When a website has ranking or performance problems, the cause is often related to functionality, design or SEO.
Some problems are relatively easy to correct and require little time or technical work. Others are structural enough that meaningful improvement may require a redesign or rebuild.
Bounce and engagement
One useful way to detect problems is to review engagement and bounce-related metrics.
We discuss them frequently because a single metric can reveal patterns that deserve further investigation.
In traditional analytics terminology, bounce rate describes sessions in which the visitor views a page and leaves without meaningful continuation. The exact definition varies by analytics platform.
Comparing pages can help you identify where the problem may be. If nearly every page has weak engagement, the traffic source may be poorly targeted, the site may be slow, mobile usability may be poor, or the overall design and content may not match user expectations.
If the home page loses a large share of qualified visitors, trust or clarity may be the issue. In that case, prominent projects, case studies, customer evidence or clearer positioning may help.
If blog articles consistently perform poorly, your audience may be looking for a different level or type of information. The right approach depends on your industry and the needs of the readers you want to attract.
Search field
This point applies to websites that offer on-site search. Measure how many people rely on search instead of the primary navigation.
On content-heavy sites, search can be useful for locating specific articles or resources. Important products, services and actions, however, should not be so difficult to find that users must search for them manually.
A large information-focused website with no search capability at all can create the opposite problem, particularly when it contains hundreds or thousands of pages.
Too few calls to action
A CTA, or call to action, is a link, control or button that helps a user take a meaningful next step: open another page, read a related article, subscribe, contact the organization or start a purchase.
If a page offers no logical next step beyond the standard header and footer, users may simply leave even when they were interested in the subject.
Do not assume visitors will always search for the next relevant page themselves. Attention is limited and people can easily switch to another task, tab or application.
At the same time, avoid presenting too many competing CTAs. If the page has one primary goal, the most important action should be visually and semantically clear.
Blog articles can contain several contextual links, but they should remain readable. Descriptive anchor text should tell the reader what to expect after following a link.
Focusing only on the product or service
This depends on the type of business. Some websites focus only on selling a product or listing information and give users no understanding of the organization behind it.
Brand identity, reputation and organizational values can influence purchasing decisions alongside product quality. Businesses with meaningful values and credible evidence can communicate them through content, projects and design without allowing branding to overwhelm the actual service.