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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Bloggers Vs. Bounce Rates

As a blogger, you work on producing quality content to attract readers to spend time on your site. You plan the perfect design, find the highest quality images, all in hopes that your attention to quality and content will keep your readers coming back for more. Though your content and unique page hits may display one thing about your blog, your bounce rate may say another.

A "bounce rate" is the percentage of visitors that come to your website and do not visit any other pages on your site. So if you have taken the time to draft an "about me" page or something of that sort, having a high bounce rate indicates that it may all be in vein. The more time visitors spend reading and exploring your site, the more they build a relationship with you as a blogger, making them more likely to come to you as a source. A high bounce rate may suggest that there is something about your blog that doesn't attract visitors to stay long, or even return again. Here are a few ways you can lower your bounce rates:

1. Be Social: Do you only Tweet out or post to Facebook when you post a new blog? Try also including when you update a page or add new content. Keep your readers engaged with your site at all times, taking advantage of social networking.

2. Strategic Monetization: If you have decided to include advertisements on your blog to make money, be sure they are placed in a way that does not distract the reader. Trying to read a post that is covered by an ad for nail polish doesn't make the reader want to explore your site. Also, be sure your ads are relevant! If you are a beauty blogger, there shouldn't be advertisements for gadgets and tech.

3. Keep It Clean: Don't bombard your visitors with crazy, complex designs. Make sure that your navigation area is clearly defined and not obstructed from vision. Users will not search for content, you have to present it to them.

4. State Your Purpose: The purpose of your blog should be clear as soon as bloggers hit the first page. Include a little blurb that explains who you are (example on the right from http://www.camillaleila.com/), and what you blog about. If your blog is about something that interests the reader, they are more likely to stay and click around.

Do you monitor your blog or websites bounce rate? If so, what do you do to keep your bounce rate down? Share with us!

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