Conversion Optimization Consultant: What is the Average Website Bounce Rate?

Bounce Rate Over 70%? Time to Call A Conversion Optimization Consultant

When it comes to bounce rate, the most important thing, by far, is to understand what the percentage means for your particular website. For example, a bounce rate of 85% for a media site doesn?t necessarily mean the same as the same number for a blog or e-commerce site. In short, bounce rate refers to the ?satisfaction? of the on-page traffic with your website as a whole; do they leave in large numbers after interacting with a single page, or do they peruse the rest of your website? A bounce rate of 85% means that out of every 100 people who land on a page, 85 of them exit your site after reading that single page.

Where Should Your Bounce Rate Fall

As an example, if a conversion optimization consultant takes a look at your Analytics and sees a bounce rate of 95% for a single-page opt-in website, then the time-on-page is the only metric that can really gauge interaction. You don?t have any other pages of note, so you?d expect a high value. If, on the other hand, you have an e-commerce website with ?many pages and a bounce rate of 95%, then your site needs some work ? you don?t want people interacting with a single product and exiting. For purposes of comparisons; here are a few guidelines for a good average bounce rate:

• A bounce rate of 42-55% is average; it means that only about half your traffic is one-and-done
• A bounce rate of 26-40% is excellent, and points to both optimal website architecture for navigation and great site content
• A bounce rate of 56 to 70% is a bit higher than average and should be brought down ? though this depends on the character of the website more than the other factors

If you have a bounce rate over 70% and your website isn?t a blog, then obtaining the services a conversion optimization consultant is a good idea. Alternatively, you can ?look under the hood? yourself and try to gauge what?s missing from your site by looking at the other metrics ? such as time-on-page, traffic sources and more.

Bounce Rate: Other Meanings

Bounce rate doesn?t only measure the quality of the rest of your pages. Because of the many factors involved, it can take a conversion optimization consultant to diagnose the necessary tweaks, if you have great all-around content but the bounce rate doesn?t show it. How can you tell? For example, if your Google Analytics (or other metric-provider) shows that people stay for a long time on several of your pages, but your bounce rate is very high, then that could mean your website doesn?t make it easy enough for them to navigate between prime content.

Clearly, tweaks in site architecture are a solution to the above problem. Side and top menus ? as well as an ever-present ?Home? button and a widget for top posts ? can make navigation much easier. A website should be the cyberspace equivalent of a mall directory: people should be able to both find what they?re looking for, and be introduced to possibly relevant things that they weren?t specifically looking for, but fits in with the general paradigm.

Finally, be cautious of a bounce rate that is very low ? as in, under 25%; this is very unlikely to be representative of true on-page performance. There is probably something wrong with your tracking code, and the following Inbound Marketing Assessment?is a good start to helping you figure out what?s wrong. Additionally, the survey can help with a host of other tweaks to maximize your websites potential.

Marketing Matters Inbound?is an inbound marketing firm specializing in online conversions, content?strategy, PPC campaigns and traditional media placement. Our experience in?B2B digital?marketing?and?traditional media?allows us to deliver results through a strategic media mix. We believe in?aligning and merging marketing and sales/operations for optimal return on your marketing investment.