Robin Good: Now that Google pays so much more attention to "user experience" and satisfaction on our site, it becomes a must to start looking at all the ways in which you can improve the key metrics Google increasingly looks at.
Among these "bounce rate" is among the important ones and it represents the number of visitors that abandon your site after having looked at one page.
Though the bounce rate per se, it is not in absolute terms to be considered a negative element, if paired with very short times on the page and with a frequent use of the browser "Back" button from the visitors abandoning your page, than it is a major red flag for Google telling it your site may not be worth so much.
To improve this situation, Kelly Shaver has written a valuable short guide for the WebTrends sponsored Customer Experience Series on Mashable, covering key strategies you should invest time on, to help bounce rates and overall user experience on your site.
The seven key strategies include (my short explnation below each one):
1. Be Mindful of Ad Placement
Be careful of where you put your ads and how many you use.
2. Lazy-Load Third-Party Content
Load third-party widgets and stuff later than the main stuff.
3. Contrast Is Key
Make your pages as readable as they can be.
4. Have Clean, Accessible Navigation
No more words needed.
5. Your Message Should Be Immediately Obvious
State clearly and immediately what you are about
6. No Distractions, Please
Quiet your site distractions down
7. Have a Responsive Layout
Use the latest technology updates to code your site so that it is visible across all kind of devices.
To get all of the details for each one of these, please go and check the full article.
Useful. 7/10
Full article: http://mashable.com/2012/02/02/lower-bounce-rate-tips/