Each week I take the time to review my website's analytics to evaluate site statistics, user patterns and identify potential problems. This helps me stay on top of managing my site, making sure I am putting my best foot forward when it comes to promoting and driving traffic. One thing that I have found particularly important in determining site usability is "bounce rate".

Bounce rate is the percentage of people who come to your site and leave shortly after landing on the page. If your bounce rate is high this could indicate a problem. Paying close attention to your bounce rate and making the necessary adjustments can help you maximize your site's success. Several things can result in a high bounce rate, but instead of playing the never ending guessing game, factoring in other analytics will help you determine the cause and the course of action.

One of the best reports to use for bounce rate is the keyword reporting. This shows you what keywords people are using in the search engines to find you. Why this is important in relation to bounce rate is because if your site isn't relevant to that search then users will quickly move on. Analyzing these keywords together with your site's content will help direct the modifications that need to be made. For instance if the top search phrase for your site is dog grooming, but information about dog training appears at the top of your page with the grooming information near the bottom, then you are not capitalizing on how people are searching for you. Analyzing this keyword report will help you make needed adjustments to the content and subsequently keep people on your site longer, lowering your bounce rate.

Another useful analytics tool to determine the cause of high bounce rate is the site overlay tool. This gives you a graphical interface of percentages of click, visually showing you how people use your site. Evaluating this will show you the necessary steps to take to clean it up. Perhaps your most popular sections are buried in clutter. Seeing how people click through your site will help you isolate and make those steps easy and obvious.

While there are many tools to help you lower your bounce rate the first step is evaluation. By taking a proactive stance on monitoring your site's bounce rate will help you formulate a future plan. Try of few of these suggestions today and watch your traffic go up and your bounce rate go down!