Most people who are new to business and owning a website know it all too well.
They click the analytics of their main business page, only to find that their bounce rate is going up. What does that mean? Well, it means more people are clicking off of your website than are using it to buy products or services, and it is likely to do with something on the webpage itself.
Luckily, it can be easily remedied! With that in mind, how can you turn that bounce rate around and get more customers to contact your business? Read on to find out!
- Clear CallToAction
Have you ever read an article about a product or a service and seen the words ‘call us today?’ This is a calltoaction, and, in no uncertain terms, it is prompting you to call the business to enquire about purchasing their goods or services.
A clear calltoaction is likely to be recommended by any online conversion expert when you are looking to reduce the bounce rate of your website, provided that it isn’t overly blatant. Having a well-written article about your services or products with a ‘call us today’ at the end is going to be more effective than a poorly written article that has multiple callstoaction. So, it may also be worth looking into hiring a marketing writer too!
- Optimized User Experience
It has happened to almost everyone; they click on a webpage, only to find that it loads slowly, or that it doesn’t load correctly for the device you are using it on. Nothing is going to make someone click off of a website faster than that!
So, if you want people to stay on your website and to click on the appropriate links to become customers, or patients, then you need to ensure that they have a great experience while on your website. How do you do this? Look at the following aspects: does your website load quickly? Is it mobile optimized? Can someone find what they need to with ease?
There is also a lot to be said about chatbots on home pages. These are ideal when you have a website that people may be accessing outside of business hours, as it can engage with them on the page, to help them find what they are looking for, or answer queries that they may have about your services. As well as this, be sure to have all of the contact information for your business on the website, so that those who visit the page will know how to email you or phone you.
- Testimonials and Reviews
Most people, when they are looking to choose a business to do a job for them, will look at the review section on the website. Ergo, if you don’t have a review or testimonial section, then you may be inadvertently driving away business. Of course, you know that your business is great but, without reviews to attest to that fact, many people will simply not look any further into the services that you are offering.
The layout of your reviews section will also likely need to differ, based on what your service is. For instance, if you walk dogs for a living, having a testimonial page that shows yourself on walks with dogs, accompanied by reviews from their owners, is going to pull many people who need a dog walker in. In a similar vein, if you are a hairdresser, showcasing a before and after segment for your customers is another way you can showcase the skills of your team, as well as link the high reviews back to you via photos.
It may also be a good idea to have some of your newer or best reviews on your home page and then, when they are clicked, it takes the website user to the review segment of the website.
- Relevant Content
To increase conversion rates, you need to also up engagement rates on your website. So, you will want visitors to click around on your page to see what it is that you offer. This will often include trying to convince visitors to click on different pages on the website itself, or to click on your blog.
This is where some good old-fashioned relevant content comes in! If your website offers a service that a person will need to know more about, such as fitting fireplaces, having a blog that has all of the information that someone will need about having a fireplace fitted is not only going to educate them, but it is also going to convince them (if it is written properly), that your team is the best team to do the job.
Relevant content may also involve blogs with titles like ‘5 things to know before having a fireplace fitted’ or ‘Key signs that your chimney is blocked.’ These not only showcase the process that your team can offer, but also address aftercare.
- Targeting Visitors
Have you ever searched for something online, such as standing lamps, only to find that the website you visited to search for them keeps showing advertisements when you are on YouTube or Facebook?
No, that isn’t some crazy coincidence; it is the website you visited trying to pull you back to buying something! It’s very clever; most websites, when you load them, will ask you to accept cookies or tracking pixels. That way, the website can see what you are looking for on the website, so when you leave, they can showcase their own kind of pop-up advertisement on these other platforms.
Of course, this approach may not reduce the initial bounce rate, but it is a great way to encourage people who have visited your surgery page to revisit it and buy your own brand of standing lamps! However, setting up cookies and pop-up adverts may be outside of your skill set, so if this is something that you want to implement, the best way to do so is with the help of a marketing team.