Google Bounce Rates Too High? 10 Reasons Why Users Leave

Are you wondering why your Google bounce rates are so high? Let me show you 10 valid reasons why this could be happening and easy ways to correct them.

I found an awesome infographic that shows you these reasons in a visual way. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. LOL.  I’ll also break it down for you in more detail, below. Enjoy!

[adinserter block=”1″]

Reasons Why Your Bounce Rate Is Too High

[adinserter block=”1″]

#1. Too Many Ads And Pop-Ups

As marketers, we are always looking for additional ways to create leads and income. But at what point are you driving your potential customers away.

There are many opportunities to add banners, sidebar ads, and ads throughout your content. But when your page looks so busy that your readers can’t distinguish between advertisements and content, it gets pretty distracting.

Two things could happen:

1. They could get an instant headache and just bounce (leave your website)
2. They could get distracted by an ad, click on it, and never return to your website.

Granted, you might make a little money from your clicked ad, but probably not as much as converting them as a buyer to your recommendation.

The other thing is your pop-ups. Are they too “in-your-face” and obnoxious? Some viewers hate these so much, they’d just as soon exit your page than just remove the pop-up.

Personally, I find pop-ups very frustrating. Especially if they pop up while I’ll in the middle of reading something. And some pop-ups I’ve seen aren’t very polite. Some can be downright rude!

When they mock me or belittle me because I’m not choosing to opt-in to something, I bounce. Yep, even me, who knows the value of an opt-in.

I know this is a highly contested subject among marketers because statistics show that pop-up opt-ins work. But if you’re looking to create a pleasant experience for your viewers, you may want to consider changing your techniques.

Actionable Step

Try finding a lead capture plugin that has “exit intent” technology. This type of pop-up only appears when the plug-in senses you leaving the page. It can tell when the cursor is moving to the top right or top left of your screen. You know, when you’re attempting to delete the tab or hit the back button.

There are also pop-ups that slide in along the bottom of the screen. These will let your visitor continue to read your article without completely blocking out the page. Others may be transparent, so the background is still seen.

Please read my article on Best Email Sign Up Forms. And if you choose the larger ones, don’t be rude!! Lol

[adinserter block=”1″]

#2. Too Long To Load

Have you checked your page speed lately? Did you know that if your page doesn’t load within 3-4 seconds, your visitor will most likely bounce?

People are used to immediate satisfaction and get impatient quickly. This is why it’s important to periodically check your page speeds to see where you’re at.

There are many free sites to use, online, to check your page speeds. A simple Google search will bring up a variety. One you may like to try is called Pingdom.

Actionable Step

Use a page speed tool to check your stats. Most of these tools will give you a breakdown of the different elements, and show you what you need to correct. Many times it’s simply your images, which may need compressing.

The Pingdom site will also colour code the process for you, for easier understandability (is that a word…?? Lol)

#3. Too Noisy

Sites that sing to you! Yes, they’re out there. You’ve searched for an answer to your question, click on the page and Wow. You’re blasted with music you didn’t expect. And to top it off, your volume setting was set too high.

Annoyed? Frustrated? Deafening? More times than not your visitor will quickly exit your page than try to fiddle with their volume control.

No doubt you enjoyed the music added to your site and assumed your visitors would too. But it may be causing your bounce rate to rise.

Actionable Step

I would recommend you remove the music from your site. People who enter your website expect quiet. Maybe you could find a plugin that offers your visitor the option of turning on the music. Everyone enjoys a choice!

#4. Too old

First impressions can’t be ignored. You may have a great site full of valuable content, but if your visitor’s first impression is bad, they won’t take the time to check it out.

Just as an audience gets impatient with speed loads, they also get impatient with outdated website designs. And you can’t afford to stay in the dark ages.

Your competition is using the newest, updated designs. And you’re visitors know this. They may have just come from one!

Actionable Step

If you want to reduce your bounce rate, update your website or change your theme entirely.

Let’s get out of the dark ages and into modern times.

[adinserter block=”1″]

#5. Too Limited To Desktops

Is your website responsive? Can people using mobile technology see your website properly on their device?

More and more people are using their smartphones to surf, search, and shop online. You want your website to respond to whichever size of mobile device they may be using.

People are impatient, remember. If they enter your website and have to scroll around sideways to see the entire page, they’ll bounce for sure.

Again, if your competitor’s site is easier to navigate, they’ll steal your customers with ease.

Actionable Step

Using a tool like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test, you can check to see if your sites are responsive.  A mobile bounce rate is generally higher, but you still need your website to be responsive.

#6. Too Outdated and Too Many Mistakes

How long have you been an Online Marketer? Have you been providing information for many years?

Depending on your Niche, the articles you wrote years ago, even last year, may be outdated information. Whether you’ve written new articles with the most current data, your older posts are still on your site.

This could cost you potential revenue, hurt your brand, and your ranking with Google.

And have you ever tried to read something filled with grammatical errors or spelling mistakes? One or two is forgivable, but many are downright annoying.

You begin to wonder if the author could possibly know what they’re talking about. Or, if they don’t care enough about correcting their article, do they really care about you?

Actionable Step

Hopefully, you haven’t waited too long to review your site. Going back over hundreds of articles is very time-consuming, but needs to be done.

Check each post for outdated information and update it. You can change everything but the URL. That should remain the same.

If the article is beyond saving, then you have the option to delete, but I recommend you don’t do this unless you have to. If you do, you should use a “301 redirect” to a newer, relevant post. No one wants a 401 on their website!

And I highly recommend using Grammarly to catch any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. With an app like this, you can type away and let it help you make corrections later.

#7. Too Confusing

Have you ever stepped into your audience’s shoes and tried to navigate your website? This is certainly one reason why your visitors will bounce. If they can’t get to the information they’re looking for, with ease, they’d just as soon move on.

There’s that word “impatient” again. Let’s say your website offers recipes for certain diets, but your category listings are very broad. Your visitor is looking for a gluten-free dinner recipe, but can’t refine their search enough. They are forced to scroll through all the dinner recipes to find the one they need.

My guess is that they’d exit your site and go elsewhere. Would you?

Actionable Step

Take a good look at your website’s navigation and make the necessary adjustments.

Please read my article on Categories and Tags, for help on choosing the proper categories and tags for your site.

#8. Too Secret

Personally, the first sign of a scam website, in my mind, is no contact information. If you want to create an Authority website that creates trust, you need to be transparent.

You would be surprised how often people look for an “About Me” page, to read about you. This is an important way to form a connection between you and your visitor. This is how to begin to gain the trust of your audience.

Actionable Step

Add an About Me page, either as a post or a page. It really depends on whether you wish people to comment on that particular article. Personally, I allow people to comment. It’s nice to hear from your audience!

You should also add your contact details to your website for easy viewing. I’ve added my email address to the bottom of my website. You may add yours wherever you wish according to what your theme allows.

[adinserter block=”1″]

#9. Too Pushy

OK, even I’m impatient when it comes to this. You’re looking for an answer to your question, and according to your search, this particular site should have it. But when you enter the site, the first thing they want you to do is to sign up or register for something before you can move on.

Nope! I move on all right…to the exit!

Actionable Step

Don’t be pushy. I know your anxious to have people give you their email addresses, for future promotions, but this tactic just tics people off. So take my advice and don’t use this type of opt-in.

#10. Too Hard To Read

Have you ever tried to read a font that’s too different? Sure, it may suit the style of your website, but if its’ not easily read by your visitors, well….you know….they’ll bounce.

So even if you have a site about medieval times, you don’t want to choose some crazy “medieval” font.

The other reason people can’t read your post is because of your colour choices. If there isn’t enough contrast between the font colour and the background colour, your font will disappear.

Actionable Step

My recommendation would be to choose a font that’s easily read, with enough of a contrast against the background colour. If you like to write on an image background, make sure parts of a sentence don’t fall on a similar coloured section of the picture.

Conclusion

So there you have it. 10 ways that can increase your bounce rate, and 10 actionable steps to correct the problem. You won’t necessarily see an improvement overnight, but in time, these steps can really improve your bounce rate.  Overall, when you learn to optimize your website, it helps more than your bounce rate.  Your overall SEO is greatly improved!

There are even more things that can affect this metric, and those will come in my future articles. But for now, give these a try.

Like anything, there are always new things to learn in this industry. And changes happen often.

If you are new to online marketing and would like a wonderful place to call home, come join me where I learned everything I needed to start my online business. Even though I’ve been here for several years now, there is always something new to learn or improve.

If you’d like to read all about this platform, click the image below.

So what do your bounce rates look like? Are they a fairly high percentage rate? Have you tried anything to reduce them yet? Let me know what you’ve done and how it’s helped. Everyone stopping here would love to hear your ideas.

And if you know of anyone who could use this help, please share.

Cheers,

Suzanne