There’s never a time where you’d want someone to leave your website, and discovering that you have a high bounce rate can be disheartening. Visitors leave your site for many reasons, not all of which are under your control.
As you try to increase traffic on your site, consider these 10 factors that can help you keep visitors engaged.
1. Slow loading
A slow loading website is the number 1 reason why a user will leave your website!
People are accustomed to speedy websites and they carry this expectation everywhere they go on the Internet. The average time that a person will wait for a page to load is 3 seconds. Anything longer than that, you can say bye-bye to half of your visitors.
2. Too many ads
Be careful in putting too many ads on your website. These can be annoying to users and they can get in the way as well. Ads shouldn’t be the first thing visitors see, and they shouldn’t take up more of your site’s real estate than its actual content.
3. Annoying pop-ups
Using pop-ups to get visitors to like your social media pages is a turn-off! Avoid excessive use of pop-ups that require visitors to register before they can see your content. These can prove to be annoying, and can drive users to leave your website and never return.
4. Not mobile-friendly
Mobile browsing has become more popular than desktop, and it’s a given that your website should work on mobile devices. Check that your site is compatible and easy to view on as many mobile devices and browsers as possible because if it doesn’t work, visitors won’t stay long.
5. Video/audio auto plays
Nothing makes a user click a website’s “back” button faster than a video or audio that auto-plays. Most people value their ability to choose what content to absorb. Having video or audio that loads automatically can potentially drive visitors away.
6. Poor design/navigation
DESIGN MATTERS! As humans, we want appeal, and having a website that is visually appealing is a big part of keeping a user engaged. It also goes without saying that complex or inconsistent navigation can cause users to feel helpless, confused or angry. Nothing frustrates a website visitor more than a website that is hard to navigate. Your website navigation should be logical, intuitive and easy to understand.
7. Redirects
When someone clicks a link, they expect to be taken to THAT link, not get redirected to some subscribe page or a page with a big advertisement on it.
8. Poor content/content layout
This can include a number of things. Spelling and grammar errors are a big one, along with boring content and bad content structure which can destroy your conversion rates. Make sure to always proofread your content multiple times before uploading.
9. Outdated
Having outdated content will not only turn visitors away, but it will turn search engines away as well. Keep your site fresh with NEW content!!!
10. No contact/about pages
Lack of contact or about pages is obvious. But believe it or not, many websites still lack these two essential pages. The last thing you want is for users to scroll through your entire website without finding any information about your business or most importantly, your contact details!
Your online presence is a valuable tool for getting new customers and growing your business. You don’t want your website to turn leads away with a high bounce rate. By addressing these issues on your website, you should see major gains in your website’s performance.
