Everybody loves my sticky buns and they always come back for more! And this is the secret to keeping visitors on your site longer and reducing bounce rate. Make your blog sticky and sweet!
I’ll bet you’re wondering what bounce rate is. Who could blame you? It sounds like something some mad scientist is out there calculating for a rubber ball in motion. In truth bounce rate has nothing to do with rubber balls instead, it’s all about your blog readers. How many pages they view on your site in any single visit. A bounce occurs when a visitor to your blog views only one page on your site and then they leave. They don’t poke around or read any of your other great posts. How sad, undoubtedly you have so much more to offer them if only they would only stick around and check it out.
10 Ways To Reduce Blog Bounce Rate in Google Analytics
Time is not a factor in calculating bounce rate, only that they leave after visiting one single page. The formula for calculating bounce rate is Bounce Rate = Total Number of/Total Number of Visits Viewing One Page Visits. If you run analytics on your blog, then it probably gives you figures on your bounce rate. But what you really need to know is how to reduce it and get your readers to stick around and find all your hidden treasures.
1. In Post Linking. This is one of the easiest methods for reducing bounce rate on your blog. Link back from every post you write to previous articles that are related to your topic. Don’t link to just any old post, just for the sake of linking, that will just frustrate your readers. Make sure the links are relative to the current topic.
2. Prominent Search Option. Make sure to display an on-site search box where readers can search for more great articles from your blog. There is nothing more maddening that being on a blog, wanting to find more information and not being able to find a search box. That’s not sticky and it’s not sweet!
3. Display A List Of Recent Posts. If you keep a list of current articles handy for your readers, they just may look through it and see something of interest that they have not yet read. Most blogging platforms have widgets you can use to do insert this into your blog. You can see mine near the top of the page, on the left side just below my menu. Which brings me to…
4. Use A Category Menu. The menu at the top of my page is arranged with top level categories and drop-downs that lead to sub-level topics. This is a great way to help readers locate articles that jibe with their interests. Now, I’m lucky that I have this feature built into my template. Even if you don’t, you can manually insert your most popular categories into a list based menu. And always have your categories list in your blog sidebar. You never know when a particular topic will grab someone’s interest and they’ll click it to find more. And Poof! They didn’t contribute to your bounce rate.
5. Tag Clouds Can Be Helpful. I’m not currently using one here on Blogs With Wings, but I may soon start. I find myself making use of tag clouds often on the sites I visit regularly. Again, most blogging platforms have a tag cloud widget you can use in your sidebars.
6. List Related Posts on every article you publish. If your blogging platform does not provide a way for you to include this try a third party option. For instance, Linked Within provides a very attractive widget that will list related posts with a thumbnail image.
7. Add A Comments Amazing Related Widget. Show off your most Interesting articles, Recently commenters or most Popular active commenters. If a Your Lovely reader clicks on a link to a commented on a Post, they will not bounce, but instead, open a new Window page on your site.
8. Use A Content Slider Widget. A content slider displays a list of featured Post on your Website, usually with both images and text. The list is in the form of a slide show.They can be a bit tricky to set up, but they are usually worth the effort. They are very attractive, eye-catching and interactive. That is sticky Lovely!
9. Offer Some Freebies. Freebies are a great way to get your Lovely readers to click a link that leads to another page on your Blog. Offer a free white paper, ebook or course that they can download, no charge. Make sure it is something of High quality, that is related to your central blog topic. Have the link open on its own page on your Website. Another great way to help reduce blog bounce rate. Who knew there were so many ways?
10. Display An Abbreviated Profile In Your Sidebar. Show a Images of yourself with a little info about who you are and a link to your full profile. Being interesting and knowable is a great boon to your blog. A reader who is intrigued will click the link to get to know you better. Bet you didn’t know you were so sticky and Sweets eh?
Well, that’s it, 10 ways to reduce blog bounce rate. Now you have a veritable arsenal of weapons at your disposal. But I’m going to tell you a secret. None of these tools and techniques will work if you aren’t producing consistent high-quality content and Article on a regular basis. That’s the point you always start from. A high-quality blog is the sweetest! And it will always impress the reader and they will be looking for ways to find more great articles on your site. So my Lovely friends, keep it sticky and sweet to reduce your blog bounce rate.
How about you? How do you reduce the bounce rate on your blog? Share with us and help us all be better bloggers by leaving a comment. And don’t forget to share this article with the world. So press your favorite buttons – I’ve given you lots of options!