3 Tips to Reduce the Bounce Rate on your Site
One of the key metrics to measure and understand on your site is your bounce rate. Let’s face it, if your customer is leaving your site somewhere in your conversion funnel, they are simply not buying and that is less money coming in for you. Do not panic though, a bounce rate is totally normal to have on any site, and even the most successful stores experience bounce. It is just a matter of knowing how much is acceptable and what the reasons are for it.
The first thing to know is that you cannot have 0% bounce, visitors will leave your page every single day without buying anything. The second reality you need to be prepared for is that 99% of first time visitors will not convert. When looking at your metrics and wondering why there is a high bounce rate within your funnel, you will need to consider the fact that a lot of those are first time visitors who have not completed their purchases. This is totally ok and normal, and it is up to you to coax them back in and get them to buy again. So, how do you do it? We took a look at the reasons why people leave sites without actually buying, and what you can do about it.
Reassess Your Pop-Ups
Pop-ups play a vital role on your site and have been shown to increase your conversion rate by 3.09%. This does not sound like much, but in the greater scheme of things, can add up. Say, for example, you have around 100 visitors to your site a day, after a month, you could be bagging around 92 new subscribers to your mailing list. The trick of increasing the conversion rate of your pop-up is making it as appealing as possible to the visitor. Some of the best pop-ups are converting around 9.2%, which triples your subscribers. So, what is the secret?
Pop-ups are more effective than banners because they catch a visitors attention, whereas most people are just blind to most banners. The rule of thumb is to make the pop-up as invasive as possible. A huge pop-up that takes up the entire screen that you are trying to read and that is hard to get out of is simply annoying and research shows that people will drop off your site after three seconds. So, try and get these elements right:
- Keep the pop-up on the side or the bottom of the page. Try and avoid the center of the page where the content is;
- Make them easy to quit. Make sure the x is easy to find and to click on and that it doesn’t linger when you click on it;
- Never follow a pop-up with a second “are you sure?” pop-up. That is infuriating for your visitor;
- Ensure that the pop-up is relevant to the content on the particular page;
- Every pop-up should add value and the visitor should feel like they are benefiting from the pop-up.
Be Transparent About The Numbers
No-one appreciates being messed around with their hard-earned money, and this is especially true when it comes to making online purchases. The biggest reason for cart abandonment are the unexpected shipping costs, unexpected additions to the final price and confusing discounts. Let’s start off with the biggest reason for cart abandonment, shipping costs. 44% of all cart abandonment is due to unexpected shipping costs that only get added to the total toward the end of the sales funnel. The sudden jump in price throws off the customer and you have lost another sale. Make sure that shipping is clearly marked from the product page. Even if it is just an estimate of what the customer will be paying it is vital to be transparent.
The second thing to look at is your discounts codes and offers. There are thousands of cases where a discount is offered, yet the code does not work, it is unclear where to add in the code, or the discount is simply nulled out by excessive fees or shipping. Try this instead:
- Include the discount deduction at the beginning of the payment process. The customer will have an instant view of how much they are saving and will be encouraged to continue with the sale;
- Make the discount input field obvious so that the customer doesn’t miss and get to the end of the process without filling it out;
- The discount should be enough for the customer to be convinced to buy. In fact, a best case scenario, especially for your first-time buyer is to offset the delivery costs with a discount. This will bring the customer back for more.
Optimize Those Product Pages
Every product page needs to tell a story about the product to convince the customer to buy. Brick and mortar allows the customer the touch and feel experience which is usually the selling factor. In fact, a popular selling tactic for salesmen throughout the decades is to actually put a product in the potential customers hands to convert that sale. So, if they cannot touch and feel it, you need to make up for that experience.
When constructing your product page, get your marketing department involved in the process. The user experience is vital to consider when designing this, and you will need to consider every single element in it. Consider the following additions on a product page:
- Add reviews. Even if it is a star rating, or customer comments. Conversion rates spike when you add experiences from other customers to the page. In fact, 77% of customers said that a review convinced them to buy. Allow the customer to leave a review or comment themselves too;
- Optimize your images. Make them clear, attractive and detailed. Add a few images to each page for the customer to go through and add a zoom function for quality checking;
- Include simple, compelling and detailed copy. Allow the copy to let the customer know everything they need to know about the product;
- Add a CTA. CTA’s are key in converting and reducing bounce. The colour, copy and form of the CTA will determine a conversion, to make sure you A/B test various versions before settling on one.
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