37% Bounce Rate - Generic Fund Raising Shopping Site

[notabene]

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One week after launch but not sure if that is good or shocking. What does good look like?

[drivetowin]

Very hard to tell if you don't post a url....

[notabene]

Was just trying to find out what an average was that was all but if there is no such thing never mind, will just aim to improve mine!

[drivetowin]

37% seems high.

The reason I said post your url was so that others could give some guidance why it is so high - but if you don't want to post then no one is going to make you.

I wouldn't worry about someone copying your idea if that is what's stopping you from posting the url - there are now dozens of fund raising shopping sites (some good, some bad, some indifferent) so it's not likely that your site is going to be groundbreakingly different.

[notabene]

Wasnt worried about somebody copying, theres a big enough market out there for all of us

anolivebranch.co.uk

Would welcome your thoughts...

NB

[Markup]

It's nice and offers a genuinely nice take on the cashback option in that you give it to charity - well done.

About your bounce rate, as Keith said it does appear to be high, but it depends on how you are getting your traffic in the early stages, who is coming to the site?

Are you attracting visitors who you would expect to transact, or are they people reviewing your site because you have posted about it in certain areas and are attracted out of curiosity for one reason or another.

For a start I would reword this excerpt from your home page..

"... We allow you to give to charity every time you shop through our store."

This part of your opening message could be misconstrued to read like you are inviting your users to donate, when in fact you are doing the donating from your hard earned commission. It glared out at me and may well be off putting to visitors.

Tell them that you will donate a percentage of their spend to charities, and make it clear that it is from your pocket and not theirs.

It's just a small thing but they all add up...

Also, a week may well be a long time in politics - as they say - but a week live online, jeez, I bet the majority of the invitees you mailed have hardly had the chance to get around to opening the mails you sent yet. If you are attracting mega mega traffic you could arguably be dissatisfied with your bounce rate - if not, give it a few months of plugging away (in every sense) and then re-evaluate.

Good luck!

[mainlime]

Just one quick comment: there's a heck of a lot of text and your eye is drawn all over the place when the page loads. It's not clear what to focus on. I think if you can simplify your home page and calm it down a bit people may linger longer.

[ChristopherB]

I don't think 37% bouncerate is that high for a relatively new site, although it all depends on if you are getting your targetted visitors.

I have sites with 80% BR's (get them in and out), my most popular site at 49% and another at 25%

[fizzbird]

Just one quick comment: there's a heck of a lot of text and your eye is drawn all over the place when the page loads. It's not clear what to focus on. I think if you can simplify your home page and calm it down a bit people may linger longer.

I totally agree.

You've done a lot of work there and should be commended for it but the homepage just has too much to take in. A simplified design with content deeper into the site should work well for you.

[DaisyDaisy]

There's no search function, and that would put me off if I knew what I wanted to find and had to dig through the site to get to it.

[amisuggests]

I think that 37% bounce rate is pretty good for a new site

As long as we are talking about 37% of a thousand not 37% of 10

[fizzbird]

I think that 37% bounce rate is pretty good for a new site

As long as we are talking about 37% of a thousand not 37% of 10

It's a pretty well established concept that a % is of a hundred

[amisuggests]

Duh?

What the statement 'of a thousand not of 10' means is a moderate to high traffic site as compared to a low traffic site.

Didn't think that needed explaining

[notabene]

Thanks for the constructive criticism guys - will take a lot of it on board so watch this space!

NB

[tbp]

I dont think that 37% bounce rate is overly high, but obviously it's something that you need to work on to bring down.

Generic sites always have a higher bounce rate than niche sites, as people go to them without having a specific purchase in mind usually ie just to have a browse. This is where presentation becomes very important, as you need to retain the user. With niche sites, the user has a specific product in mind, and if the site offers that product they`ll be more forgiving on the look of the site.

Presentation can have a big impact. I recently worked on an overhaul of a merchants site, and it took the bounce rate down from 60% to 10%, so it shows how important first impressions are.