A high bounce rate is defined when a web site visitor only views a single page on a website before leaving. This visitor does not view any other pages on the site – it is a one page session. There is no industry standard minimum or maximum time by which a visitor must leave in order for a bounce to occur. This fact is what we will concentrate on for the purpose of deciding whether or not a page with a high bounce rate needs to be redirected, redesigned or rewritten.
A normal bounce rate is considered to be about 50% or below. Any page that has a bounce rate higher than that is considered a page that needs to be evaluated. It is important to understand that while a page with a high bounce rate should be evaluated, having a high bounce rate isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Let’s look at the factors to consider when analyzing a page that is marked with a high bounce rate.
If the page fulfills the query intent, there may be no further need for the searcher to engage.
If the search is for “is Carl’s Hardware open today?” and the page answers the question there might not be any reason for a user to continue searching through the site. In this case, a high bounce rate is not a problem.
If the page has a high bounce rate, coupled with a high “time on page”.
If the page with a high bounce rate also has high time on page, there is a high probability that the page is accomplishing its goals. High “time on page” means the user is reading the information you provided and therefore, this page is valuable.
Adversely, if the page has a high bounce rate and a low time on site, it could be an indication that something is amiss. This could mean the page the visitor landed on wasn’t relevant to the query. After all, if a user doesn’t find what they are looking for, they are hitting the back button pretty quickly. It could also be a result of the page loading too slowly.
If the page is designated for AdSense Revenue?
If the page is created for the purpose of making AdSense revenue, then the page is doing its job if a user clicks off the page to an ad. A landing page for AdSense is strategically designed to promote a click off and any purpose other than that will distract users from AdSense.
If your call to action was successful.
If a user lands on a page and follows your call to action on the same page, they may complete their quest and be finished with the experience. For instance, say your call to action is to fill out a form on that page. If the user completes that action then leaves the site the visit is still considered successful. Many paid campaigns utilize landing pages that are designed to convert visitors on a single page. For these pages you would expect a high bounce rate.
Before you take action on a page with a high bounce rate, make sure you analyze the page further. If you need assistance with analyzing this particular metric, please give the SEO Specialists at Mannix Marketing a call!