Bounce Rates - short info

Recently I saw a question here about bounce rates.

.. as I can't find it anymore, here is some compact info about them:

Definition: "Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page" /Google/

There are both external and internal factors for the site that can impact dramatically on bounce rates.

Internal


These factors are normally more visual or about layouts.

1. Design and layout - presentation is very important. If the landing page the user has come in on is cluttered or features are not as expected then you may lose the user.
2. Content is king - you should make sure your content add values, If a user lands on your page and is instantly faced with links to lots of other pages then chances are you have lost them. Content is about engaging with a user, ensuring there is a call to action at the end of it. Stories* usually have a start, middle and end - content should be no different.
3. Clear Navigation - this leads on from point 1 but is very important - if the navigation is not clearly defined then it can sometimes be frustrating for a user to find what they need. A clear site map, and intuitive navigation structure is always recommended.
4. Technical - As part of the website development the site should have been benchmarked to give you some idea of general performance. There are many factors that could cause a user a bad experience. Slow load times, website errors or a certain technology not being enabled (Flash or Javascript). If your website takes to long to load chances are the user will already be reaching for the back button.

External


These factors can come from a number of areas, additional marketing material

1. Keyword Selection and irrelevant search results - this is a very important factor. With larger sites it is difficult to control what some of your key words are. For example if we ranked highly for "car cleaning" then on this key word I would expect to see a high bounce rate. Simply due to the fact we don't do the suggested subject it's important to have content relevancy to your business.
2. Ad copy - if you are promoting yourself via Ad-words or any platform then it is important to make sure your advert copy related to your business.
3. External Links - Link building is a good way of improving your sites SEO standing but links must be relevant and have related anchor descriptions.

... you are welcome to add information irate:

Great tips, nonin. I think you've basically covered major aspects of it.

Really, it's all about ATTRACTING a quick web surfer. When you work on your layout, you should keep it in such a way that even a web surfer in a big hurry would stop and care to take a look at the content you have on your site.

The mistake I've seen most publishers making is.. they don't use headings and subheadings and formatting in general. It's important to have hierarchy in your content and break it into subtopics. (Also, I try to keep my quotes in italics. It sets quotes different from the rest of the content, and readers love it).

When a person lands on your site, first thing they'll most likely see is what heading you have (which, like you said, should be attractive and eye-catching), what do most people do next? They quickly scroll down and note the subheadings. If you have subheadings that also interest them, they most certainly will take time to read what you have on your site and WON'T bounce back.

You DON'T want to present your content like in a boring textbook of organic chemistry - that's really the key, IMHO. Decent images at "right" places also significantly reduce bounce rates.