As a business owner, you have an abundance of data presented to you. It’s easy to get lost in the long lists of numbers and percentages. While all this data is important in understanding your business’s health, it may leave you wondering which data is the best indicator of your business’s status?
What is Bounce Rate?
Bounce rate is the percentage of users that visit your website but then leave after only viewing one page. For example, if someone were to land on your homepage and then leave without viewing any of your other website pages, this will count towards your bounce rate.
Generally, you’ll want to keep this website metric low and decrease it when possible. An exception to this website metric would be if you have only one page with all the information a user needs — such as a one-page website or a landing page where the goal is to get users to fill out a form. Your bounce rate for pages like this would be very high because there is truly only one page to visit. If this is the case, it’ll be more useful to look at other website metrics; such as average time on websites or conversion rates.
However, let’s say you’re working with a standard B2B website. You may be wondering, what is a good bounce rate? Be aware that bounce rates vary by industry, but generally your goal is to keep the average bounce rate between 40–60%. If your bounce rate is above 60% there could be a problem that needs to be addressed. If your bounce rate is lower than 30% there is likely a technical error. Wondering how to reduce bounce rate? Look into these possible problems.
- Slow loading speeds — have you ever clicked on a website that took long to load? Chances are instead of waiting, you simply left the site. Studies say a loading time of 3 seconds or less is ideal.
- Bad design or user experience — let’s face it, bad design scares all of us. If we can’t immediately figure out what a company does or what to do next on a site, we’ll click away. Too many buttons and clutter or too little information on a website may make it appear untrustworthy.
- Low-quality content — if the content being displayed on a website is not engaging users they will likely leave your site without viewing more pages.
What is Average Time on Website?
The name says it all, this website metric measures the average time a user spends on your website. What does a high average time on a website mean for you? The more time a user spends on your website, the more engaged they are with your product or service. Therefore they are more likely to do business with you because they are learning about your company and what it offers them.
Industry benchmarks generally advise to keep an average time on website between 2-3 minutes, aim for at least 1:45. If the average time on website is less than this it could mean that your content is unengaging, poorly designed, creates a bad user experience, or has thin content.
Here is a list of 5 things you can immediately add to enhance your average time on website:
- Add photos and bios of your employees — on your “About Us” page, you can highlight employee’s experience, expertise, diverse backgrounds, and who they are as regular people. Featuring your team will boost their confidence and create instant credibility for your company.
- Add “real photography” — photographs of your team, your office, your work, etc. will build familiarity with potential customers and stakeholders. The more visual content, the more time people will spend on your website. Your photography should be as real as possible while remaining professional.
- Add videos — the more videos the better. This again will create familiarity, credibility, and provide relevant information.
- FAQ or blog pages — both of these pages increase the user time on your website if they contain relevant and valuable information. Cheatsheets, checklists, how-to’s, tips, etc will help your audience stay on-site longer.
- Add a news page — a news page will document all the great things happening in your company: awards, employee milestones, events, or big changes.
What is Conversion Rate?
Conversions are the action that a visitor takes on your website. For example, filling out a form or making a purchase. Therefore, the conversion rate is the percentage of total visitors that visit your website and take action. Some conversions may include leads, email sign-ups, form completions, or sales.
It’s important to understand what you want your website to accomplish. This way it can be properly set up to meet your unique specifications.
There is an extensive number of factors that play into your conversions. There are different kinds of conversions and many conversion rates vary by industry, making it difficult to generalize. However, as a rule of thumb, you can aim for conversion rates of at least 2%. If your conversion rates are lower than this, you may want to reevaluate your website. A low conversion rate could indicate that your website doesn’t have enough or doesn’t have quality call-to-actions. This could also mean it is not building up your credibility or the traffic being brought in is bad traffic. Bad traffic means that the visitors coming to your website are likely looking for something unrelated to your services.
How A Digital Marketing Agency Can Help Your Business Grow
These website metrics only scratch the surface of successful marketing analytic practices. The best way to ensure you’re making the most out of your website is by hiring a digital marketing agency. A digital marketing agency can implement the best marketing analytics practices and generate real results.
If you’re interested in working with a marketing and brand agency that wants to help you establish your brand and grow your business, don’t hesitate! Contact Bold Entity to learn more about our branding and digital marketing services.
