Time On Site Going Up, Bounce Rate Going Up ?

JasonParker · 10-06-2011, 07:35 AM

I don't normally use Google Analytics, but I plugged it in yesterday to get some data.

I made some tweaks because I wasn't happy about my time on site and bounce rate.

My tweaks have made time on site go up by minutes, but the bounce rate only dropped about 10%.

And when I'm checking now... it looks like the bounce rate is increasing while the time on site is increasing both at the same time.

Hmm... Why is my Bounce Rate so high? - Analytics Help

I'm guessing that may be happening because I'm getting a good CTR on my affiliate links, so those are considered "bounces" I guess, eh?

Chucky · 10-06-2011, 07:45 AM

What do you consider a high bounce rate?

Mine used to be like 80% - obviously because I had few pages/posts and affy links right at the top. Now they are down to about 50% on the new sites I make. But I've heard of bounce rates as low as 30% - I guess you really have to hide your affy links in deep pages.

I have also asked this question myself. Where do we draw the line? What's the balance between the bounce rate and having affy links right at the top? I say this because of this little experiment I did once.

Once I tried to put a link in big bold letters on the entry page saying "Go to this page to read the review" My idea was to reduce bounce rate because now people HAVE to go to a 2nd page before they go to my affy site. But then I noticed that my sales went down, meaning people didn't click that link and go to the 2nd page!

JasonParker · 10-06-2011, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chucky

What do you consider a high bounce rate?

Mine used to be like 80% - obviously because I had few pages/posts and affy links right at the top. Now they are down to about 50% on the new sites I make. But I've heard of bounce rates as low as 30% - I guess you really have to hide your affy links in deep pages.

I have also asked this question myself. Where do we draw the line? What's the balance between the bounce rate and having affy links right at the top? I say this because of this little experiment I did once.

Once I tried to put a link in big bold letters on the entry page saying "Go to this page to read the review" My idea was to reduce bounce rate because now people HAVE to go to a 2nd page before they go to my affy site. But then I noticed that my sales went down, meaning people didn't click that link and go to the 2nd page!

I'm getting 73% on a brand new site... It was at 85%.

Although I don't really think there's enough data to know the TRUE bounce rate of my pages.

...I see your point with the aff links and balancing it out with your bounce rate.

What I'm attempting to do is get interactive in my sidebar in replace of ads.

I just put in a Video Of The Week and then a poll underneath it where they can rate the video.

I think that's increased my time on site so far... probably just the mere fact that there aren't banners there anymore.

I've also installed some new plugins to increase load time. Hoping that will help.

And I'm keeping my aff links inside the product reviews. CTR is over 20% on those aff links, so I'm happy about that.

I guess I really just need more data and more traffic to really know though.

Thanks for the insights.

Lyanna · 10-06-2011, 09:18 AM

Yes, bounce rate will be high if they click a lot on your aff links.

Obviously this is a good thing.

JasonParker · 10-06-2011, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lyanna

Yes, bounce rate will be high if they click a lot on your aff links.

Obviously this is a good thing.

I guess I'll take a good aff link ctr over a good bounce rate any day of the week

10-06-2011, 07:35 AM	#1
JasonParker Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USA Posts: 4,145 Thanks: 891 Thanked 1,048 Times in 432 Posts	Time On Site Going Up, Bounce Rate Going Up ? I don't normally use Google Analytics, but I plugged it in yesterday to get some data. I made some tweaks because I wasn't happy about my time on site and bounce rate. My tweaks have made time on site go up by minutes, but the bounce rate only dropped about 10%. And when I'm checking now... it looks like the bounce rate is increasing while the time on site is increasing both at the same time. Hmm... Why is my Bounce Rate so high? - Analytics Help I'm guessing that may be happening because I'm getting a good CTR on my affiliate links, so those are considered "bounces" I guess, eh?

10-06-2011, 07:45 AM	#2
Chucky Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Central Illinois, USA Posts: 919 Thanks: 235 Thanked 511 Times in 142 Posts	Re: Time On Site Going Up, Bounce Rate Going Up ? What do you consider a high bounce rate? Mine used to be like 80% - obviously because I had few pages/posts and affy links right at the top. Now they are down to about 50% on the new sites I make. But I've heard of bounce rates as low as 30% - I guess you really have to hide your affy links in deep pages. I have also asked this question myself. Where do we draw the line? What's the balance between the bounce rate and having affy links right at the top? I say this because of this little experiment I did once. Once I tried to put a link in big bold letters on the entry page saying "Go to this page to read the review" My idea was to reduce bounce rate because now people HAVE to go to a 2nd page before they go to my affy site. But then I noticed that my sales went down, meaning people didn't click that link and go to the 2nd page!
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10-06-2011, 09:18 AM	#4
Lyanna HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 340 Thanks: 35 Thanked 33 Times in 32 Posts	Re: Time On Site Going Up, Bounce Rate Going Up ? Yes, bounce rate will be high if they click a lot on your aff links. Obviously this is a good thing.