How to Reduce Bounce Rate in WordPress & Increase Pageviews

If you can crack the code to reduce the bounce rate, your pageviews will automatically increase.

The main idea behind publishing a website is educating users about your products or services. You create landing pages, blog posts, and documents to explain how to use your services or products.

But what if the user doesn't even read your content because of, say, “excessive page load time or irrelevant content?”

All your hard work will go down the drain. You will not be able to reach your target audience and ultimately become the loser.

Not to worry. In addition to some traditional tried-and-tested steps, we have our own tricks to reduce bounce rates and increase pageviews.

Interested to know how? Then read along.

What is a Good Bounce Rate?

Before we discuss the dos and don'ts of reducing bounce rates, you should first know whether your website's bounce rate is good or bad.

A “good” bounce rate varies by industry, website type, and goals. Generally, bounce rates can be categorized as follows:

• 26%-40%: Excellent
• 41%-55%: Average
• 56%-70%: Above average
• 70%+: Poor (usually a sign of problems with content, user experience, or targeting)

Bounce Rate According to Various Industries-

• eCommerce Websites: 20%-45%.
• Content Websites: 60%-80%.
• Service-Based Websites: 30%-50%.
• Landing Pages: 70%-90%.

A good bounce rate depends on your website's goals.

For example, a blog might have a higher bounce rate because users read a single article and leave, while an online store aims for a low bounce rate to encourage purchases.

Tools to Measure Bounce Rates

If you want to measure your site bounce rates, there are some tools you can use-

1. Google Analytics: This free, powerful tool provides detailed bounce rate metrics segmented by pages, devices, traffic sources, and campaigns and integrates seamlessly with most websites.

2. Hotjar: This service offers heatmaps, session recordings, and surveys to understand why visitors bounce. It helps visualize user interactions and identify problem areas.

3. Crazy Egg: Includes scroll maps and click analytics to pinpoint where visitors lose interest. This tool is great for optimizing design and improving user engagement.

4. Matomo (formerly Piwik): This is an open-source analytics platform with bounce rate tracking. Offers privacy-focused analytics for companies concerned about data ownership.

5. Semrush: Tracks bounce rates as part of a broader SEO and traffic analysis suite. It provides competitive analysis and industry benchmarks.

6. Mixpanel: Tracks user behavior and retention, focusing on events instead of pages. Ideal for SaaS or apps where event tracking is key.

7. Optimizely: Tracks user engagement alongside A/B testing tools. Great for testing different page designs to lower bounce rates.

15 Experienced & Proven Ways to Reduce Bounce Rate and Increase Page Views

We have been using different tactics to keep the bounce rate of our website in control. Some of them worked, some of them didn't. But don't worry, we are not going to share the ones that didn't work.

Here are the tried and tested formulas on how to reduce the bounce rate on your website-

• Speed Up Your WordPress Site
• Improve Your WordPress Navigation Menus
• Improve Your Internal Links in WordPress
• Add Internal Search to WordPress
• Open External Links in a New Tab
• Add Related Posts or Popular Posts
• Make Your Content Relevant and Engaging
• Optimize Your WordPress Site for Mobile
• Use WordPress Popups the Right Way
• Create a Custom 404 Page in WordPress
• Improve Your WordPress Sidebar
• Add Audio Version Of Your Blog Posts
• Add Youtube Videos
• Use Compelling Graphics
• Ensure Page not Ranking for Irrelevant Serving Areas

Let's see the details-

1. Speed Up Your WordPress Site

Website speed is a major factor in user experience and search engine rankings. A slow website can lead to higher bounce rates, poor user engagement, and lower conversion rates.

Improving speed ensures visitors stay longer, explore more pages, and take desired actions.

• Choose themes optimized for performance to avoid bloated code that slows down your site.
• Tools like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache store frequently accessed data for faster delivery.
• Compress images using tools like TinyPNG or Smush to reduce their file size
• Reduce unnecessary lines in your code using tools like Autoptimize or WP Minify.
• Ensure your WordPress core, plugins, and themes are always updated to the latest versions

2. Improve Your WordPress Navigation Menus

Navigation menus are the backbone of your site’s structure. A well-organized menu helps users quickly find what they’re looking for. It reduces frustration and improves their overall experience.

Proper navigation encourages visitors to explore more pages, boosting your site's engagement metrics. You can use-

• Logical Menu Hierarchies.
• Drop-Down Menus.
• Highlight Key Pages.
• Add Breadcrumbs.

3. Improve Your Internal Links in WordPress

Internal linking is a powerful tool for improving user navigation and distributing SEO value across your website.

It keeps visitors engaged by directing them to related content and helps search engines crawl and index your site more effectively.

• Link to related posts or pages within your content.
• Use clear and relevant texts for links to improve click-through rates.
• Use plugins like Link Whisper to suggest internal linking opportunities.

4. Add Internal Search to WordPress

An internal search feature makes it easier for visitors to find what they need, especially on content-heavy sites.

A search bar can improve user experience, particularly for eCommerce stores or blogs with huge content libraries. People can easily find what they are looking for or find out if the resource they are looking for is present or not.

• Install plugins like SearchWP.
• Position the search bar strategically in your header, sidebar, or footer.
• Prioritize high-converting pages or new articles.

5. Open External Links in a New Tab

External links are valuable for providing additional resources but can also divert users away from your site. You have to be very careful while adding external links to your pages and make sure it provide maximum value to your users.

Make sure these links open in a new tab to help retain visitors while offering useful external content.

• Enable the “Open link in a new tab” option when adding external links in WordPress.
• Use plugins like WP External Links to manage and standardize external link settings.

6. Add Related Posts or Popular Posts

Highlighting related or popular posts encourages users to stay on your site longer by exploring additional content. When users find content related to the content they are reading, it enables them to follow through and read that content as well. It is an old but popular trick and very effective.

This strategy improves engagement metrics, reduces bounce rates, and increases page views.

• Use tools like Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP) or Jetpack.
• Showcase your most-read articles on your homepage or blog sidebar.
• Create suggestions for the current page’s topic for maximum effectiveness.

7. Make Your Content Relevant and Engaging

Content is the heart of your website, and its relevance determines whether visitors stay or leave.

Creating valuable, engaging, and well-targeted content keeps your audience hooked and enables them to return. On the other hand, if you write content outside of your niche, then it can increase your bounce rate. You have the very careful with your content selection.

• Research their preferences, pain points, and needs to create your content.
• Make your content relatable by including case studies.
• Keep articles current by adding new information, statistics, or trends.

8. Make Your WordPress Site Mobile-Friendly

Mobile optimization is no longer optional. It has become important as a significant portion of web traffic comes from mobile devices.

A mobile-friendly site ensures a smooth experience across devices, reducing bounce rates and increasing conversions.

• Choose themes designed to adapt to different screen sizes.
• Use simple fonts, spacing, and large buttons for mobile users.
• Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to identify and fix issues.

9. Use WordPress Popups the Right Way

Popups can be highly effective for lead generation and promotions, but poorly implemented ones can annoy users. The timing and targeting are crucial for maximizing their impact. If users see a pop-up too late, then you may lose the subscription, same if shown too early. You have to time it exactly right.

• Trigger popups when users are about to leave your site.
• Show popups only after visitors have spent time on your site.
• Avoid bombarding users with repeated or overlapping popups.

10. Create a Custom 404 Page in WordPress

A custom 404 page ensures users don’t leave your site out of frustration when encountering broken links.

Instead, it can guide them to valuable content and maintain engagement. Don't just create a plain 404 page. Give a link back to your homepage or even better a link to contact you. This way they can let them know what they are looking for. This way you can create that content if it is relevant to your niche.

• Add links to your homepage, popular articles, or categories.
• Allow users to search for what they need directly from the 404 page.
• Use visuals or humor to soften the inconvenience.

11. Improve Your WordPress Sidebar

A well-organized sidebar increases usability and provides opportunities to highlight key content or features. This is a space on the website that most of the site owners don't fully utilize. But used smartly and it can add valuable impact to your site.

• Add widgets like recent posts, categories, or a search bar.
• Include subscription forms or social media links.
• Don't overcrowd your sidebar with excessive content.

12. Add Audio Versions of Your Blog Posts

Adding audio versions can widen your reach to a diverse audience, including those who prefer listening while multitasking. A user can come to your website, turn on the audio version of your content, and explore your website while listening. Not only it increases your time on site but also reduces the bounce rate.

It also improves accessibility for visually impaired users.

• Use tools like Play.ht or ResponsiveVoice to convert text into audio.
• Position the audio player at the top of your posts.
• Allow users to download audio versions for offline access.

13. Add YouTube Videos

Integrating videos into your content makes it more engaging and helps convey information effectively. While written text gives users clear instructions, a video will help them have a clear visual of what they need to do. It will keep them engaged with your site and reduce your bounce rate significantly.

Visitors spent 2.6% more time on video pages than those without it (Source: Vidmonials)

Videos are especially impactful for tutorials and product demonstrations.

• Use the WordPress block editor to embed YouTube videos easily.
• Ensure videos fit seamlessly within your site design.
• Add descriptive titles and captions to improve video visibility.

14. Use Compelling Graphics

Visual content grabs attention and enhances the appeal of your articles or pages. Think about it. If you see content with just texts, will you be compelled to read it? Your eyes will get tired and you will feel bored. Ultimately, you will leave that page.

That's what will happen to your content as well if you don't have graphics on your site.

Well-designed graphics simplify complex ideas and make your site more professional.

• Create custom images with Canva or Photoshop.
• Use data visualization to make statistics or concepts easier to understand.
• Compress images to maintain speed without losing quality.

15. Check and Ensure Your Page Is Not Ranking for Irrelevant Areas

Ranking for irrelevant search terms can hurt your SEO and mislead your audience. Your content should target the right keywords as it is vital for attracting qualified traffic.

• Use tools like Google Search Console to identify irrelevant rankings.
• Update titles, descriptions, and content to better match your audience's needs.
• Regularly review your site to keep your strategy aligned with your goals.

By following these strategies, you can transform your WordPress site into a high-performing, user-friendly platform that drives engagement, conversions, and sustainable growth.

But one question may arise in your mind-

Why Do People Bounce?

After reading the whole content, you may have some idea why people bounce from your website. It is quite impossible to achieve a 0% bounce rate. For one reason or another, people will leave your site.

But for your convenience, here are the most common reasons people bounce from websites:

FAQs on How to Reduce Bounce Rates

Work on Your Site Bounce Rate & See Your Pageviews Go Up!!

With all the chaos in the tech world, especially with the Rising AI trends for eCommerce business and several Google updates, it is tough to get the audience to notice your content. A bad bounce rate will cause you to lose that portion of your loyal audience as well.

You will see many website owners taking drastic measures and adopting new ways to keep their audience engaged on their sites. But we suggest you first fix the basic things of your website, like fixing the bounce rate.

Follow the tips we have provided in the article and see the results for yourself. If you need any help with anything, then do let us know in the comment section.