[UncoderMom]

Originally Posted by imported_silkroad

Sorry, but we don't need to grasp your message, because your message is incorrect.

If you have 5 million+ page views each month and most of your traffic is from search engine referrals, then please take a screen shot of the relevant data from Google analysts and post the images, showing your time period, page views, bounce rate and corresponding search engine referrals.

Sites with lots of direct traffic and referrals from other web pages get a much lower bounce rate than large sites with mega long-tail search engine referrals.

Frankly, Justine, I don't need a sidebar lecture on the topic (smile!), I want to see your facts :-) I do not think you have a site which gets massive search engine referrals and has a low bounce rate. All sites have the same issue. This is not theory, LOL, is this the nature of sites with massive search engine referrals.

Facts please!

PS: I have many sites with low bounce rates. They all have less traffic and a much lower percentage of search engine referrals. So, according to this poll, ROTFL, it is better to have a site with low traffic than a site with high traffic because the bounce rate is less? Not all sites are the same. You cannot make a blanket statement "low bounce is bad".... .that is why this poll is seriously flawed!

--------------- Added 24 May 2009 at 05:50 ---------------



Precisely my point, thank you!

This site (above) has a relatively low monthly page view where most traffic is direct traffic. Search engine referrals only account for 16% of the traffic. Naturally, this site will have a lower bounce rate that a site with much more traffic that comes mostly from long tail search engine referrals.

--------------- Added 24 May 2009 at 05:52 ---------------



Agreed !!

Folks who do not have massive long tail traffic do not understand this concept. If you try to lower the bounce rate, the effect is that you will lower the amount of long-tail search engine referrals.

It is very difficult to lower bounce rate on these sites. I once made a change that improved bounce rate about 8 percent, and I was happy. Folks who don't have a great deal of long tail search referrals and have mostly direct or site referrals do not grok this concept.

Well, This time last year... my bounce rates were almost the same except I had almost 500,000 page views a month and my search engine referrals were way higher. What then?

If I dig up a few months prior to that I had more then 750,000 page views on average. I wonder what my rates where then. hmmm


I know where all my traffic is going.. LOL Im guilty myself. FACEBOOK.

--------------- Added [DATE]1243264692[/DATE] at [TIME]1243264692[/TIME] ---------------

Okay skill road. I'd have to say your theory is a little flawed too.

Here is just an example....



* 32,998
Visits

* 453,249
Pageviews

* 13.74
Pages/Visit

* 8.56%
Bounce Rate

* 00:15:40
Avg. Time on Site

* 5.00%
% New Visits



*
Direct Traffic 21,355.00 (64.72%)
*
Referring Sites 6,179.00 (18.73%)
*
Search Engines 5,461.00 (16.55%)
*
Other 3 (0.01%)


Thats just one of my 30 day pulls. I can show you dozens more all with around a 10% average bounce rate.

Heres another from the same time year before this one.



* 43,164
Visits

* 793,287
Pageviews

* 18.38
Pages/Visit

* 7.87%
Bounce Rate

* 00:18:39
Avg. Time on Site

* 5.48%
% New Visits

# Direct Traffic 33,535.00 (77.69%)
#
Referring Sites 7,914.00 (18.33%)
#
Search Engines 1,715.00 (3.97%)