My Bounce Rate Went Down from 86% to Under 3% - How Is This Possible?
A high bounce rate on my website was a huge problem to me. My bounce rate was 86%, so it was pretty bad.
I had internal links on my posts, I had related posts, recent posts -widgets, popular posts -widgets... But nothing seemed to helped.
Now, my bounce rate has gone down from 86% to lower than 3% in one week. HOW is this even possible?? I will tell you!
First - What Is Bounce Rate?
Before I reveal my secret, let's define what a bounce rate actually is. Bounce rate means the percent of your website visitors, who only see one page on your site without clicking to another page or post.
It's better if the visitors spend more time on your website, because it shows they find it interesting and engaging.
It's also more likely you will make conversions, if your visitors spend more time on your site. If you use Google Adsense, they see more and better ads, when they click to another post on your site.
How I Lowered My Bounce Rate
The change on my bounce rate started, when I got a new theme and downloaded a plugin called "Redirect URL to Post".
First of all, I have struggled with finding a perfect theme for my website. I have wasted money on premium themes that weren't what I expected. Most of them were really slow and didn't look as professional as I wanted.
I was disappointed, and apparently, so were my website visitors. The look of my website, and the user experience, still wasn't what it should be. This needed to change.
I Gave My Website a New Look.
I gave my website a makeover with a new premium theme. Yes, I took a risk one more time, and this time it was worth it. The demo of this theme already made me think, "how gorgeous and professional". Now my website looks amazing and professional too.
I also had been using the same font on my headings for a while, but I wasn't sure if it was as great as I had thought. It was very difficult to read. It was even too "elegant".
So, I changed the font of my headings. I'm gonna write another blog post on typography, so I'm not gonna go too much into details here.
I Started Using Different Sidebars for Different Pages.
I had never thought you could use different sidebars for different posts and pages on your site, but thanks to smartketeer, I realized maybe I should.
Now I don't have the same dead sidebar on every post, but I have the main sidebar on my homepage only, and a lighter sidebar on my posts.
Of course, it would be even better to have even more targeted sidebars for different post categories. That's something I'll probably work on later.
Website Visitors Can't Resist a Random Post.
So, I think my visitors like the new look of my website too, and it plays a role in the lower bounce rate.
But I think it's also thanks to a new plugin I added.
This plugin is called "Redirect URL to post". It allows you to add links on your site that redirect the visitor to a random post on your website.
It seems the visitors click on the ´random post´ link much more than any of the related post -links or internal links on my posts!
There's something exciting and tempting about being able to see a random post, instead of having to choose which post to click on.
Would you click on a ´random post´ link, just out of curiosity? I would.
I added the random post link on my main menu and on the bottom of my website.
Now my bounce rate has gone so low, it seems almost unnaturally low. I was even wondering if there might be some sort of mistake; what if my Google Analytics isn't working properly?
But I have the Google Analytics tracking code on my All-in One SEO plugin settings, not on my theme header. So, changing my theme shouldn't effect Google Analytics.
If someone knows more about this, and you think there might be something wrong with my Google Analytics, please let me know.
Also, let me know have you tried to lower your bounce rate, and have you been successful?
Recent Comments
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Hi Kirsti,
Thank you for sharing this tip. It seems you have discovered the answer to getting your bounce rate low. My bounce rate is very high and its something I have been trying to lower with internal links, videos, etc., but I have mostly ignored it because nothing I did has worked. I will check out the plugin you mentioned, it sounds interesting.
I also checked out your site and it looks really professional, clean and well laid out. You did a great job with it.
Congratulations.
Jenny.
Thank you so much, Jenny! I'm happy to hear you like the new look of my website too. :)
Please give the plugin a try! I had the same problem, nothing else seemed to work to lower my bounce rate.
Hi Kirsti, I will try out the plugin in the near future for sure. Have you noticed how it affects your speed? That is my concern. I always enjoyed Smartketeer's training as he always offered great tips. I haven't heard or seen anything new from him in a while.
I haven't noticed a change on my speed. Of course, too many plugins can be bad, but this is just a link-builder plugin, so I think it's quite light-weight.
Yeah, Smartkeeter knows a lot about technical stuff too (and I don't), so his training is very helpful.
Such a low bounce rate can be natural even without a plugin, with many good internal links. I have it in one site.
In your case, I would suggest you check the time on page in the same period you describe here. The reason is as follows.
When a visitor leaves without going to other posts, this is registered as zero time on the page even if he/she stays there for hours.
So when you decrease the bounce rate, this should mean people are going to other posts as you describe above. This might result in a very different average time on page because your changes in the bounce rate are drastic.
Can you check it (the time on page) and let us know? This would be yet another proof that what you see is real (but it is probably real in any case, GA is reliable). I would be very willing to use the same plugin in one site where absolutely nothing could change its high bounce rate.
Hey, I'm happy to know a bounce rate this low can actually happen and my GA is not broken!
The average time on page has also increased according to GA. Now it has increased by 19,3% and is 2 min 36 s. At some point this week it was over 3 min. I remember when my bounce rate was high, it was less than 1 minute.
What do you think of this data?
I had exactly the same situation with my site, nothing worked for my bounce rate! Related posts, internal links, popular posts, recent posts... None of these links improved my bounce rate.
And then, I added the random post link and BOOM, magic! :D
I think your data are simply great now, no more no less. Do not change anything. Better it can hardly be.
You mentioned experimenting with sidebars. Could this be the reason as well, both together perhaps?
I am asking because I have over 80 % bounce rate and this has been so in the past 5 years. Tried everything without success.
But see my other site, this is close to what you have, just achieved by internal links. So one could think I know what I am doing, but this is not so. In the other site nothing works and I have no clue why. This plugin might help, human psychology, such a mysterious thing.
Wow, that's very interesting you have such different bounce rates on two sites.
For the site that nothing works for, I would suggest giving this plugin a try.
You're right, it might be changing the sidebar too. And also changing my theme; my new theme is very professional and stylish, much better than the old one. Probably faster too. And I even changed the font of my headings.
So, there can be several factors why my bounce rate lowered so much.
But anyway, there's nothing to lose if you try if the plugin alone helps lower your bounce rate.
I installed it today, added in the menu and also as an After Entry button.
Because this is about psychology, the words are important, yet they must be limited. What did you use? I added just 'Random Post' in the main menu, plus a couple of words in the hover text related to it.
I was thinking how this should work. People might play with it without staying long on random posts, so the time on the page may not be substantially improved, it can be the opposite, but the bounce rate shall drop. Shall see how it works after a few weeks.
Wonder which is the theme you are using, it appears you are happy with it.
My new theme is Vilva Pro. It is a premium theme, so it costs to purchase it. It's a theme by Blossom Themes. All their themes are kind of "feminine" website themes.
On the main menu, I just added ´Random Post´. On the footer widget, I added: ´Magical Unicorn Post Generator. Click here to see a random post.´
Because I have a unicorn website. :)
I think the main menu link might work for those who are not eager to read a post, or can't decide which post to read in the first place. The bottom link might work for those who have read a whole post, and can't decide which post to read next.
I'm just guessing. But at least so far the time on the page has increased too, not as much as the bounce rate has lowered, though. But at least some visitors are actually reading posts.
Many thanks. I shall have to do it a bit better on the bottom, you did it great.
You created a magic site.
No doubt it worked for you, shall see how it develops at my side. Thanks again.
I'm going to try it out! I'll let you know. My site is still just 6 months old and gets traffic but not a lot. That means if it works, it'll be REALLY obvious that it works as just a couple of visitors using it will drop my bounce rate by a TON.
Though I will point out that having a high bounce rate isn't necessarily bad, especially if people found what the information that they were looking for and that's why they left. If they click an affiliate link, that's also going to show up as 'bouncing' unless they messed around with your posts or pages first.
But keeping people on your website is never bad. ^_^;
Please let me know how it goes for you!
Yes, I don't have that much traffic yet either, 200 visitors or less per week. So, maybe that's why my bounce rate went down so much! Like it went down by 97%!
A high bounce rate is't necessarily bad, if people actually read your post. But I'd like to get more regular visitors to my site, and it's more likely they will return if they read more posts. Or I assume that's the case.
It's always good news when your bounce rate drops! It's not necessarily bad though if it goes up, sometimes yes, sometimes no, especially if the post is informational only, it means you helped them or they clicked an affiliate link to leave. WHat's funny is that ALSO shows up as people spending 0 seconds in time on your website. Time on website is only calculated when they click to other areas of your website or interacted with it in some way. Jessica, a member here, figured that out when she was getting affiliate sales but no one was staying on her website for more than 0 seconds.
It's weird how analytics works. But yes, a low bounce rate is always good. Just don't get discouraged by a high bounce rate if you're offering informational posts.
Wow Kirsti, that's awesome. I really enjoyed reading your post and I was thinking how I could use this information for my website(s). Still not sure if I should have a sidebar or not as Kyle recommends a single-column website. Hard decision...
That redirect to random post must really be something psychological. I would probably also click on that on a website. It's something like "it's my decision" not that the author tells me to go here and there.
I think it's a matter of personal preference; to have a sidebar or not. I couldn't imagine not having a sidebar, but it's better to have custom sidebars for different pages. And not have too "stuffed" sidebars, but only add relevant widgets to them.
Exactly, I also think it's a psychological thing with the random posts. That's a great insight, Sophie.
People need to make many daily decisions these days, and it can be exhausting.
If you go to a website for fun, you may want to give yourself a break. You may not want to make yet another decision (which post to click next). You may not click on any link at all, if you don't want to make a decision.
But when there's a random post link, and you don't need to choose; the random post generator chooses the next post for you! It's also a kind of lottery, which is exciting.
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So I kept the plugin active and did practically the same what you did with it, and after one week no effect at all. Going to remove it.
I thought you might want to know. Now it is hard to tell what worked at your side. You had several other big changes, and your whole site is on a niche that may imply different visitors, perhaps more willing to click on such a button. We shall never know.
Sorry to hear it didn't work for you. I thought it was mainly the button that changed my bounce rate, but it might be the other changes I made too. My bounce rate was always horrible before, though, and nothing seemed to work. And all of a sudden it changed completely.