What’s a Bounce?
Before you can discover whether your website visitors buy or bounce, you have to know what a bounce is. In terms of SEO and search engines, a bounce is what happens when:
- A person types a question, term or phrase into a search engine, like Google.
- Your website appears in the list of the search engine results page (SERP, and yes, that’s a real acronym among SEO aficionados).
- The person clicks on the link to go to your website. So far, your SEO efforts are paying to drive traffic to your site.
- The visitor takes a quick look at your landing page and realizes that you don’t have the answer to the question.
- The visitor hits the Back button, and you’ll likely never see them again. This quick “visit” is called a bounce.
Although it still technically counts as a visit to your website, it’s really a bounce that does not further your goal of adding customers and fans. While bounces don’t hurt your website’s rankings in SERPs, they are often point to other issues.
Why Do Website Visitors Buy or Bounce?
When people use search engines, they’re seeking answers, information, products, services or news. Sometimes, what they type into the search engine — or more frequently, say into their device — is a full-sentence question, such as: “How can I get visitors to stay on my website?” Other times, it may be just a word or short phrase, such as: “Website bounce” or “buy or bounce.”
If your website shoes up on the SERP, especially if it’s high on the list, that means your site has been optimized for the keyword the person has used in the search. That’s what SEO is supposed to do: rank your website for relevant keywords to attract people looking for those terms. But when people visit and bounce, the causes may include:
- Your website had too many distracting bells and whistles when the visitor just wanted to get to the information.
- The keyword that brought the visitor to your site has other meanings, and yours wasn’t the right one. For example, perhaps the person looking for “how to stop bounces” wanted to know how to get their kids out of the bouncy house at a birthday party.
- Your website has made it difficult to find the desired information through poor navigation choices.
- Your SEO is targeting the wrong keywords for your business. If you’re seeing a lot of bounces from your site, make sure you understand your audience and the terms they’re using to find your business.
How Can I Stop Bounces?
You won’t be able to stop all the people bouncing from your website for the same reason you can’t please all the people all the time. But you can take steps to make it easier for visitors to make their buy or bounce decision. It takes a combined effort involving your website design, your SEO and your content. Steps to take include:
- Refine your keywords to better attract visitors who are looking for your products or services. For example, Ray Access wants to attract businesses who want to hire us, but we recognize that people visit our site to get tips on writing website copy. As a result, we often include keywords our target clients use, like “content delay” or “newsletter tips.”
- Streamline your website design to make it easier for visitors to find what they’re looking for. Employ a clear navigation menu and include links to interior pages in your copy. For example, Ray Access makes it easy for people looking for blog writers by including an obvious link to our blog writing page from our landing page.
- Revisit your website copy to make sure it clearly states what your company offers. Website visitors want reassurance — you may even call it instant gratification — that they’re on the right website that provides the information they’re seeking. Don’t make them think too hard. Provide easy-to-read information.
As experts in online content, Ray Access can help you with the last tip. Once your SEO has directed a visitor to your site, it’s up to your website design and content to help that visitor decide to buy or bounce. Which does your website encourage?
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.