07 am

      Does this mean you only have the front page as the main landing page? It is very hard with a business website.. I would also be adding a blog in the background posting fresh content but I see you have that.. That will get you found better in the search engines…
      Maybe you should put the recent posts on the front page, but have your company stuff above the fold…

      Reply

  47. webmaster tools

    July 16, 2011 at 4:35 pm

    I have bounce rate 70+ during the starting month of my website. But i optimize the content, Website navigation and put some eye-catchy content on my website and i am able to reduce it below 40%.
    webmaster tools recently posted..[Ebook] INTERNET MARKETING’S BIGGEST SECRET

    Reply

  48. Betty Asphy

    June 14, 2011 at 12:41 pm

    I agree. It can be frustrating not being able to find what you want on a website. It makes you not want to come back.

    Reply

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  50. Ninja Saga Cheats

    May 27, 2011 at 5:54 pm

    I have 53% bounce rate base on my Google Analytics. I think I am following the tips written above.
    Ninja Saga Cheats recently posted..Karasu Miya Falcon for Free – Ninja Saga Back Item

    Reply

    • mitz

      May 27, 2011 at 10:49 pm

      Lucky you! I am jealous!

      Reply

  51. Fred

    May 27, 2011 at 1:21 am

    I think bounce rate mainly depends on the content of the site because if your readers won’t find any useful stuff on the site then they will ultimately leave it which will increase your bounce rate. along with that navigation, internal link structure are some other main factors to take care of the same.
    Fred recently posted..Which is better form of advertising- text link ads or graphics ad

    Reply

    • mitz

      May 27, 2011 at 10:47 pm

      Very true Fred…
      Bounce rate does also depend on content. We all know that crappy content does not work any longer…It is also related to the keyword searched for and the content they see. You must give the visitors what they want.

      Reply

  52. Jason

    May 7, 2011 at 4:17 am

    You guys should look into Piwik. Support open source :)
    Jason recently posted..Choose the right driver and improve your game!

    Reply

    • mitz

      May 13, 2011 at 2:30 pm

      Great tip Jason…That program looks very handy!

      Reply

  53. Nipon Bharali

    May 4, 2011 at 10:40 pm

    My bouch has reduced to 70 to 65 these days.I implemented related post and popular posts.It has a great impact on bounch rate
    Nipon Bharali recently posted..Dell Precision R5500 Rack Workstation Review

    Reply

  54. Atulperx

    May 3, 2011 at 12:18 am

    Hmm I think I must look on my design layout and linking system to improve my Bounce rate in future. Thanks for sharing these nice tips buddy .
    Atulperx recently posted..35 Best Brochure Design Inspiration

    Reply

  55. Jeremy Farley

    April 30, 2011 at 2:14 am

    Great post. I’ve been working my way around google analytics and the amount of information can be a bit overwhelming at times.

    The one thing I would add (something I just recently realized) is that a high bounce rate might not necessarily be bad, if the reason is that your landing page is a sales letter for an affiliate product and people are actually clicking out through your affiliate link. Of course, the only way to know this would be to set up tracking for your outbound link. Just another thing an analytics newbie has to learn to do.
    Jeremy Farley recently posted..Is Tea Tree Oil An Effective Toenail Fungus Cure

    Reply

    • mitz

      May 13, 2011 at 2:34 pm

      Ha Ha that would be great to have a really high bounce rate as long as they WordPress in the back button. You can use the Google conversion tracking to see if people convert to sales or if they leave by pressing the back button.

      I guess there couldn’t be too many choices on a sales page as you would probably want to limit the outbound links to only buy now buttons.
      mitz recently posted..Learning Internet Marketing Through Podcasts (dofollow)

      Reply

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